Opening Sequence - Applying Todorov's Theory

The main antagonist is clearly shown in this opening sequence. He is introduced right at the beginning with the name of 'Sauron'. He is shown to be clearly evil in many ways. The narrator introduces him as 'the dark lord' and he is shown surrounded by fire and darkness. The protagonists are only shown towards the end of the opening sequence. The first, 'Bilbo Baggins', is introduced with a name and can been seen as a protagonist due to the innocence of his nature. The second is not introduced with a name but can be seen clearly as a protagonist because of the peace and bliss that surrounds him in the establishing shot. The title of the film is also shown as the first shot of him is shown which indicates it will focus around him.

This opening sequence is not very conventional because it first shows how things will be due to a disruption because it is narrating a past story. The equilibrium is only shown at the very end. The last shot is an establishing shot of a forest area. The protagonist is sitting by a tree and the camera pans round. he is calmly reading and the area is very luscious. Birds are tweeting and everything represents bliss and calm. Another shot shows a CU of the ring. This is significant because it shows that the equlibirum exists when the ring remains untouched. The lighting in this shot is very dark and everything about it looks very gloomy, this perhaps suggests that even in the equlibrium things are definitely not perfect.

The disruption is greatly hinted at throughout the whole opening sequence. The narrator tells a story of evil forces taking over the land due to a ring. This ring is found at the end of the opening sequence so we can assume that the equilibium is broken due to conflict arising again. The audience is made to think that the story the narrator told is bound to repeat itself and there will perhaps be more war.

The heroes journey can only be assumed to be a quest in which the protagonist must restore peace somehow. We can guess that this has something to do with the ring but we can't be sure of deatils or how he will go about doing this. From what we can see in this opening sequence i am guessing that the new restored equilibrium will be exactly as the first (peaceful lands with no war) but with many changed lives. Every hero will have completed a journey which will have perhaps changed their perception on everything. Maybe new alliances will be formed in order to restore this equilibrium but nothing is given away in the opening sequence.