Again, the book isn't that long but it takes significantly longer to show action than it does to describe it.

The Hobbit would not work as a single 90-minute film without seriously cutting into or just glossing over the book's most important elements.

The Hobbit's a short book, but it's a book in which a LOT happens. You fail to understand that books and film are two entirely different mediums with their own unique rules and possibilities for storytelling. Time and detail are malleable in written form, whereas you actually have to show a good bit of the action on…

there's no reason for it to be a badge of shame either, though.

A construct of society, wow! You mean a society like the thing all of us inhabit and are a part of? I dunno it kinda seems like that fact actually makes those considerations incredibly relevant.