Michael Rocci Dr. Miles Rhetoric and Civic Life I 10 October 2013 I m Looking for Someone to Share in an Adventure I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it s very difficult to find anyone (Tolkien), said the wandering wizard Gandalf to the unadventurous hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. This phrase is the start to one of the greatest adventures to ever appear in literature. The Hobbit is the story of Bilbo Baggins and how he is thrust into a quest to reclaim a homeland that was long lost. This story was written by English author J.R.R. Tolkien in the late 1930 s, and today, it is considered a timeless classic. Recently, filmmaker Peter Jackson began adapting The Hobbit into a series of three films. The first film in the trilogy entitled, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was recently released, and the second film entitled, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is on its way. A theatrical trailer for this film was recently released to create hype and garner recognition for the movie. Let s look at some of the rhetorical techniques that filmmaker Peter Jackson uses in this trailer, and let s see exactly how a 76 year old adventure tale can still appeal to us today. The objective for a movie trailer is to show moviegoers around the world what a movie is going to be like and give them a reason to see it. Movie trailers are cinema s form of a persuasive speech or essay. They are essentially advertisements for the films they are portraying. For this reason, a movie trailer needs to take hold of the audience s attention and release it with the sensation of awe and wonder. A story like The Hobbit is well known all over the world, and
filmmaker Peter Jackson has previously established himself as an appropriate director to bring J.R.R. Tolkien s tales to life through his work on the first hobbit film in 2012 and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy ten years prior to the creation of The Hobbit films. For this reason, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug already has strong ethos in place. Many people are already familiar with the story and film, so therefore, they will be familiar with the newest trailer attached to the second film in the trilogy. The theatrical trailer reinforces these ethical appeals by showing the textual phrase From The Director Of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy in order to remind the audience of Peter Jackson s prestige and this movie s connection to the extremely successful trilogy. Pathos and logos are also utilized in the trailer in order to appeal to the audience s emotions and reasoning. The trailer focuses on a few different aspects of the movie. Some of these aspects are power, redemption, betrayal, pride, and a sensation of impending danger. The trailer begins with Bilbo Baggins giving an ominous soliloquy about the extremely powerful and dangerous dragon Smaug. He says, Truly the tales and songs fall utterly short of your enormity, O Smaug, the stupendous (Warner Bros). This line, along with the echoing music, makes the audience feel as though they are in the presence of an indestructible force. The trailer immediately shifts gears and gives the audience the sensation of redemption and bravery by putting them in the place of the dwarves on their quest to reclaim their homeland. The music heightens in tempo and becomes more robust to exemplify this feeling. There is the constant realization throughout the trailer that the task the main characters are attempting to accomplish is impossible. Danger and excitement is shown in every scene along with the dramatic development between characters. Some characters make other characters feel hopeless, some can t be trusted,
and others are determined to fulfill their destiny while fearing their probable fate at the same time. There is one point in the trailer where the character Bard The Bowman is trying to convince the people of his community to prevent the dwarf Thorin from entering the mountain to wake and kill the dragon. He says, Dragon fire and ruin. That is what you will bring upon us. He can not see beyond his own desire (Warner Bros). This scene, accompanied with the ferocity of the music, makes the audience feel as though they are also experiencing the same problems that the characters in the movie face. Movies are able to thrust the audience into the position of the characters and the atmosphere of their world. Through this technique, Peter Jackson is able to excite the audience and make them feel like the characters feel. The pathos being presented here appeal to the emotions of the audience by drawing them into the trailer, and this gets them excited for the movie. The logos that appeal to the audience are connected to the trailer, but are present outside of the actual trailer. Peter Jackson s previous movies have been critical and commercial successes. The Return of the King, the third movie in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, is tied for the record of the most academy awards ever won by a single film. These facts solidify Peter Jackson as an exceptional director who is more than capable of creating another good film. The audience of this trailer can consist of general moviegoers, Tolkien fans, Peter Jackson fans, and fans of the original Lord of the Rings movies. Peter Jackson s and Tolkien s awards and accolades are proof that The Hobbit is a genuine work of literature and that Peter Jackson is the ideal person to bring the book to life on screen. These logical appeals are proven in the trailer by seeing the story of The Hobbit come to life. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer is structured so that scenes from all parts of the movie flow together to create an image of the main plot points and ideas. These scenes
change throughout the trailer to give the audience an idea of the characters in the movie and the settings in which the movie takes place. The trailer uses the characters featured in the movie to reveal the plot. It also uses dark settings and invigorating music to create an atmosphere that goes along with the feeling the characters are able to create. The structure of the trailer excites the audience by switching between scenes with compelling dialogue and intense action. This fills the audience with sensations of danger, excitement, and suspense, and it makes them want to see the movie when it is released. The individual characters each have their own agendas in the movie. For example, the dwarf Thorin feels as though it is his responsibility to slay the dragon Smaug and reclaim the dwarves homeland in the Misty Mountains while the character Bard The Bowman believes the dwarves are foolish to wake the dragon because doing so will bring destruction and despair on the lands surrounding the dragon s lair. These characters were created by Tolkien to relate to the readers of The Hobbit and reveal the message in his writing. Peter Jackson shows in the trailer that he is able to bring these characters to life from the pages of Tolkien s masterpiece. It is interesting to think about why Peter Jackson structured the trailer in this format. The trailer is essentially the delivery of his answer to the question of why you should go see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The trailer could have contained scenes with less intensity and action and more character development and dialogue. Peter Jackson s delivery is effective because the sense of danger and excitement in the trailer creates a suspenseful atmosphere that convinces the audience to see the movie in its entirety. The success rate of this delivery is gaged depending on the type of moviegoer. If a viewer does not go to the movies for action, adventure, and special effects, then he or she may not be convinced by this trailer to view
the entire movie. It depends on the person, but Peter Jackson appeals to nearly all of the fans of his and Tolkien s previous work through this style of delivery. When creating the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Peter Jackson faced a challenge. How could he take a 76 year old fantasy story and make it interesting and exciting in this day in age. Many people seek adventure and excitement. We often escape from our rudimentary lives by watching movies, reading books, and playing video games. These alternate sources of reality provide us with adventure and excitement that we just don t experience every day. Peter Jackson took a classic adventure story and modernized it. He helped make fantasy a part of pop culture, and made everyone feel as though they were a part of Middle Earth. The Hobbit is, at its heart, a children s book, and Peter Jackson changed the mood slightly to better match that of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. This shift in mood allowed the movie to appeal to adults and children alike while keeping true to the story that Tolkien set up. Scott Mendelson, a contributor to Forbes, believes the sequel film won t be as successful as the first one because it will lack the discovery of The Hobbit Trilogy that the first movie presented. His state of mind is true for most sequels. The film takes place in an established world and continues a story that has already begun. A movie trailer can garner interest for an entire trilogy though. If people see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug movie trailer, they can become enticed to check out the trilogy and start the journey from the beginning. After viewing the first movie, they will have the necessary background knowledge for the second film. Peter Jackson uses rhetorical appeals in his favor to manipulate the audience s emotions and establish the film as a cinematic masterpiece that should not be missed.
Works Cited 1. Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. New York: Ballantine Books, 1976. Print. 2. Warner Bros. "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug." The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2013. 3. Mendelson, Scott. "Trailer Talk: 'The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug' Attempts To Fool Us Twice." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 01 Oct. 2013. Web. 09 Oct. 2013.