Letter Tolkien wrote to his daughter after CS Lewis died: So far I have felt the normal feelings of a man of my age-like an old tree that is losing all its leaves one by one: this feels like an axe-blow near the roots.
I always say that everyone needs a friend like Sam and they should strive to be a friend like Sam. There is nothing “gay” about loving your friends deeply.
If people don't question if your friendship is romantic Is it a great friendship? It's doesn't need to be romantic but when it's a great friendship. People will think that as finding a great friendship is rare
I think the fear of coming off as "too emotional" or "gay" (these being supposedly opposites to manliness) is one of the reasons we men are often too scared to show any real and vulnerable affection toward our guy friends. Hollywood, too, insists on showing "manliness." No two men will express real affection without immediately reverting back to cold shoulders afterwards. I don't know if that makes sense, just a thought bleargh.
"Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam." "Now mister Frodo you shouldn't make fun, I was being serious." "So was I." That is what Frodo gives Sam, acknowledgment, praise & faith
Being the ringbearer is also a gift to Sam, and to everyone really. And he did it without thought or promise of a reward. In fact it will cost him. It's what makes him a hero.
Thank you for covering this, I hate the gayification of Frodo and Sam's friendship. Men who go into battle must have a bond of a good friendship to survive.
I think theres more nuance to it that outright rejecting a queer premise but I do agree that the highest form of love in many cases is platonic. Considering that gay men are still men, there is still value in seeing Sam and Frodo as intended: platonic strictly. However, in a similar vain like how a lot of male female platonic friendships turn into romance, you can have the same thing develop in the same fashion. Many of the queer readings of Sam and Frodo'w relationship wasnt to demean the idea of platonicism, since romantic love and affection, even in same or opposite sex relationships, DO still have those innocent things. I think the media analyses on LGBT relationships are getting better at emphasizing this and Ive seen more queer creators turn around and make that distinction. Many gay men like myself have straight friends that I would definitely ride or die for, but only via a platonic way. Bromance is essential in a healthy society. Its just that interestingly enough, if you think about it, a gay love story is a life long bromance (with the sexual veneer of course) . We complement each other but since we're both men, its almost like a life long union or partnership. Eitherway, I do agree in the context of battle and morale, regardless of sexuality, every man needs to have a good friendship. Humans thrive off communal connections.
The number one reason I hate the gay-gaze of their friendship and most friendships between two people of the same gender is because it actually shows gay people in a bad light. It means gay people only get involved with people just to get in their pants and are not capable of platonic love at all with someone of the same gender. That's very wrong and unkind.
@@innitbruv-lascocomics9910 it unintentionally does demean them in frodo and samwise's case. Considering that sam actually has a wife, both are cannonically straight, and with CS Lewis and Tolkiens thoughts on friendship. Shipping them is pretty much going against the whole reason they were created, and erases completely the message those two characters bring.
@dragonsman4733 Exactly. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, and inserting a modern view of close male relationships, i.e the view that men can't have close, platonic friendships that go beyond simply meeting once or twice a week to so something, and instead they *have* to be gay is something he would have outright scoffed at and rejected.
I’m so glad that you point out how they dont share a sexual love, only the original bond of genuine and powerful friendship. People these days spend so much time “shipping” and pairing characters across a variety of relationships and bonds, we’ve seen a diminishing of people who acknowledge just simple yet strong friendships.
Completely agree. There is a lack of love in current day society for a myriad of reasons. Often times people gravitate to the most extreme forms of love and project that (to fill a void usually). They project this a lot with male characters (and ironically fetishize gay relationships) and do it to the point of annoyance.
Yep. Fandoms shipping has grown worse, the lmk fandom litterally ships every character that breathes. No this is not an exageration, I mean random side characters as well as the main.
Its because many people have very little real idea or concept of what a romantic loving relationship is and what a close friendship is. Or what a relationship of any kind is. When "love is love" supposedly means sex is love and when people have sex so casually they confuse so many shallow things for love then the whole concept of what a relationship is in the first place is confusing (there is not really any standard apart from physical touch) especially when you put the whole "everything is relative" idea into it. Then people just define relationships how they want to (fantasy fetishes basically).
"The truest of friendships are so often forged in the darkest and most dreadful circumstances imaginable, and yet they are made for times of tranquility." I think that speaks to the eternal value of friendship and marriage, especially when we get to heaven, a place of tranquility the earth has never seen.
Tolkien basically applies this to everything in the “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth”. Finrod says that men love things because they remind us of something else. Beautiful but yet somehow a pale imitation. And it’s true. Of what and where we don’t really know. We can guess, hope and believe. We can have faith but we can’t really know for certain. At least not in this lifetime.
@@Aethelhart To be more general, it's the main theme of the Jupiter movement from Gustav Holst's 'The Planets' suite. Holst's suite is where the tune originates from, and it's so good it's been reused numerous times since for hymns and patriotic songs. The movements in the suite depict the planets according to the Roman gods they're named after. Jupiter is the bringer of joviality, hence it makes a lot of sense for Master Samwise to play this theme talking about the value of the joy we get from friendship. And yes, I also loved hearing it :D
I remember my grandfather saying "things aren't worse, they're just different." There is epidemic of loneliness in our society, and it always disappoints me when romantic implications are almost automatically assigned to great friendships, but, in the same measure, what may have been called philia we might now call found family. We may not need philia bonds as a matter of survival in the way Plato wrote of it, but with more and more people needing friendship to take the place family bonds because of whatever reasons, found family gives the same love and togetherness that philia does. You're Found Family are the people you want with you "at the end of all things", because things aren't worse, they're just different.
I was in a lot of emotional pain the last few years. My best friend was there through all of it; she's been my friend for 12 years now and she's seen me decline. Sam carrying Frodo up the mountain always tugged my heartstrings, but now it makes me cry. She is my Sam. She didn't carry me up a mountain, but she helped me walk through the emotional struggle. Every day, she was there, loving and supporting me. I couldn't have made it here without my Sam.
Tears every time. Sean Astin acted the heck out of that moment, and that music swelling into a full-on rendition of Into the West?! UGH. STRAIGHT TO THE HEART.
Your introductory comments (and that quote from Lewis) remind me so much of Bonhoeffer’s poem, simply titled “The Friend”, that a certain subset of people find it extremely hard to understand for no apparent reason. In the poem, he represents friendship as “a lovely cornflower” that grows beside productive, life-giving fields (representative of marriage and family), and he comments how friendship, like the cornflower, blossoms seemingly without effort and serves no purpose but to be enjoyed for its beauty. A strange thing it is. Under-appreciated in our modern day.
@@lepoisson3665 as an "eros gay" I completely agree with this view. There is a partnership and platonic role that all humans need, regardless of sexuality. To pervert one love for the other, negates both in their necessary nature for humans. It breaks the necessary boundaries that weve established for our good.
@ I’m having trouble finding it in full online, but it’s included in the book Letters & Papers from Prison. Here is the text (translated, of course): THE FRIEND Not from the heavy soil,where blood and sex and oathrule in their hallowed might,where earth itself,guarding the primal consecrated order,avenges wantonness and madness -not from the heavy soil of earth,but from the spirit’s choice and free desire, needing no oath or legal bond,is friend bestowed on friend. Beside the cornfield that sustains us,tilled and cared for reverently by mensweating as they labour at their task,and, if need be, giving their life’s blood -beside the field that gives their daily breadmen also let the lovely cornflower thrive. No one has planted, no one watered it; it grows, defenceless and in freedom,and in glad confidence of life untroubledunder the open sky. Beside the staff of life,taken and fashioned from the heavy earth,beside our marriage, work, and war,the free man, too, will live and grow towards the sun.Not the ripe fruit alone -blossom is lovely, too. Does blossom only serve the fruit,or does fruit only serve the blossom -who knows?But both are given to us.Finest and rarest blossom,at a happy moment springingfrom the freedom of a lightsome, daring, trusting spirit,is a friend to a friend. Playmates at firston the spirit’s long journeysto distant and wonderful realmsthat, veiled by the morning sunlight,glitter like gold;when, in the midday heat the gossamer clouds in the deep blue skydrift slowly towards them -realms that, when night stirs the senses,lit by the lamps in the darkness,like treasures prudently hiddenbeckon the seeker. When the spirit touchesman’s heart and browwith thoughts that are lofty, bold, serene,so that with clear eyes he will face the worldas a free man may;when then the spirit gives birth to actionby which alone we stand or fall;when from the sane and resolute actionrises the work that gives a man’s lifecontent and meaning -then would that man,lonely and actively working, know of the spirit that grasps and befriends him,like waters clear and refreshingwhere the spirit is cleansed from the dustand cooled from the heat that oppressed him,steeling himself in the hour of fatigue -like a fortress to which, from confusion and danger,the spirit returns,wherein he finds refuge and comfort and strengthening, is a friend to a friend. And the spirit will trust,trust without limit. Sickened by verminthat feed, in the shade of the good,on envy, greed, and suspicion, by the snake-like hissingof venomous tonguesthat fear and hate and revilethe mystery of free thoughtand upright heart,the spirit would cast aside all deceit,open his heart to the spirit he trusts,and unite with him freely as one.Ungrudging, he will support,will thank and acknowledge him,and from him draw happiness and strength. But always to rigorousjudgment and censurefreely assenting,man seeks, in his manhood,not orders, not laws and peremptory dogmas,but counsel from one who is earnest in goodnessand faithful in friendship,making man free. Distant or near,in joy or in sorrow,each in the othersees his true helperto brotherly freedom. At midnight came the air-raid siren’s song;I thought of you in silence and for long -how you are faring, how our lives once were,and how I wish you home this coming year. We wait till half past one, and hear at last the signal that the danger now is past; so danger - if the omen does not lie - of every kind shall gently pass you by. [Apologies for the sloppy formatting…it didn’t copy as neatly as I would have liked from the ebook]
This is why, despite every serviceman, former or current, having a seemingly endless list of complaints about the military, we still miss it. The friendships you find in the service are the stronger and fiercer than any you will find anywhere else in life. Even if you couldn't be more different, you still end up loving each other truly like brothers
@abradolflincler726 It's not just that, though. I never saw combat in my service, thank God, but the friends I made in the Air Force were stronger than any I ever found in the civilian world. The military puts you into a situation where it's sink or swim. You work with the guy beside you no matter what you think of him because that's all you have. In that sort of environment, you tend to find the best in people very quickly
@@tasse0599 You don't get bullied in the military. You get made fun of, but there's no malice in it, and it goes in all directions. First responders have the same thing, which isn't surprising given how many of them are ex military
I went through a period of pitch-black depression as a teenager. Most of my family and friends (out of their best intentions) shamed me for not being able to hold it together. I truly felt like I was trudging through Mordor with no way out. However, I had one friend who stayed with me through it all. She never got tired of my foul moods and did her best to uplift me each and every day. It was like she saw through that miserable facade I got stuck with and believed in me at my brightest. Eventually, I got through. And now many years later I am brought to tears by the amount of gratitude I have. Our ability as humans to lift each other up is truly magnificent. And I am deeply touched by all the stories about kindness, even the smallest acts of it, for it can truly save a life.
"A true friend shows love at all times And is a brother who is born for times of distress" Proverbs 17:17 My best friend passed away a few days ago and I bury him tomorrow. I have the honor of being a pallbearer. I really loved him and I tried to show him the Tolkien world. We only managed to watch the first 2 movies before he passed unfortunately. Maybe someday I can tell him all about it. He was truly a brother to me. And I will certainly continue to weep till the world's ending. For him and all my departed loved ones. Like Gandalf said "not all tears are an evil." We need more close platonic friendships like this. Especially in the modern western world.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I, too, thought of a very good friend a regarded as a brother who has passed on. The part at the end where it's said that the grief is worth it for the friendship really hit me. While the pain will continue to lessen over time, I will forever grieve But despite all, it was worth it. A true friendship is always worth the pain that comes at its end.
Pointing out the servant part of the relationship was kind of important and something that I feel gets overlooked for an American audience mainly familiar with the movies.
And *that* folks is why the end of Return of the King never fails to make me cry at least a little. Master Samwise, another fantastic video. God bless you for just these simple things you're doing like this, reminding us about truer love, or truer friendship, or truer masculinity, etcetera, etcetera. It's a very bright light in this "World filled with sorrow from bleeding edge to bleeding edge" -Moebius N. It's very inspiring and hope inducing to have things like this to remind us
Loneliness in men is on the rise. I feel it. I thought was good friends with some people, people I loved like family before they betrayed all the trust I gave. Now there are people I interact with whom I like, but I'm not sure I could call them friends. These days, it feels like you need a strong shield to protect yourself. Loneliness hurts, but not being vulnerable to betrayal feels like a worthwhile trade. I wish it didn't, but that's the difference between fantasy and reality.
C.S. Lewis did have something to say on that point as well --"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell." Far be it from me to suggest that you should bare your soul to the world based on the advice of a TH-cam commenter that you'll never meet, but to shut oneself up in solitude because it's safer than vulnerability is every bit as hellish as suffering betrayal and severing trust, it it doesn't end up being moreso.
Love this take. I heard a different video recently talking about how lotr fantasy is good because it causes our imaginations to operate. But what makes it good is that, like the best ancient "apokalyptik" literature, it reveals fundamental reality.
12:30 thank you so much for acknowledging this moment, I think it's so powerful in conveying what Jackson couldn't with the Scouring. Those who say the movies miss the point of the original and just give the hobbits a happily-ever-after don't seem able to appreciate cinematic nuance. How can you not watch this scene and feel how bittersweet this return is for them?
It's really a heartwarming and yet somewhat discouraging moment. The hobbits around them have NO idea what happened down south, and they likely never will. But that doesn't invalidate the sacrifice of Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. It just deprives them of the hero's welcome they perhaps were expecting (like the one they got in Minas Tirith). Ultimately, however, it didn't matter. They did what they did not for praise or glory but because it was right, and for the love of each other.
@@master_samwise And the sweetness that their efforts preserved the Shire as they remembered. I admit that I wanted the Scouring in there to show the 4 Hobbit's leadership and growth, but I almost think now this scene is better in its humility.
I had a boss who, when I told him I loved LOTR, said he didn’t like it because he didn’t like Frodo and Sam staring into each other’s eyes, and I have never been so off-put by a comment like that.
12:26 is my favorite scene in the whole trilogy: 4 people who share in events that others simply can’t relate to… their eyes say it all: there’s this disconnect because of those events; yet a stronger connection with the three other people at the table. They give each other a look; communicating everything without a word before lifting up their drinks to celebrate their fellowship with one another… simply beautiful.
11:11 It is pretty cool that the swing back seems to be happening. "If it's gay to carry my boy up the mountain and cry with him for a journey well done, relief at an impossible task completed, and despair at a death soon to happen, then that's my pookie bear and I'm gay." I have no stats, only anecdotes, but it seems that this has been incorporated into this new generations male friendships to sort of block peer pressure that any deep philia friendship is eros.
13:32 This was the perfect quote to sum up TRUE friendship and brotherhood and it broke me. I should have seen it coming. But it’s just so perfect. We love despite the inevitable.
People seem to have this idea that acts of friendship need to be these big, over-the-top things in order for them to be meaningful, but the smallest of things can show how much someone cares about their friend. Sure, it COULD be Sam carrying Frodo up Mr. Doom. Or it could be Makoto Sunakawa from the anime My Love Story!! who ignores or rebuffs every girl he meets except the ONE girl who is nice to his best friend Takeo.
“Love is love” is a circular definition. It’s no different than saying “hate is hate”. What is love? “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” - John 15:13
Dude. Why do your videos that cover God of War and LOTR always bring me to tears? Friendships are something that people often forget are a choice. Those choices reflect who we are, and who we may become.
In terms of shipping, which is probably where the "Frodo and Sam are gay" arguments come from, I think it's best to see those friendships as just that, philia. Profound, deep friendship. It should only be romantic (Eros) if the story shows the romance is explicit or gives more than enough subtext to make the natural conclusion obvious. Aragorn and Arwen, Faramir and Eowyn, Sam and Rosie, etc.
You know what the paradox is? That for the ancient Greeks and Romans such kind of "philìa" was the feeling that, in an ideal world, should be between the spouses, and NOT Eros. Eros is chaotic and it subjugates one's will to the urge of passion, while the philìa is an act of free will and arises from affinity and shared experience, so for the Ancients it was more valuable.
10:10 I feel like you're talking directly to me here. I was that friend for my chronically ill best friend....until I got frustrated and slowly gave up on her over time. I keep blaming her attitude, bitterness and meanness during that time (an attitude she no longer holds despite still being ill), but that doesn't excuse my abandonment of her.
Great video! Reminds me of someone who was clearly in Tolkien's (and Lewis's) mind as he wrote this amazing story, who said: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (Jesus Christ in the Bible, Gospel of John 15:13; and he actually did this to rescue those who believe in him!)
Such a beautiful video. Real stories versus realistic are just so much more inspiring and fulfilling, they make you want to be virtuous and constantly better. That’s not to say that realistic stories can’t be good, Stormlight is a perfect example, but I don’t know if they’re truly as inspiring or impactful
As I grow older and closer to having kids, I have started to reflect on manhood and what it means to me. Stumbling across this channel was such a treat. I especially love your video on God of War and fatherhood. Im not embarrassed to say that I shed a few tears watching that video. Your focus on preaching humility, open-mindedness, restraint, and responsibility is exactly what I believe young men need to hear. Thank you for creating the content you do. You have earned a subscriber for life.
My favourite line in the whole story is the quiet “Courage Merry, courage for our friends” before the Pelennor Fields. Those little words hit so hard every single time 😭😭😭
13:13 Every time I rewatch the extended edition and I get to the end… I really keep struggling with holding back tears here. Every single time. Sometimes I do hold them back. Sometimes I don’t.
Another great example of brothers is Peter & Harry in Spiderman 2 PS5. Spoilers for the game: at the end, when Peter destroys venom, Harry is finally free but he’s dying. Before Harry passes out, Peter says “I love you”. It wasn’t romance, it was just an awesome family moment. Peter saw Harry as a brother. After this Harry leaves Peter a gift(A new suit) & a message in a side quest: “Hey Pete, I just want to say I love ya man. I hope you like the new Spider suit I made for you.” It was very well done. It did remind me of Frodo and Sam. Also, I am glad that Harry didn’t die in the end.
3 comments I want to make: 1) Great video on an important topic not mentioned much in our society. 2) Love the CS Lewis quotes - his works are some of my favorite to read/listen to when I have the chance. You could do a great video on C.S. Lewis's works, fictional, theological, or otherwise. 3) Is that Marty O'Donnell I hear in the background?
I think true friendships can only form through shared hardship in life. That is why so many people feel 'alone'. There is barely any hardship to have in our modern world, we are all too comfortable and have no need to rely on others for survival.
The ending to this video made me tear up a little bit. It is so beautiful that their friendship is just that - a friendship. Born from companionship and not from any kind of romantic or sexual attraction. It really bothers me that in the perception of the general public every strong, genuine relationship must be somewhat romantic and friendships are valued less. I am asexual myself and have experienced romantic attraction very rarely in my life, but I have very good platonic friends about whom I care deeply. I feel like for people on the ace aro spectrum it can be quite harmful that friendships are often not depicted as being as valuable as romantic relationships in media. All the more important to have great examples like we do in LOTR. Thanks for the great video! ❤
Friendships are extremely important to me as an Aromantic and Asexual woman. I do not feel romantic attraction. I do not feel sexual attraction. I never have. So, I have never wanted a romantic partner. I don't really see a point to that type of relationship. I do have a best friend. She is my absolute favorite person, and I love her. My feelings are no less valid just cause there is no expectation that it leads to romance. This feels very validating to me specifically. Thank you. ❤
I'm also ace aro, and it's always nice to see friendships like this in media as well. Everyone puts so much emphasis on a style of relationship I will never have and it's so isolating. But the rare occasions where we are told that having the deep platonic bond like that between Sam and Frodo makes me feel seen. And like I could find my person or my people someday.
Frodo and Sam's friendship is one of the GOATs, no doubt. Your video is so good, as always! I was most recently pleasantly surprised with the friendship between Raju and Bheem in RRR. Theirs was just such a genuine and great male friendship that was obviously the core of the whole movie. It's a three-hour Tollywood movie, and yet what they do together is compelling for the entire runtime! I mention it here to recommend that movie to anyone haha. But even the topic of male friendships makes it more relevant!
Lord of the Rings is the reason why I found my most trusted friend. We met through a random conversation about the movies and well... the rest is history. I can just say that this friendship feels like family like we are brothers and even if our chats and meetings are not about lotr or Tolkien in general it still feels like home in a person.
I just now realize all of u guys are complaining about being lonely but are causing it urselves if all of u want friends go befrined eachother but yall dont so this is self imposed
@AyaOats I personally don't experience loneliness (I'm an Aspie). But I have studied psychology, and I understand how important platonic relationships are to normal people, as well as _why_ they are important. My perspective here isn't some personal complaint (where did you even get that idea?). It's a professional observation on the importance of a social dynamic that is being trod upon by the current shipping-obsessed culture. So many people write off the importance of platonic relationships these days, and I fear that doing so is damaging their psychies.
@AyaOats Ah. Are you one of those Andrew Tate type extreme extroverts who can't wrap their head around why people would value something in a story unless they're using it as a substitute for something they can't get in the real world? Because, if so, that's your own ADHD talking, not any sort of enlightenment.
@@serpentinious7745 ny comments are being deleted i replied 39 minutes agoif u want an alternative place were i can freely say how much i despise andrew tate and his followers i will say it there i hate those men they are one of the worst people alive
I have several friends that I would give my life for, but I fear they would not do the same, as they no longer speak to me. We haven't quarreled, and I've tried to keep contact, but at some point they either stopped responding completely or responds once a year at best... Though they still smile at me when we meet, I'm afraid they no longer regard me as a friend, as they're never there for me when I need it, and I am left all alone. I've made new friends, but it just happens again and again. My latest close friend invited me to a 2-day cruise ship, only to leave me isolated for most of the journey after having met up with the rest of the group. I tried making contact and arranging for everyone to get together the whole trip, only to get no response, and then to find they'd gathered to have fun without me, never bothering to contact me. I was close to throwing myself off the boat, and when I jokingly mentioned it, my friend told me: "Then do it. I don't care.", and in the months since then she's nearly stopped talking to me, rarely responds to my messages, and never mentions or apologized for the trip. I don't know what to do anymore...
As Master Samwise said, friendship is a gift. Freely given but expecting nothing in return. I am sorry that this person you went on a cruise trip with turned out to be terrible, and not worthy of your friendship. As for the others... growing apart is a common thing, in everyday life. We do not often go through the same trials as Heroes such as Frodo and Sam, and so our bonds can be weaker. Cherish the time you had with them, keep yourself available if they come to you. Continue to seek out others to spend time with, and know that the last person you spoke of is an outlier and not the norm.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I also believe that there's an element of agape in the other three types of love.
I hate the notion that a romantic relationship is always seen as the pinnacle of relationships. Just because you’re romantically attracted to someone, doesn’t make e relationship inherently more valuable than friendship or family. I really don’t like the ‘more than friends’ saying. I understand where that comes from, but to be a good friend, to have been friends for years and just feel comfortable around that friend, comfortable because you know what to expect and comfortable because you can actually share deep conversations and things that trouble you. That’s super valuable.
Really loved the video! Fraternity has always been an important thing for me and you did a great job explaining it through Frodo and Sam. Also, amazing choice of background music! I think Jupiter fits perfectly for talking about genuine male friendship for some reason. While I really don’t think there’s any harm in taking a gay reading of Frodo and Sam, I think the “gayification” of their relationship comes more from more people making videos and talking about a gay reading than a platonic one rather than it actually being the most popular way fans view the characters. I think most people know what their intended relationship is. But the great thing about art is that you can extract whatever meaning is important to you from it!
Of course lol, I see you have a Maryland flag which I’m from Maryland, Baltimore at that. As a bisexual I completely agree that Frodo and Sam’s relationship was COMPLETELY platonic. I see nothing wrong with platonic relationships and encourage them more often. I don’t know why people are so quick to think they’re gay because they display so much emotion rare of what you see today. But some people in the comments are having a little meltdown talking about “sexual love” when love can’t be sexual. I really honestly believe would they be saying that if a gay man can have a platonic relationship with a straight man. Would they really be saying that then? 🤔
Well! That made me tear up watching Sam and Frodo say goodbye! Oof. Damn good video! I've tried to explain to so many people how the emotional spectrum of the characters in the books and movies is worth delving into. Thank you the video! It was wonderful ❤
10:23 "Of course not" One sad reality is that it's surprisingly common here in Sweden to lose your friends if you develop things like chronic illness and/or disability or other crippling ailments. Seems like people in Sweden can't really accept or deal with others that "stray too far from the norm". I had allot of people that I thought were friends, sadly none of those friendships survived me leaving my town that I lived in and moving to a nearby city. 13:26 "This is ultimately how we know how powerful the love between these two friends has been" It might sound funny but ive always hoped that they would reunite in Valinor, we know that Sam eventually makes it to Valinor and he's like one of the four mortals that are allowed entry (together with Frodo, Gimli and Bilbo). I have no idea if Frodo was still alive when Sam came to Valinor. By the time Sam arrived, Frodo would have been around 114 years old, so there's a slim possibility Frodo would still be alive when Sam reached the undying lands. Frodo was at the upper parts of a hobbits lifespan, still not the most extreme since Bilbo lived to be 131 and the old took lived to be 130. I know it's fiction but I don't really care, I think Sam deserves to see Frodo before he passes from our world (yes, lord of the rings is our world, tolkien even it). Edit: changed a bit to correct for ages.
@ChildrenofZaun oh no, i'm not calling you homophobic against ME, i'm calling you homophobic in general based on what you said in your initial comment. hope that clears things up 👍
@ChildrenofZaun you brought up homosexuality when you said "i've seen people who thought they were gay find real love." (my spice tolerance is tragically low. i think cool ranch doritos have a kick to them and i'm not proud. a pad thai at full spice would kill me)
People forget that a real friendship is THE STRONGEST and deepest bond one can have. A sexual relationship is at the bottom of the fucking list. You can't prostitute a friendship.
That reference to people in the cubicle engaging in servile work seemed like a nod to Leisure the Basis of Culture. Also if you like Lewis’s The Four Loves and you haven’t checked our Pieper’s masterpiece on Love, you need to get his book Faith Hope Love.
i remember the honest trailer for lotr came out saying to the effect of ''so much manly love, you'll think you're watching broke back mount doom'' and as funny as that was at the time, its kind of disappointing how common the more vain perception of masculinity continues to be, the hunger for sincerity is real and hopefully will pull us closer to being better to each other.
One of my deepest bonds is with a couple I met through a thankless and underpaid catering job. It's a friendship based on mutual understanding and respect, and the entire group of friends of which they are part is held together with an entirely circumstantial but ultimately respectful bond. Engineers, business majors, a nurse, a soldier, an event planner, all held together by the simple fact that we like being around each other. Platonic love can be built on a foundation of almost nothing yet be strong enough to weather the harshest storms
My friend of over 20 years, my best friend, is gone. We were the kind of friends this video is about. So few people nowadays believe that kind of love can exist. Almost no one I know understands my loss.
I've been out of the military for 7 years now, and I haven't made a single friend in that time of the same quality that I made while I was in the service.
Bring back genuine platonic male friendships in entertainment.
Screw hyper reality. We need them irl.
Yessir.
And for women
@@ravens-crypt Yes I agree; that too. Platonic friendships in general.
They did that with Luca, but people still called them gay. 😅
Letter Tolkien wrote to his daughter after CS Lewis died:
So far I have felt the normal feelings of a man of my age-like an old tree that is losing all its leaves one by one: this feels like an axe-blow near the roots.
Who put these onions here?
I always say that everyone needs a friend like Sam and they should strive to be a friend like Sam. There is nothing “gay” about loving your friends deeply.
Very true. I can envision dying for a dear friend without anything romantic to it.
🎶"Bromance - nothing really gay about it. Not that there's anything wrong with being gay. "
Everyone needs a Sam and everyone needs to be a Sam
If people don't question if your friendship is romantic
Is it a great friendship?
It's doesn't need to be romantic but when it's a great friendship. People will think that as finding a great friendship is rare
I think the fear of coming off as "too emotional" or "gay" (these being supposedly opposites to manliness) is one of the reasons we men are often too scared to show any real and vulnerable affection toward our guy friends.
Hollywood, too, insists on showing "manliness." No two men will express real affection without immediately reverting back to cold shoulders afterwards.
I don't know if that makes sense, just a thought bleargh.
"Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam."
"Now mister Frodo you shouldn't make fun, I was being serious."
"So was I."
That is what Frodo gives Sam, acknowledgment, praise & faith
Being the ringbearer is also a gift to Sam, and to everyone really. And he did it without thought or promise of a reward. In fact it will cost him. It's what makes him a hero.
It was on the shoulders of Sam that Frodo stood tall
Pretty sure he said, "wouldn't have got far".....the basis of the quote still holds, though.😅
The “so was I” 🥹
Thank you for covering this, I hate the gayification of Frodo and Sam's friendship. Men who go into battle must have a bond of a good friendship to survive.
I think theres more nuance to it that outright rejecting a queer premise but I do agree that the highest form of love in many cases is platonic. Considering that gay men are still men, there is still value in seeing Sam and Frodo as intended: platonic strictly. However, in a similar vain like how a lot of male female platonic friendships turn into romance, you can have the same thing develop in the same fashion. Many of the queer readings of Sam and Frodo'w relationship wasnt to demean the idea of platonicism, since romantic love and affection, even in same or opposite sex relationships, DO still have those innocent things. I think the media analyses on LGBT relationships are getting better at emphasizing this and Ive seen more queer creators turn around and make that distinction. Many gay men like myself have straight friends that I would definitely ride or die for, but only via a platonic way. Bromance is essential in a healthy society. Its just that interestingly enough, if you think about it, a gay love story is a life long bromance (with the sexual veneer of course) . We complement each other but since we're both men, its almost like a life long union or partnership.
Eitherway, I do agree in the context of battle and morale, regardless of sexuality, every man needs to have a good friendship. Humans thrive off communal connections.
The number one reason I hate the gay-gaze of their friendship and most friendships between two people of the same gender is because it actually shows gay people in a bad light. It means gay people only get involved with people just to get in their pants and are not capable of platonic love at all with someone of the same gender. That's very wrong and unkind.
@@innitbruv-lascocomics9910 it unintentionally does demean them in frodo and samwise's case. Considering that sam actually has a wife, both are cannonically straight, and with CS Lewis and Tolkiens thoughts on friendship. Shipping them is pretty much going against the whole reason they were created, and erases completely the message those two characters bring.
Keep your ghoulish porn addiction to yourself, they arent queer and should not ever be viewed as such.
@dragonsman4733 Exactly. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, and inserting a modern view of close male relationships, i.e the view that men can't have close, platonic friendships that go beyond simply meeting once or twice a week to so something, and instead they *have* to be gay is something he would have outright scoffed at and rejected.
I’m so glad that you point out how they dont share a sexual love, only the original bond of genuine and powerful friendship.
People these days spend so much time “shipping” and pairing characters across a variety of relationships and bonds, we’ve seen a diminishing of people who acknowledge just simple yet strong friendships.
Completely agree. There is a lack of love in current day society for a myriad of reasons. Often times people gravitate to the most extreme forms of love and project that (to fill a void usually). They project this a lot with male characters (and ironically fetishize gay relationships) and do it to the point of annoyance.
Agreed. Shippers are one of the worst portions of a fandom.
Yep. Fandoms shipping has grown worse, the lmk fandom litterally ships every character that breathes. No this is not an exageration, I mean random side characters as well as the main.
The "shipping" misses the point so hard
Its because many people have very little real idea or concept of what a romantic loving relationship is and what a close friendship is. Or what a relationship of any kind is. When "love is love" supposedly means sex is love and when people have sex so casually they confuse so many shallow things for love then the whole concept of what a relationship is in the first place is confusing (there is not really any standard apart from physical touch) especially when you put the whole "everything is relative" idea into it. Then people just define relationships how they want to (fantasy fetishes basically).
"The truest of friendships are so often forged in the darkest and most dreadful circumstances imaginable, and yet they are made for times of tranquility." I think that speaks to the eternal value of friendship and marriage, especially when we get to heaven, a place of tranquility the earth has never seen.
Tolkien basically applies this to everything in the “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth”. Finrod says that men love things because they remind us of something else. Beautiful but yet somehow a pale imitation. And it’s true. Of what and where we don’t really know. We can guess, hope and believe. We can have faith but we can’t really know for certain. At least not in this lifetime.
'Oh God Beyond All Praising' in the background paired with the bittersweetness of Frodo leaving his friends literally made me cry over here
I've been wondering for months what that tune was. Thank you.
@@Aethelhart To be more general, it's the main theme of the Jupiter movement from Gustav Holst's 'The Planets' suite. Holst's suite is where the tune originates from, and it's so good it's been reused numerous times since for hymns and patriotic songs.
The movements in the suite depict the planets according to the Roman gods they're named after. Jupiter is the bringer of joviality, hence it makes a lot of sense for Master Samwise to play this theme talking about the value of the joy we get from friendship.
And yes, I also loved hearing it :D
Yes! That song swelling under the scenes was wonderfully poignant! Well done Master Samwise, well done!
Same thought here! Hallelujah
I remember my grandfather saying "things aren't worse, they're just different." There is epidemic of loneliness in our society, and it always disappoints me when romantic implications are almost automatically assigned to great friendships, but, in the same measure, what may have been called philia we might now call found family. We may not need philia bonds as a matter of survival in the way Plato wrote of it, but with more and more people needing friendship to take the place family bonds because of whatever reasons, found family gives the same love and togetherness that philia does. You're Found Family are the people you want with you "at the end of all things", because things aren't worse, they're just different.
That is really comforting actually. Your grandfather was/is a wise man
I was in a lot of emotional pain the last few years. My best friend was there through all of it; she's been my friend for 12 years now and she's seen me decline. Sam carrying Frodo up the mountain always tugged my heartstrings, but now it makes me cry. She is my Sam. She didn't carry me up a mountain, but she helped me walk through the emotional struggle. Every day, she was there, loving and supporting me. I couldn't have made it here without my Sam.
Glad you found someone. May we all be so lucky.
(Sam picks up Frodo on Mt. Doom) I'm not crying. YOU'RE crying!
Tears every time. Sean Astin acted the heck out of that moment, and that music swelling into a full-on rendition of Into the West?! UGH. STRAIGHT TO THE HEART.
Yes, yes I am.
Every damn time.
Not all tears are sad
Nods. "Let's cry together up the mountain."
Your introductory comments (and that quote from Lewis) remind me so much of Bonhoeffer’s poem, simply titled “The Friend”, that a certain subset of people find it extremely hard to understand for no apparent reason. In the poem, he represents friendship as “a lovely cornflower” that grows beside productive, life-giving fields (representative of marriage and family), and he comments how friendship, like the cornflower, blossoms seemingly without effort and serves no purpose but to be enjoyed for its beauty. A strange thing it is. Under-appreciated in our modern day.
Having now watched the total video, I see that you too have experienced the “everything is Eros and everyone is gay” group. :p
@@lepoisson3665 as an "eros gay" I completely agree with this view. There is a partnership and platonic role that all humans need, regardless of sexuality. To pervert one love for the other, negates both in their necessary nature for humans. It breaks the necessary boundaries that weve established for our good.
I have tried to Google around to find this poem but cannot find it in full. Where would you suggest I look?
@ I’m having trouble finding it in full online, but it’s included in the book Letters & Papers from Prison.
Here is the text (translated, of course):
THE FRIEND
Not from the heavy soil,where blood and sex and oathrule in their hallowed might,where earth itself,guarding the primal consecrated order,avenges wantonness and madness -not from the heavy soil of earth,but from the spirit’s choice and free desire,
needing no oath or legal bond,is friend bestowed on friend.
Beside the cornfield that sustains us,tilled and cared for reverently by mensweating as they labour at their task,and, if need be, giving their life’s blood -beside the field that gives their daily breadmen also let the lovely cornflower thrive. No one has planted, no one watered it; it grows, defenceless and in freedom,and in glad confidence of life untroubledunder the open sky.
Beside the staff of life,taken and fashioned from the heavy earth,beside our marriage, work, and war,the free man, too, will live and grow towards the sun.Not the ripe fruit alone -blossom is lovely, too. Does blossom only serve the fruit,or does fruit only serve the blossom -who knows?But both are given to us.Finest and rarest blossom,at a happy moment springingfrom the freedom of a lightsome, daring, trusting spirit,is a friend to a friend.
Playmates at firston the spirit’s long journeysto distant and wonderful realmsthat, veiled by the morning sunlight,glitter like gold;when, in the midday heat
the gossamer clouds in the deep blue skydrift slowly towards them -realms that, when night stirs the senses,lit by the lamps in the darkness,like treasures prudently hiddenbeckon the seeker.
When the spirit touchesman’s heart and browwith thoughts that are lofty, bold, serene,so that with clear eyes he will face the worldas a free man may;when then the spirit gives birth to actionby which alone we stand or fall;when from the sane and resolute actionrises the work that gives a man’s lifecontent and meaning -then would that man,lonely and actively working,
know of the spirit that grasps and befriends him,like waters clear and refreshingwhere the spirit is cleansed from the dustand cooled from the heat that oppressed him,steeling himself in the hour of fatigue -like a fortress to which, from confusion and danger,the spirit returns,wherein he finds refuge and comfort and strengthening, is a friend to a friend.
And the spirit will trust,trust without limit. Sickened by verminthat feed, in the shade of the good,on envy, greed, and suspicion,
by the snake-like hissingof venomous tonguesthat fear and hate and revilethe mystery of free thoughtand upright heart,the spirit would cast aside all deceit,open his heart to the spirit he trusts,and unite with him freely as one.Ungrudging, he will support,will thank and acknowledge him,and from him draw happiness and strength.
But always to rigorousjudgment and censurefreely assenting,man seeks, in his manhood,not orders, not laws and peremptory dogmas,but counsel from one who is earnest in goodnessand faithful in friendship,making man free.
Distant or near,in joy or in sorrow,each in the othersees his true helperto brotherly freedom.
At midnight came the air-raid siren’s song;I thought of you in silence and for long -how you are faring, how our lives once were,and how I wish you home this coming year.
We wait till half past one, and hear at last
the signal that the danger now is past;
so danger - if the omen does not lie -
of every kind shall gently pass you by.
[Apologies for the sloppy formatting…it didn’t copy as neatly as I would have liked from the ebook]
@@lepoisson3665 Thank you for copy pasting it!!
This is why, despite every serviceman, former or current, having a seemingly endless list of complaints about the military, we still miss it. The friendships you find in the service are the stronger and fiercer than any you will find anywhere else in life. Even if you couldn't be more different, you still end up loving each other truly like brothers
There is something about putting your lives on the line for each other, that bring men together.
@abradolflincler726 It's not just that, though. I never saw combat in my service, thank God, but the friends I made in the Air Force were stronger than any I ever found in the civilian world. The military puts you into a situation where it's sink or swim. You work with the guy beside you no matter what you think of him because that's all you have. In that sort of environment, you tend to find the best in people very quickly
Ok, but what about those who are bullied?
@@tasse0599 You don't get bullied in the military. You get made fun of, but there's no malice in it, and it goes in all directions. First responders have the same thing, which isn't surprising given how many of them are ex military
@@tasse0599 Man up and deal with it.
I went through a period of pitch-black depression as a teenager. Most of my family and friends (out of their best intentions) shamed me for not being able to hold it together. I truly felt like I was trudging through Mordor with no way out. However, I had one friend who stayed with me through it all. She never got tired of my foul moods and did her best to uplift me each and every day. It was like she saw through that miserable facade I got stuck with and believed in me at my brightest. Eventually, I got through. And now many years later I am brought to tears by the amount of gratitude I have. Our ability as humans to lift each other up is truly magnificent. And I am deeply touched by all the stories about kindness, even the smallest acts of it, for it can truly save a life.
"A true friend shows love at all times And is a brother who is born for times of distress" Proverbs 17:17
My best friend passed away a few days ago and I bury him tomorrow. I have the honor of being a pallbearer. I really loved him and I tried to show him the Tolkien world. We only managed to watch the first 2 movies before he passed unfortunately. Maybe someday I can tell him all about it. He was truly a brother to me. And I will certainly continue to weep till the world's ending. For him and all my departed loved ones. Like Gandalf said "not all tears are an evil." We need more close platonic friendships like this. Especially in the modern western world.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I, too, thought of a very good friend a regarded as a brother who has passed on. The part at the end where it's said that the grief is worth it for the friendship really hit me. While the pain will continue to lessen over time, I will forever grieve But despite all, it was worth it. A true friendship is always worth the pain that comes at its end.
I love a good true bromance!! Not enough of those in our fiction or in our world. Sam and Frodo are a wonderful example
Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock was also a wonderful friendship.
Bromance was a term invented by misandrists. It needs to die.
Pointing out the servant part of the relationship was kind of important and something that I feel gets overlooked for an American audience mainly familiar with the movies.
And *that* folks is why the end of Return of the King never fails to make me cry at least a little. Master Samwise, another fantastic video. God bless you for just these simple things you're doing like this, reminding us about truer love, or truer friendship, or truer masculinity, etcetera, etcetera. It's a very bright light in this "World filled with sorrow from bleeding edge to bleeding edge" -Moebius N. It's very inspiring and hope inducing to have things like this to remind us
Loneliness in men is on the rise. I feel it. I thought was good friends with some people, people I loved like family before they betrayed all the trust I gave. Now there are people I interact with whom I like, but I'm not sure I could call them friends. These days, it feels like you need a strong shield to protect yourself. Loneliness hurts, but not being vulnerable to betrayal feels like a worthwhile trade. I wish it didn't, but that's the difference between fantasy and reality.
C.S. Lewis did have something to say on that point as well --"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell."
Far be it from me to suggest that you should bare your soul to the world based on the advice of a TH-cam commenter that you'll never meet, but to shut oneself up in solitude because it's safer than vulnerability is every bit as hellish as suffering betrayal and severing trust, it it doesn't end up being moreso.
Love this take. I heard a different video recently talking about how lotr fantasy is good because it causes our imaginations to operate. But what makes it good is that, like the best ancient "apokalyptik" literature, it reveals fundamental reality.
12:30 thank you so much for acknowledging this moment, I think it's so powerful in conveying what Jackson couldn't with the Scouring. Those who say the movies miss the point of the original and just give the hobbits a happily-ever-after don't seem able to appreciate cinematic nuance. How can you not watch this scene and feel how bittersweet this return is for them?
It's really a heartwarming and yet somewhat discouraging moment. The hobbits around them have NO idea what happened down south, and they likely never will. But that doesn't invalidate the sacrifice of Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. It just deprives them of the hero's welcome they perhaps were expecting (like the one they got in Minas Tirith). Ultimately, however, it didn't matter. They did what they did not for praise or glory but because it was right, and for the love of each other.
@@master_samwise And the sweetness that their efforts preserved the Shire as they remembered. I admit that I wanted the Scouring in there to show the 4 Hobbit's leadership and growth, but I almost think now this scene is better in its humility.
@master_samwise "Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised."
Just thought of that Aragorn quote.
These stories taught me what sort of person and friend I wanted to be. I spent my whole life looking for friendship like this. I did find it.
I had a boss who, when I told him I loved LOTR, said he didn’t like it because he didn’t like Frodo and Sam staring into each other’s eyes, and I have never been so off-put by a comment like that.
He's a homophob, and he doesn't understand that there's nothing gay about it.
12:26 is my favorite scene in the whole trilogy: 4 people who share in events that others simply can’t relate to… their eyes say it all: there’s this disconnect because of those events; yet a stronger connection with the three other people at the table. They give each other a look; communicating everything without a word before lifting up their drinks to celebrate their fellowship with one another… simply beautiful.
11:11 It is pretty cool that the swing back seems to be happening. "If it's gay to carry my boy up the mountain and cry with him for a journey well done, relief at an impossible task completed, and despair at a death soon to happen, then that's my pookie bear and I'm gay." I have no stats, only anecdotes, but it seems that this has been incorporated into this new generations male friendships to sort of block peer pressure that any deep philia friendship is eros.
There is a reason why the "meme"; "kissing the homies goodnight" is popular.
Much appreciated. I hope that the people who have never had true friendship don't try to cancal you for denying their favorite ship.
13:32 This was the perfect quote to sum up TRUE friendship and brotherhood and it broke me. I should have seen it coming. But it’s just so perfect. We love despite the inevitable.
People seem to have this idea that acts of friendship need to be these big, over-the-top things in order for them to be meaningful, but the smallest of things can show how much someone cares about their friend.
Sure, it COULD be Sam carrying Frodo up Mr. Doom. Or it could be Makoto Sunakawa from the anime My Love Story!! who ignores or rebuffs every girl he meets except the ONE girl who is nice to his best friend Takeo.
That show is so incredibly wholesome! The friendship between Takeo and Suna is just as important as the romance between Takeo and Rinko.
I always found the statement "love is love" incredibly reductive.
It also has a connection to the normalise pedophile movement which is alarming.
Im always wary when I hear it said.
“Love is love” is a circular definition. It’s no different than saying “hate is hate”. What is love? “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” - John 15:13
@@1simo93521it tries to make any form of “love” as okay
So you’re being homophobic? Is not love love?
@@1simo93521so are you calling gay people pedophiles?
Great video brother, Lord God Christ continue to bless you
Dude. Why do your videos that cover God of War and LOTR always bring me to tears? Friendships are something that people often forget are a choice. Those choices reflect who we are, and who we may become.
Can I just say that closing with Holst's Jupiter is entirely unfair, and I am weeping.
Samwisw got me crying in the AM lol. Great video man
In terms of shipping, which is probably where the "Frodo and Sam are gay" arguments come from, I think it's best to see those friendships as just that, philia. Profound, deep friendship. It should only be romantic (Eros) if the story shows the romance is explicit or gives more than enough subtext to make the natural conclusion obvious. Aragorn and Arwen, Faramir and Eowyn, Sam and Rosie, etc.
Gatekeep Shippers
This is such a powerful video, it deserves so much more than it has gotten already. Strive for meaningful friendships!
You know what the paradox is? That for the ancient Greeks and Romans such kind of "philìa" was the feeling that, in an ideal world, should be between the spouses, and NOT Eros. Eros is chaotic and it subjugates one's will to the urge of passion, while the philìa is an act of free will and arises from affinity and shared experience, so for the Ancients it was more valuable.
One could have both with their spouse.
10:10 I feel like you're talking directly to me here. I was that friend for my chronically ill best friend....until I got frustrated and slowly gave up on her over time. I keep blaming her attitude, bitterness and meanness during that time (an attitude she no longer holds despite still being ill), but that doesn't excuse my abandonment of her.
Great video!
Reminds me of someone who was clearly in Tolkien's (and Lewis's) mind as he wrote this amazing story, who said:
"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (Jesus Christ in the Bible, Gospel of John 15:13; and he actually did this to rescue those who believe in him!)
Such a beautiful video. Real stories versus realistic are just so much more inspiring and fulfilling, they make you want to be virtuous and constantly better. That’s not to say that realistic stories can’t be good, Stormlight is a perfect example, but I don’t know if they’re truly as inspiring or impactful
Things like this are why Sam has become my favorite character in Lord of the Rings
By far the best character. The rest of the characters lack depth compared to him.
As I grow older and closer to having kids, I have started to reflect on manhood and what it means to me. Stumbling across this channel was such a treat. I especially love your video on God of War and fatherhood. Im not embarrassed to say that I shed a few tears watching that video.
Your focus on preaching humility, open-mindedness, restraint, and responsibility is exactly what I believe young men need to hear.
Thank you for creating the content you do. You have earned a subscriber for life.
My favourite line in the whole story is the quiet “Courage Merry, courage for our friends” before the Pelennor Fields. Those little words hit so hard every single time 😭😭😭
This is one of the best and most powerful looks at this subject I have ever seen. Bravo
God Holst's Jupiter in the background gave me chills. One of the best ceremonial pieces of music.
I know it as 'O God Beyond All Praising' - I had no idea it had an extended edition
The specific melody called 'Thaxted' apparently
There's a reason it's in 80% of my videos.
Was looking for this! Thank you!
Great video! Platonic friendships are so amazing.
Man, I'm only listening to this as I do chores, but without even seeing the scene where frodo leaves his friends at the end it brings me to tears
13:13
Every time I rewatch the extended edition and I get to the end… I really keep struggling with holding back tears here. Every single time. Sometimes I do hold them back. Sometimes I don’t.
Haven’t even watched the video yet, but the title alone? THANK YOU! You get it 😭😭
Another great example of brothers is Peter & Harry in Spiderman 2 PS5. Spoilers for the game: at the end, when Peter destroys venom, Harry is finally free but he’s dying. Before Harry passes out, Peter says “I love you”. It wasn’t romance, it was just an awesome family moment. Peter saw Harry as a brother. After this Harry leaves Peter a gift(A new suit) & a message in a side quest: “Hey Pete, I just want to say I love ya man. I hope you like the new Spider suit I made for you.” It was very well done. It did remind me of Frodo and Sam. Also, I am glad that Harry didn’t die in the end.
3 comments I want to make:
1) Great video on an important topic not mentioned much in our society.
2) Love the CS Lewis quotes - his works are some of my favorite to read/listen to when I have the chance. You could do a great video on C.S. Lewis's works, fictional, theological, or otherwise.
3) Is that Marty O'Donnell I hear in the background?
Good ears! There's some Halo 2 music in there.
Awesome! Love the halo soundtrack, you should definitely do a video on it someday
Thank you. This was one of your best videos yet
The music selection in this video is absolutely top notch 👌🏻
I think true friendships can only form through shared hardship in life. That is why so many people feel 'alone'. There is barely any hardship to have in our modern world, we are all too comfortable and have no need to rely on others for survival.
there is plenty hardships , but we crwated a society where it is more normal to face it alone
The ending to this video made me tear up a little bit. It is so beautiful that their friendship is just that - a friendship. Born from companionship and not from any kind of romantic or sexual attraction. It really bothers me that in the perception of the general public every strong, genuine relationship must be somewhat romantic and friendships are valued less. I am asexual myself and have experienced romantic attraction very rarely in my life, but I have very good platonic friends about whom I care deeply. I feel like for people on the ace aro spectrum it can be quite harmful that friendships are often not depicted as being as valuable as romantic relationships in media. All the more important to have great examples like we do in LOTR. Thanks for the great video! ❤
What did Frodo give Sam? He gave him the Shire, and Bag End.
Also, yes, that final farewell, the feels, every time. 😭😭
Friendships are extremely important to me as an Aromantic and Asexual woman. I do not feel romantic attraction. I do not feel sexual attraction. I never have. So, I have never wanted a romantic partner. I don't really see a point to that type of relationship. I do have a best friend. She is my absolute favorite person, and I love her. My feelings are no less valid just cause there is no expectation that it leads to romance. This feels very validating to me specifically. Thank you. ❤
I'm also ace aro, and it's always nice to see friendships like this in media as well. Everyone puts so much emphasis on a style of relationship I will never have and it's so isolating. But the rare occasions where we are told that having the deep platonic bond like that between Sam and Frodo makes me feel seen. And like I could find my person or my people someday.
Frodo and Sam's friendship is one of the GOATs, no doubt. Your video is so good, as always!
I was most recently pleasantly surprised with the friendship between Raju and Bheem in RRR. Theirs was just such a genuine and great male friendship that was obviously the core of the whole movie. It's a three-hour Tollywood movie, and yet what they do together is compelling for the entire runtime! I mention it here to recommend that movie to anyone haha. But even the topic of male friendships makes it more relevant!
Lord of the Rings is the reason why I found my most trusted friend. We met through a random conversation about the movies and well... the rest is history. I can just say that this friendship feels like family like we are brothers and even if our chats and meetings are not about lotr or Tolkien in general it still feels like home in a person.
I was getting worried you weren’t going to make a BOB reference, but you eventually delivered!!!! (Great video like always!!)
Friendship is absolutely necessary for survival. _Especially_ in the life of death scenarios early man constantly found himself in.
I just now realize all of u guys are complaining about being lonely but are causing it urselves if all of u want friends go befrined eachother but yall dont so this is self imposed
@AyaOats I personally don't experience loneliness (I'm an Aspie). But I have studied psychology, and I understand how important platonic relationships are to normal people, as well as _why_ they are important. My perspective here isn't some personal complaint (where did you even get that idea?). It's a professional observation on the importance of a social dynamic that is being trod upon by the current shipping-obsessed culture. So many people write off the importance of platonic relationships these days, and I fear that doing so is damaging their psychies.
@AyaOats Ah. Are you one of those Andrew Tate type extreme extroverts who can't wrap their head around why people would value something in a story unless they're using it as a substitute for something they can't get in the real world? Because, if so, that's your own ADHD talking, not any sort of enlightenment.
@@serpentinious7745 ny comments are being deleted i replied 39 minutes agoif u want an alternative place were i can freely say how much i despise andrew tate and his followers i will say it there i hate those men they are one of the worst people alive
@ i am talking about society not a goddamn story but u failed to even comprehend that starting fact
I have several friends that I would give my life for, but I fear they would not do the same, as they no longer speak to me. We haven't quarreled, and I've tried to keep contact, but at some point they either stopped responding completely or responds once a year at best... Though they still smile at me when we meet, I'm afraid they no longer regard me as a friend, as they're never there for me when I need it, and I am left all alone.
I've made new friends, but it just happens again and again. My latest close friend invited me to a 2-day cruise ship, only to leave me isolated for most of the journey after having met up with the rest of the group. I tried making contact and arranging for everyone to get together the whole trip, only to get no response, and then to find they'd gathered to have fun without me, never bothering to contact me. I was close to throwing myself off the boat, and when I jokingly mentioned it, my friend told me: "Then do it. I don't care.", and in the months since then she's nearly stopped talking to me, rarely responds to my messages, and never mentions or apologized for the trip.
I don't know what to do anymore...
As Master Samwise said, friendship is a gift. Freely given but expecting nothing in return. I am sorry that this person you went on a cruise trip with turned out to be terrible, and not worthy of your friendship. As for the others... growing apart is a common thing, in everyday life. We do not often go through the same trials as Heroes such as Frodo and Sam, and so our bonds can be weaker. Cherish the time you had with them, keep yourself available if they come to you. Continue to seek out others to spend time with, and know that the last person you spoke of is an outlier and not the norm.
@@Akeche It still doesn't change the fact that I miss my friends, but I'll try to remember your words
Beautiful video. Chills the whole time. I’ve always loved and been moved by the love between Frodo and Sam.
Beautifully said - a much-needed reminder. Thank you Samwise
Thank you for this great video!!! 🙌🙌❤🔥 Genuinely an important topic and more in our times...
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
I also believe that there's an element of agape in the other three types of love.
Great video. Could you do one examining Elrond and his relationship with Arwen?
How did I miss this video… it seems to answer something I genuinely struggle with and I’m subscribed??
The one thing that made Tyler Durden so engaging was that he brough friendship into the Narrarator's lonely life.
Watching again and commenting to assist with the algorithm.
I hate the notion that a romantic relationship is always seen as the pinnacle of relationships. Just because you’re romantically attracted to someone, doesn’t make e relationship inherently more valuable than friendship or family. I really don’t like the ‘more than friends’ saying. I understand where that comes from, but to be a good friend, to have been friends for years and just feel comfortable around that friend, comfortable because you know what to expect and comfortable because you can actually share deep conversations and things that trouble you. That’s super valuable.
Really loved the video! Fraternity has always been an important thing for me and you did a great job explaining it through Frodo and Sam. Also, amazing choice of background music! I think Jupiter fits perfectly for talking about genuine male friendship for some reason.
While I really don’t think there’s any harm in taking a gay reading of Frodo and Sam, I think the “gayification” of their relationship comes more from more people making videos and talking about a gay reading than a platonic one rather than it actually being the most popular way fans view the characters. I think most people know what their intended relationship is. But the great thing about art is that you can extract whatever meaning is important to you from it!
Of course lol, I see you have a Maryland flag which I’m from Maryland, Baltimore at that. As a bisexual I completely agree that Frodo and Sam’s relationship was COMPLETELY platonic. I see nothing wrong with platonic relationships and encourage them more often. I don’t know why people are so quick to think they’re gay because they display so much emotion rare of what you see today. But some people in the comments are having a little meltdown talking about “sexual love” when love can’t be sexual. I really honestly believe would they be saying that if a gay man can have a platonic relationship with a straight man. Would they really be saying that then? 🤔
Thank you for this video, it was beautiful! ❤️
One of my favourite videos of yours
Well! That made me tear up watching Sam and Frodo say goodbye! Oof. Damn good video! I've tried to explain to so many people how the emotional spectrum of the characters in the books and movies is worth delving into. Thank you the video! It was wonderful ❤
10:23 "Of course not"
One sad reality is that it's surprisingly common here in Sweden to lose your friends if you develop things like chronic illness and/or disability or other crippling ailments. Seems like people in Sweden can't really accept or deal with others that "stray too far from the norm". I had allot of people that I thought were friends, sadly none of those friendships survived me leaving my town that I lived in and moving to a nearby city.
13:26 "This is ultimately how we know how powerful the love between these two friends has been"
It might sound funny but ive always hoped that they would reunite in Valinor, we know that Sam eventually makes it to Valinor and he's like one of the four mortals that are allowed entry (together with Frodo, Gimli and Bilbo). I have no idea if Frodo was still alive when Sam came to Valinor. By the time Sam arrived, Frodo would have been around 114 years old, so there's a slim possibility Frodo would still be alive when Sam reached the undying lands. Frodo was at the upper parts of a hobbits lifespan, still not the most extreme since Bilbo lived to be 131 and the old took lived to be 130.
I know it's fiction but I don't really care, I think Sam deserves to see Frodo before he passes from our world (yes, lord of the rings is our world, tolkien even it).
Edit: changed a bit to correct for ages.
6:58 Perfect circle, perfect soldier, while the Halo intro plays. Don't think I didn't catch that.
Great addition of the Jupiter hymn towards the end there. Really sums up and expresses joy in the utmost beautiful way!
14:02 being reminded of my lost friend in this video brings me nothing but joyous memories ❤thanks for this video
As an aromantic asexual person, thank you for highlighting such an important love that society tends to overlook ❤
@ChildrenofZaun i mean live ur life buddy, glad you figured yourself out, but you're just projecting all of your stuff onto me rn
@ChildrenofZaun the only thing that you said that has anything to do with me is that i love pad thai restaurants
@ChildrenofZaun are you a pad thai hater??? honestly i'm more appalled at you being a pad thai hater than i am at you being homophobic
@ChildrenofZaun oh no, i'm not calling you homophobic against ME, i'm calling you homophobic in general based on what you said in your initial comment. hope that clears things up 👍
@ChildrenofZaun you brought up homosexuality when you said "i've seen people who thought they were gay find real love." (my spice tolerance is tragically low. i think cool ranch doritos have a kick to them and i'm not proud. a pad thai at full spice would kill me)
Wonderful video. Thank you.
People forget that a real friendship is THE STRONGEST and deepest bond one can have. A sexual relationship is at the bottom of the fucking list. You can't prostitute a friendship.
You do realize sexual and romantic are two different things?
Loving that GOW soundtrack in the background
Thanks for making this. And thanks for the Dark Souls “a moment’s peace” track in the background at the start.
7:52 and the halo CE pillar of autumn track!
That reference to people in the cubicle engaging in servile work seemed like a nod to Leisure the Basis of Culture.
Also if you like Lewis’s The Four Loves and you haven’t checked our Pieper’s masterpiece on Love, you need to get his book Faith Hope Love.
Anyone of you still waiting for "Momo: a masterclass in 'show dont tell' analysis" video
your videos are different and we need it. keep going
Men need Friends
you got me all choked up…great video dude.
This is the greatest yt video known to mankind
I love your videos so much. You using LOTR to talk about real life problems.
I think of Samwise Gamgee when I persistently accompany someone when there’s none asking me to.
With everything going on in the world today it's comforting to know we can still find solace and virtue in these great stories.
i remember the honest trailer for lotr came out saying to the effect of ''so much manly love, you'll think you're watching broke back mount doom'' and as funny as that was at the time, its kind of disappointing how common the more vain perception of masculinity continues to be, the hunger for sincerity is real and hopefully will pull us closer to being better to each other.
Babe, new Master Samwise video just dropped!
One of my deepest bonds is with a couple I met through a thankless and underpaid catering job. It's a friendship based on mutual understanding and respect, and the entire group of friends of which they are part is held together with an entirely circumstantial but ultimately respectful bond. Engineers, business majors, a nurse, a soldier, an event planner, all held together by the simple fact that we like being around each other. Platonic love can be built on a foundation of almost nothing yet be strong enough to weather the harshest storms
The four loves and until we have faces are so good
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. - Proverbs 27:17
My friend of over 20 years, my best friend, is gone. We were the kind of friends this video is about. So few people nowadays believe that kind of love can exist. Almost no one I know understands my loss.
Guy friends! A computer made us roommates in college, that's why we're friends!
I've been out of the military for 7 years now, and I haven't made a single friend in that time of the same quality that I made while I was in the service.