Quote:
Originally Posted by Lalwendė
However, rather than thinking of Orcs as naturally 'bad to the bone', it is actually more frightening to think of them as having been raised to be blood thirsty and vicious, brought up in a culture which demanded that of them. It makes them a more satisfying enemy than mere 'McEeeevil' stereotypes, to see them as humanity's dark side.
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Yep, that's how I see the Orcs as well and I believe I expressed that (or perhaps only implied it) earlier on this thread. As for 'humanity's dark side' I certainly assign the flock mentality you've talked about to it, at least the dark aspects that so often come to light; the few examples that have been mentioned here are just page one of a long. long book or horrors. The bright side of humanity is that once in a while we manage to rise above it, despite overwhelming odds. I'd like to think that eventually even the Orcs did. But then they are no longer Orcs, as I believe Orcness is mainly a state of mind for Tolkien, given his talk about modern day Orcs. An Orc reformed is no longer an Orc.