A question about class in Middle Earth

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

Nogrod - I am not arguing that class is not a fctor in ones life. I only aksed why in British films it seems that class is THE ISSUE in so many films.

Sure. No problem. You just gave me a lead I couldn't resist to follow...

And yes, the Brits seem to be so attached to their centuries of glory to whitewash all their problems today... That's why they cling to the films of aristocracy as a national passtime or as the "good old" workers... Like the world hadn't changed and reshuffled the cards already...

By the way, I taught for 33 years in a Detroit high school and saw all kinds of people make it well beyond their parents status. Smarts, hard work and a bit of luck all helps. Everyone got, and still does get, a free public education. Some make the most of the opportunity while others flush it down the toilet.

That's the argument for individualism: one can rise above the expectations. And some people do it. And that's great.

The story still is that looking at the statistics those who are children of white (or black) high-educated parents will do well with percentage X (a high one) and those who are the children of low income black (white) single-parent households will do bad with a percentage Y (a high one).

Having these numbers can you still say it's a question of a personal merit only? I mean, yes it in a way is. A few people jump over the fence and a few fall down. But what is the foreseen career you're able to reach unless you perform extremerly well / poor? Some people just have better starting points - and in today's world I'd call that a class-difference. In the eighties it was smoother but now we're going back to the class society of the early 20th century or the late 19th.

And that's sad.