58. Is Star Wars a Fairy Story? – On Fairy Stories, Part 1

58. Is Star Wars a Fairy Story? – On Fairy Stories, Part 1

This week, Michael, Dan, and I discuss the first part of Tolkien’s seminal essay “On Fairy Stories”, where Tolkien defines what a fairy (aka fantasy) story is.

Why is this important? Well, the “fairy tale” in Tolkien’s era was relegated to simple children’s fiction, something adults grew out of along with their innocence and naiveté. But to Tolkien, these stories that take place in the land of Faërie contain more beauty and truths than any tale set in modern day environs.

In this essay Tolkien defines these stories by what they have, and what they are not, not precisely by what they ARE. And we even jump into whether Star Wars or Star Trek might match Tolkien’s definition!

Then, join us in our extended episode (https://theonering.com/members) where we:

  • Discuss what our favorite fairy story is (other than LOTR)
  • Try and figure out what the best fairy story of the last 2 decades is (or if there even IS one!)

🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!

BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!

🔗 Episode Links
Tales from the Perilous Realm (“On Fairy Stories”)
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat

🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
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🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The Silmarillion
The Fall of Númenor
The Fall of Gondolin
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!

🖼 Special Thanks to Anna Grumbine for the artwork!

Episoder(163)

122. The Real Misty Mountains : The Hobbit #11

122. The Real Misty Mountains : The Hobbit #11

The first part of Chapter 4, Over Hill and Under Hill, is unique for it’s direct correlation with Tolkien’s own past.  We discuss: Tolkien’s hiking experience and how it influenced this section of Th...

12 Nov 20240s

121. Tolkien Gave Up on Fixing The Hobbit : The Hobbit #10

121. Tolkien Gave Up on Fixing The Hobbit : The Hobbit #10

When Tolkien attempted to rewrite the Hobbit in 1960, he just gave up halfway through Chapter 3. In this episode we look at: Changes in time and distance Changes in Prose and style Why he gave up His...

5 Nov 202445min

120. Where the Children’s Story Ends and the Epic Story Begins : The Hobbit #9

120. Where the Children’s Story Ends and the Epic Story Begins : The Hobbit #9

In the second half of Chapter 3, A Short Rest, Tolkien seems to start a shift from a children’s story to more of an epic quest.  What prompted this change?  We have our thoughts, including: How Elron...

29 Okt 202442min

119. The Rings of Power Leaves us with Dwarf Politics and Randomly Shouting Elves

119. The Rings of Power Leaves us with Dwarf Politics and Randomly Shouting Elves

We did it!  And this time we wrangled Dan in to give us his BIG THOUGHT again! 🙂 In this final episode of Season 2, one dwarf delved too deep (and then we find out the real problem there–political in...

8 Okt 20242h 8min

118. Yes.  Elrond kissed Galadriel.

118. Yes. Elrond kissed Galadriel.

Yeah.  They kissed. We also get the worst battle in the history of Middle-earth, the greatest smith of Eregion acceds to Sauron willingly, the dwarves turn back and entire army to face one person, and...

1 Okt 20242h 15min

117. Clueless Elves, Big Beasts, and Bombadil Inverts Tolkien’s Words

117. Clueless Elves, Big Beasts, and Bombadil Inverts Tolkien’s Words

Michael is back as we examine how wrong The Rings of Power treats the elves (as simple imbeciles), how the Númenoreans are now deciding rulers based on what big animals do, and how Tom Bombadil invert...

24 Sep 20240s

116. Hollywood Doesn’t Understand the Númenoreans’ Faith

116. Hollywood Doesn’t Understand the Númenoreans’ Faith

It was disappointing but not surprising to see how badly Hollywood writers treat the Númenorean’s faith.  We take a deep look at episode 5 of season 2 of The Rings of Power (Michael is still moving ac...

17 Sep 20240s

115. Tom Bombadil has Become Obi-Wan in The Rings of Power

115. Tom Bombadil has Become Obi-Wan in The Rings of Power

Not sure how this Tom Bombadil came into existence–but he’s definitely incredibly different from Tolkien’s Bombadil.  He’s involved.  He cares about everything.  He lies to Gandalf.  He explains every...

10 Sep 20240s

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