Tolkien’s reputation founders in a sea of commercialism: “Before 2000, few if any marketing executives were likely to have discussed Rings in Harry Potter terms: as a ‘literary property’ with a ‘market share’ and a ‘saturation point.’ For nearly five decades, Tolkien was untouched by that morass of Rowling-sized sales hysteria of Happy Meals and bubble bath.

Everything has changed since the release of the first two films in director Peter Jackson’s chart-busting Rings film trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001 and The Two Towers in 2002. As Tolkien’s fame and fortune have swollen to unprecedented levels, ranks of movie-driven enthusiasts have multiplied like Saruman’s orcs, trampling any vestiges of that deep-rooted if naive grass-roots movement that once prevented Tolkien’s corporate-driven mass exploitation.” —Boston Globe [via walker]