Reality show "Wife Swap" wants "Tolkien Enthusiasts"

I just got an email from a producer for the ABC reality show "Wife
Swap". Apparently, they are "Seeking JRR Tolkien Enthusiasts!" Or, as
the producer put it in the email:

Potential families can live anywhere in the United States,
but we ask that families applying for the show consist of
two parents and have at least one child, age 7 or older,
living at home. Specifically, I'm looking for families
whose lives have been transformed by the world of Middle
Earth! If you yearn to walk the streets of Bag End, I want
to hear from you!

(Obviously Bag End got a major expansion at some point....) Now, I'm
not eligible (no kids yet), and I wouldn't take them up on the offer if
I were: volunteering for humiliation in front of a national audience
isn't my thing. But if you and your family want in, I'll happily pass
along your names.

One question that comes to mind is what type of other family they're
targeting to "swap" with. I'm told that the show usually tries to pick
families with highly incompatible personalities or life philosophies, to
make sure that there's contrast and conflict. So what broad type would
they expect would be intrinsically hostile to Tolkien fans? (Or vice
versa.) I could imagine the "fundamentalist Christian who thinks all
fantasy is the work of the devil" angle, but I suppose they could also
be thinking about some sort of "Robert Jordan fan" angle. Any other
thoughts?

I just wanted to pass that along. Now, back to my regularly scheduled
workload.

Steuard Jensen

Steuard Jensen wrote:
> I just got an email from a producer for the ABC reality show "Wife
> Swap". Apparently, they are "Seeking JRR Tolkien Enthusiasts!" Or, as
[snip]
> One question that comes to mind is what type of other family they're
> targeting to "swap" with. I'm told that the show usually tries to pick
> families with highly incompatible personalities or life philosophies, to
> make sure that there's contrast and conflict. So what broad type would
> they expect would be intrinsically hostile to Tolkien fans? (Or vice
> versa.) I could imagine the "fundamentalist Christian who thinks all
> fantasy is the work of the devil" angle, but I suppose they could also
> be thinking about some sort of "Robert Jordan fan" angle. Any other
> thoughts?

i too expect they will, unfortunately, go for the religious vs. fantasy
theme, but i think a family of literary critics would be just the thing.

"this fantasy stuff... what is it _for_? i just don't understand what
Tolkien is trying to _say_."

"so what do you think Frodo's loss of the finger actually symbolises?
the role of imperialist powers in emasculating the natives?"

--
tamf, whose mother teaches literature and doesn't "get" fantasy atoll.