A dark, malevolent force is gathering at the edge of Middle-earth. It is even more poisonous than the Witch-king of Angmar. More toxic than smog. More evil than Sauron himself.
That’s right, conservatives are marching on Endor.
You’ve probably heard a bit about the controversy surrounding Amazon’s “The Rings of Power.” How some neoconservative Nudniks have taken up arms against the streamer’s new billion-dollar “Lord of the Rings” prequel series. His big complaint? The elves in the show aren’t Caucasian enough.
Red State, a far-right website, along with a group of other katzenjammer culture warriors, is arguing that the series “corrupt and corrupt” JRR Tolkien’s vision of a medieval-like mythological universe by casting black and Latino actors – Ismail Cruz Cordova, for example, who stars as an elf warrior named Arondir – assumes roles to be reserved only for whites. because it is the color of the skin claimed by Tolkien in the original “Lord of the Rings” novels published in the 1950s.
Some aren’t too thrilled with how women are portrayed on the show, either, objecting to Welsh actress Morpheid Clark’s action-hero-style portrayal of Galadriel, the elfin princess, on Peter Jackson’s big screen. Played with a more feminine touch by Cate Blanchett. Adaptation of ‘Lord of the Rings’ in the early 2000s. Even the Tesla founder turned conservative commentator Elon Musk has lost weight, Although he had no problem with Clark, he complained on Twitter about how “every male character by now is a coward, a jerk or both,” adding that “Tolkien is turning in his grave.”
Of course, Tolkien has always had his fair share of obsessive-compulsive super-fans. Even when Jackson’s films were first released, gatekeepers complained about the New Zealand director’s deviations from the author’s sacred text (Aragorn never doubted his ability to be king in the novels). did!)
But it is much more harmful. And a lot more stupid. This is a criticism based solely on skin color and gender stereotyping.
Look, I admit I often get confused by the casting debate on the other side of the political spectrum as to who should be allowed to play what kind of characters. Can straight actors play gay roles? Or do gay actors play straight roles? Should all trans characters be played by trans actors? Can a hearing actor play a role without a hearing? To be honest, I have no idea, and apparently a lot of actors are grappling with the same questions (Eddie Redmayne announced last year That playing a trans character in 2015’s “The Danish Girl” was a mistake—and she won a stellar Oscar for her performance).
I will also admit that I am no expert when it comes to Tolkien’s work. I’ve seen every single Jackson movie and all three episodes of “The Rings of Power” so far. I also read some books in junior high school. But I’m still not entirely clear where the Orcs come from or why they’re always in such a bad mood.
Still, I do know one thing about Middle-earth: It’s not real. This is make-believe. It is completely made up. So why does it matter what color an elf’s skin might be? If conservative critics are able to suspend their disbelief when it comes to the existence of eagle-riding wizards or giant trees that can walk and talk, they should not really be able to call a black one without whining about white cultural appropriation. Must be able to face the elf.
These critics claim that they are not racists. His complaints, he insists, are purely literary; They’re only objecting to Amazon ruining a story they’ve long cherished, diluting it with trendy lefty ideological tics, like diversity and equity and feminism. They believe they are figuratively standing their ground in the mines of Moria, battling a Balrog monster, which stands for the benevolent elite: “You will not pass!”
But I wonder what Tolkien himself can do with all this Sturm and Drang Supposedly in defense of his fantasy-fiction masterpiece. For decades, there has been some smack talk about Tolkien’s own perceived racist tendencies—suggesting that his orcs were modeled on the anti-war Japanese movement and that his dwarves flirted with anti-Semitic tropes. The man was the Tweedy Professor of Anglo-Saxon literature at Oxford University in the 1940s and 1950s—it wouldn’t be surprising if he had been a bit racist.
But the truth is, Tolkien was a ruthless enemy of Nazi racial theories (he called Hitler a “pretty little ignorant”) and famously slapped a German publisher There was interest in printing a German-language version of “The Hobbit” in 1938—but only if Tolkien could assure he did not have Jewish blood. “I’m sorry it seems that I have no ancestors of those geniuses,” replied Tolkien, asking the publisher to clamber over an ant.
I suspect Tolkien would be heavily influenced by the defenders being on his right. After all, “The Lord of the Rings” is nothing if not separate races – some with pointy ears, others with furry legs – working together to defeat a common evil foe.
Even the Eye of Mordor must have been rolling over this Red State nonsense.