Siddharth's world of fantasy

Friday, October 12, 2012

Mr Bean - the Phenomena

Guest Column: Gautam M

Bean Episodes and Bean Movies

Mr Bean is like a fresh breeze from the river and a call to the nature - a desire for a simple life surrounded by simple people like Bean. On the hindsight, Bean is an ailment each one of us carries in our adult full-grown body – a trait of childish idiosyncrasies, in varying degrees. The character that was grown in British downtown, torpedoes British gentlemanliness and poke fun on the erstwhile world colonial ruler's etiquette and customs.

A scene from Bean's Holiday

Bean devises his own world of daily routines – carrying many a utility tools inside his plain coat and is never shy to experiment and pick up a few shillings by dancing on the downtown street or using his drilling machine making a hole big enough in the room next to his in a Hotel, to mischievously access a bathroom, as if a silent dignified (?) rebellion for the hotel offering him a room without an attached bathroom-cum-toilet. Often the modern gadgets play truant to the simple living style of Bean when he brings his first TV at home that relays images when only he is not in front of the TV or again, in the movie Bean, when he kicks and pushes a whole Turkey into the Microwave Cooker that bursts or in another Christmas episode( it’s my favourite too), when Bean loses his wrist watch inside the Turkey’s tummy and then ends up locking his head inside the same to retrieve the watch. The acting is so natural one forgets that it’s an acting but watching someone’s real life like a peep show.

Christmas : A Turkey struck on head

Whatever may be the background that gave the world a character bubbling with life – Bean, the Englishman of contrast - is so popular and his typicality in taking quicker turns to poke at the society where he lives and even poking at himself. That’s a humble man who carries on with his life the way he leads is what raises our brows with Ohhs! The style of this performer was inspired by Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati.

BACKGROUND : ORIGIN OF THE CHARACTER

The character was first tried and tested by the actor in 1979 in a Montreal Laughter Show, Canada where he wanted to present the English act before the French audience and to get a feel how the play would be received by non-English speaking audience. The response was good. And Mr Atkinson went on to sculpt Mr Bean – the character is Mr Atkinson’s baby though the scripts that we equally adore are mostly written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis, Ben Elton(one episode). These names of script writers are worth a note of thanks from the Bean fans as well. What came out as a creative product that will become an all-time asset of a civilization - compassion, kindness, equality and struggle for survival as a hotly misused terminology? Bean, is the balm in this highly polarized and highly divisive world where equity, justice, money power and muscle power – all go hand in hand while Bean, the hapless,brings fresh air and poke funs at our own miseries.

Mr Bean in bed with only companion of life : a doll

MR BEAN CHARACTER TRAITS AND RECOLLECTION

Bean plays like a buffoon or a super-intelligence guy with his subtle tricks to let hell break loose in an fair or visiting a exhibition that has a shop offering a prize bet for throwing soaked sponge to hit the target: an old man’s protruded head, and the failed frustrated thrower loses his temper and begin picking up and throwing hard objects on display, targeting the anxious face just to win the bet – the sore point of betting competitions that make man insane; or yet in another movie, changing the speed level to high during a thrill ride in a fair as Bean needs much higher and faster levels of adventure or else he dozes off while co-passengers cheer and celebrate. An alien streak in Bean and the super intelligence which he keeps under wrap and leads an ordinary life.

In the episode The curse of Mr. Bean, Bean displays his liking to be a self-doer than a buyer of services and makes a sandwich sitting on a roadside bench where another gentleman was eating his ready-made sandwich. And Bean as usual, always likes to compete and display his queer innovative instinct in using a scissor to cut bread, socks for grinding vegetables inside and the shoes for smashing the leaves and making way into two bread slices to make his own sandwich. Perhaps, a silent protest against the mechanization of life with all ready-meals and time saving mechanized devises. Bean is just a next-door law abiding citizen who often becomes a law-forgetting citizen like a child. And, he never suffers from guilt, for doing all kind of silly mischief in the world and try to hoodwink the law at times. No wonder, Bean has majestically entered the dining rooms of the families where people can always try and discover some inner traits that we suppress in the common interest of the society, but often suffocate with too much rules chaining people and their lives and they are not yet free in a “free” society.

Mr Bean and a gentleman in a park:eating sandwich

Bean making a strange sandwich!

ACTING DISABILITY

Very few Bean fans knows about the speech deformities of Mr. Atkinson and the resulting inability to speak fluently. The speech weakness, this great man made his strength and an acting style evolved with total reliance on physical comedy with very few words spoken by Bean– even if he speaks he speaks very slowly.

“What’s your name, sir?”

A pause and then “BBBean …”( The B pronounced louder always) and a smile.

CAMERA ACTION

We raise a toast here for this great creator of character and the performer - Sir Rowan Atkinson, and the team of of co-writers for gifting a series that will remain etched as a pride possession in many home archives – the champion of simplicity and raw goodness…dropped like a flash of light on earth …CAMERA:ACTION: ….Mr Bean stands up and walks….

Bean, Christmas shopping and returning home driving car from roof!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The Hobbit of Tolkein

Reviewer: Siddharth

[ I am a teenager school going artist; I love to draws cartoons, writes poems on occasions and an avid reader of Sunil Gangopadhaya's Kakababu series, Satyajit Ray's Feluda series, Tolkein's LOTR-Hobbit Series and many more. But above all, I am a Tolkein fan. Join me to celebrate the launch of Hobbit with my book review of the same name.]

In the years gone by, till the 1920s, the world of English literature knew very few stories intended for young teenagers. There were many fairy tales for young kids, and a lot more for the older generations, but books for this reader group were far and few.

And it is at this phase of scarcity of novels, that J.R.R. Tolkien, one of the pioneers of modern fantasy novels, stepped forth.

Though The Hobbit was not his first book ( the earlier being Silmarillion, which was published much later), it was the creation which identified Tolkien as one of the distinguished writers of his time.

HISTORY

In early 1930s, Tolkien was pursuing a career in Oxford with a fellowship at Pembroke College. At that time , two of his poems had been published in small collections Goblin Feet and The Cat and the Fiddle: A Nursery Rhyme Undone and its Scandalous Secret Unlocked. By this time he had started his work on a new language, Elvish.

According to Tolkien, in early 1930s one day, when he was marking school certificate papers, he found a blank page. It suddenly came to his mind, what was to become The Hobbit’s first lines ‘ In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.’ He had completed the story by ’32 and lent the manuscript to friends and members of his writer’s group, including C.S. Lewis.

Cover of The Hobbit first edition ( designed by Tolkien himself)

One of these friends, Elaine Griffiths lent the book to Susan Dagnall, a staff of the publishing house, George Allen and Unwin. She was impressed by it and gave the book to Stanley Unwin. Stanley Unwin gave the book to his 10 year old son for reviewing. His son liked it very much and thus the book finally hit the markets on 21st September 1937.

OVERVIEW

The Hobbit is often considered as an introduction to Tolkien’s fictional ‘middle-earth’ and a prelude to Tolkien’s more famous work the Lord of the Rings.

In the fantasy world of Middle-earth, Tolkien has created many parallelisms with the 'real' world. Familiar human traits, both good and evil, thrives in the actions of the hobbits, elves, dwarves, goblins, wizards, dragons, and other more unusual inhabitants of this world. Tolkien himself goes on stating that such stories are important to understand and to get a clear vision of the real times we live in. While the adventure is an entertaining, well-constructed narrative, it is also an appreciation of the simplicity of life—good and regular meals, comfortable homes, songs and traditions, and the joys of companionship. In The Hobbit an unlikely hero learns that courage, honesty, and ingenuity counts far more than physical strength.

A map of middle-earth, drawn by Tolkien for The Hobbit

Much of the evil that the forces of good must overcome in Middle-earth are fantastic beings: an all powerful dragon, dumb trolls, cruel goblins, and horrific giant spiders. The kind of evil that they represent, especially greed and vengeance, is quite familiar to all readers. It also shows how malicious evil can be, by luring the leader of the dwarves Thorin to fall in greed and in the process almost destroy his companions. It is Bilbo's carelessness for treasure and his desire to “ have a puff of smoke inside his home”, combined with his sense of duty , that unites the protagonists against a common enemy.

SETTING

The story begins and ends in The Shire, in the Village of Hobbiton, a fictional place which resembles a medieval village unspoiled by modern inventions. In one major way Hobbiton differs from a real world village, even one in the Middle Ages: it is inhabited by hobbits, creatures shorter than even dwarves who prefer to live in hobbit-holes rather than in houses above ground. Geographically, Middle-earth resembles modern earth, with its terrain, seasons, and natural beauty. It is the inhabitants of Middle-earth who add the touch of fantasy.

THE CHARACTERS

Bilbo Baggins:

He is the main protagonist and the title character. It is mainly due to his simplicity that he defeats greed which ensnares the companions in his quest. Also Tolkien found his ideal hero in Bilbo. Bilbo is a hobbit and thus much shorter than humans, elves, goblins and dragons. But Bilbo manages to complete his quest not by his physical strength, but by his courage and cleverness. He is easily identifiable with the common man, as he loves food, drinks and security and his home.

2. Gandalf:

Gandalf is one of the most mysterious characters of The Hobbit. At the start of the story, he literally appears out of thin air, and frequently vanishes during the quest only to return at times of peril. A very powerful wizard, he is the chief instigator of the quest and almost forces Bilbo to join the company.

Gandalf is both inspiring and reckless at times. And obviously, he is an unshakable wall against evil, and yet he seems to have an almost godlike knowledge of every place in the world.
Gandalf can be viewed as a stereotypic figure of a fantasy wizard, long beard, gleamy eyes, pointed hat on the head and staff in the hand. However what separates Gandalf from the rest of the characters is his all knowing wisdom along with a good sense of humour.

3. The Dwarves

Thorin Oakenshield: He is the royalty, the leader of the quest, the chief of the dwarves.
His character is simply defined by two words: arrogant and greedy. He first dejects Bilbo as an unwanted burden. However as the story unfolds, His attitude towards Bilbo changes and they develop a good friendship.
Fili and Kili: They are the youngest dwarves in the company and like jests.
Oin and Gloin: Both are elder dwarves. Gloin is the father of Gimli, one of the protagonists in The lord of the Rings.
Dwalin and Balin: Balin is the cousin of Gimli and is the eldest of all the dwarves in the company.
Ori, Dori and Nori: They are siblings are relatively minor characters in the book.
Bifur Bofur and Bombur: Bifur and Bofur too are minor characters. However, Bombur has a significant role. He is excessively fat and lazy and creates several hardships for his companions.

4. Smaug: The main villain. He is a dragon several thousands of years old. He guards what was once a house of treasure owned by Thorin’s ancestors. Tolkien gave him humane characteristics. Unlike in most stories, Smaug can speak, and is very shrewd as well as clever. It is this treasure, that the dwarves set to retrieve.

5. Gollum:

An immortal character created by Tolkien. Though in this book he is mainly depicted as a villain, however in Lord of the Rings, he is shown with much more sympathy. In this book, Gollum’s origins are not mentioned. He is present in only one chapter of the book, which is the turning point of the whole story. Bilbo encounters him in an underground cave and gets into a battle of words with him. It is here, that Bilbo retrieves The One Ring, the central theme of The Lord of the Rings..

Bard of Esgaroth: He is another mysterious character. He is one of the heroes as he slays the dragon Smaug. Later, he becomes the King of Dale and helps the dwarves in the battle of five armies.

Minor Characters:

There are several minor heroes and villains including the Chief Orc, The King of Wood-elves, Beorn ( a shape-shifter),trolls, wargs and eagles which play influential roles in the story.

THE PLOT:

I won’t give up the whole plot as it may spoil the read for those who haven’t read The Hobbit yet. The Plot begins like this:

Bilbo Baggins is a traditional hobbit, who likes the uneventful ways of his life and hates adventures. One day, a mysterious wizard, Gandalf arrives at his door and tells him of an opportunity to go on an adventure. At first Bilbo dismisses the idea. The next day, due to Gandalf’s handiwork a band of dwarves along with Bilbo arrive at Bilbo’s home for dinner.

Bilbo is forced to please the guests. After dinner, the dwarves begin a conversation about a treasure and the inclusion of Bilbo in the quest as a burglar. Bilbo denies the offer, but when the dwarves speak of his cowardice, Bilbo joins the party. The leader of the dwarves is Thorin oakenshield, a royal dwarf. According to him, several years ago a dragon named Smaug had attacked the kingdom of his forefathers and hence captured it. Now, Smaug guards the same treasure. The thirteen dwarves are on a quest to retrieve that treasure.

The next day the company set off for the quest with Bilbo regretting his decision. What follows is a magical adventure through several different regions with a wide variety of characters and situations which include the heavenly abode of Rivendell, the Misty mountains, Mirkwood forests, The city of Dale and Iron hills.

SOCIAL SENSITIVITY

Although there is violence in several sections of The Hobbit, it does not become central to the plot. Both the trolls and the giant spiders talk of eating the dwarves, but no reader expects them to succeed. The emphasis is on the comic aspects of the two rescue scenes. Tolkien's sense of poetic justice turns the quarrelsome trolls to stone and has the stinging spiders wounded by Bilbo's newly named sword, Sting. In the first attack by the goblins the magic of Gandalf's wand and sword take priority over the killing of goblins. In relating the final fight with the goblins, the great Battle of Five Armies, the narrator calls it 'a terrible battle,' the 'most dreadful of Bilbo's experiences,' but he does not show much of the fighting as Bilbo himself is knocked unconscious by a falling stone.

In most fantasy tales, the forces of good and evil are expected to enter into physical as well as psychological conflict. Some amount of violence is, therefore, essential to the plot, but the author does not overdevelop this element. The three heroes of the book—Bilbo, Gandalf, and Bard—all stand out in their efforts to prevent internal fighting among the groups that represent the 'good': dwarves, elves, and men. At the end the alliance of the forces of good in mutual support allows them to defeat the forces of evil.

AWARDS AND ADAPTATIONS:

On first publication in October 1937, The Hobbit was met with almost unanimously favourable reviews from publications both in the UK and the US, including The Times, Catholic World and The New York Post. C. S. Lewis, friend of Tolkien (and later author of The Chronicles of Narnia between 1949–1964), writing in The Times reports:
The truth is that in this book a number of good things, never before united, have come together: a fund of humour, an understanding of children, and a happy fusion of the scholar's with the poet's grasp of mythology... The professor has the air of inventing nothing. He has studied trolls and dragons at first hand and describes them with that fidelity that is worth oceans of glib "originality."
Lewis compares the book to Alice in Wonderland in that both children and adults may find different things to enjoy in it, and places it alongside Flatland, Phantastes, and The Wind in the Willows. W. H. Auden, in his review of the sequel The Fellowship of the Ring calls The Hobbit "one of the best children's stories of this century".
The Hobbit was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction of the year (1938). More recently, the book has been recognized as "Most Important 20th-Century Novel (for Older Readers)" in the Children's Books of the Century poll in Books for Keeps.

The first motion picture adaptation of The Hobbit, a 12-minute film of cartoon stills, was commissioned from Gene Deitch by William L. Snyder.
The BBC Radio 4 series The Hobbit radio drama was an adaptation by Michael Kilgarriff, broadcast in eight parts (four hours in total) from September to November 1968.
The Hobbit, an animated version of the story produced by Rankin/Bass, debuted as a television movie in the United States in 1977. In 1978, Romeo Muller won a Peabody Award for his teleplay for The Hobbit. The film was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, but lost to Star Wars.

Presently, Peter Jackson, the director of the hugely successful Lord of the Rings series is directing a three part Hobbit movie. The First movie, The Hobbit: An unexpected journey is set to release on 14th December, 2012. All Hobbit fans are eagerly waiting the release with fingers crossed.

The LOTR vs HP

Reviewer: Siddharth Maitra

When J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was published, it immediately achieved the highest standard of fantasy in the mid-1950s. Every fantasy novel that has been published since owes something to it; in some the influence is quite clear, and in some a little less. But since 1998 ,J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books came as a new challenger for the LOTR. Figures say it all. Over 400 million copies sold and translated into 67 languages, they are clearly the most sold fantasy novels ever written. Vastly different stories they may be, but the competition is yet valid.

Though everyone has different tastes and perspectives, the following is an unbiased, detailed comparison.

The comparison is divided into six sections:
1. Story
2. World
3. Characters
4. Language
5. Originality
6. Special

In each category the two series have been given marks out of 10.

1.STORY

The LOTR is widely considered as an epic while the Harry Potter books are an epitome for children-literature. The story of both the series is quite similar: an orphan boy/hobbit who has been entrusted with the task to destroy the Dark Lord of their time ( Voldemort in HP and Sauron in LOTR). However, there are innumerable unexpected twists and turns in both of them.

Tolkien had a lot of experience as a war veteran in World War I as a result of which he crated the middle-earth and wrote the battle sequences so well. However, LOTR is based more on descriptive passages than conversation which may make the series look a little slackened at the middle. The LOTR series begins with an usual story. Four hobbits must take the One Ring to Rivendell and escape the Ringwraiths at any costs. However, as the novel broadens, the plot thickens into an impossible quest: to destroy the One Ring by entering the very country of Sauron-Mordor. The number of characters, as well, increase from four to more than twenty! After various adventures, escapades and some gruesome battles the reader meets the most unexpected twist at the very end!

The HP series starts off as the muggle orphan Harry enters the Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Here he learns how his family was killed by the Dark Lord Voldemort. The subsequent books saw the introduction of various enchanting spells, creatures and of course magic. However the tone of the story became darker from the fourth book and onwards. However, J.K. Rowling’s flaws in the plot led to a lot of loose ends in the 5th and 6th books where she tried to broaden the plot, which however she explained in the last - 7th book. Each book can be considered as separate as each book consists of a similar pattern and different story: Some new creatures and some new spells and at the end a confrontation with Voldemort or his servants in any form. In overall, both the stories, though have some noticable flaws in the plot, nevertheless are quite excellent. My rating on story line comparison would be:-
Harry Potter : 9/10
The Lord of the Rings: 9/10

2. WORLD

The Harry Potter stories are so lively (and that’s why popular) largely because they take place in a world very like our own. However, LOTR takes place in Middle-earth, is similar to the world we KNEW, but still is hugely different. In fact, it is Middle-earth that makes LOTR so enjoyable: the races, the valleys, the rivers the mountains, the kings and queens and elves and dwarves and especially the race we know as Hobbits. Also, Tolkien drew a very detailed map of Middle-earth. So if you lost your path in the novel you can check up the map! In short, it is the richness and the vastness of the world that is the biggest reason for the story’s success; while the Harry Potter stories have a very easy to understand world, and one that therefore is very much easier to pretend you are a part of. But as whatsoever be Mr. Potter’s world, it pales against the richness of Middle-earth. My pick would definietely be LOTR – the rating is:-
Harry Potter: 7/10
The Lord of the Rings: 10/10

3.CHARACTERS

The protagonist::
Frodo Baggins, the main protagonist of LOTR is a 51 year old hobbit when he leaves to destroy the Ring. In no way imaginable is he like an ideal hero: he is shorter than a dwarf (as most hobbits are), much weaker physically than the other protagonists like Gandalf, Samwies, Merry, Pippin etc. His foremost quality is his mental strength, his determination and his purity and resistance to the power of the One Ring. Though Tolkien has presented the inner conflict of Frodo very brilliantly, the character of Frodo remains two-dimensional.

Harry Potter is an 11 year old boy when the first HP book sets off. The HP series is more about the coming of age of Harry and his efforts to destroy Voldemmort. His main qualities are bravery, determination and his love for his friends - Rowlings’ foremost developed character. Harry’s inner conflicts, anxieties, emotions all are brilliantly showcased and he appears more as a three-dimensional figure to the reader. My thums up for Harry Potter:-

Frodo Baggins: 6/10
Harry Potter : 8.5/10

Sidekick:

Samwise Gamgee is Frodo’s entrusted sidekick in LOTR. He has all the qualities of a hero: he is dead loyal, very brave, strong, skilled in combat (he defeated a giant spider once). But these are not the qualities that make Sam as an interesting figure. He is one of the characters who appears quite ‘human’ to the reader. According to Tolkien, Sam’s character was based on country farmers who are simpletons but are brave too when they need to be. In the fierce enemy field far away from village, Sam longs for his house in The Shire, the garden he tends to, the woods he loves, the country fruits even when death is looking into his eyes. Thus, Samwise Gamgee is one of the crafty creations of the highest order in LOTR.

Ronald Weasely or Ron,is Harry’s best friend. He is depicted as a goofy, cowering and sometimes jealous wizard grown in one of the most ancient but poor families of the wizard world. Though Ron’s character is moulded effectively but it does not makes any long-lasting impression on the reader.
Samwise Gamgee: 8/10
Ronald Weasely: 6.5/10

The Wizard:
Gandalf and Dumbledore!

It is the clash of the titans. Both are my favourite characters in the respective series.
Gandalf is a member of the Istari and is perhaps 2000 years old when LOTR starts. However even after he dies while fighting with a Balrog, a giant monster, he gets resurrected, which is why he becomes less humane.

Dumbledore however, only about 250 years old is a little more complex character than Gandalf. He is mysterious, powerful and never reappears after his death. Thus Dumbledore has a slight edge over Gandalf, on parameter of believability.

Gandalf: 8/10
Dumbledore: 8.5/10

Overall , above scores make HP having an edge over LOTR.

Harry Potter: 23.5/30
The Lord of the Rings: 22/30

3. LANGUAGE:

In this section, Tolkien obviously wins. He was a master philologist (study of languages) and a mature and renowned author. The descriptive passages of LOTR make the reader visualise the surroundings easily and thus makes us comfortable with it. In addition he composed numerous wonderful poems and songs in English as well as in other tongues throughout the novel. In addition to this, Tolkien has created a whole new language and a history for middle-earth! This achievement cannot be surpassed by many celebrated authors of human history.

Rowling’s language is ordinary which is why, the HP series is not considered as a classic literature. One of the main criticism HP faced was it’s easy language.

Harry Potter: 5.5/10
The Lord of the Rings: 8/10

5 ORIGINALITY:

Originality is one such factor in which LOTR clearly has an upper hand. It is claimed that LOTR, which was published back in the 1950s, has influenced each and every fantasy published since in one way or another. Tolkien derived some of the ideas he used in LOTR and the prequel The Hobbit from old Finnish legends like the Kalevala.

HP on the other hand has been influenced a lot by LOTR, whether Rowlings admits it or not. No doubt, the concept of a wizard world and a school of wizardry is unique but after these, HP’s uniqueness fades. But HP is not only influenced by LOTR, but after viewing the following paras, you’ll agree that a lot is copied from LOTR itself.

1. Harry Potter is an orphan who is raised by his uncle Vernon. Frodo Baggins is an orphan raised by his uncle Bilbo.

2.Description of Sauron and Voldemort are similar: they are the Dark Lords of their time, who were defeated once but still live on as a shapeless spirit.

3.Cloaked beings whose presence instills fear:
Nazguls in LOTR
Death Eaters and Dementors in HP

4.Harry is attacked by giant spiders in The chamber of secrets.
Frodo and Sam encounter a giant spider in The Two Towers (LOTR book II)
The idea may have been taken from Tolkien’s other work The Hobbit, where Frodo’s uncle Bilbo has to fight off hundreds of giant spiders.

5.Both Frodo and Harry have a gangrel creature at their service-
Dobby in service of Harry and Gollum in the service of Frodo.

6.In both, there are objects which have to be destroyed in order to destroy The Dark Lord- horcruxes in HP and the One Ring in LOTR.

7. Description of Gandalf and Dumbledore are very similar.
Both are wise, very aged, have long white beard, are one of the most powerful wizards of their time, one of the key protagonists.

8. Both HP and LOTR contain an antagonist with the prefix ‘Worm’:
Wormtongue in LOTR and Wormtail in HP.

9. Both stories involve a basin in which one can see the past.

Thus on the basis of the comparison, we see that LOTR influences other novels while HP itself is influenced.

The Lord of the Rings: 9/10
Harry Potter: 6.5/10

SERIES/ STORY/ WORLD/ CHARACTERS/LANGUAGE/ORIGINALITY/OVERALL

LOTR 09/10/ 22/08/09/ 58/70

HP 09/07/ 23.5/5.5/6.5/ 51.5/70

CONCLUSION:

Harry Potter is a cleverly written, well-developed series, but The Lord of the Rings, due to it’s uniqueness and ingeniousness of Tolkien, is an epic which will withstand the test of time.