This review is going to be a little different. I finished up my reading of LOTR: The Return of the King and as I finished, I saw a TikTok (actually Instagram Reel) of someone using LOTR as a response to the idea that “Good art only comes from liberalism.” So in this essay, I’m going to discuss:
Does the values of conservatism allow for the expression of art? Conservatism ultimately seeks to continue living the world as we have always done, “conserve” the values which put us where we are today. Modern conservatism is based on the morality of christianity, the continuation and sanctity of the family unit, and a somewhat limited approach to freedom of expression. On the contrast, liberalism seeks to define the individual as the crowning achievement of man kind. We must embrace all our differences and that’s what allows society to be whole again.
There are many varieties and conflicting arguments to be made about these -ism’s in general: the implicit authoritarian nature of conservatives and the impeachment of freedoms if individuals can just roam around unchecked. This essay is simply about the idea that art has to be from a liberal standpoint. The underlying feature of that argument is that the truest of art requires the power of a counter-culture to stand the test of time.
Initially, with any understanding and knowledge of history, you completely disregard that statement. The beautiful works of renaissance art and sculpture were not from people who supremely disagreed with the staus-quo of middle millennia Italy. You could argue that they fought against the tyranny of christianity, but they were all christian too! The time was simply ripe for people to rediscover Greek and Latin classics and they were more interested in the human form than God. Then what about the painters just before Michelangelo and Leonardo! They were obsessed with God, the ten commandments, the saints. All this amazing art is aligning with the values and virtues of modern day conservatism.
Famous Greek statues were completed by artists who were commissioned by rich aristocrats, the pyramids and sphinx were built (first) by land owning people of the republic during the offseason (then, slaves). To simply say conservatism doesn’t have the power of great art is a thought which doesn’t span into antiquity.
Even, I might add, to the recent future: Socialism and communism are hailed today as the pinnacle of individuality taking back the reigns from the viscous “man” (landowner). Do we sit here today and hail the work of the great soviet artists? Of course, there are perhaps a couple that I don’t know about, but again, that furthers my point. I know Raphael, I know Michaelangelo, I know Picaso (if the conservatives want a prostitute-loving, womanising, abusive pedophile on their side).
The other side is: What about the modern artists that we know are iconoclastic? Banksy’s, artworks are the pinnacle of anti-war, anti-establishment artworks you would expect to see from an individualist. The stark contrast’s calling back to the crime of humble street art. Van Gough was a renown recluse, who’s “blue era” began when his “best friend” left the house they were staying in together.
The idea that your individuality, which is renounced by society, as a driving framework for great art is true. It is not a fact though, only a mere indicator.
So where does that leave LOTR in the void-space of political rhetoric? You can say is conservative. You can say the themes of friendship and brotherhood are traditional values dating back to the French Revolution. You can say that the pure depiction of evil is a conservative trait, that individuality has a more complex relation with evil. You can even say that the Southrons being the only people of colour has horrendous racial connotations considering they just simply side with Sauron because of greed. But what about the Ents? What about the fierce determination of J.R.R Tolkien to remind you that Earth is a place worth living? The dominion of cogs, wheels, polluted air, are all depicted in as evils. This book was written during the expanse of the industrial revolution, is this environmental viewpoint not a counter-culture to the norms of society at the time? Doesn’t it make LOTR a work of individuality? Isn’t Frodo’s struggle a metaphor about the struggle of self? The metaphor of the Hobbits being the best ring-bearers is right there on the page.
It’s wrong to say LOTR is a work of conservative fiction. It is wrong to say liberal art is the only art. Once again the internet is simply devoid of nuance and understanding. A lot of my future essay’s are going to try and hammer on this point: We need to approach every thing with a more nuanced mindset. We cannot let our emotions boil. We need to reflect on the past, not just the last 50 years, but the entirety of human history and consider where our society sits in the grand scheme of everything. It is disingenuous and inappropriate to simply categorise everything from the lens of political leaning.