12月のテーマ：Destination

 
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

 
As an avid fantasy reader, for me the word destination is inevitably linked to a fifty-year-old hobbit from the Shire. No, I’m not talking about Bilbo Baggins, who enjoyed a hefty adventure of his own in a small book and three too-long films; but his nephew Frodo Baggins, arguably the main character of one of the most famous trilogies of all times. Yes, you’ve guessed it.

 
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

 
The One Ring to Rule Them All fell from Sauron’s finger and landed in King Isildur’s greedy hands instead of the fire at Mount Doom. Like in all epic fantasy with a dash of realism, the greediness of men put the world in jeopardy. Happenstance placed the most powerful weapon of the Middle Earth in young Frodo’s pocket, who inherited it from Bilbo, who stole it from Gollum.

 
As Sauron grows stronger, it’s all about destroying the One Ring—the journey from hobbit hole Bag End to the friendly village of Bree with his companions Sam, Merry, and Pippin; and then being led by Aragorn to the Council of Elrond. This long trek from Hobbiton to Rivendell would take anyone’s breath away, but this is in fact where everything begins.

 
For the nine who comprise the Fellowship of the Ring, it’s all about destroying the Ring. It’s a grueling path to an even more somber destination, the rewards are naught yet the cost unforgiving. And still these characters walk, run, hike, stroll, climb and crawl for the sake of the world. Desperate battles with any and every weapon color their tracks as they push forward, one step toward Mordor and the other onto Gondor, one led by Frodo and the latter by Aragorn.

 
It’s the tale of a small hobbit who navigated the bowels of Mordor to the pit of Mount Doom, as well as the accounts of King Aragorn reclaiming his throne. Two stories that became entwined with a single destination in mind and spread out to become a legend. Working to achieve their goal is what drags one tired foot in front of the other — their focus wavers and stumbles but pushes on and on to a finish line that has the readers gasping for air.

 
They say it’s the journey that counts, but when the fate of the world rests on your shoulders, it’s surely the destination you’ll be most concerned about.

 
Written by　石川エディス

 
[JVTA発] 発見！キラリ☆ 　12月のテーマ:Destination
日本映像翻訳アカデミーのスタッフが、月替わりのテーマをヒントに「キラリ☆と光るヒト・コト・モノ」について綴るリレー・コラム。修了生・受講生にたくさんのヒントや共感を提供しています。

 
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