I appreciate highlighting how damaging gatekeeping is, how antisocial an impulse it is. My entry point to LotR was the film in 2001. Since that, I’ve devoured all of Tolkien’s writing, I read the novel once a year for a decade and the rest of the Tolkien canon in quick succession, so I understand where arguments either way are coming from.
I will say that being a parent and sharing your favorite things with your kids changes this a bit. Case in point: my nine year-old is a massive Harry Potter fan, and I am happy she loves the storytelling, characters, and language. But before she can watch a film adaptation, we read the story with her because we want her to form her own mental pictures and feelings about the narratives and characters. And I say this within a community of other parents who skew either way: NEVER any screens every for any reason or who cares just let them watch stuff and explore and that’s how they’ll learn what’s okay and what’s not okay. That veers a bit away from fandom gatekeeping, but in all things, we try to take the third way.
We dabbled with reading The Hobbit a couple years ago, but my kids were too young for that as a bedtime story (though Riddles in the Dark made a huge impression, and now those riddles get rattled off at the dinner table!). Still, when they’re ready, we’ll dive in. I’m an English teacher, and language, story, and myth are really close to my heart. But there are so many ways to enjoy being a fan and living into story.
I appreciate highlighting how damaging gatekeeping is, how antisocial an impulse it is. My entry point to LotR was the film in 2001. Since that, I’ve devoured all of Tolkien’s writing, I read the novel once a year for a decade and the rest of the Tolkien canon in quick succession, so I understand where arguments either way are coming from.
I will say that being a parent and sharing your favorite things with your kids changes this a bit. Case in point: my nine year-old is a massive Harry Potter fan, and I am happy she loves the storytelling, characters, and language. But before she can watch a film adaptation, we read the story with her because we want her to form her own mental pictures and feelings about the narratives and characters. And I say this within a community of other parents who skew either way: NEVER any screens every for any reason or who cares just let them watch stuff and explore and that’s how they’ll learn what’s okay and what’s not okay. That veers a bit away from fandom gatekeeping, but in all things, we try to take the third way.
We dabbled with reading The Hobbit a couple years ago, but my kids were too young for that as a bedtime story (though Riddles in the Dark made a huge impression, and now those riddles get rattled off at the dinner table!). Still, when they’re ready, we’ll dive in. I’m an English teacher, and language, story, and myth are really close to my heart. But there are so many ways to enjoy being a fan and living into story.