One of the most iconic scenes in the Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers is the final war scene. Given the technology of its time, the scene is visually brilliant. It symbolizes a march towards a new world and paints a picture of a faceless army that so perfectly captures how technological advancements like the invention of war machines, guns and explosive devices have made war and violence so impersonal today. The scene uses vivid imagery such as the sobbing faces of women and children as well as auditory tools such as the screams of the Nazgûl that echo the shrill noises of artillery shells that filled the air during World War I, to evoke a number of emotions among the audience. Although this scene fails to depart from the problems that plague duel and war scenes from several other medieval depictions by continuing to glorify chivalry and traditional ideals of masculinity, there is a significant difference in the message this scene sends about attitudes toward war. In class, we discussed discussed the question “Is medievalism necessarily nostalgic?” Personally, I think not.
To me, this scene speaks volumes about the horrors associated with war. I couldn’t help but draw a parallel with a famous line from Wilfred Owen’s famous poem Anthem for Doomed Youth, “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?/ Only the monstrous anger of the guns..” (1-2). While some people feel that the repeated cuts to the women and children seemed to add salience to the stakes of the war, making it seem more important, to me it illustrated the senseless pain and tragedy that is inherent in war and violence by highlighting the suffering of countless innocent victims, thus moralizing an end to violence by evoking shocks of sympathy. I think that this message is particularly important to keep in mind given what current political events have shown about the prevalence of hatred and intolerance in the U.S today.
Getting Medieval 
Following the tangent of the bleak depiction of war in LOTR, one of the movies’ strongest points was its drawing out of the tension before the attack. The scenes of the Rohan, elven, and Fellowship forces standing on towers, in the dark silence just /waiting/ could have been condensed and still have communicated the same story. However, the choice to spend extra time lingering on the before-the-storm scenes of the battle imbue a greater sense of tension and a sense that the heroes are truly in danger. It’s a dark silent night, and hanging in the air is the notion that most of the people watching their breath condense in the cold will not see the sun rise. Coupled with shots of the innocents hiding in the damp, echoey caves, there’s no glorification in this fight scene. It’s fraught, and the heroes feel small and scared under an empty starless sky. And in all honestly, I think that has more weight than 5000 shots of an elf sniping endless, faceless orc soldiers. The desolate “Nothing will be okay, and the people you love will not be okay” mood leading up to the fight for Helm’s Deep create a contrast with the movie’s hopeful ending that greatly amplifies the ending’s positive power.
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