Lord of the Rings TV series gets multi-season order at Amazon

[Tar Elenion]

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

A fair few people have been talking about "inserting ideopolitical messaging" and the like, but honestly, Episode One has none of this.

hS

Wasn't the white boy southlander with short hair on the sides and back, longish in front, saying 'knife ears' and 'you people' to the black *elf in the first episode?
Or was it the second?

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Tar Elenion

Wasn't the white boy southlander with short hair on the sides and back, longish in front, saying 'knife ears' and 'you people' to the black *elf in the first episode?
Or was it the second?

I didn't "read" that as a racial statement because of the casting of a black actor and "ideopolitical messaging". I read it as typifying the harfoots' uneasy relationship with elves, all elves. There are several examples which show that the harfoots don't like or don't trust the elves but I haven't committed them to memory.

As for the elves, I "read" Galadriel's comment to Elrond that he has not been invited to the high table because that is for elf lords as suggesting the arrogance of elves (which is highly attested to in Tolkien's work) about Elrond's status as only half-elven. I suspect we will see Elrond earn his status as elf lord just as we will see the peoples of Middle-earth come together. very Tolkien that.

[Tar Elenion]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

I didn't "read" that as a racial statement because of the casting of a black actor and "ideopolitical messaging". I read it as typifying the harfoots' uneasy relationship with elves, all elves. There are several examples which show that the harfoots don't like or don't trust the elves but I haven't committed them to memory.

As for the elves, I "read" Galadriel's comment to Elrond that he has not been invited to the high table because that is for elf lords as suggesting the arrogance of elves (which is highly attested to in Tolkien's work) about Elrond's status as only half-elven. I suspect we will see Elrond earn his status as elf lord just as we will see the peoples of Middle-earth come together. very Tolkien that.

It was not the *Harfoots, nor *Galadriel.
One was a white boy southlander with a stereotypical 'alt-right' hair cut throwing out "racial slurs" (lifted from some fantasy franchise, that I am unfamiliar with) and using the "you people" line to a black man.

The other was an *elf-woman servant. I took it that as a pathetically ignorant breaking of the lore. But yeah it could be read with a focus on it as 'you are a half-breed'.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Tar Elenion

It was not the *Harfoots, nor was *Galadriel.
One was a white boy with a stereotypical 'alt-right' hair cut throwing out "racial slurs" (lifted from some fantasy franchise, that I am unfamiliar with) and using the "you people" line to a black man.

The other was an *elf-woman servant. I took it that as a pathetically ignorant breaking of the lore. But yeah it could be read with a focus on it as 'you are a half-breed'.

Yes, I know who you meant but yes I'm wrong he was Harfoot. The "white boy" is the son of the human Bronwyn who is the healer of the village of Tirharad and my son and I both think that his hair is deliberately designed to mask his ears. I didn't think of his hair as a stereotypical 'alt right' hair cut but then I didn't know there was such a hair cut. His friend Rowan is less trusting of elves than he is. It's a man/elf thing.

I wouldn't be surprised if the half-elven Elrond plays out some similar anxieties as Spock does.

As for elf servants, all those whispy flowing robes confuse me and I've seen the episode but once. thanks for clarifying my mistakes.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

"Knife-ears" is a derogatory term for Elves taken from the Dragon Age series of videogames, in which they are an oppressed underclass (often servants).

[Tar Elenion]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

"Knife-ears" is a derogatory term for Elves taken from the Dragon Age series of videogames, in which they are an oppressed underclass (often servants).

And Tolkien had a perfectly good 'racial-slur' that the Easterlings (seemingly represented by these Southlanders) used for Elves...

[William Cloud Hicklin]

I do find it interesting that in the one part of Middle-earth in which Tolkien unmistakably placed POC, Harad, the showrunners have chosen to put white people.

[Tar Elenion]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Yes, I know who you meant but yes I'm wrong he was Harfoot. The "white boy" is the son of the human Bronwyn who is the healer of the village of Tirharad and my son and I both think that his hair is deliberately designed to mask his ears. I didn't think of his hair as a stereotypical 'alt right' hair cut but then I didn't know there was such a hair cut. His friend Rowan is less trusting of elves than he is. It's a man/elf thing.

I wouldn't be surprised if the half-elven Elrond plays out some similar anxieties as Spock does.

As for elf servants, all those whispy flowing robes confuse me and I've seen the episode but once. thanks for clarifying my mistakes.

The "white boy" with the "alt-right" hair using racial-slurs and "you people" to the black *Elf (Arondir) is not Theo the son Bronwyn it was Theo's friend. Rowan, if you are correct (I don't know what his name is).

Vulcan Elves now? Well, Arondir is sort of coming off that way so far.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Tar Elenion

The "white boy" with the "alt-right" hair using racial-slurs and "you people" to the black *Elf (Arondir) is not Theo the son Bronwyn it was Theo's friend. Rowan, if you are correct (I don't know what his name is).

So you call that blondeish hair a

stereotypical 'alt-right' hair cut

. I can't see it, but as I said, I don't know there is such a stereotypical hair cut. I do see Theo's hair cut as a bit weird but the straw-haired cut is no big deal for me.

Rowan isn't highlighted in many of the cast lists but he is in one from (gulp) One Wiki to Rule them All. https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Rowan_(Southlands)

[Tar Elenion]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

So you call that blondeish hair a . I can't see it, but as I said, I don't know there is such a stereotypical hair cut. I do see Theo's hair cut as a bit weird but the straw-haired cut is no big deal for me.

Rowan isn't highlighted in many of the cast lists but he is in one from (gulp) One Wiki to Rule them All. https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Rowan_(Southlands)

Yes. A stereotypical "alt-right" haircut. shorter at the side and back. Longer in the front.
I don't know why you think it was Theo that I was referring to when I noted the racist "knife-ears" and "you people" speech from the white boy.
Did the version you saw have Theo saying? Or are you just confused?

I did not say anything about the hair cut being "weird", I described the character.
So again white boy with alt-right hair cut using racially charged in a modern sense speech claimed to be racist ("you people") to a black man.
But no ideopolitical messaging.

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Tar Elenion

Wasn't the white boy southlander with short hair on the sides and back, longish in front, saying 'knife ears' and 'you people' to the black *elf in the first episode?
Or was it the second?

Yep, it was in the first episode. The idea of mortal racism against elves appears in Tolkien's writings on both the First and Second Ages. The King's Men are the classic example, but who was it that said "Let the Eldar look to it; our lives are short enough"? A Beorian, I think.

hS