'Lord of the Rings' Fans Divided Over Amazon's 'Rings of Power' Trailer
02/15/2022 06:38 pm EST
False Quote
First up is this widely-used but often misunderstood quote from Tolkien which has been shared by fans on every possible side of the casting issues. However, Tolkien never actually wrote this phrase as it has often been quoted. Instead, it seems to be a summation of things he wrote about the creation of Orcs throughout his books. Regardless, some fans are using this quote as if "evil" is a reference to racism, and others are using it as if "evil" is a reference to the act of casting a non-white person on TV.
Continuity Concerns
More tangible concerns were raised about the series' timeline, which has reportedly been "condensed" in the process of adaptation. This makes sense in some ways since Tolkien's Second Age stories take place across hundreds or thousands of years, but it is still a tectonic change to make from the source material, likely with consequences the writers haven't fully planned for yet.
Nostalgia
Those old enough to have been online when Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies were coming out know that this flood of discourse does not necessarily reflect on the movie itself or the viewing experience.
Safe Spaces
Given the state of the conversation on Twitter, users were literally scrambling to find forums where they could discuss The Rings of Power reasonably without having to wade through racist diatribes. Some exchanged recommendations.
Spite
Some fans who weren't rooting for Amazon's adaptation before joked that they had changed their minds now just to spite the racists decrying the series.
Familiar
Sadly, sensationalized outrage like this has become so commonplace in fandom culture that some fans know the routine from other franchises they loved. In particular, many worried that The Rings of Power would share the fate of the Star Wars sequel trilogy in one way or another.
Misread
Finally, many fans pointed out that those who don't want to see The Lord of the Rings franchise "turn woke" have misinterpreted Tolkien's writing and Jackson's films in some way. The timeless message of the story is not tied to a single ethnic representation or aesthetic.
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