Episode 21: The Lord of the Rings with Dr. Ellen Meiser

Jul 20, 2022

On this month's episode of The Sociologist's Dojo Podcast Dr. Ellen Meiser of The Social Breakdown Podcast and I tackle the epic High Fantasy Trilogy: The Lord of the Rings . We talk about terrorism, tourism, and meme culture before getting into The Masculinity, sexuality, racism and power dynamics in Middle Earth. Listen up, or "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

 

Intro: 0:00-5:15

• Not being a Good student 
• Dr. Meiser's Previous Episodes 
• Peter Jackson's Version 

Basics: 5:15-21:42

• Production 
• Trivia 
• Plot
• Filling in the Gaps 

Historical Context: 21:55-54:05

• Dr. Meiser's Initial Thoughts 
• Book Talk (WWI) and its impact 
• The Odessy to find a Production Company
• LOTR Meme Culture 
• The Films as Soft Power 
• New Zealand GDP and Tourism 
• Escapism from the realities of Terrorism 
• Sociological World Building 

Social Analysis 54:20-96:00

• Masculinity in Middle-Earth 
• Power Dynamics of the Realm 
• Lack of Female Representation 
• Sexuality of the Fellowship 
• Environmentalism vs. Industry 
• Colonialism and Race 
• Major in Sociology 
• Trauma Mental Illness and Drug Addiction 
• The Importance of Friendship 

Outtro 96:13-103:26

• Plugs and banter 
• @TheSocBreakdown
• @ThesociologistS
• The Sociologist's Dojo Blog 
• Global Perspectives on the Liminility of the Supernatural 

 

Stick around for:

• This becoming an ageism podcast for a few seconds 
• A post script hint at Dr. Meiser's next episode 

All clips used were done under Faire Use

Links:

Bush and Lord of the Rings Article  

Frodo, Thomas and The Supreme Court 

Trump's Lawyer: " Gondor has No King"

RW Connell's Masculinities 

Naomi Kline's Disaster Capitalism