A Turkish doctor now faces imprisonment for posting a meme comparing that country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to a character from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Gollum.
In The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, Gollum, once known as Smeagol, is a creature corrupted by longtime exposure to the evil of the One Ring. Once a Hobbit himself, Gollum eventually transformed into something more hideous, whose sole source of existence depended on possessing the ring, which he called his "precious."
Now, though, a Turkish court must decide if a comparison to this creature is offensive or not, because in Turkey, it's a crime to insult the president.
Bilgin Çiftçi, the doctor in question, has already lost his job and now faces up to four years in jail if the court deems that a meme he posted to Facebook comparing Gollum to Erdogan constitutes a crime.
Çiftçi's lawyer, icran Danışman, believes that the fictional character of Gollum itself is what's on trial here, saying that it's now "a case of saving the pride of Gollum."
The case has received so much attention that even Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, stated his opinion, believing that the meme doesn't actually refer to the evil side of Gollum, but to that part of the character that remains good, Smeagol.
The following is a statement released by Jackson and his Lord of the Rings screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens:
"If the images [in question] are in fact the ones forming the basis of this Turkish lawsuit, we can state categorically: None of them feature the character known as Gollum. All of them are images of the character called Smeagol."
That, of course, would change the nature of the meme, considerably, although in the end, the Turkish Court must decide on the nature of the character.
"Smeagol is a joyful, sweet character," said Walsh. "Smeagol does not lie, deceive, or attempt to manipulate others. He is not evil, conniving, or malicious - these personality traits belong to Gollum, who should never be confused with Smeagol. Smeagol would never dream of wielding power over those weaker than himself. He is not a bully. In fact he's very loveable. This is why audiences all over the world have warmed to his character."
