When you need help with something, you need to turn to the biggest expert you can find, probably a huge geek. That’s especially true in a case involving the foundation of modern geek culture, J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord Of The Rings.
See, it turns out that insulting a public figure is a crime in Turkey. We know this because Turkish doctor Bilgin Ciftci is, according to his lawyer Hicran Danisman, staring down up to two years in prison after sharing a meme that compares Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Smeagol, the aged hobbit from LOTR who grows corrupted and insane after years of exposure to the One Ring and forms a split personality called Gollum.
https://twitter.com/akyildirim/status/654675415282286592/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
That’s an absurd thing to face jail over, and as such the case has become a minor cause célèbre, stoked by news today that the judge in Ciftic’s trial has summoned five experts on Tolkein’s masterpiece (and the films based on them) to determine if the meme in question does, in fact, constitute an insult. The situation is exacerbated however by the fact that the two characters are quite distinct, and the court overseeing the case mistakenly believes the image to portray Gollum, not Smeagol. Now three indisputable experts on the character who weren’t summoned to Turkey have weighed in on the matter – LOTR trilogy director Peter Jackson and his LOTR screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.
The three of them have issued a statement on the matter, clearing up the confusion. “If the images [in question] are in fact the ones forming the basis of this Turkish lawsuit, we can state categorically: None of them feature the character known as Gollum. All of them are images of the character called Smeagol.”
Walsh, who is responsible for most of the scenes involving the character, went further. “Smeagol is a joyful, sweet character. Smeagol does not lie, deceive, or attempt to manipulate others. He is not evil, conniving, or malicious — these personality traits belong to Gollum, who should never be confused with Smeagol,” she said. “Smeagol would never dream of wielding power over those weaker than himself. He is not a bully. In fact he’s very loveable. This is why audiences all over the world have warmed to his character.”
As the defense told the Associated Press, basing the defense on the fact that Smeagol is not a villainous character is being used because attempts to defend Ciftci on freedom of expression grounds went “nowhere.”
What is the penalty for saying to a politician in Turkey that his (because let’s be real) father smelled of elderberries, and his mother was a hamster? Death?
Death by falling cow.
LMFAO
The punishment is to be drawn and quartered by unladen swallows.
African or European swallows?
You must find…. ANOTHER SHRUBBERY!!! THEN… Then, when you have found the shrubbery, you must place it here, beside this shrubbery, only slightly higher, so we get the two-level effect with a little path running down the middle.
The story in this article is what real suppression of freedom of speech and expression looks like. He lost his job and could go to jail for simply sharing a meme.
It does NOT look like:
Person 1, “I hate gay people. They shouldn’t have the same rights as me.”
Person 2, “Oh. Ok you should be aware that makes you a certifiable piece of human trash.”
Person 1, “Hey, I have freedom of speech!”
Person 2, “…”
no offense mate, but it’s the same thing.
person 1: I hate they look like gollum
person 2: hey now, saying that makes you a piece of human trash
person 1: Hey, I have freedom of speech!
person 2: …..
freedom of speech is freedom of speech, even if we personally don’t agree with it. What freedom of speech DOES NOT constitute is: “person A is a homosexual who rapes children” when in fact he does not. Libel and slander are not protected, a viewpoint (no matter how wrong) is protected.
What about toward the end of the movie when Smeagol/Gollum attacks Frodo? Frodo says “Smeagol promised!” and the response is “Smeagol lied!”. Doesn’t sound very lovable to me!
That’s Gollum lying about Smeagol lying, simple.
PJ and the screen writers are indisputable experts of the character they created for the films, but that isn’t the character Tolkien created.
What a bizarre case! Put your hands together for Fran Walsh! She obviously doesn’t support Turkey’s President so she’s cleverly drawn the comparison to Gollum by focusing more on what Smeagol is not.
I don’t agree with Fran Walsh’s interpretation of Gollum. He wasn’t Smeagol’s second personality, as if Smeagol had a split personality, despite how they portray it in the movie. Smeagol is the one who did those things; Gollum was the Ring, who pushed Smeagol to do those things and Smeagol acquiesced. It wasn’t possession or split personality.
Good on ya mate!
The top picture is Gollum. The top two pictures are from the same scene (“Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”); second picture is Smeagol. The distinction (the experts know this) is the framing of the shot, and the eyes. Smeagol’s eyes dilate. Gollum’s look as though he’s staring straight into the sun. Watch the movie again and check it all out for yourself. Blu-Ray with a 2160p upscale player is a great way to go.