Vice President Tolkien?

Door Jam: July 20, 2024

The Door Jam is a place to squeeze in relevant articles written about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, their work, adaptations of their fantasy worlds, and other potentially interesting news, information, and articles. I’m not necessarily endorsing (or criticizing) any of these, merely sharing them with you.

Normally, I start with a Lewis-focused article, but Tolkien unexpectedly entered the U.S. political conversation this week. We’ll talk about that first. Paid subscribers will see articles drawn from Lewis on pride, female priests, and spiritual journeys. Other Tolkien pieces cover the scenic European village that inspired Middle-earth locations, more on Rings of Power season two, and the American premiere of a Middle-earth musical. Plus, some nerd news on the MCU, Doctor Who, 24, and more.

Top story

”You shall not pass … that bill!” — Sen. J.D. Vance (R, Middle-earth)

Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance is a Tolkien (and Lewis) fan. Apparently, that’s newsworthy.

MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow had a weird monologue about Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican candidate for Vice President. Vance is a fan of The Lord of the Rings and somehow that makes him suspect. “Lord of the Rings is sort of a favorite cosmos for naming things and cultural references for a lot of far-right and alt-right figures both in Europe and the United States,” she said.

Someone who would be really shocked to learn that Tolkien is connected to fascism or the alt-right would be Tolkien himself since he fought in World War I and refused to allow Germany to publish his books after they asked him to prove his ancestry.

What Lewis and Tolkien Teach Us About Fighting Evil

Politico did a better job handling Vance’s Middle-earth fandom in Adam Wren’s piece: “How Lord of the Rings Shaped JD Vance’s Politics.” It’s worth clicking on that link just to see the illustration.

Vance was asked to name his favorite author during a podcast interview in 2021.

“I would have to say, Tolkien,” Vance said. “I’m a big Lord of the Rings guy, and I think, not realizing it at the time, but a lot of my conservative worldview was influenced by Tolkien growing up.” He added of Tolkien’s colleague: “Big fan of C.S. Lewis — really sort of like that era of English writers. I think they were really interesting. They were grappling, in part because of World War II, with just very big problems.”

Make whatever arguments you want against the Trump/Vance ticket or Biden/Harris (or whoever ends up on the Democratic ticket), but let’s not blame Tolkien and Lewis.