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.it becomes incumbent uponanalysts to study this textuality to see exactly what it adds to the text itself,and, by extension, what DVDs are doing to textuality in this new age of bonusmaterials (Gray Bonus ).Why is there so much worry over this textuality? Gray makes ahelpful comparison with Walter Benjamin s concept of the aura of thework of art.In film much of that aura is preserved in the screeningencounter with the film, with fans and experts distinguishing themselvesfrom others by rushing to the earliest screenings (be they press screeningsor avant-premieres), or by performing their expert knowledge of the text,sometimes in celebratory fashion.With The Lord of the Rings some ofthat aura may shift to the celebration of (or complaints over) prefigurativeand post-release materials, and of discussions of extended editions.Gray s essay concentrates only on The Two Towers episode of the trilogy,but, as he concludes: Other close readings of the same DVD could wellreveal further and equally rich meanings.In studying texts, it becomes anopen trap for us to examine the text itself, its political economy, and itsaudiences alone ( Bonus ).Such isolationist analyses should indeed beshunned.I want to take Gray s suggestion to task.That is why in focusingon the different layers of family representations (an equally richmeaning indeed) suggested in theatrical and extended DVD editions ofThe Lord of the Rings, I will take first the text, then its public presenceinto account.Family in The Lord of the RingsFamily plays a crucial role in The Lord of the Rings story.Much of thenarrative centers on kinship relations, and they have a profound impact onthe development of the plot.The very beginning of the film, whichrecounts the battle of the Last Alliance, not only provides a historicalframework for the story to follow, but also introduces the concept offamily as an important complicating factor by inserting into the prologuethe story of Isildur and his father Elendil.Such intimate connectionsbetween family troubles and big history are not unusual, in fact they are The Lord of the Rings and Family 47one of the trademarks of epic cinema, from The Birth of a Nation (1915),through Gone with the Wind (1939), to Ben-Hur (1959).But in the case ofThe Lord of the Rings, it is remarkable how fractured family lineages runparallel with failures to cast off evil.Jackson s prologue narration impliesthere is an Arthurian imperfection in the relationship between Elendil andIsildur.It means that the mere fact that it is the son Isildur, and notElendil himself (the archfather of the story, the founder of Minas Tirith),who needs to take on the responsibility to destroy the Ring alreadyindicates that he will fail to carry out this heavy task, or even the one ofwielding the Ring; as if any son is the lesser of such a father.In doing so,the narrative immediately suggests that only certain types of (perfect)family bonds are capable of resisting corruption and evil.Image 2: Fractured family lines and failure to destroy the ring.(Courtesy of Dr.Kristine Larsen, Central Connecticut State University).This is not new, and there are several interpretations of The Lord ofthe Rings that refer to these views on family, mostly through discussionsof love and friendship (Bassham & Bronson Philosophy, 68-71; RoseburyPhenomenon, 42-44).My particular interest in family representations isrelated to the final moment of the film.In the filmic versions there is a 48 Ernest Mathijssubstantial discrepancy in the way diverse family situations are portrayed,and this has implications for their meaning and status.The theatricalversion insists on painting a much bleaker portrait of fractured, troubled,and non-existing or non-consumed family ties than the extended DVDs,as if all instances of family happiness, or at least approaches towards thathappiness, have been deleted.One reason for this may be that allowingmore references to happy family life in the theatrical films would havemore forcefully suggested that everything would eventually turn out allright, which would diminish the tension and suspense in the narrative aswell as shift attention away from the action of battles and chases.As somany screenwriting textbooks remind us, there should be no harmony orpeace for the characters until the end of the film, or else the audience willstop craving for that end, and hence stop paying attention to the narrativethat takes us there.The story would lose its drive.For the extendedDVDs, the drive of the story is of less significance.Most people watchingthese DVDs will already know the story quite well and there is no longera strong need to provide theatrically graded impulsion.More space isavailable for reflective, embellishing moments, especially the ones inwhich family ties can be further explored.The DVDs function in thissense as exegeses of the theatrical text.This cinematic/DVD dichotomy in representation is visible invirtually every family present in the films.In contrast to allusions on lovein The Lord of the Rings by Rosebury and Bassham & Bronson, the lovesituation of the two lead protagonists, Aragorn and Frodo, is not atraditional one, at least not until the end of the story.This has to do withtheir status as single men
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