The analysis argues that Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings fundamentally misunderstood and misrepresented the character of Faramir, transforming him from a paragon of virtue and self-knowledge into a character driven by a desire for his father's approval, thereby missing a crucial thematic element of Tolkien's work.
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if you ask a group of tolken enthusiasts
even those who deeply love Peter
Jackson's movies what their least
favorite part of the films was there's a
decent chance most of them will give you
a onword answer fair I'm sorry I'm sorry
that's a ridiculous thing to say there's
absolutely no way people who enjoy
reading tolken that much would ever keep
their responses to a single word you're
much more likely to get a full speech
that sounds like it has been fully
prepared but really has just been given
over and over again because these fans
of the books feel so passionately about
their beloved novel and the characters
within so what is it about Jackson's
fairr that struck a nerve with devoted
readers of Lord of the Rings why do they
care so much about a character who
appears in only a few scenes and has no
real meaningful impact on the plot did
Fair suffer character assassination
along the lines of Luke Skywalker or
Indiana Jones was he written poorly in
some way is he an insufferable character
who would not fit into tolken world the
answer to those latter three questions
you may be surprised to know is not an
unqualified yes and in most cases is a
solid no Jackson's fairer is far from
poorly written and the themes
surrounding his brief character Arc are
wholly in line with those of the book I
mean I just made a video about how
incredible borr Arc is in no small part
because he falls to Temptation and then
because he turns away from his error and
seeks Redemption if there's one thing we
know about the one ring it is that the
ring poses an enormous Temptation for
any who behold it why would we be
surprised that Jackson's Fair decides to
take the ring to ministerial Earth and
present his father with a mighty gift
who among us could judge this captain of
men for seeking to wield the strength
that would save his people would we do
any better probably not but therein lies
the main problem of this adaptation
Peter Jackson understood the value of a
good character Arc his version of
Theoden portrays a remarkable Journey
from despair to Hope as the monarch of
Rohan discovers what it truly means to
be a king Jackson's interpretation of
fair likewise has a sensible and
meaningful Arc discovers that froto
carries the One Ring Falls prey to its
Allure and its promise of power resolves
to take the ring to Gondor but then has
his mind changed after Sam tells him of
Bar's ring induced Madness you want to
know why your brother died he tried to
take the ring from froo after swearing
an oath to protect him and after he
hears Sam's famous speech about hoping
against hope and that good will prevail
over evil and when the sun shines it'll
shine out the clearer so in that sense
Fair does succe Ed ultimately where
barir failed but only after a milder
fall of his own in this Jackson missed
the point of fair who is supposed to
stand in stark contrast to mourir in the
book fair says to Frodo in reference to
a silder bane the nature of which is not
known to him at the time I would not
take this thing if it lay by the highway
not were Min tith falling in ruin and I
alone could save her so using the weapon
of the dark lord for her good and my
glory this is virtue when we talk about
established cultivated virtue we refer
to someone acting as Fair does In This
Moment someone who does not hesitate in
his refusal of Temptation characters who
struggle falter fail and have to be
redeemed are incredible examples and we
absolutely need them but we also need
characters further along that road of
growth ones who have perhaps failed in
their own way or ones who have through
whatever means developed Superior
strength of character these Paragons of
virtue aren't often placed at the center
of a given story because their lack of
Need for growth makes them more of a
challenge to write in a compelling
fashion it's not at all impossible to
pull off Maximus and Gladiator and Steve
Rogers in Captain America and the Winter
Soldier are two examples of men who
don't grow significantly in wisdom
humility or Prudence but who are faced
with other challenges and have to adapt
their viewpoint on certain issues but
for the most part Paragons of virtue
tend to serve best as secondary
characters there are often advisers such
as Gandalf iro and Obi-Wan can Fair
doesn't really fit that role he doesn't
have much of an impact on Frodo's
Journey at all the main piece of advice
he offers is to not follow gllm to heral
which Sam and froto do anyway because
what choice do they have so what is the
point of fair then when I said a minute
ago that Jackson missed the point I did
not mean that he shot wide of the target
entirely but rather that he failed to
hit the bullseye quite on purpose as it
turns out when interviewed about the
changes made to the ranger Captain
Jackson explained we've spent a lot of
time in the last film and in this one to
establish this ring is incredibly
powerful then to suddenly come to a
character that says oh I'm not
interested in that to suddenly go
against everything that we've
established ourselves is sort of going
against our own rules we certainly
acknowledge that fair should not do what
barir did and that he ultimately Has the
strength to say no you go on your own
way and I understand we wanted to make
it slightly harder to have a little more
tension than there was in the book I see
where Jackson was coming from here but I
definitely do not agree with his line of
thinking if you want to explain how fair
could resist the ring where borr could
not a very simple explanation would be
that fair had only just stepped into its
presence whereas bourier had witnessed
it at the Council of Alon had gazed upon
it for hours and had been traveling
alongside the ring bearer for months
certainly were fair to take the ring he
would not be able to resist it even if
he were to allow himself to consider
taking the ring he might fall to that
temptation but he doesn't Fair refuses
the Temptation outright before it can
establish the smallest Beach head within
his mind he tells Frodo even if I were
such a man as to desire this thing and
even though I knew not clearly what this
thing was when I spoke still I should
take those words as a vow and be held by
them but I am not such a man or I am
wise enough to know that there are some
perils from which a man must flee Fair
doesn't triumph over the ring he doesn't
stare down the will of Sauron and win he
simply refuses to play the game because
he knows he wouldn't win that is the
virtue of humility of knowing yourself
your abilities and your limits if we
look at everyone whom the ring temps
they are all tempted to some form of
grandeur even Sam is given a vision of
all of Mordor transformed into an
enormous garden and how does he resist
that Temptation you guessed it through
humility through proclaiming that his
own simple Gardens worked by his own
hands would be enough for him fair
refusing outright the thought of taking
the one ring wouldn't be a denial of the
Ring incredible tempting power it would
be an acknowledgement of it that is what
Jackson missed let me put it this way
let's say I have a crippling addiction
to Oreos double stuff obviously I'm not
insane if I am working to purge myself
of this viice of chocy creamy gluttony
and grow in the virtue of moderation
would my best option be to have a
package of Oreos sitting open on my desk
while I work so as to strengthen my
resolve through Perpetual trial as
amazing as having 24 access to Oreo
sounds that would obviously be a
terrible idea because you know those
three rows of cookies would be empty
within a day okay so should I instead
keep the Oreos in the kitchen cupboard
no I shouldn't have them in the house at
all as a matter of fact I should
probably have my wife do all the grocery
shopping so that I'm not tempted to
wander down the cookie aisle and pick up
a pack or three I'm sure she won't mind
in doing so I am not saying Oreos have
no power over me but rather I know if I
let myself I would drown in a shower of
chocolate cookie crumbs this is exactly
Fair's attitude this is why he tells
froto I do not wish to see it or touch
it or know more of it than I know which
is enough lest Peril per chance waylay
me and I fall lower in the test than
froto son of Drogo Fair freely admits
the existence of his own weakness and
vulnerability he is not Tom Bombadil who
could act as if the ring was a child's
play thing that had no effect on him
whatsoever because it didn't Fair
clearly knows that if he took the ring
if he even considered taking the ring he
would fail Ergo he has to make the very
idea of using the ring as a weapon of
Gondor so Preposterous that it is
basically a joke you may remember this
line from the movie chance for phir
captain of Gondor to show his quality
you might be surprised to know that
those words are lifted straight from the
pages of the book and here in the wild I
have you two halflings and a host of men
at my call and the Ring of rings a
pretty stroke of Fortune a chance for
fair captain of Gondor to show his
quality upon reading that you might
think that Jackson's fair is in fact a
faithful adaptation but only until you
reached the end of the next paragraph
Fair sat down again in his chair and
began to laugh quietly he was making a
joke the words said in all seriousness
in the movie are quite literally a joke
in the book fair mocks the very idea of
achieving personal Glory through
capturing and using the one ring and in
that mockery is what CS Lewis would call
a sense of humor and proportion in his
book the screw tape letters Lewis writes
from the perspective of an elder demon
mentoring a younger fiend who is tasked
with leading a human to damnation in the
passage to which I am referring screw
tape advises his nephew wormwood to
attempt to draw his subject's attention
to the fact that in a given moment he is
being humble and to feel Pride at his
own humility and then should the human
realize this prideful urge at humble
himself yet again repeat the cycle of
smug self-satisfaction but don't try
this too long for fear you awake his
sense of humor and proportion in which
case he will merely laugh at you and go
to bed fair was able to laugh at the
thought of Temptation at the pride he
may have felt at his successful
resistance of its lure and at the idea
that he could be any more than he is
again this is true humility genuine
acknowledgement of one's place in the
world the very virtue against which
screw tape is warning wmid in that
passage by this virtue as by all the
others the enemy wants to turn man's
attention away from self to him and to
the man's neighbors beir is not
interested in his own gain nor in
winning the laudations of others when
bourier fell to Temptation and tried to
take the ring from Frodo we read of how
he envisioned himself at the command of
the Conquering gondorian armies and from
Fair we learn of Barr's abject
disappointment that their family the
line of the stewards could never Ascend
the Throne of Gondor where his brother
clearly had aspirations of grandure
faramir does not he loves his City and
Country no less than Boromir did but
unlike his older brother Fair
understands that the part he plays is
but a small one and yet he will do his
duty as best he can fighting as any good
soldier ought to fight with discipline
honor and never forgetting the reason
why he wages War I do not love the
bright sword for it sharpness nor the
arrow for its swiftness nor the warrior
for his glory I love only that which
they defend the city of the men of numor
and I would have her love for her memory
her ancientry her beauty and her present
wisdom in that passage and in another
where Fair describes Gandalf's visit to
Min tith in order to uncover The Mystery
of the nature of Ailor Bane we get the
sense that this Ranger of Gondor is
quite knowledgeable regarding the
history of his people the numenorians
numor the island Kingdom of men was
destroyed when its inhabitants
pridefully attempted to sail to the
Blessed realm which was not made for men
to inhabit Fair's ancestors were among
the faithful who led by elendil and his
sons fled from valinor before it was
destroyed and they setled in Middle
Earth in other words fmer is shown to
have a knowledge of history that
predisposed him to be wary of any
promise of power or greatness such as
that promised by a silder Bane in this
as in humility he surpasses his migher
more ambitious brother now who's to say
what Fair would have done should he have
been through one to travel to Rivendell
to lay eyes on the one ring and then to
travel alongside its Bearer for week
after week as we just read Fair tells
froto to keep the ring hidden lest it
tempt him tolken absolutely wrote fa
arir is more pure-hearted and less apt
to even experience Temptations of power
than Boromir but certainly Fair himself
would be grateful that he did not have
to resist the pull of the Ring's
presence on a daily basis for months on
end but fair did not go to rivendel so
those musings remain merely a thought
experiment the reason that bmir was
present at the Council of Alon is denior
although in the book barir goes more
willing than in the movie in both
however denior commands that his Elder
son make the journey to imladris to
uncover The Secret of his Sor Bank which
leads me to my discussion of how the
relationship between fair and his father
was altered in the movie and again not
in Fair's favor when Fair arrives in
oscil with Frodo and Sam he passes them
off to damrod who will take them to
minth with a message for the steward
tell him faram sends a mighty gift which
is pretty funny since I can imagine
denor looking down at these two
halflings and thinking that fair had
screwed up again in mistaking them for
great warriors and their daggers for
enormous swords I can hear muttering
something like again my younger son
demonstrates that my expectations of him
can always sink lower anyway throughout
the two movies in which he appears fair
is ever eager to earn his father's favor
as evidenced by that clip I just played
although he does arrive at a level of
virtue akin to that at which he starts
in the book I would not use the ring not
if Min tith were falling in ruin and I
alone could save her his attitude is
very much look at me dad I can be like
bmir too which isn't great not that it
doesn't make sense within the confines
of the film alone I have absolutely no
problem with this writing it speaks to a
deep desire in all of us to be loved and
appreciated and when we are not given
love and appreciation when they are in
our view unfairly withheld we are want
to do drastic deeds in order to obtain
them the problem is that such Reckless
acts are not wise or prudent and fair is
supposed to be among other things wise
and prudent in the film denior sends him
and his men on a verifiable suicide
mission assaulting a fortified position
already held by the forces of Mordor in
the book he sends fair to osth before
the Orcs take it to reinforce the
defenses there a mission to which Fair
does object as he believes he and his
men would be better used defending Min
tith but not one which is ridiculous and
insane on the face of it to be fair this
change makes denior look far worse than
it does fair who in both cases goes to
fight a battle he believes to be ill
advised out of obedience to and respect
for his father but sending fair to hold
the line in osth wouldn't show his
desperation for Dan Thor's approval as
would having him charge headlong in a
horde of entrenched Orcs which again
from a storytelling perspective is
perfectly legitimate it just undermines
Fair's virtuous quality that is so so
important in the books why is his virtue
so important well let's first consider
the most common argument against him
being that way it usually goes along the
lines of he's too perfect flat and
boring in response I would like to to
once again refer to my very dear friend
CS Lewis in a sort of ghastly Simplicity
we remove the organ and demand the
function we make men without chests and
expect of them virtue and Enterprise we
laugh at honor and are shocked to find
traitors in our midst we need examples
like that of fair we need them
desperately if we reject them as Goody
Two sho's Boy Scouts we mock the very
thing we should be admiring we disregard
the Unseen struggles and toils that such
characters have undergone to be as they
appear to be in their Tales it's crucial
for us to hear stories of men and women
of great virtue those who do not fall to
temptation but stand above its murky
Waters and refuse to be sucked in their
stories give us something to which we
can Aspire while such Paragons of virtue
are rarely the best candidates for these
story's main protagonist their role and
example as advisers and dispensers of
wisdom should not be discarded as
wonderful as it is to see our heroes
struggle even fall and thus to relate to
them more closely we should have an
equal desire to hear the stories of
those who have already achieved the
level of humility courage and Prudence
to which most Heroes Aspire we should
not let our desire to humanize Our
Heroes be so overwhelming as to preclude
the possibility of these much needed
examples of humility and pure
heartedness now none of that is to say
that fair is a perfect man who never did
anything wrong ever I have done nothing
wrong ever in my life I know this and I
love you as the thumbnail on my borr
video declared all good men fall but but
not All Men Must Fall prey to the same
Temptation it's clear from Fair's words
that he was prepared to face isor Bain
that he had thought long and hard about
whether he would put it to use and had
decided in the negative long before
stumbling across the two Hobbits in the
woods of ailan for this particular
challenge which comprises the vast
majority of his screen and Page time
Fair had an established and Resolute
defense and so he emerges Victorious the
development of virtue requires
dedication and constant vigilance
clearly this Captain who served his
country by patrolling its borders was
rich in both Fair's brief role in the
story of Lord of the Rings is of still
more significance for this one simple
reason as it demonstrates the central
theme that pervades the story good can
and will triumph over evil but the
nature of that Triumph will likely be
unexpected Peter Jackson was right in
saying that the one ring is this
incredibly powerful tempting Force he
was wrong however in his interpretation
of faramir's refusal to take the ring
faramir's victory over the ring was not
like that of Gandalf or gadriel who both
refused the ring after Frodo offered it
to them fair is after all only a man not
a primordial Maya nor an immortal elf
with several Millennia worth of wisdom
and foresight he could only triumph over
the ring by refusing to play its game by
telling Frodo to keep it hidden by
banishing all thoughts of it from his
mind before they had the slightest
chance to take rote his victory is one
not through his strength of will but
rather through his humility the quality
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