Authentic fantasy: The representation of the Shire as a nostalgic arcadia - A study of the visual and design references within the shire in the film adaption of The Lord of the Rings

This dissertation explores the notion of the Shire in The Lord of the Rings representing a nostalgic arcadia, and examines the impact of this visual upon its audience. Through this research one aim is to establish how an audience may achieve a suspension of disbelief within these films and accept the possibility of this world having existed somewhere as a prehistory within our world. By exploring the idea of the Shire as a nostalgic arcadia, it is necessary to understand how the audience sees and understands this environment. Is the environment created believable and if so, how is this achieved visually? Through examining the design influences and references here, one can come to understand how this environment is translated visually and why it might be understood so clearly by its audience.

The ideas of creating different versions of history, re-inventing beliefs, creating myths, come strongly into focus when examining the story of The Lord of the Rings. Looking deeper into the breakdown and structure of the story, this study tries to understand how the story as a myth might be universal and thus appeal to masses of readers. The archetypal hero pattern, or ‘Monomyth’, is made up of a series of familiar elements that we associate with the lives of particular heroes within Arthurian Legends, and is a structure very prominent within The Lord of the Rings.

This study also focuses on the Victorian era from which Tolkien drew inspiration in creating the Shire and its characters. Director Peter Jackson and conceptual designers use this era strongly as a reference within their research and design methodologies, and the study explores how, although we are looking at the Victorian era, there is a strong use of medievalism within the design reflecting the influence of the medieval period on Victorian art and aesthetics.