Predictably, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Executive Producer Calls Critics Racists
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power executive producer Lindsey Weber predictably decided to attack The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien fans as racists.
Source: Sophia Nomvete as Princess Disa and Owain Arthur as Prince Durin IV The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Weber made it abundantly clear the production and show would be eschewing Tolkien’s work when she told Vanity Fair in February, “It felt only natural to us that an adaptation of Tolkien’s work would reflect what the world actually looks like.”
“Tolkien is for everyone,” she added. “His stories are about his fictional races doing their best work when they leave the isolation of their own cultures and come together.”
Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn and Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir in Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Months after making it extremely clear that the show would not be following Tolkien’s works, Weber is now accusing critics of racism.
She told Time Magazine, “We’re all up for criticism. We’re not up for racism.”
Thusitha Jayasundera Lenny Henry as Sadoc Burrows, and Sara Zwangobani as Marigold Brandyfoot in Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
And it’s not just Weber, showrunner JD Payne also told Time that criticism of Galadriel wearing armor and the inclusion of a black elf will not be tolerated.
He described critics ironically quoting Tolkien as “creatures of dull and lumpish nature that had no more language than beasts.”
Patrick McKay and JD Payne on the set of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Let’s be clear here, it is not racist to want characters that are described by J.R.R. Tolkien in a certain way to look like those characters when his stories are being adapted to television.
As an example, no one wants Black Panther to be played by Ryan Gosling. They want Black Panther to be portrayed by a black man. No one would want Bruce Lee to be played by Chuck Norris. They want him to be portrayed by an Asian man.
Source: Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn, Ismael Cruz Cordova as Arondir, and Tyroe Muhafidin as Theo in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
YouTuber Just Some Guy more eloquently explains, “Middle-earth is basically northwestern Europe, mostly England. he native people of those areas are all white. So all the races of Middle-earth would be white. And we know that’s true because Tolkien described what they looked like. They are all white.”
“The actors can be non-white and if they can pass as European with or without makeup, they can play those characters,” he details. ” They just need to look the part. Casting non-white actors in a Middle-earth Show is like casting white actors in a Black Panther movie. It makes no sense.”
It is also not racist or sexist to want characters like Galadriel to be portrayed on the screen as they are described by Tolkien in his works. Galadriel was not a warrior. She did not lead soldiers into battle.
Prime Video, Amazon Studios, showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne, and executive producer Lindsey Weber portraying her as such are the ones in the wrong. And despite Weber claiming they can handle the criticism, they clearly can’t as she is now name-calling her critics and using the media to attack the fans and the “global audience” that Prime Video is trying to get to watch their show.
Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
This tactic might have been effective five years to a decade ago, but it’s been played out and people are seeing the truth behind those attacking the fans.
The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm recently attempted a similar tactic with their Obi-Wan Kenobi series and while it might have gotten them short-term gains, in the long-term it did not work out.
Reva (Moses Ingram) in Lucasfilm’s OBI-WAN KENOBI, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
The company used actress Moses Ingram to try and gin up a controversy by accusing Star Wars fans of racist behavior. This was after Ingram revealed she had been coached by Lucasfilm to deal with a “racist backlash.”
She told The Independent, “It was something that Lucasfilm actually got in front of, and said, ‘This is a thing that, unfortunately, likely will happen. But we are here to help you; you can let us know when it happens.”
After the premiere, Ingram would try and put her coaching to work as she revealed a number of screenshots of “abuse” she received. Many of the screenshots were anything but “abuse.”
Reva (Moses Ingram) in Lucasfilm’s OBI-WAN KENOBI, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
Following this, Obi-Wan Kenobi debuted as the most watched original series on Disney+ with Nielsen reporting the show’s first three episodes raked in 958 million minutes viewed.
However, by the show’s sixth and final episode, Obi-Wan Kenobi viewership had decreased to 860 million minutes viewed. The following week the show didn’t even chart on Nielsen’s Top 10 list with Netflix’s Ozark sitting in 10th with 330 million minutes viewed. That means Obi-Wan Kenobi viewership was below 330 million minutes viewed a week after its season finale.
This tactic is played out. Audiences see it for what it is, a helpless deflection from poor decisions that lead to a terrible show.
Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
What do you make of Weber’s attack against fans? Are you surprised?
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