--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They gutted the book, making an action…" description: "\"They gutted the book, making an action movie for 15-25 year olds. Tolkien became...devoured by his popularity and absorbed by the absurdity of the time..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/christopher-tolkien-77295_absurdity_they-gutted-the-book-making-an-action-mo_432191.jpg" --- # They gutted the book, making an action movie for 15-25… ![“They gutted the book, making an action movie for 15-25 year olds. Tolkien became...devoured by his popularity and absorbed by the absurdity of the time. The gap widened between the beauty, the seriousness of the work, and what it has become is beyond me. This level of marketing reduces to nothing…” quote by Christopher Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/christopher-tolkien-77295_absurdity_they-gutted-the-book-making-an-action-mo_432191.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/christopher-tolkien-77295_absurdity_they-gutted-the-book-making-an-action-mo_432191.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/christopher-tolkien-77295_absurdity_they-gutted-the-book-making-an-action-mo_432191.jpg) > “They gutted the book, making an action movie for 15-25 year olds. Tolkien became...devoured by his popularity and absorbed by the absurdity of the time. The gap widened between the beauty, the seriousness of the work, and what it has become is beyond me. This level of marketing reduces to nothing the aesthetic and philosophical significance of this work.” Christopher Tolkien ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments commercial dilution of a literary work, feeling that marketing has eclipsed its original depth and artistic value. **In simple terms:** Marketing has cheapened the book’s original meaning. Key Takeaway Preserve artistic integrity over commercial trends. Themes literature commercialization artistic integrity Mood critical thoughtful Type literary analytical When to use this quote - publishing decisions - film adaptations - educational curricula Key Concepts cultural heritage media influence authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - Should classic works be protected from market forces? - How can creators retain meaning amid popularization? A Different Perspective Balancing profit and art is complex; not all audiences seek depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Action movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action-movie/) [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Marketing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marketing/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Popularity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popularity/) [Seriousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seriousness/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) ## Related quotes > [They eviscerated the book by making it an action movie for young people aged 15 to 25, and it seems that The Hobbit will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-tolkien/they-eviscerated-the-book-by-making-it-an-action-movie-for-young/) Christopher Tolkien > [The whole atmosphere of the book, the tone of 'The Hobbit,' is of a kid's adventure story, told in the first person by Tolkien,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/the-whole-atmosphere-of-the-book-the-tone-of-the-hobbit-is-of-a-kid-s/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [“I admire Tolkien greatly. His books had enormous influence on me. And the trope that he sort of established—the idea of the Dark Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/i-admire-tolkien-greatly-his-books-had-enormous-influence-on-me-and/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Tolkien’s Dwarves were stout, taciturn, vaguely magical characters who spent a lot of time in the dark hammering out beautiful things, e.g. Rings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/tolkien-s-dwarves-were-stout-taciturn-vaguely-magical-characters-who/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“I met a lot of things on the way that astonished me. Tom Bombadil I knew already; but I had never been to Bree.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tolkien/i-met-a-lot-of-things-on-the-way-that-astonished-me-tom-bombadil-i/) Tolkien > [I wasn't into Tolkien at school really. But the story is timeless, the themes that it touches on are contained in cultures all around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-boyd/i-wasn-t-into-tolkien-at-school-really-but-the-story-is-timeless-the/) [Billy Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-boyd/) > [The book of 'The Hobbit' was given to me to read by a friend of my mother when I was about 12 years old:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-stevens/the-book-of-the-hobbit-was-given-to-me-to-read-by-a-friend-of-my/) [Conan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-stevens/) > [I read all of the books by Tolkien, including 'The Hobbit,' when I was in my twenties, and his deep love of nature and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-shore/i-read-all-of-the-books-by-tolkien-including-the-hobbit-when-i-was-in/) [Howard Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-shore/) > [“When my father was a young man, during the years of the First World War and long before there was any inkling of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/when-my-father-was-a-young-man-during-the-years-of-the-first-world/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [My parents read to me a lot as a kid, and I started writing very early, probably spurred on by Aesop's fables. Then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/my-parents-read-to-me-a-lot-as-a-kid-and-i-started-writing-very-early/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [I grew up reading Tolkien, and I love him. But I love him in the way that you love that rambly old grandfather. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-grew-up-reading-tolkien-and-i-love-him-but-i-love-him-in-the-way/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“The Gospel is the ultimate fairy-story, Tolkien concludes, because it contains "the greatest and most complete conceivable eucatastrophe… There is no tale ever told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-c-wood/the-gospel-is-the-ultimate-fairy-story-tolkien-concludes-because-it/) [Ralph C. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-c-wood/) > [I was a massive Tolkien fan. 'The Hobbit' was... my favorite book as a little girl, and the Silvan Elves were my favorite characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/i-was-a-massive-tolkien-fan-the-hobbit-was-my-favorite-book-as-a/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [Tolkien is as good as Dickens at sketching a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/tolkien-is-as-good-as-dickens-at-sketching-a-scene/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [If you read 'Lord of the Rings' and dismiss it as a lie because it has orcs and elves, you're missing the whole point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-tennapel/if-you-read-lord-of-the-rings-and-dismiss-it-as-a-lie-because-it-has/) [Doug TenNapel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-tennapel/) ## More by Christopher Tolkien > [The chasm between the beauty and seriousness of the work, and what it has become, has overwhelmed me. The commercialization has reduced the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-tolkien/the-chasm-between-the-beauty-and-seriousness-of-the-work-and-what-it/) Christopher Tolkien > [They eviscerated the book by making it an action movie for young people aged 15 to 25, and it seems that The Hobbit will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-tolkien/they-eviscerated-the-book-by-making-it-an-action-movie-for-young/) Christopher Tolkien Explore all 3 Christopher Tolkien quotes ## More Absurdity quotes > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/) Wendy Farley > [I've always felt that comedy doesn't just come from misery. It comes from an absurdity around that misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-amstell/i-ve-always-felt-that-comedy-doesn-t-just-come-from-misery-it-comes/) [Simon Amstell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-amstell/) > [Unaware of the absurdity of it, we introduce our own petty household rules into the economy of the universe for which the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-herzen/unaware-of-the-absurdity-of-it-we-introduce-our-own-petty-household/) [Alexander Herzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-herzen/) > [“Christianity would be helpless without the idea of free will and the idea of free will would be helpless without incongruity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/christianity-would-be-helpless-without-the-idea-of-free-will-and-the/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [The tales of our exploits will survive as long as the human voice itself,' he said. 'And even after that, when the robots recall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-tales-of-our-exploits-will-survive-as-long-as-the-human-voice/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Life packed a clever one-two punch: cruelty and absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-packed-a-clever-one-two-punch-cruelty-and-absurdity/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) [Browse all 689 Absurdity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They gutted the book, making an action movie for 15-25 year olds. Tolkien became...devoured by his popularity and absorbed by the absurdity of the time. 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