Two Historical Men

I am going to write about two people that I admire, and how I think they made an important difference in society. The first person I am going to write about is the filmmaker Stanley Kubrick and the second person I am going to write about is the author J.R.R. Tolkien.  Then I am going to write about how and why I think they made a difference, and then discuss why I think their achievements were important. I will end the text with a conclusion.

Stanley Kubrick was born 1926 in The Bronx, New York and died 1999. He was most known as a director and screenwriter, but he started out as a photographer. He became a great photographer and many of his pictures got published in many famous newspapers and magazines. This profession helped Stanley later in his life, as he became famous for his great cinematography (his greatest cinematography work was in “2001: A Space Odyssey” which he made in 1968). Stanley became a great chess player which he taught was an advantage when he started directing movies.

“If chess has any relationship to filmmaking, it would be in the way it helps you develop patience and discipline in choosing between alternatives at a time when an impulsive decision seems very attractive” -Stanley Kubrick.

He directed his first feature film in 1954, “Fear and Desire” which was a low-budget film about a team of soldiers caught behind enemy lines in a fictional war. The movie did not do great and became a commercial failure. His next film “Killer’s Kiss” met some commercial success, but was not a great hit. In 1957 “Paths of Glory” was released, and this movie became one of the most famous Stanley Kubrick films.

Stanley Kubrick made one of the most controversial movies of all time. In 1971 was the movie “A Clockwork Orange” first viewed in cinema. The movie got mixt reviews, but is now considered as one of his greatest films. The movie was about a violent man/young adult named Alex. Alex has a gang which steals, rapes and kills people (the movie is about a lot more but these were the most controversial things about the movie). The movie was hated by many in Great Britain. It got blamed for many deaths and rapes, and ended up getting banned from Great Britain. The movie was re-released in 2000 one year after Kubrick’s death. Kubrick and his family got many threats over the following years because of “A Clockwork Orange”, and all the abuse made Kubrick regret making this great movie. He continued making movies and earned an Oscar for his great work. His last movie (Eyes Wide Shut) was made in 1999. Stanley Kubrick died of natural causes four days after the screening.

The reason I chose the write about Stanley Kubrick is because I am a fan of his work, and I like all of his movies (especially “A Clockwork Orange” it’s violent, but has a great message). He made very artistic movies, with great cinematography which I really like. I think he has made a great difference for all movie makers and movie fans. He has been an inspiration to many, and he was truly a great man.
The second person I am going to write about is J.R.R. Tolkien, the great fantasy writer. He was born in 1892 and died in 1973. He was an author, poet, professor and a WW1 veteran. He is most known for have written “The Hobbit”, “The Lord of The Rings” and “The Silmarillion”. There has been made  movie adaptations of “Lord of The Rings” and “The Hobbit”. Tolkien never thought that the “The Lord of The Rings” books could be made in to film, he despised the idea.

Tolkien was very interested in languages and created his own language called Naffarin. He started a semi-secret society with his friends called “Tea Club and Barrovian Society”. He and his three friends talked about literature and languages. When WW1 started he and his friends was shipped off to war. Many of his friends died, so some of their ideas where put into “The Lord of The Rings” as a tribute to them. The reason Tolkien wrote “The Lord of The Rings” was because he felt that England did not have any national stories (many of the “national” stories from England are actually from other countries, for example the story about King Arthur is not originally from England). “The Lord of The Rings” is a story about an evil ring of destruction, which must be destroyed. The people of Middle Earth (the fictional world in “Lord of The Rings”) choose a hobbit to destroy this ring. A hobbit is a little creature, usually a farmer. Tolkien created the hobbit creature while he was correcting some texts at Oxford University. He was so bored, that he started to write on a piece of paper, he wrote “once there was a hobbit that lived in a hobbit-hole”.

The reason I chose to write about Tolkien, is because I love his work and I love the fantasy world that he created. The world he created which he called Middle Earth was written in such detail, which made it feel so real to me. I am most fond of “The Lord of The Rings”, because the book teaches us so many great values about friendship, love and hope. It is really a touching and wonderful story. He made a great difference in the world, because he has given us a great story and he has also given England a national story. “Lord of The Rings” is the second most read book in the world, so guess I am not the only one that is touched and inspired by his work.

Both of these men’s achievements were important, because all of their stories impacted the world so greatly. They have inspired people to choose the same career path. Movies and books will always be important, because they make you forget about all the troubles going on in your life for a couple of hours. These two men have inspired many generations, and are a big part of the history of literature and films.

My conclusion is that both of these men have had a great impact on many new books and movies, and they will live on forever.

By Stian Nielsen



Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubrick 
IMDB.com 

pictures: 

http://image.toutlecine.com/photos/k/u/b/kubrick-stanley-99-01-g.jpg

http://www.nndb.com/people/511/000022445/jrrtolkien.jpg