The Lord of The Rings prequel Rings of Power has recently gained unprecedented popularity among fans. With certain bold decisions made by the Rings of Power creators, questions have started to resurface about the nature of storytelling in Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings, which many watchers previously did not explore.
JRR Tolkien is the creator of the modern action fantasy genre as we know it. He lived in the first half of the 20th century, and along with the follow-up story to the prequel Rings of Power, was also the creator of The Hobbit.
It is not that simple to assume JRR Tolkien could be racist in his stories. But just like HP Lovecraft, a revision is bringing certain untoward choices to light.
The review-bombing: Rings Of Power Controversy
Why is Rings of Power being review-bombed by fans and haters on the internet? Many supporters of these reviews claim that the Rings of Power creators have destroyed Tolkien’s world-building by presenting a more diverse cost.
Yes, indeed the Rings of Power franchise is getting negatively reviewed for having a diverse cast.
Now it is easy to look at how mean-spirited this step is, without looking at the underlying concern that comes with it. You see, Lord of The Rings is a world detailed with multiple races, locations, and even language. And the color of your skin plays a vital role in who you become.
The elves who were the wisest and kindest, literally also the fairest of them all. The humans who came next were not so fair. The dwarves, some claim could be a representation of the antisemitic views of the time. The orcs, however, were evil and violent with much darker skin. Even when ‘Tolkien Racist’ is a very harsh claim, the Lord of The Rings is definitely unconsciously so.
Tolkien’s view on race
Even when we do not know much about what the genius writer said in real life about racial differences, we do know that Tolkein was an English person who was strictly against any antisemitic ideas. Many fans defend him against the Tolkien Racist accusation by stating that he was on side of the Jews during the horrors of the Second World War.
CRITICS SLAM CASTING IN ‘LORD OF THE RINGS,’ ‘HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’: #TheView co-hosts react to criticism of the #TheRingsOfPower and #HouseoftheDragon series casting diverse characters. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/4XrGBJQspt
— The View (@TheView) September 6, 2022
It is however important to remember that there still could be prejudices, and this can never be justified. Furthermore, sympathy for the Jews was a common occurrence among citizens of England, France, and the United States during the 1930s. This has nothing to do with how they viewed individuals of color or even non-white Jews.
What did the Rings of Power creators do?
The Rings of Power creators have not predominantly changed the racial structure of The Lord of the Rings world. It is important to know that most of the cast is still white.
Many critics claim that this could be taken as proof that the diverse casting was more of a representation attempt than a bold statement.
Is the main cast diverse? Diversity has been brought about by many strong characters from sides and other roles. Although the protagonist is still a woman of Caucasian descent. However another facet of review bombing is based exactly on this fact – there are too many female characters in Rings of Power!
Review bombing on Rings of Power is not only racist, but it is also dishonest and redundant. It takes the shelter of lies to make its point heard.
Comment below on how you would rate Rings of Power.
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