Tolkien was after "Not just two friends who hang out on weekends" sort of thing. He was after "Two friends who will stand, back-to-back, until the fall of the other" for Sam and Frodo. They were meant to be tight-knit, like brothers; showing what happens when two long-time friends are thrusted into despair together. The experience draws them closer, because the only hope they have is each other. The point had to get across: They would not stop until they could not summon any more life to defend the other. And they conquered the entire dang army of Mordor like so.
So yeah. I pretty much agree with you all. Sometimes I wonder what we've come to in the 21st century. Suddenly, the Medieval era is some sort of joke; suddenly, being like sisters or brothers and some kind of a sick jest; suddenly, being thrown into the midst of battle and death, sorrow and pain with a friend who is the only reason you're alive is something to make fun of, to laugh at for an otherwise blind reason. It makes one wonder what's happened to civilization.
I can't even hang out with one of my closest friends and give her my counsel on how to handle the weight of the world she is going through without a mob of guys yucking it up at us. Indeed one wonders.
