Amazon’s upcoming ‘Lord of the Rings’ series has drawn criticism for “preachy multiculturalism” after it emerged that the show will feature a diverse cast with a “tribe” of multi-racial hobbits and a “very strong female presence”.
Earlier in the week, British actor Lenny Henry revealed that he would be playing a “black hobbit” from an “indigenous” tribe called the Harfoots – a variety of hobbit described by Lord of the Rings (LOTR) author J.R.R. Tolkien as having darker skin.
Describing the series as a “prequel to the age” seen in the LOTR books and films, Henry told the BBC that the show was about the “early days of the Shire and of Tolkien’s environment”. In Tolkien’s fantasy world of Middle-Earth, the Shire is the green grassland home country of the hobbit people.
“So we’re an indigenous population of Harfoots. We’re hobbits, but we’re called Harfoots. And we’re multicultural. We’re a tribe. We’re not a race,” said Henry, who added that the Harfoots were made up of a number of different ethnicities.
So there are black and Asian and brown and even Maori-types within it. It’s a whole brand-new set of adventures that seeds some of the origins of different characters.
Noting that it would take “at least 10 years to tell the story”, the 63-year-old actor said the series would be based on The Silmarillion – a collection of Tolkien’s works on Middle-Earth history and mythology that Henry described as “almost like a cheat sheet for what happens next in this world.”
Adding that the show’s writers had a “lot of fun in extrapolating it all out”, Henry also revealed that the series will feature a “very strong female presence” with “female heroes in this evocation of the story”.
Amazon had paid $250 million to secure the television rights to the franchise four years ago after founder Jeff Bezos demanded a ‘Game of Thrones’-style program to boost his company’s streaming service. The retail giant is reportedly spending $465 million for the first season of the show, which is scheduled to premiere next September.
In a May interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon Studios boss Jennifer Salke said the huge budget reflected the need to “really [build] the infrastructure of what will sustain” a “huge world-building show”. She also expressed confidence that a “giant, global audience” will “show up to [watch] it as appointment television.”
However, the majority of social media users reacted to news about the diverse cast by denouncing Amazon for “preachy multiculturalism” and making a “mockery of Tolkien’s work and vision”. Several commenters stated that they would not be watching the show, which one person predicted would be “woke garbage, created with a strict ideological agenda and zero respect to actual story.”
This is a mockery of Tolkien’s work and vision. Such commercial, soulless cash-cow milking of the Middle-Earth turned into a parody for profits was a laughing matter not so long ago. It took a company as shameless as Amazon to really go for it.https://t.co/bEqIfYCZfr
“Did these idiots even read the books? Heck, watch the movies?”asked one person, while others drew unfavorable comparisons between the series and the Peter Jackson-directed LOTR trilogy by noting that “nothing will ever replace come close [to] the size and scope” of the early-2000s movies.
… Did anyone, and I mean ANYONE, think Amazon would do justice to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe?
— Declan Finn, author of badass action novels (@DeclanFinnBooks) October 13, 2021
However, other users countered that the series was a “fantasy TV show” that was based on a “mythical storyline” – reasoning that it was “not out of place” to have “different races” in it. A number of people said the show creators had “modern audiences” and “contemporary values” in mind – with one person saying it “would be awkward” if a TV show made in 2021 featured an “all white” cast.
plus in 2021 I think creators should be free to adapt their work for their contemporary values and audiences, if it doesn’t directly interfere with storytelling, and in this case there’s nothing to be gained by casting everyone as white
Împotriva articolelor redacției noastre, persoanele nemulțumite pot formula Contestație în termen de 10 zile de la publicarea articolului, la judecătoria Orășenească nr. 1 München Bayern Deutschland, in conformitate cu Legea federală Germană. Considerăm că nu se pot formula acțiuni la instanțele din România deoarece nici o persoană care activează în trustul nostru nu poate fi extrasă de sub jurisdicția federală germană. Considerăm că redacția noastră nu răspunde în fața autorităților din România ci doar celor federale sau civile germane. deoarece legea română nu are efecte de extraneitate asupra redacției chiar dacă subiectul știrilor face obiectul unor evenimente sau persoane din România și sunt scrise în limba română. Limba română nu este izvor de extraneitate a legii.
absolvent WEB DESIGN Academia Britanică de Comunicare Iasi - absolvent COMUNICARE IN AFACERI Academia Britanica de Afaceri si Comunicare -absolvent JURNALISM EDITORIAL - London School University - 2019 inscris la echivalare diploma la Universitatea Politehnica Timisoara - absolvent studii de Drept Universitatea Europeană Drăgan, cursuri in Drept la Universitatea de Vest Timisoara, absolvent studii de proiectare, pastor coordonator in Biserica Protestanta Evanghelica,
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