LOTR Family Jump To Defence Of Gollum In Bizarre Turkish President Saga
In a classic case of mistaken identity involving the Turkish President, a doctor and a creature from Middle Earth, the Lord of The Rings family have come out in defence of the character of Gollum- or should we say Smeagol.
In a bizarre turn of events, a Turkish judge is currently presiding over an investigation into whether the tweets posted by Turkish physician Bilgin Ciftci – comparing Turkish President Erdogan to Gollum – were offensive, punishable by prison. But was it Gollum that Ciftci was referring to?
The trilogy’s Director Peter Jackson released a statement to The Wrap in an attempt to clear up the identity mixup. When viewing the images posted as a comparison to President Erdogan, Jackson notes that the character is Smeagol.
A medical doctor's job is terminated by the state for sharing this picture#BilginCiftci #AKP @RT_Erdogan pic.twitter.com/C7E87t1KQ7
— A.Kadir Yildirim (@akyildirim) October 15, 2015
“If the images [above] are in fact the ones forming the basis of this Turkish lawsuit, we can state categorically: None of them feature the character known as Gollum. All of them are images of the character called Smeagol.
“Smeagol is a joyful, sweet character. Smeagol does not lie, deceive or attempt to manipulate others. He is not evil, conniving or malicious – these personality traits belong to Gollum, who should never be confused with Smeagol.
“Smeagol would never dream of wielding power over those weaker than himself. He is not a bully. In fact he’s very lovable. This is why audiences all over the world have warmed to his character.”
Gollum was originally a river-dwelling Hobbit called Smeagol; before he became corrupted by his ‘precious’- the ring.
But if you need a refresher, this is Gollum:
And this is lovable and loyal Smeagol:
Elijah Wood has also given his two cents on the court case ruling as to whether the comparison was offensive. Wood famed for playing the lead role of Frodo Baggins in the trilogy, re-tweeted the Jackson article disputing the creature as the “evil“ Gollum and rather the “sweet” alter-ego, Smeagol.
Wood later tweeted that the possibility of the Ciftci facing two years in prison over the tweet was “horrifying”.
That Bilgin Ciftci faces jail time for comparing Erdogan to Gollum/Smeagol, regardless of wether he's good or bad, is horrifying.
— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) December 3, 2015
Whether the posted images comparing the Turkish President to Gollum were intended to have an ‘evil’ or ‘good’ undercurrent will actually be the deciding factor as to whether Cifti will be imprisoned. Ciftci’s lawyer, Hicran Danisman, told the Associated Press that they argued that “Gollum is not a bad character” and therefore the comparison is not insulting.
The judge has now ruled that a committee made up of two academics, two behavioural scientists and an expert on cinema and television productions will assess Gollum’s character traits.
Who knows, maybe Ciftci’s characterization of President Erdogan was complimentary?
We thinks he hates us, but he actually loves us.