Tolkien fandom Tolkien fandom Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes "The Hobbit", "The Lord of the Rings", and "The Silmarillion". "Fandom" is a term used to describe a specific type of fan subculture. "Tolkien fandom" in this sense sprang up in the United States in the 1960s, in the context of the hippie movement, to the dismay of the author (Tolkien died in 1973), who talked of "my deplorable cultus". A Tolkienist is someone who studies the work of J. R. R. Tolkien: this
Reception of J. R. R. Tolkien "veiled geopolitics" implied in readings that interpret Sauron's Mordor and Sharkey's dictatorship in the Shire as parodies of Soviet Communism (Oberhelman 2006). E. P. Thompson in 1981 blames the cold warrior mentality on "too much early reading of The Lord of the Rings". Inglis (1983) modifies earlier accusations of fascism against Tolkien, but still maintains that the novel is a "political fantasy" for escapist middle-class readers in modern capitalist society. Griffin (1985) examines Tolkien in relation to Italian neofascism, again suggesting a proximity of Tolkien's ideals to those of the radical right. Other Marxist critics, however, have been more positive