[Mithalwen]

But it has been implied that it is the only way that a woman can be strong inthis film. I don't have a problem with female warriors per se and I certainly haven'T conformed to them in my own life (am I a strong woman because I played rugby but a weak one because I embroider and knit?). But i had the blessing to be born at about the first moment n time when having two x chromosomes wasn't such a limiting factor though I was born a little to soon to be able to realise my unlikeliy childhood ambition of being a RAF pilot and it is still unusu for women to chose frontline military roles. My Naval cousin observed that the women in his cohort at Dartmouth chose logistics not Warfare. Female warriors are not a usual part of Tolkien's universe and unless Tauriel is somme Jeanne dArc type figure it makes little sense for there to be a female captain if there are no women in the rank and file. I just think it ts the worst kind of facile tokenism and as such insulting to women.Makes about as much sense as having the Tom Hanks character in Saving Private Ryan played by a woman. Maybe PJ is salving some lingering resentment that he never worked on Xena. Dunno but I don't see how this character will be an improvement. If they were serious about it there would have been no need for a recreation when Ronan was unavailable. Too many changes seem to have been made to accommodate Jackson's pet actors for me to have an iota of faith that there is any real vision or integrity. It just seems to be pure self indulgence and the lack of female characters in the original a convenient but unconvincing excuse.