Richard Rannabargar
The film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) is a story located in
the made up world of middle earth. There are a number of different types of people in the film,
one of which is a Hobbit, named Frodo who is made responsible for the task of destroying a
powerful magic ring before the evil Sauron is able to recover it and use its power to take over the
world. The Lord of the Rings features a theme of good versus evil which are constantly
competing for control throughout the film. In this paper, it is claimed that the use of mise-en-
scene and sound in The Lord of the Rings are used to present a theme of good versus evil.
This image is a perfect example of how sound and mise-en-scene is used in The Lord of
the Rings to depict a theme of good versus evil. During this scene, epic build up music plays as a
major battle ensues between the good men and elves versus the evil orcs. This is during the time
when Sauron was still strong and held his mortal form. Times were desperate as the power of
Sauron grew and this is symbolized by the darkness of the skies as evil is currently holding the
strongest hand. The elves are clearly representative of good and are shown lined up in an orderly
Richard Rannabargar
fashion holding their ranks with light reflecting off of their shields. The elves represent the good
side as they are fighting to keep the totalitarian forces of Sauron at bay. Contrarily the orcs are a
sign of evil and shrouded in the darkness as they run chaotically into battle. While the elves stand
orderly with serious expressions the orcs appear to simply hold a murderous intent with hearts
filled with evil. All of these elements exemplify both the dark evil side involving world
