Chapter 516 Come out for a duel!
Chapter 516 Come out for a duel!
Renault, an official from the Italian Tourism Department, was as sad as he was happy to cooperate with Mount San Marino before.
Especially when Renault heard his son say, "Dad, can we go to Mont Blanc in France during the holidays? I have discussed it with my mother and she agrees."
"Mont Blanc in France?" Renault was surprised.
"They were all mountain climbing vacations. Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps, located in Haute-Savoie, France." The son of Renault, whom we call Leizi for short, continued, "The Lord of the Rings' Weathertop - Amon Sul in Sindarin, is where Baggins was attacked by the Ringwraiths. There is also a Palantir Stone on the top of the mountain. This important scene in the book is based on Mont Blanc in France. I heard that the French even built a tower on it to restore the Kingdom of Arnor in the book."
Lei Zi was talking a lot and his hands were waving around. Not all Italians would lose control of their hands when they talk - but Lei Zi was the kind of person who couldn't speak if his hands were tied.
At first, Renault didn't understand what Sindarin was. Later, Renault understood that it came from Gu Lu's novel "The Lord of the Rings".
"Did you know that our country, Valle d'Aosta, also has Mont Blanc?" Renault asked.
"Of course I know, but our club has agreed to go to France, and my father's not far away anyway, so let's go together." Lei Zi said.
Looking at the fifteen-year-old child, Renault found it hard to accept. It was hard to accept that his own child would go to a neighboring country to see things that were clearly available in his own country.
"What club? Is Lord of the Rings very famous?" Renault calmed himself down.
"Of course, father, don't you know? The Lord of the Rings sold 28 copies in our country in the first week, and most importantly, there are many readers who are willing to spend time to explore the contents of the book." Lei Zi said.
That's right, let's take online literature as an example. A reader who will spend money on the original work and write a sequel or "draw pictures" for the original work is definitely a rare asset. If there are a hundred such readers, it is enough to completely change the ecology of a book.
The reality of Middle-earth has attracted many readers who have finished reading the books to remain addicted to it, and various societies and clubs have been born.
"Like our school, we formed an Elf League," Lei Zi said. "Many students who joined the club have never read the book, but they joined in to participate in activities because it is so popular. However, they are all amateurs, and large clubs are more professional."
Even though Italy has a population of over 50 million, think about the recent sales. More than 200,000 copies in the first week are simply amazing. "Holy Land Mountain" has been on the market for two or three months under their strong promotion, but it has not exceeded much.
“Why doesn’t Mr. Gu Lu shoot the film in our country so that we can watch it in China.” Lei Zi sighed.
This sigh was like a sharp knife piercing Renault's heart, because Gu Lu had indeed arrived in Italy first.
now--
Renault went online and searched for relevant terms. The results that appeared were: "Why France can be the prototype of the Lord of the Rings", "The European chapter chose France to reveal the special charm of France", "Mr. Gu Lu went to two places, France and Italy, but finally chose France, so what else do I need to say?"...
Especially when the French Propaganda Department used the Lord of the Rings to carry out propaganda and really attracted tourists, it was more painful than killing Renault.
Seeing his father's uncertain expression, Lei Zi, who was smart and quick-witted, realized that something was wrong and that the trip to France would have to wait.
As the head of the Italian Tourism Department, he certainly couldn't let the public discover his mistake, but... Don't say you don't have an Internet barrier. Even if you do, the news can't be hidden! With the increase in sales, the readership has expanded, and the influence of The Lord of the Rings has become more and more obvious.
Probably around the fourth or fifth week.
Readers in Mexico have established the Elvish Club, and the entry requirements are "proficiency in any Elvish language and not being American."
Australia has established the "Lord of the Rings Geographical Correspondence Club". In the author's preface at the end, he admitted that most of the locations in the Lord of the Rings have prototypes, and the purpose of their club is to check in the world in the Lord of the Rings book. Lei Zi, who is Italian, joined this club on the Internet.
Don’t think it’s strange, it’s really normal. Just like many people who go to London, they all go to the third pillar between the ninth and tenth platforms of King’s Cross Station to check in, because it’s nine and three quarters!
That's the influence of the book, because the movie is about Platforms 4 and 5, which actually not many people pay attention to.
Club requirements: Must have watched The Lord of the Rings in its entirety and cannot be American.
There are also some communities that have explicitly or implicitly said they don't want Americans.
This directly formed a hot topic on the Internet: #Why don’t we want Americans? #
Americans are going crazy on the Internet. It has always been Americans who discriminate against Australians and look down on Mexicans. What’s wrong with you now? You are the opposite!
What do you mean? Come out and challenge me!
“I didn’t expect there would still be such discrimination in the 21st century.”
"Why can't I be American? I was studying in Melbourne and saw The Lord of the Rings. I thought it was very interesting and wanted to join a club to find people who shared the same interests. I didn't expect to encounter discrimination."
"I hope these clubs can give a response, otherwise I think tariffs should be increased on these countries that discriminate against the United States!"
“Boycott these countries!”
Need an explanation!
This cannot be tolerated.
In response to the accusations from American netizens, the leaders of these societies, clubs, forums and other organizations immediately came out to respond.
[Hey guys, I like America very much. This rule does not discriminate in any way, because as we all know, "The Lord of the Rings" was not published in the United States, so most Americans cannot read it. For our book club, this rule can quickly screen out like-minded people! Of course, if you are an American who has read "The Lord of the Rings", we also welcome you very much. In fact, there are many American students studying abroad in our club.]
The responses from other organizations are similar. Of course, we talk about facts and reason. Is adding a sentence "Americans excluded" to the rules really a screening?
According to the statement, the condition of "having watched "The Lord of the Rings"" is sufficient, so the Mexican and Australian leaders also vented their anti-American sentiments.
There are valid reasons for this.
Later, organizations related to the Lord of the Rings and even Internet chat groups followed suit and added the label "Except Americans".
Sure enough, after the explanation was made clear, the voices concerned about whether the reason was reasonable became lower, and more people began to care about why America didn't have it!
(End of this chapter)