A Arquitetura da Fantasia: Dos Livros de J.R.R. Tolkien à Trilogia de Peter Jackson

Abstract

The fantasy genre, whether in literature or cinema, is characterized by the construction of imaginary worlds inhabited by supernatural creatures, myths, and their own symbolic systems. It emerges as a response to modern rationalism, reclaiming mystery, enchantment, and subjectivity, offering readers and viewers not only an escape from reality but also an alternative way of understanding it. This dissertation aims to explore the relationship between architecture and the fantasy genre in cinema, analyzing how architectural spaces help to construct imaginary worlds and lend them credibility. The thesis begins with a theoretical reflection on the concept of fantasy, its subgenres, its historical evolution, and how cinema has appropriated and visually translated this genre through architecture-understood here not merely as decorative background, but as an active and structuring narrative element, capable of expressing cultural identity, symbolism, and emotion. In the second section, the focus shifts to a central case study: the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, particularly the universe of Middle-earth, both in its literary form and in Peter Jackson's cinematic adaptation. Finally, in the third section, through the comparative analysis of three architectural spaces, the dissertation seeks to demonstrate how architecture, in these fictional worlds, becomes a silent character, revealing the qualities, values, and mythologies of the different races represented.