[Malthaussen]

And my opinion is that the "pointy ears" are just a gimmick, and a poor one. A movie's characters should be faithful to the book. Tolkein did not make his elves and hobbits "other" specifically because he believed in racial unity, not in drawing silly distinctions. And blond hair for "all elves" brings us perilously close to the Aryan Superman myth we fought a war to put down.

In Tolkein, neither the hobbits nor the elves are Strangers, nor are they nonconformists. In fact, both in their way are slaves to tradition -- ie, conformity. It is Sauron's desire to upset the status quo and take over that unites the races against him -- even though the elves recognize it is a no-win situation.

As for Star Trek reappearing (in a horrible form, IMO) in the 80's, so what? They wanted to cash in on the sci-fi craze that had made so much money for Spielberg and Lucas.

If pointed ears are a reason to hope, then the world has gotten stranger than even I expected.

-- Mal