never been published and are carefully kept from public scrutiny violence, Bilbo is the prototype of a sensitive gay man. by his family. Reading the diaries would undoubtedly provide Tolkien once wrote: “I like, and even dare to wear in these a fuller picture of the author’s sexuality and his love for the two dull days, ornamental waistcoats.” It is intriguing to ponder men who were most important to him: Geoffrey Bache Smith, what the author would have made of Peter Jackson’s adaptation the doomed Oxford poet, and C.S. Lewis, with whom he shared of The Hobbit. One senses that the man who was traumatized by the completed draft of The Hobbit years before daring to send the Battle of the Somme and deplored technological advances it to a publisher. in weaponry would have been dismayed by Jackson’s penchant for gargantuan special effects and lengthy battle sequences. But PETER JACKSON’S FILMS OF THE HOBBIT Tolkien would have been delighted by the colorfully designed If anyone still wondered whether The Hobbit were really a chil- dressing gown worn by Freeman in the opening scenes of the dren’s story, New Zealand director Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, first film. Vibrantly multicolored, made of silk brocade, velvet, released in three spectacular installments (2012, 2013, and and damask, the costume perfectly symbolizes Bilbo’s sexual 2014) banished such thoughts forever. With sexy, stylish actors nonconformity. cast as his leading men, a brooding, modernist musical score, A major departure from Tolkien is Jackson’s addition of a and computer-generated imagery creating battles of a some- heterosexual romance, which was prompted in part by criticism times frightening nature, the films evoke both the wish fulfill- of Tolkien’s lack of female characters. The fabricated romance ment of dreams and the anxiety of nightmares. The performance between the dwarf Kili and the elf Tauriel tampers with the of Martin Freeman as Bilbo is worthy of special mention. Free- ethos of Tolkien’s all-male fellowship. To his credit, though, man is perfectly attuned to Bilbo’s gay identity from the start. Jackson did not alter the sexuality of Thorin Oakenshield, Without ever resorting to stereotypical mannerisms, he conveys whose potent sex appeal is seen through Bilbo’s eyes. The char- the hobbit’s secret through soulful facial expressions that show acter of Thorin drives the trilogy forward; Armitage’s Thorin is the depths of his aloneness and his growing attraction to the dy- smoldering with anger and radiates a fierce sexual energy, a per- namic Thorin, played with swashbuckling intensity by the fect counterpoint to Freeman’s portrait of Bilbo as a sensitive darkly handsome, long-haired Richard Armitage. Freeman’s gay man. Indeed, Thorin is the homoerotic fantasy of a muscu- Bilbo is more overtly comic than the original character, but he’s lar, swarthy hero who sweeps the gentle Bilbo off his feet and never self-mocking or trivial. The artistic side to his nature is literally out the door of his cozy home. conveyed through his love of beautiful things in his home. In The most memorable scene in the film trilogy is the dra- touch with his feminine side, decidedly uninterested in war or matic first meeting of Bilbo and Gollum, which retains virtu- ally all of Tolkien’s original dialogue, including the riddles. Gollum comes to life through a brilliant fusion of computer- generated imagery and the acting of Andy Serkis. The night- marish, Freudian qualities of the encounter are emphasized by the pools of water, as if Bilbo is surrounded by dark mirrors that reveal his unconscious thoughts. Howard Shore’s stirring music achieves operatic intensity in this scene, leading up to Bilbo’s epiphany. The climax occurs when Bilbo looks at Gol- lum and realizes that he’s looking into himself, and he decides to spare Gollum’s life. Peter Jackson has made a strong contribution to opening the eyes of the public to the subject of homosexuality in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. His Oscar-winning films The Fellowship of The Ring (2001) and The Return of The King (2003) feature ro- mantic gazes and tender moments shared between Elijah Wood as Frodo and Sean Astin as Sam. In The Hobbit, Jackson ap- peals to a 21st-century understanding of gay identity in Martin Freeman’s charismatic portrayal of Bilbo. The controversy gen- erated by the gay themes in Jackson’s film adaptations and the varying opinions expressed by films critics have obscured a fun- damental point: Jackson’s films bring forth the sexual subtext that is already strongly featured in the books. The Hobbit on film may spark deeper analysis of the sexu- ality in the original book in the years to come, and the character of Bilbo Baggins, so long a favorite with readers, may be headed for new life as a gay icon. Tolkien’s life story, too, may be re- visited by scholars astute enough to understand the author’s psy- chological connection to Bilbo and Frodo, who are in love with other males. Tolkien’s sympathetic depiction of the unconven- tional lives and loves of hobbits takes his readers on journeys that go ever onward, to places yet to be discovered. 28 The Gay & Lesbian Review / WORLDWIDE.