>>24652196
Politically Tolkien is complicated by modern standards. He disliked the Nazis and sympathized with Jews, but on the other hand, he was staunchly supportive of Franco and the Nationalists in Spain.

I think probably the best way to categorize him is as basically a Catholic Supremacist. There's the Church and there's everybody else. Franco wanted to do good to the Church, so he's good in Tolkien's eyes. Hitler wanted to do bad to the Church, so he's bad in Tolkien's eyes.

>>24640818
I really don't get people who bitch at Tolkien for "ruining" fantasy. It's not like Tolkien ever forced anybody to copy him or ape him. If he's so overwhelmingly popular that every fantasy writer since has written in his shadow, I hardly think that's particularly malevolent of him. He just told a really good story. You don't like that, it's up to you to do better, or at least deliberately do something different. Reading writers like Moorcock or Mieville seethe at Tolkien just feels pathetic on their part.