The Hobbit: The Desolation of Warners (Part 3/2)

As much as I enjoyed the first two parts, this one took your Hobbit series over the top. The Hobbit trilogy is not bad simply because it disappointed you as a viewer for multiple reasons -- although your critiques ARE thoughtful and you conceded that some things were done well in the trilogy -- but because it had a profound negative impact on human beings who were involved in making it. Even movies made by auteur directors aren't made in a bubble -- there are many players involved, often with competing interests, but I don't think I've really heard about the long-ranging impact a blockbuster can have on the production side. The most interesting war in the Hobbit trilogy isn't between kingdoms, but between a studio and New Zealand workers. The only downside to this Patreon early preview business is that I have to wait a day to share another awesome Lindsay Ellis video with all my friends -- so I've started pestering them to support you on Patreon.

JG Park

Damn, this was fantastic!

Andy McMillan

Content like this is why I donate $1 a month to many creators including yourself.

Amazing video series. Loved it.

Incredible. Amazing. Indescribably awesome. These are the ingredients that make your videos!

Iron

The footage of you driving around del amo triggered my fight or flight response

I feel like I'm watching an epic story in itself with the way you structure these film studies. I really hope people watching this learn to understand critical thinking in the things they consume and love. Working in this industry has been a trial in itself when listening to people trying to justify or defend something they love for negatively effecting some, or many peoples lives in one way or another. I've had to end a friendship with a person because of how furious they were when I confided in them the kind of hell I was dragged through working on a series that they loved. It was too disheartening to listen to them disregard the literal facts of what was going on behind how something they loved was made simply because they didn't want to believe it was 'that bad'. I hope so many people see this video series. I know I'll be sharing this instead of having to re-explain critical thinking about the media you consume.

Undlark

This 3rd part grounded the whole project so thoroughly that I'm marveling at how effective it was. I mean. 1), I should have known more about the labor rights dispute surrounding The Hobbit but I didn't, so ty for educating me on that specifically. And 2), it's a self-contained argument for why critique of media and the people who make will always matter. Context gonna sneak up on you.

IJLSK

This is one of the best film documentaries I've seen since probably Lost Souls..you are amazing thank you so much for making these things you do:)

Arrogant cum trucks

This is remarkably well done, Lindsay. Thank you.

Is it just a coincidence that this is coming out at the same time as #changethechannel? It covers a lot of the same the same themes.

Skulmarus

I want everyone in my union to see this to remind us why collective bargaining is so essential. I've followed your work for years and I think this may be the single most important piece of media criticism you've ever done. (Followed closely by the Whole Plate about the Framing of Megan Fox.)

You just dropped the best documentary of the year. I hope you know that!

waywardskies

This kicked me right in the gut.

Wow I learned a lot. Thanks for making this. It's certainly unfortunate that it seems like every company is evil and exploitative, but at least there seem to be a growing group of people who are interested in supporting companies that aim to do some good, not just make money. And companies springing up to fill that niche. And there are avenues to support people like you, who make good content and focus upon that over raking in the cash. My optimism springs eternal, and believes that Sam is right. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it’ll shine out the clearer. Thanks for another fantastic video, and I look forward to whatever you make next.

CodeTako

Lindsay - I've been a fan of yours since the NC days and I finally make enough to help support your work :D I'm a huge fan and I love your videos! <3

KNT609

That's adulthood...

CaitSeith

Wow. This may just be your magnum opus, at least so far. This is pushing video essay forward in a way that may change the very form of it. I am practically speechless.

I am Senior Vice President of Public Knowledge, and also a huge fan. But I must take the strongest issue with the idea that we are helpless to change the world because -- capitalism We have taken on the cable industry and won. We have taken on the MPAA and won. No, not always. And not all the time. But I have been doing this for nearly 20 years now and I have seen resistance grow and become increasingly more effective. Like the Ents, we need to wake up and discover we are strong. But to simply acquiesce -- or worse, view acquiescence as a sign of maturity -- is tragically wrongheaded. To quote Gandalf to Denethor: "Such counsels will make the Enemy's victory certain indeed."

As someone who has been watching your videos for some years now and who has witnessed the steady evolution toward higher stages of sophistication that you've been through, I believe this video is a milestone in your career as an essayist. I have nothing but enthusiastic praise for this achievement and I am looking very forward to future reports with a journalistic approach like this one.

That was fucking stunning video essay! Your videos are always amazing, and it makes me proud to be one of your Patreons, even if it makes me wish I could afford to donate slightly more. (Damn being a University History Student in England, with a child) Congratulations on all three of these videos, and I hope you are okay after the insaneness that is going on with CA at the moment. It was so brave of all of you, and this video feels rightly timed. Jenna xx

Jenna Pateman

[video opens with Tik Tok] Oh, that's an interesting decision on establishing the setting. [twenty-five minutes later, Tik Tok returns] Oh. Oh god.

Jonathan P

The fact that a Prime Minister met with Hollywood studio execs is sobering all by itself. Corporations are now more powerful then governments. Insert your cyberpunk reference here.

This was a great insightful behind the scenes video, that was very interesting and sad. It also made me think of how media is so importance to us and how hurt we are when knowing behind the scenes affects us enjoying the media such as The Hobbit trilogy, Channel Awesome, and more. Thank you for what you do, and I look forward to sharing this with my friends when it is no longer unlisted. And like you say at the end, having a critical lens is part of being an adult and makes us miss childhood when we didn't think of the implications of unions, and more.

Absolutely astounding series. Thank you for bringing this to light for those like me who did not know about the Kiwi fight. John Callen is now my spirit animal. The power that a single studio has to change a nation's laws is awe inspiring, frightening, and depressing. But let us not to despair turn. Voices like yours are important. You and your team expose that which the powers that be wish to keep hidden, or at least localized. This, in turn, allows us the ability to act. Keep up the great work. Solidarity.

So thats what that guy meant when he said The Hobbit screwed over the New Zealanders

Will Park

amazing work... have been following your work and essays for while but this trilogy is really something... was clapping and emotional at the end of it... more than I was at any of the Middle Earth films :)

Fantastic video trilogy. Interesting, insightful, and poignant. This is what I'm here for.

Kevin Strehl

Probably intentionally because she intended it to be a 2 part series to begin with.

Aimee Thorne

This miniseries was incredible! I want to say "I can't believe how insightful and poignant you managed to be", but that would undersell how highly I think of you (and your team, let's not forget them).

TalysAlankil

The quality of your videos / analysis seems to be increasing constantly. There's probably some thermodynamic law which states that shouldn't be possible, but it is. Keep it up!

Josh Clark

Well this hit close to home. Resulting feelings aside, your videos are always a highlight of my week. Thank you Lindsay.

LL

Awesome video, and seriously the first I've heard of this labour dispute.

Alex Wright

Lindsay, you and your team are producing some of the best online video content in the world today. Proud to be a supporter of such thoroughly researched, impassioned and important work. The movie world can be a 'dark universe' indeed.

And this isn't even "Dang Lindsay ruined LOTR for me!" type of thing. I'm just heartbroken for you. I couldn't stand the Hobbit films and didn't even see the 3rd one. I'm just sad now that you can no longer enjoy one of your favorite film trilogy. I'm so sorry

Zero

Excellent three part series.......with that said I probably shouldn't have watched this before going to bed.

Zero

Nice one Lindsay! I feel pretty close to this matter- I’m in the video a couple of times waving one of the ‘Simon Whipp go home’ signs. You’ve done a great job of putting all the info in one place in a nice balanced way. I’ve tried a couple of times to describe this debarcle to people and now will use this video as a go-to:)

A+ as usual, and thank you for tackling this, and doing it so well. If I may offer some minor feedback, the initial introduction of the various parties and the early goings-on went by a bit quick and I was a little lost. Even though it’s not directly salient to your points, a very brief outline of the labor issues being disputed would help anchor the issues a bit. On the other hand, it all becomes clearer as the essay goes on and these details are ultimately immaterial. So.. $0.02!

issa

To quote Harry S. Plinkett: "AREN'T MOVIES MAGICAL?"

Oof, Christ, Lindsay, that ending is rough. I sympathize with everything you're saying here and I deeply appreciate a lot of what you're saying but that ending. It's cathartic and real, but it's cathartic and real in the way watching a documentary about something depressing is. You can never go back.

Stormbourne

Not sure if it's intentional, but the video says 3/2.

Damn.... This trilogy has been incredible to watch, well done!

That hit so hard but is so true. Thank you for spending so much time on this aspect of it.

Sure you can! What We Do in the Shadows, I'm pretty sure it's still pure and untainted!

Aimee Thorne

Oh god, that whole "being really into something and then finding out the star of what you loved has been exploited by people with more power and feeling awful like you were complicit because that's where your entertainment money went and now a good half of the joy has been sucked out" thing I've been feeling so hard this last year or so. All the 'Corey" movies I saw in theaters, all the John Hughes movies. Being on the edge of middle age as I am, the realization that people who often are involved in stuff you love often turn out to be really shitty people in a way you would not accept in a friend hit me a long time ago. I mean I too jumped on the whole "Your fave is problematic" morbid streak for a hot minute there too. But this whole "active and willful exploitation" of people who have absolutely no power to push back thing's just really hitting home lately. Whether they be literal children being pushed by adults, or adults being pushed by corporations and political bodies. And I'm not surprised that something as astoundingly disappointing as the Hobbit trilogy is built on that. And it makes me glad that I didn't see them in theaters.

Aimee Thorne

Good gravy Lindsay. You always deliver a 10/10, but this trilogy (and specifically this final installment) really expands the boundaries of the video essay as an art form. You continue to delight and impress and I'm so excited to see where your work goes from here.

Elvis

Wonderful. This third half is the best of the two. Can't wait to share it with the world.

Klil H. Neori

That ending...Goddamn. That ending hurts. It's true and sad and it really hurts.

Some Strange Circus

Fucking phenomenal

I'd love to see you focus more on this aspect of separating author (or corporation) from product. Great video as always!

That was immensely depressing. Like dang...captialism sucks.

Jess the Stampede

Well...that was beautifully sad.

Brenton Clark

"Media is different. Media is personal." Yep. Yeah. And every disillusionment feels different, is the thing. We can't learn how to deal with it one time and be done-- it's like trying to outpace an adaptable disease, only mentally and emotionally. I've kept Rurouni Kenshin on my shelf and thought I'd compartmentalized revelations about the mangaka, right up until I wondered, "So what if my nieces/nephews/students want to read this? What do I tell them? Would it even be possible for someone else to enjoy this knowing what I know now, but before the story and characters take root in their hearts?" I still have no idea. The only light in the darkness has been recognizing that nothing is untouchable-- nothing will be great forever. And that means that meaningful creative work really doesn't exist within a hierarchy of greatness. Be kind and impact one person, a handful of people, and that's something.

Kat Green

Watching this video felt like the ongoing process of becoming an adult, shrunk to half an hour. Your best since Hunchback-- absolutely fantastic work. That Frodo quote... now I'm in tears at a Whole Foods, thanks.

Kat Green

Have to love governments kneecapping unions in order to benefit large companies at the expense of the workers!

Natasha Taylor

This is really some of your best work, Lindsay. Well done, and thank you. (I also want to say that the comments on the difficulty of returning to media after having learnt of the bad stuff going on behind it is especially resonating with some unpleasantness I've been dealing with over the last week, and a connection that I think is gone forever)

Matthew Dunne

This was incredible and I'm eager to share it with my friends when it goes public.

A. James Dillon

This was the most comprehensive answer to the question of what to do about problematic media that I have ever seen. Thank you for sharing your work, Lindsay.

There's a line of dialogue from the BBC series I Claudius from the first or second episode where an actor laments that the theater isn't what it used to be and the response is (paraphrased) "it never was what it was". Thank you for all the hard work you put into this series.

Carla Hoffman

This three part video is one of the best things you've ever done. So amazing.

Jesse

This one was rather cinematic in style, and I'm really LOVING it. You continue to be an amazingly thought-provoking producer

DAMN. This is a lot. I think some bits could stand to be extended—like a short pause to give the "That's capitalism" some punch—but that's why it's a rough. Holy cow.

Imogen Geier

Ah, seeing this in my inbox upon getting home has made my day.

Matthew Dunne

We cannot be children forever, and winter is coming.

Your finest episode

Adrian DeZendegui

After watching this, there is only one thing left to do. So from the bottom of my deeply conflicted heart to you and to everyone who helped in the process of creating these videos I simply would like to say: Thank you.

RonnieSoak

Daaaamn. You went there. You really did. So damn good.

This was absolutely incredible. Actually brought me to tears

Can't wait for this to go live to I can share it with my friends, they loved the first two videos so I'm curious how they'll react to this one as they are not fans of you like I am. But that last act hit me hard man, props to you for being able to tell it as succinctly as you did in this format. What ever your next venture is I hope you can take a bit of a break from the really heavy stuff. You all deserve it.

Emily Daenzer

Beautiful. Powerful. I hadn't considered a lot of this before. I mean, I know this information was floating out there, but thank you so very much for putting this together in such a thoughtful, concise, and all encompassing manner. I will always love the LOTR Trilogy, always. I hope you're proud of this one, Lindsay. You deserve to be.

Wow, great video and very thoughtful. I know the subject matter is rather sad, but I would say this is one of your best videos.

J. MacGillivray

Well, that was more depressing than I was expecting. Wow.

Reuben

Great episode and thought provoking end to a great three parter.

Wow. an in-depth analysis of a problematic production topping off with exploring the concept of troublesome creators. do you PLAN this timing??? *also, is that close enough to hit the "Swear Jar" for Puerto Rico donations?*

Peter McDevitt

Knocked it out of the park as usual, Lindsay.

Anne and the Apocalypse

You. Are. THE BEST.

John Key is a sentient bag of turds. Fuck him and fuck National.

Grace

I was thinking the same thing about the Channel Awesome comparison, though this video makes pretty much everything on Channel Awesome look like a video of dogs shitting so I’d say Lindsay got the last word 😂

**deletes out reflexive rant about post-LotR Weta culture** Thank you for being so thorough. It was awesome to meet you! I hope you come back to NZ some time for just a visit. You should see the South Island (it's the even-more-pretty one).

Oltanya

Holy shit Lindsay. just...Holy shit.

Heartlessfang

I was honestly clapping during the credits. This was so well done, and covered so much more than I (or anyone else for that matter) was expecting. These projects are just awesome to watch in general. Can't wait for whatever is coming next!

Damn, this is incredibly thought provoking. There's so much depth to what you do, that frankly it's hard to go watch some of the more silly reviewers out there, because what they produce doesn't add much beyond what I've already thought about. Please keep making great productions like this!

John Boren

Well, this was a downer. Exactly as expected. Y'all are doing great work.

OK, lately I have been following and supporting the protests in my home country, France, from afar (living abroad) and being disgusted and frustrated by the way the governments is acting and repressing it with unjustifiable force and I can't do a thing. So, my emotional state is probably 70% of the reason but I am sitting here angry and crying. So all of that to say, thank you for shining a light on this issue, I am (in a way) glad I know, even though I don't really know what to do with it.

This was absolutely fantastic work. I thought that the documentary style worked really well, and liked how in this trilogy of videos, you moved from the style you've been using to this new style. I honestly choked up a little at the voice clip of Frodo near the end. This was a wonderfully made video with an important thesis.

ShadowSprite

DANG.

OK, now I can't watch anything anymore.

Mister CPU

(I can imagine you're not wild about this comparison) but this is impeccably timed with all the CA exploitation and dumbfuckery coming to light and people putting their head in the sand because it was their enjoyable content from ten years ago that they want to use to forget the consequences of how it was made. This, obviously, is just a thematic parallel in a much smaller scale but it's such an of-the-moment topic that you give really good, hard answers for. I paid film school tuition because of you, Lindsay, but I also still pay to this patreon because of everything you do and everything you have taught me. And continue to teach me. If you had stayed in that place where I view you "nostalgically" I never would have cried over that Larry Kramer "How to Survive a Plague" speech intercut with the smug and dismissive tone of "La Vie Boheme" and the "Let Them Eat Cake" attitude that permeated a work appropriating pain of, well, shall we call my 'chosen family'. Just that edit was so incisive and sharp and heartbreaking. And then you also make this incredibly ambitious and powerful project that just blew me out of the water. I grew up with you, and found catharsis through a number of topics we have in common, and look forward to continuing to move on with your content.

You guys did amazing work. Thank you so much. <3

Cat

I feel the Kesha part HARD

How appropriate that the center of the final act of this video was battling with one's...nostalgia. How apropos. Thank you for this, Lindsay, Angelina, Dan and everyone.

David Majors

Fantastic, just fantastic, I'm sorry I can't think of more to praise you with because this series has been that damn good, thank you Lindsay!!!

APC

Absolutely brilliant, I loved the look at the difficult transition from childhood and how that ties into the context of art and artist.

Great work Lindsay! Probably your best one yet. Plus some of your observations about "tainted memories" could so easily be applied to a certain Youtube channel that's dying a thousand deaths even as we speak....... Thank you and take care.

How to you pack so much thoughtful information into these videos!

Eric Mulder

The effort and research you put into these videos is only topped by the effort you and your team put in to presenting it in a way that offers insight and knowledge to an audience lacking your academic background (or maybe not lacking it who knows) without condescension. I always walk away from your videos feeling like I have gained tons of knowledge about something I wouldn't have even thought to look into, and spend ages thinking about the things I've learned afterwards. It's really brought home to me especially in this series how much of an essay the video essay really is, and you're doing fantastic work, and just thank you

That was surprisingly touching. I love that you dove into such a complex and emotionally fraught subject with such sincerity and insightful reflection. I appreciate all the hard work you do. It can’t be easy.

Oof. Great video, but oof

Philip Munroe

I was like “lol Kesha” then you brought it home big time

Michael Puckett

Loved it, presentation and thesis. This concept is probably at the heart of reckoning with "nerd culture" as well, with the belief that if you can't uncritically and unreservedly adore the components of your hobbies then you lose your right to an identity, and anyone who would have you examine something you love through social critique is robbing you of that right.

Ugino

Yay been looking forward to this :)

Alex Wright

You've always done great work but you've really gone above and beyond with this - your videos keep getting better and better. So happy to be a patron. :)

Allyson Cygan

Fascinating.

Captain Disillusion

Funny how watching these videos invoked a little of the same feeling I also got at the whole extended edition making of dvd's way back when.

Picked a good time to become a patron

I'm already watching it based off the original link... I'm so sorry... I'm a terrible person... forgive meeeeee!!!

Sam Fulton

Thanks Lindsay!

hooray!

Langel