出版、地方與文化想像:魔戒故事的媒介空間與文化地景

Publishing, Place and Cultural Imagination: Media Spaces and Cultural Landscape of The Lord of the Rings

本文以英國作家托爾金之出版品魔戒故事衍生為多種媒介，以及在《魔戒》作者成長所在地伯明罕所舉辦的托爾金週活動為例，呈顯由文本故事延展而出的多樣媒介空間，以及隨著故事和不同媒介的流傳，在不同歷史時段與相異的全球地域間所形塑出的豐富文化地景與在地連結，展現全球化下的文化政治，並以具體事例細緻分析出版、地方與文化想像的樣貌。本文首先探論《魔戒》故事的跨媒介轉譯，魔戒故事由紙本文本進而衍生為廣播劇及電影，並在英國和紐西蘭的不同歷史時段，因應當時的媒體及文化政策，展現出媒介空間和歷史空間的交疊，並踏入閱聽眾的日常生活空間，進而產生由文化空間到文化地方的轉變。接著以英國伯明罕的托爾金週為例，闡述魔戒故事不僅以不同的媒體形式轉化，更激發了地方的文化想像，透過相關文化活動的逐年推展，使得想像、記憶、城市建構與地方網絡連結皆藉由故事與地方的情感構連，重構地方的文化地景，並參與閱聽眾及參與活動者個人的心靈之旅。

This article, by exploring the case studies of the J.R. Tolkein book ”The Lord of the Rings” and the Tolkien Weekend in Birmingham, UK, reveals ways in which a story that began as a printed publication extended to a variety of media spaces and cultural activities. Cultural politics have been engaged in the process when ”The Lord of the Rings” was spread by different media forms, in different historical periods and in different locations in a global context. It shows the connection between cultural products, cultural landscape and local communities. Also analyzed in this article are the vibrant dimensions among publications, places and cultural imagination. The article first investigates the adaptation of the story to different media spaces which include printed forms, radio and film. In England and New Zealand, the story used different media forms to accommodate differing cultural policies in specific historical periods of time and also to link with everyday life. This article further demonstrates the case study of the Tolkien Weekend in Birmingham. The story became alive and continues to extend into various cultural activities and social networks. The Tolkien Weekend activities have reshaped the local cultural landscape and connected with cultural imagination, memory and city branding. The cultural events have brought about reform of local networks and set many participants upon a personal spiritual journey.