Weird associations
 

I´ll come to my point right away. Did anyone else think the Haradhrim looked like Islamic fundamentalists. I´m serios. All those guys you see on the news in Israel, with cloth over their face and holding up their guns... and the belts looked like bullet-belts. <BR>I know this souns really weird. But did anyone else notice??

Yes! But I think they were meant to look kind of middle-east-ish, as Harad is in the warmer regions of ME.

Not really. All of Peter Jackson's 'bad guys' tend to look like 'bad guys' from George Lucas' Star Wars trilogies. That's the more likely association of images, IMHO.<P>Bethberry

One thing that I did notice about the Haradrim; all those critics who complained that Tolkien made the evil races of M-E dark skinned should have no problem with P.J.'s version. The Haradrim were all as white as white can be.<P>And I thought their costumes looked vaguely Samuri-ish.

I don't think it was a problem. They didn't make me think of the Middle East, I was in Middle Earth at the time! Actually, (embarrasing thing coming up) When it first showed a few of the Haradrim with the Oliphaunts, while my mind was wandering to other things, it looked like one was wearing a bagpipe! I know, a stupid idea, but it did look for one like a moment. Then it turned out to be some spikey mutilated weapon of death. My mistake

Hehehe...bagpipe.<P>They did appear to be just a bit Star Warsish, but I liked them anyway. The one that falls near the hobbits from the back of the oliphaunt looks distinctly Middle Eastern. Birdland, I'm sure the critics will find something wrong with PJ's ethnics anyway.

Starwarsish bad guys in LOTR? eh? All the Star Wars bad guys are supposed to be dehumanised, identical killing machines. On the contrary, great lengths were gone to to make sure that no two Orcs looked alike. <P>The Haradrim were one of my big disappointments of TTT. In the book they're these big, tough black guys with shiny bronze armour, red flags and gold rings in their ears. Much cooler than those sombre guys in the movie. Apparently they were supposed to look like Saracens (Muslims from the time of the Crusades), but you're right they looked like bedouins, or Iranian women, or something! Maybe PJ supports a war on Iraq??? And the movie is called the Two Towers as well - talk about bad timing! Public Relations Nightmare!

...whoops, forgot something! I think the main reason they're all whiteys is just a logistical one. I live in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Probably only about 15% of the population could pass as book-Haradrim. And I think that most of TTT was done in the South Island, where you'd be hard pressed to find a hundred available brown faced extras to put into one shot! Regrettable but true. A real shame, though.