Can o' worms...

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by davem

It got me wondering - will we now see 'Hobbits of color' (notice I used to American spelling there, as I hold every single American personally responsible for the existence of Political Correctness) just because of this issue - will the Shire now be filled with a glorious racial rainbow simply so the producers can show the world that they are color blind?

Don't point fingers, Davem. You Brits decided to have Sharia law courts, and thus subverted your own judicial system in the name of political correctness.

This whole can o' worms is as indigestible as the aforementioned prepackaged annelids. Aside from parsing out text into indecipherable bits of evidentiary vagueness and monosyllabic minutiae, Tolkien is quite clear on the racial make-up of Hobbits, their place in the prehistoric Northwestern corner of Europe, and their pre-Edwardian proclivities.

Personally, I have no problem with an actor of African descent playing a Hobbit. Just use make-up to present him as an Anglo-featured halfling. Lawrence Olivier had to wear face paint to portray Othello, which is only correct, as Shakespeare presents Othello as a Moorish general in the army of Venice. If it was okay for Sir Larry, it should be okay for an actor with 15 seconds of screentime.