The world of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings teems with life, from the tiny sprites of the forests to the monstrous trolls who patrol Middle Earth. Bound not by the limits of earthly possibility, these worlds can host battles between trees and mud-born orcs, where wizards are lauded as heroes and smoke magical weed from needlessly long pipes. So why exactly do fans still get into such a huff when black actors are introduced to such worlds?
It reflects a sad state of affairs when Amazon feel the need to put out a statement defending their black cast members of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power upon recent hate from online trolls. Frustrated at their inclusion in Tolkien’s unvierse, despite the series dabbling heavily in fantasy elements, ‘fans’ of the show took to Twitter to call out cast members, often utilising racist rhetoric in their hate-filled rants.
Sharing a written message on their social media pages, Amazon’s statement defended the likes of Ismael Cruz Cordova, Sophia Nomvete and Lenny Henry from despicable racist views from people across social media. “We, the cast of Rings of Power, stand together in absolute solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and abuse some of our castmates of colour are being subjected to on a daily basis,” the statement read, adding, “We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it”.
A small section of such trolls has coined the term ‘Fan-baiting’, a theory that suggests that movie studios make such diverse casting choices in a way as to stir up artificial controversy, using such as a decoy to make up for a particular show’s lack of quality. However, upon further inspection, this merely seems like a thinly-veiled way of protecting one’s offensive point of view, suggesting that such actors are used as pawns to fulfil quotas.
Creating a diverse world of curious creatures and massive monsters, the imaginative land of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books are naturally inclusive, featuring several different races of men, as well as elves, dwarves and much more, making the pathetic complaints of fans annoyed that a black actor has made his way into the cast, rather embarrassing.
In reality, the inclusive cast of The Rings of Power shows a societal progression of positive ideals ever since Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema chose to cast zero black actors in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Having been so rarely represented in the fantasy genre, the casting of black actors in The Rings of Power shows the true range of diversity that exists in Tolkien’s world, subsequently providing powerful role models for thousands of young fans across the world.
As Sophia Nomvete, who plays Princess Disa, told Shondaland, “Disa has this amazing, incredible power where she is able to speak to the mountains…It’s a gift. I believe that every single woman of colour has a gift that has been instilled in us but somehow silenced. And I draw that out through my voice. I hope that we can take that metaphor and inspire all of my Iranian and Black sisters to find that voice and sing to the damn mountains”.
In the casting of a diverse range of actors, The Rings of Power’s Amazon, and many other production companies like it, have demonstrated that fantasy roles are no longer restricted to white actors. As Nomvete’s co-star, Ismael Cruz Córdova, rightfully states, “We are here now, and there will no longer ever be a day in which people can say that elves don’t look a certain way, or people in Middle-earth don’t look a certain way. That chapter is sealed and closed”.
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