fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3204 ]

[ SECRET POST #3204 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3204 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

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Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
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04. http://i59.tinypic.com/243ffoi.png

In fairness I don't think most people read him in precisely the way you do. I think people are more likely to see him as arrogant, and as more concerned with being seen as The Hero than with actually protecting people. So, you know, it's a valid difference of interpretation.

I've literally never heard people interpret him that way? The arrogance, yes. That is part of his character, I think, and a common interpretation. But even the people I see hating him hate on him for giving in to the ring I've never seen claim he was more about appearances than actually protecting his people.

I mean I've never really read any Boromir meta so *shrug*

But I've always felt - I don't know what the relevant proportions are, but there was an element of that going on. It also makes sense to me in terms of the family relationships as well.

NA

I could see where this line of thought comes from though. Faramir says that Boromir wanted his dad to be king. That he was annoyed that his dad basically ruled but Denethor was still only a Steward. So, there's an element in his character that wanted personal glory for his family (and for himself? I'd have to reread the passage). I mean, he was probably pretty young when this came up and it doesn't inform his actions in the book but it is there.

But wanting glory and wanting to protect your people are not mutually exclusive things. And I can't think of a single passage that suggests that he didn't genuinely care about his people or want to do his duty and protect them.

Other anon and I'm not saying he was JUST interested in glory - just that I think there were multiple elements involved

Ah, okay, that I can agree with. I just don't think he was "more concerned" with glory than with his people.

No one has said that.

Eh, some of the things I said could def have been read that way, even if it's not where I wanted to go. It was a reasonable response.

(no subject)

philstar22 - 2015-10-12 23:25 (UTC) - Expand

I don't think this is as true as it once was. I think Boromir is becoming fairly popular. I think it also depends on where you go in fandom.

As an added tidbit, originally Tolkien intended Boromir to survive and he and Aragorn make it to the White City where Boromir does go batshit crazy. Tolkien alludes to this rejected storyline in LOTR.

The Sean Bean fans are some of the most resilient in fandom, so that's certainly a factor. (Think cockroaches; creatures that survive atomic winter, and you're getting close.)

I completely agree with you, OP. Boromir is by far my favorite LOTR character. I'm not sure what I would have done in his place, but I do understand his character and find him the most interesting.

Ditto. Love him.

I wouldn't say he's my favorite, but I still love the hell out of Boromir; he's an interesting, flawed guy. Not a bad guy, just a flawed one. His mistakes make him relatable. I don't know what I would have done in his place either, but wanting to use The Ring in his situation does not strike me as evil, it strikes me as ambitious desperation. Granted...it isn't exactly the best course of action, but there's not many who can keep their sense when confronted with the Ring of Power.

Plus, Sean Bean was an excellent Boromir, and that epic death scene he got endeared him to me even more.

Edited 2015-10-12 23:47 (UTC)

Plus, Sean Bean was an excellent Boromir, and that epic death scene he got endeared him to me even more.

That was when I knew the LotR films would be good—when I saw that Sean Bean had been cast as Boromir. I wasn't certain about Elijah Wood and couldn't even imagine Sean Astin as Samwise, but I knew Sean Bean would be perfect for Boromir and he didn't disappoint.

I don't think I was all that familiar with Sean Bean at the time, but what I can say about the LOTR films is that the casting was excellent. I really do feel like they cast perfectly and there weren't any missteps.

The only slightly questionable thing for me was Elijah Wood in terms of age, but he did such an amazing job that in the end I don't care that much.

My appreciation of Boromir was slow in coming. I read the book before I saw the movie, and I always thought his attack on Frodo came out of left field. He didn't do anything interesting before then and I must've taken a break before reading TT (or was just too anxious to get Merry and Pippin back) to really let his redemption sink in. So, my main memory of him was only his betrayal. I didn't have that sweeping, emotional death scene in my psyche yet.

Now, I realize there is much more to him and he has a very important thematic arc, but if other readers were like me, it's easy to see how they can reach evil!Boromir conclusion. And, there's always that kind of writer that needs to demonize another character in order to produce drama. Thranduil, Boromir, and Denethor are ripe candidates for those kinds of writers.

I think a lot of people first encountered LotR when they were young so it's easy to see Boromir as bad because he has flaws but as an adult he's easier to appreciate as a complex character.

I'm mostly commenting because I didn't realize he was hated within the movie fandom and it's clear imho he's the best part of the first film!!

I totally agree in regard to movie Boromir. From the first, I never saw him as evil, just desperate to protect his city and willing to grasp at any hope in a hopeless time, which unfortunately left him all too open to the Ring's whispers. To me he will always be a tragic hero who stumbles but redeems himself in the end, and I love him to pieces.

I had a crush on a guy in high school who had a dog named Boromir.

Who hates Boromir? They're wrong.

Fight me.

There have definitely been plenty of people who disliked book Boromir, but film Boromir has always been well-liked. There were people in my corner of fandom who said they'd hated te character and telhen the movies came along and made him likeable.

I never got the impression that people hated,/I> Boromir, only that they disregarded him because they knew he would die early on in the over-all storyline.

I cannot really say whether I had any aversion to him when I read the books, mainly because I last read the books about three years before the movies started coming out (i.e. 1997).

I do know however that when I first came into the fandom back in '04, my entry pairing was Aragorn/Boromir so I was very inclined to see the good side Boromir - the man trying his best for his country and his people. I did however run into the problem I mentioned - people know he dies so they seem to avoid getting attached to him.

Then this time around in the fandom (due to The Hobbit) I ran across a fic that defied his canon death... and now I RP him, and I do try to uphold that "Defend my people" principal, whether those people are Gondor, or due to circumstances, dwarves.

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