This is very much what I meant about all the criticisms of the films being right. Lots of folks have your reactions and similar ones. One said she would have preferred The Scouring of the Shire as one bang-up ending instead of five wishy-washy ones. And I very much take your point about how war touches us all.
But Jackson's ending/s work emotionally for me, because of the particular healing journey they take me on. It's not logical, it's visceral, which is why I don't try to convince anyone who disliked the films. I pray they never see them from my perspective.
When Frodo's face lights up just before he steps onto the ship, I feel hope for me and for the other family members of murder victims I've met who still struggle with their personal darkness. The Scouring of the Shire tells me the world is broken and so am I, and all that is dear and beautiful is lost forever. Not only that, I cannot trust this ruined world not to hurt me again. I would have left the theater in the wrong kind of tears, shattered and shaking. Instead, Jackson has given me quite a different experience -- three long movies' worth.
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But Jackson's ending/s work emotionally for me, because of the particular healing journey they take me on. It's not logical, it's visceral, which is why I don't try to convince anyone who disliked the films. I pray they never see them from my perspective.
When Frodo's face lights up just before he steps onto the ship, I feel hope for me and for the other family members of murder victims I've met who still struggle with their personal darkness. The Scouring of the Shire tells me the world is broken and so am I, and all that is dear and beautiful is lost forever. Not only that, I cannot trust this ruined world not to hurt me again. I would have left the theater in the wrong kind of tears, shattered and shaking. Instead, Jackson has given me quite a different experience -- three long movies' worth.