re: Amazon put out a "superfans" video about LOTR: Rings of Power

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Back when I still had time to read books or enjoy life in general, I was a voracious consumer of fantasy novels.

So yeah I’ve read the LOTR trilogy.

You’re not special your just butthurt.

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Then reread it. Don’t understand the material.

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It’s a pretty small change to the cannon.

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That's the point...it's not.

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It doesn’t change character or narrative.

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It changes the entire point of what Tolkien was doing when he was creating mythology for Britain, and it does so to placate the desires of a small minority of people that are under the impression that if they don't "see themselves" in characters than they can not relate to them. Missing the reality that this property has as large a following as it does precisely BECAUSE people of all stripes can and do see themselves in the characters...even if their skin tones and sexuality do not match. There's a reason you're seeing a cross section of Tolkien fans on line in an uproar about this...regardless of race or sex. This is not some middle aged white guy only gripe fest.

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You have to admit it’s cosmetic.

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See above. It's more important than that because the people doing it and the reasons they are doing it are more important to them than that. My guess is they would not be happy at you downplaying how important these changes are.

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This reaction that they’re destroying your childhood or culture and immediate calls for Marxism feel like at this point an overreactions

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Because you have little interest in keeping the lore straight and also agree with the "why" of Amazon doing this. Just own that...it's fine.

What changes when they’re black though?

King Arthur IS British mythology. If he’s played by a black guy that’s a cosmetic change. If he doesn’t pull a fricking sword from a stone that’s a much bigger change. If the actor can’t act that’s just bad TV. But you can still portray the themes of the Matter of Britain.

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Mehta part do I need to read to know it’s ruined if they’re black?

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What I find interesting about this new tact is that it wasn't so long ago on this very board we used to have discussions about casting for movies. Some great discussions were going back to the early Marvel movies, and whether or not some guy or girl would be right for the part.

Would Hemsworth make a good Thor? Would he be able to get big enough? What about Chris Evans as Cap? People were up in arms about Gal Gadot because she was more flat chested than the comic interpretation. And fans were pissed at Superman's costume in Man of Steel because it did away with the red underwear and there was no red anywhere near there so it was too blue.

I could go on for days and days on the topic of fans having an idea of how things should look and be cast based on source materials. This is as old as time...but only recently did this very typical display by nerd culture start getting called some sort of dog whistle for racists and misogynists and homophobe's etc.

Keep in mind...no one would be complaining had Amazon decided to hire some writers and create their own fantasy world that could have been littered with whatever they'd want. They'd be creating their own cannon and lore...so have at it. The issue is that amazon took the easy way out and bought someone's stories because it had fans attached to it. These fans, just as all fans before them have done, have expectations of what it should be like based on the source material. Expecting it to remain true to it is normal, and has always been the case. the only new part of this is the studios' attempt at gaslighting fans by suggesting their desires to have things remain true to the stories is wrong and bigoted.

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What changes when they’re black though?

King Arthur IS British mythology. If he’s played by a black guy that’s a cosmetic change.

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The fact that stated the next part after the question proves you don't deserve an answer here.

That said...why continually bastardize these European tales? I'm quite sure Africa and other "more diverse" parts of the world have tons of fantastic mythology and stories which could be ripe for movies and tv adaptations. Why blaskwash these stories instead of introducing the world to tales which they be less familiar with? Personally I'd LOVE that!

Oh...because these stories are already popular and have a built in fan base. And since there are people like you who see no harm in altering them illogically to make them more "diverse" than why not do a retelling of King Arthur and have Idris Elba play him?

You don’t have an answer.

These threads are just giant circle jerks where no one actually wants to debate or discuses they just want to hear what they’re saying echoed back at them.

How important are the characters being white to the narrative and themes of the work?

They absolutely are trying to market this show to as many people as possible.

Which is why people talking about Marxism coming from one of the largest capitalist enterprises on earth is fricking hilarious.

That being said, can the show still be good? Absolutely. Can it suck? Absolutely.

If your deciding off the press releases and 30 second teaser trailers you’re probably not assessing it for real entertainment reasons.

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SammyTiger

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It’s simple. Don’t make non black characters black.

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Remember when "White Washing" was a bad thing? So do I, and I agree. Especially when it comes to interpreting existing work.

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One of the many reasons it’s considered bad is because there are less big mainstream roles for black actors.

I loved the LOTR movies. Because there were swords and monsters and action and magic. The fact that there were no black peoples there wasn’t that important to me.

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These threads are just giant circle jerks where no one actually wants to debate or discuses they just want to hear what they’re saying echoed back at them.

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