Merry, I don't know that I quite buy his argument here:
After sixty years of almost unchallenged military superiority, 21st century American viewers need another and less matter-of-fact explanation for failure, and it is given as disunity and despair.
The problem I have is that this theme is far from absent in Tolkien's story. The elves have withdrawn so far within the borders of their realms that the peoples of Rohan and Gondor regard them as mythic beings long gone from this world. Both Theoden and Denethor HAVE fallen deeply into despair. Theoden is awakened from this state by Gandalf, but Denethor ultimately succumbs to the selective truths of the palantir.
Now, I will grant you that PJ took this theme a really ran with it. His Theoden, once released from Saruman's influence, is still deeply shaken by what has happened and doubts both his capacity to lead and the wisdom of expecting any help from outside his own borders -- and in the book, the only outside help Theoden receives at Helm's Deep is from Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf, so how wrong is this expectation of isolation? PJ, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens have all stated that the appearance of the elves at Helm's Deep was for the purpose of honoring the contributions that the elves DID make to the War of the Ring -- namely the battles Celeborn and Thranduil fought against the forces of Dol Guldur culminating in Galadriel throwing down the fortress itself with her power. They wanted to bring this element from the Appendices into the movie proper in some way, and Helm's Deep was a geographically logical choice.
Also, I recall that PJ was particularly enamoured of a movie about the Zulu wars (can't remember the title) in which a small band of men inside a fortress faced an enormous army -- almost insurmountable odds against them. Then, at the last moment, an small and unexpected army of allies arrives to help support them. Even the oops! moment with the unintended release of an arrow by the old man that ignites the beginning of battle was inspired by this movie. So I really don't think PJ & Co were thinking about American political sensibilities so much as trying to bring in elements of the Appendices and satisfy PJ's desire to reference aspects of one of his favorite war movies.
I DO agree with Shippey's assertion that PJ's complete character assassination of Tolkien's Denethor was for the purpose of working the "son trying desperately to gain the love of his father" theme to the max. Personally, I think it not only destroyed the character of Denethor (I'll spare you the repetition of my rant on this subject), but it also weakened the Faramir character a great deal as well, as he spends most of his time angsting over the lack of his father's regard rather than being given the opportunity to demonstrate the remarkable qualities of leadership and wisdom that Tolkien had embued into this beloved character.
I also take issue with this statement:
One might say that there are no neutrals in Jackson's vision, or that those who wish to remain neutral, like Theoden, or the Ents, or the elves turning their backs on Middle-earth, are made to see the error of their ways.
Where on earth did he get this notion? The ONLY neutral character in Tolkien's tale was Tom Bombadil -- and he wasn't so much neutral as just completely above it all. Theoden was ensorcelled, not neutral; once Wormtongue/Saruman's influence was lifted, Theoden become extremely active. The Ents also were not neutral, just uninformed; once Merry and Pippin had done their job to awaken the Ents to what was happening, they were a TREMENDOUSLY active force! And the Elves were most certainly not neutral or "turning their backs on Middle-earth;" they were simply being true to the nature of their creation. Their time in Middle-earth was ending; many were heeding the sea-longing; non-combatants were being sent to safety; but the elven warriors most certainly DID fight, and the Great Elves -- Elrond, Galadriel, Celeborn, Cirdan, Thranduil, etc. -- were extremely active on their own fronts. I think Shippey completely lost his mind here.
Thoughts?