When 20 years ago Peter Jackson replaced Glorfindel with Arwen, killed Haldir, made Elrond a messenger and Frodo made a fagot, Tolkien fans were clutching their heads. They poured out their regrets on the Internet the same way as they do today, but on closed and quite niche forums and in trade magazines dealing with fantasy. Today, the scale of criticism and arguments are different, as Tolkien’s place in pop culture has changed. It is no longer a niche, Peter Jackson introduced it to the mainstream, and in the mainstream it is ruled by the one who screams the loudest and has the sharpest arguments. Unfortunately, the discussion about the Amazon series, which, we recall, has not yet had a premiere, was dominated by threads and arguments straight from the happily past. It started innocently, but the cesspool poured out extremely quickly.
Amazon takes over Tolkien and introduces new governments
Information about the Amazon series based on threads from “The Lord of the Rings” (and can only navigate in a very narrow field) was initially received with reserve. The project was shrouded in mystery, and it was only recently that we found out what we will see on the small screens. Huge enthusiasm was sparked by reports on the production budget – it is indeed impressive (almost $ 500 million for the first season alone!) And a thrill of excitement ran through the fandom. And then, at the end of 2020, Amazon showed the names of the actors involved in the project – without any specific roles assigned to them yet. And it started.
It turned out that Amazon in its interpretation of Middle-earth will show people with a skin color other than light. In the modern world, this is no longer generally considered something strange, but Tolkien created his works at other times, much less inclusive. There is no need to hide that his elves were of fair complexion – it’s a fact, it is impossible to argue with it. So do dwarves, humans and hobbits – all painfully monotonous and extremely white. While Tolkien did mention other ethnic groups, his stories were not about them.
Amazon can and must be criticized. But why THIS argument ?!
The multiculturalism of the actors on Amazon’s list sparked a concern that was quickly flooded with plain racist slime. It was still not known what characters the actors would play, but the “fans” already knew – there was a sacrilege, “forcing” minorities where they are not, giving them a voice, although these minorities should remain silent and rejoice at places they have in other productions. FROM TOLKIEN WARA. These arguments were basically the same as in the case of Polish problems with “The Witcher” by Sapkowski in the Netflix adaptation, with the difference that now they were loud all over the world.
More than a year and a half later, the fandom frenzy continued. Meaningful arguments are hardly audible and the accusation of “political correctness” and the so-called “woke culture” awakeinclusive to a degree hard to bear for some). It is impossible to complain about the plot and performance yet, although we already know its outlines and we have a teaser foretaste. Rarely does the argument of creating redundant and non-existent characters in Tolkien for the writers’ ideas (and the world of Middle-earth really offers great opportunities in this respect). There is little that Amazon, with the money it has, can just do what it pleases, and NOTHING can stop it, whether we like it or not. Fan groups and subgroups do not shout that the promotional machine will start in a moment and we will be inundated with gadgets that we do not need, and Amazon will get even more rich on us.
Not. There is talk of the skin color of Sophi Nomvete, the dwarven princess Dis, and the color of Ishmael Cruz Cordova, the elf of Arondir. It doesn’t matter if these two play well – they’ve already been judged. Unfortunately, Tolkien’s fandom has in part abandoned its mind for madness, paraphrasing Jackson’s Gandalf. And if you stay mainly on the Polish Internet, I hurry to assure you that this is not only a Polish ailment – discussions using racist arguments are taking place everywhere, in American, British, French, Spanish, Hungarian groups … More importantly, this problem It did not start and it is not just about the Middle-earth fandom – recently, groups of fans of the Dune universe have also undergone a loud exodus of complaining about “woke culture”, the same applies to groups around the Star Wars universe and many other important titles from the point of view of contemporary culture.
Meanwhile, skin color plays absolutely no role in Tolkien’s works. It is advisable, but not even the slightest bit important. JRR Tolkien created Middle-earth in terrible times, he saw the horrors of world wars with his own eyes, and it was then that his notes were written about the elves, Numenor, Nargothrond, Lindon and others. He also lived in Britain, which had been grappling with race stereotypes for many decades by then. Being a child of his time, he would not have created Middle-earth any other way. But he was also a diablointed man who, I believe, would have accepted a different skin tone in the heroes he had brought to life without any problems. Because he knew that what is important is in their hearts, not in their appearance. And although many seem to have forgotten it, Tolkien’s world dealt with evil only united – regardless of differences.
And so, instead of talking about the purely profit-making of a universe loved all over the world, fans argue whether it is good that a dwarven woman has dark skin (although in Tolkien’s works no dwarf woman utters a single word). Instead of asking why Amazon’s collaboration with expert Tolkiennologists turned out to be one of the experts kicked out of production, fierce arguments continue over the length of elven hair. Why does Amazon not boast to everyone that its version is not an adaptation of Tolkien’s works, but a screened fanfic? Why are we not saying that the racist sewer is convenient to them because thanks to it they reach a much wider audience, which will ultimately translate into profit (let us add that no one is fighting this narrative, it has been put on a waiting strategy)? The series, which will premiere in September, can really be accused of much more than the pigmentation of the skin and the lack of hair on the characters’ beards. The more that the fans using these arguments at least theoretically read Tolkien’s works. The question of how many of them have understood leads to sad conclusions. One can only hope that the voice that uses the argument “I’m not a racist, but …” is nevertheless in the minority – very loud, but still a minority.
“The Lord of the Rings. The Rings of Power” will hit the Amazon Prime Video platform on September 2, 2022.
Source: Gazeta
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
