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black and white

Hey, did you know Lord of the Rings is racist?!?

What with the dark skin, broad faces and dreadlocks, it's a wonder Tolkien didn't give his baddies a natural sense of rhythm, says John Yatt, examining Middle Earth's suspect racial undertones.

I always thought dark was evil and white was good since long before people started giving a crap about skin color. White, in essence, represents purity because it is pure of color. Black represents evil and darkness because, well...it's dark!

Why do people feel the need to look for controversy at every turn? Slow news day? Lack of imagination to come up with a better piece for today's column? A love of hate mail? Perhaps....ignorance or stupidity?

I think I set a personal record for most posts in a day today. And I'm not done yet. Caffeine - the angry blogger's friend.

Hmm, maybe I'm trying to make up for Stephen's conspicuous lack of posting. I should switch to Vodka, then.

Oh, and I posted at Raising Hell today, as well.

Posted by on December 2, 2002 06:48 PM |

Comments

Racist? Wow! I never would've known that, having not seen the movie yet.........I know! Incoceivable! Guess I better go find someone with that racist piece of cimetography and check that out so that I can write to someone and complain. Or not.

Sheesh! What'll people think of next?

Posted by: Da Goddess | December 2, 2002 07:15 PM

What isn't racist?

Posted by: Anna | December 2, 2002 08:15 PM

At least that kerfuffle over The Two Towers (such a cruel title, what with 9/11 and all) has ground to a halt.

Posted by: CGHill | December 2, 2002 08:24 PM

Yatt is full of shit. Full stop.

Posted by: feste | December 3, 2002 12:22 AM

So any work that portrays the bad guys as having dark skin and swarthy features is racist. Just as any inanimate object that is taller than it is wide, is a phallic symbol.

It's all so tedious and boring. When, oh God, will it end?

Posted by: Curt | December 3, 2002 12:52 AM

Geez, this guy must not have any real friends (I can tell why though). If I got that bored, I hope my friends are true enough (and I think they are) to drag my white-oppressor ass down to the bar (college town-pick one) and get me good and drunk.

Posted by: Crazy Pat | December 3, 2002 03:11 AM

Would that make Gandalf an Imperial Wizard instead of just a wizard?

Posted by: Jeffersonian | December 3, 2002 07:20 AM

I guess that such things are bound to happen when you make colours important. But really, what better way to deliniate between good and evil in visual media than by painting them with contrasting colours?

Posted by: Jonathan M. | December 3, 2002 12:27 PM

Speakin as a.....person who might enjoy the orcish things in life I'd like to point out that the orcs in Moria were pretty white--when they weren't a rooted flesh green.

And the uruk-hai are actually maroon. If you can find a race to equate THAT to, more power to you.

And, since when does wet, stringy hair count as dredlocks?

Oh, the uruk-hai baddie in the next movie, Ugluk, is blond.

And what's with the idea that black clothing constituets being black?

BUT...The Lord of the Rings is a EUROPEAN myth. Everyone in it is going to reflect that. If you want something of this nature that reflects a more afrocentric view, write it.

Should Grrshnahg now proudly fly the flag of Geekdom? (Hells, I've LIVED in Eltingville.)

Posted by: grsshnahg | December 3, 2002 02:24 PM

Lord of the Rings racist? Why am I not surprised. In todays PC, revisionist, postmodern BS world there seems to be a racist conspiracy behind everything.

I remember reading some bizarre comments on an online review site regarding Blackhawk Down soon after it came out. There were people who claimed the movie was racist, and they clearly had no idea it was based on a real event. I suspect that many of them were barely out of diapers when that took place. Pathetic.

Posted by: Tom | December 4, 2002 04:39 AM

Lord of the Rings is not a racist book, but if written today it would be called racially insensitive. The orcs are not human but Sauron's human allies are from peoples dwelling to the south and east of Mordor who are described as having physical and cultural attributes of Africans and Asians. In earlier editions the Rangers of the North (Aragorn's people) are described by Gandalf as the remnant of "That great race, the Men of the West." while in current editions this is rendered as "That great people. . .." For all that, the human allies of Sauron are sympathetically treated. Not racist, unless being pro-West is racist.

Posted by: Lou Gots | December 4, 2002 10:00 PM

Yes it is, and I've got the proof right here.

In The Two Towers he actually uses the word niggard. This outrage must stop now!!

BTW...People are idiots.

Posted by: teh | December 5, 2002 12:43 AM