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Location
Weatherford, Oklahoma
Document Type
Paper
Event Website
https://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-54.htm
Start Date
26-7-2026 1:30 PM
End Date
26-7-2026 2:20 PM
Description
After reading The Lord of the Rings, it would not be surprising for the reader to assume Tolkien was a luddite or at very least had some deep-rooted environmentalist leanings. After all, the anti-industrialist sentiment is one of the many themes that so enamored his American fans in the 1960s. In LOTR, industry (as opposed to craft) is aligned with evil, most notably through Saruman — a failed craftsman who has turned to machination. Through him, we see the industrialization of Isengard and its deleterious effects on nearby Fangorn, as well as the resulting destruction of the failed industrialization of the Shire. Given this overt message of art over machine and nature over industry, it is curious that so many entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who champion disruptive technologies such as generative AI deify Tolkien — using machine to make “art” seems directly counter to Tolkien’s sensibilities. Hearkening back to On Fairy Stories, it is to use “magic” to attempt to create “enchantment.” Hollow Knight: Silksong offers a similarly hostile view to industry as seen in Tolkien’s work, but through a more modern lens. Given its 2025 release date, Silksong deals with not only industry’s destruction of nature but contends with the destruction of society and humanity through increasing mechanization. Silksong offers a glimpse into the destruction that could be wrought by those who would harness the machine to replace enchantment with magic.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Included in
The God Machine: Environmental Resonances in Tolkien and Hollow Knight: Silksong
Weatherford, Oklahoma
After reading The Lord of the Rings, it would not be surprising for the reader to assume Tolkien was a luddite or at very least had some deep-rooted environmentalist leanings. After all, the anti-industrialist sentiment is one of the many themes that so enamored his American fans in the 1960s. In LOTR, industry (as opposed to craft) is aligned with evil, most notably through Saruman — a failed craftsman who has turned to machination. Through him, we see the industrialization of Isengard and its deleterious effects on nearby Fangorn, as well as the resulting destruction of the failed industrialization of the Shire. Given this overt message of art over machine and nature over industry, it is curious that so many entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who champion disruptive technologies such as generative AI deify Tolkien — using machine to make “art” seems directly counter to Tolkien’s sensibilities. Hearkening back to On Fairy Stories, it is to use “magic” to attempt to create “enchantment.” Hollow Knight: Silksong offers a similarly hostile view to industry as seen in Tolkien’s work, but through a more modern lens. Given its 2025 release date, Silksong deals with not only industry’s destruction of nature but contends with the destruction of society and humanity through increasing mechanization. Silksong offers a glimpse into the destruction that could be wrought by those who would harness the machine to replace enchantment with magic.
https://dc.swosu.edu/mythcon/mc54/schedule/27
