I heard it wasn't as well received as the Lord of the Rings and I can see why. It is definitely more an altruist's movie than an egoist's (while the former series was more balanced). Instead of being able to identify with the human ranger who is secretly a prince in Lord of the Rings, in this one the dwarves represent subject egoism in a diminutive form that would probably turn the egoists off.
Plus, instead of being a story of the triumph of the will and potency of the hero over a villain it is more random, filled with several different enemies and side plots, and luck and cleverness plays more of a role than will or head to head force.
I thought it had a lot of imagination and that whoever designed the monsters gave a lot of play over to his or her phantasy in its strongest, most visceral sense.
The reason I'm posting about it is that the relationship between Bilbo (the main Hobbit character) and Thorin (the leader of the Dwarves) really plays out the relationship towards self-assertion and the father imago in the subject altruist. It isn't the Antigone complex but illustrating the potential narcissistic injury the SA can receive that would cause a defusion to it.
In several scenes in the film the main character is told, overhears, or senses that Thorin and the Dwarves think that this quest/fight is not a place that Bilbo belongs. He's just a hobbit (i.e. just a girl), he should be back at home enjoying his creature comforts (like a girl), etc. and this doesn't cause anger or resentment in him but instead you see him hang his head and feel like they are right. The egoist reacts with anger and the altruist with feeling abandonment or aloneness.
I've mentioned that Polynices not being allowed to take his turn to rule the city represents Antigone's injury at not receiving equal encouragement from the father imago to assert herself (either socially or sexually). This is the SA's narcissistic injury.
It isn't very hard to imagine a little girl out front before the pack here instead of Bilbo. However, as I've always stressed, psychic bisexuality isn't attached to anatomical sex and though SAs are usually women there is a good number of men who have more emphasis (or energy in) these drives than the others (and it's not just a question of the other drives of the libidinal positions being defended against; sometimes the other drives haven't been developed at all).
Of course Bilbo has enough spirit to not succumb to the narcissistic injuries and return home and instead he saves the day. Here is his justification for not leaving:
Bilbo: I know you doubt me, I know you always have, and you're right. I often think of Bag End. I miss my books, and my arm chair, and my garden. See, that's where I belong; that's home, and that's why I came, 'cause you don't have one...a home. It was taken from you, but I will help you take it back if I can.
This leads to where the Thorin as the father imago embraces him with the words
'I have never been so wrong in all my life'
Very touching stuff for an altruist, but pretty wimpy for an egoist.
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