Lord of the Rings is kind of unique among fandoms in that it can be a great equalizer among different types of people. While the likes of something like Star Trek is great and all, the fans that it attracts are undeniably all dyed-in-the-wool nerds. Granted, the LOTR fandom attracts plenty of those types of people as well, but it’s also a pretty approachable franchise. Like, if you could convince your mom or your cool date who only watches arthouse films to (re)watch Return of the King with you, they’d probably enjoy it. That’s impressive!

If we’re being honest, LOTR is also helped out by just how savvy fans can get with its memes. A newbie might not know what scene the After All, Why Not? meme is referencing, but they can still enjoy the relatable hijinks that it is used for. So go ahead, show some of the memes below to a naysayer and see how they react. Perhaps they will work their magic.