My, What Big Eyes You Have/Got H2O?

The LOTR trilogy is probably one of my favorite series adapted to film of all time. It’s such a fantastical look at one of the oldest archetypes, the hero’s journey. But specifically, I want to focus on Gollum, the shrewd bearer of the Ring. Gollum spends his life hunting fish and stroking “his precious,” which Bilbo eventually finds and takes. Gollum is the catalyst for all of Bilbo’s swagger in confronting Smaug; sure, he had instances where his wit and cleverness helped him escape from situations, but with the ring, he finally had an advantage over his enemies. Bilbo’s cleverness in outsmarting Gollum and taking the ring is how he crosses the threshold in the hero’s journey. He now has this tool of great power that will allow him to continue to outsmarter larger and stronger enemies on his journey. Gollum provided him with the confidence and tools to meet the challenges he’ll face. Similarly, Gotama the Buddha is the catalyst for Siddhartha to begin his journey inward. It’s Siddhartha’s encounter with the Buddha that allows him to realize that he must achieve enlightenment on his own, rather than following a set of rules like the Hindus, Samanas, and Gotama teach. Gotama also provides an example to Siddhartha, showing him what enlightenment looks like, and that it can be achieved. Like Gollum, the Buddha gives Siddhartha the courage and confidence to continue on his quest to find enlightenment. And Gollum and the Buddha even look kind of similar, though they’re on two sides of the spectrum. Gollum is a creature consumed by the Ring’s power and serves as a warning to Bilbo to not let the Ring poison his mind. The Buddha is someone who’s been enlightened and serves as an example to Siddhartha of what he wishes to become. They even kind of look similar. Gollum has long and slender fingers and toes, pretty large ears, gigantic childlike eyes. Gollum and the Buddha are used for the same purpose, to act as the first catalyst that strengthens Siddhartha/Bilbo’s confrontation of the various challenges that follow. 

Something else I’d like to bring up is the music of these supernatural forces. HAHA, got you! I bet you thought I couldn’t fit music into this but surprise surprise! Anyways, whenever the Ring appears in the LOTR universe, the same theme always plays. It’s this super recognizable melancholic and mysterious tune. And this tune is synonymous with the Ring. Whenever the Ring appears, this tune always plays. So when you watch LOTR and hear this tune, you actively know that something with the Ring is happening. It’s something that makes LOTR stand out from other universes. Though it seems like a small change to make, it actually adds a huge amount of value to the movies, having this association between music and the screen. Similarly, in Star Wars (the old Star Wars, not too sure about the new ones), during crucial moments (usually when the Force is used, but the most iconic scene is when Luke is looking out at the two moons), this melancholic melody begins before an orchestra swells with soloist. It’s interesting because the two most recognizable sounds from Star Wars and Lord of the Ring are both very melancholic and introspective rather than exciting and vigorous. 

POSSIBLE SPOILER BELOW TRYING TO KEEP IT VAGUE READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK

So, if I were to assign a theme to something in Siddhartha, I think it’d definitely be the river. It’s something that Siddhartha assigned new meaning to after his own spiritual journey. For the sound, I think I’d utilize a drum first to mimic the sounds of water droplets falling and gradually speeding it up, adding a melancholic flute melody over the drums before the orchestra eventually swells alongside the flute and drum, mimicking the swell of a waterfall to quench thirst before suddenly stopping it right before the climax to demonstrate how Siddhartha learns not to thirst? This would also not sound good musically but it’s symbolic

I don’t know if my interpretation was right I only skimmed over the ending please forgive me