New 'Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power' revives racism debate

Amazon's new 'Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power' revives racism debate over J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels' orcs and elves.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels are often seen as a rebuke to fascism. But like other fascist rebukers of his day, Winston Churchill for example, his “Middle-earth” fantasy world is not free from racist philosophy. The new Amazon Prime series, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which is based on Tolkien’s work, makes a deliberate effort to quietly confront that uncomfortable legacy through its casting choices. It’s an admirable decision, but it’s limited by the deeply ingrained ideas of racial difference and racial determinism in Tolkien’s world.

Tolkien was not an outspoken racist like H.P. Lovecraft, but there’s a fairly straightforward case to be made that his books include racist ideas.

Tolkien was not an outspoken racist like H.P. Lovecraft, but there’s a fairly straightforward case to be made that his books include racist ideas. The evil wizard Sauron is associated with darkness. His cannon fodder are orcs, debased humanoid creatures who live only to fight and hate. Tolkien described them in a letter as “squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes: in fact degraded and repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types.”

In contrast, the elves, the epitome of purity and good, are associated with whiteness and fair skin. Elrond and Arwen (technically half-elven characters) are unusual in being part human and having dark hair.

The much-lauded Peter Jackson “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy was wonderful in many ways, but it did little to challenge this tie between white skin and goodness. The main protagonists were virtually all white; the wonderful Maori actor Lawrence Makoare was cast in villain parts as the Witch King of Angmar and Lurtz the Uruk-Hai. The good humans in the film have clothing and culture based on northern Europeans. The evil humans like the Haradrim are based on Middle Eastern peoples, or other non-European cultures.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/new-lord-rings-rings-power-revives-racism-debate-rcna45955


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