Several internet users have rather inaccurately distinguished the two sides of this argument as between “die-hard Tolkien fans” and “layman fans” or, fans of the movies with no knowledge of Tolkien’s writing of the world. In actuality, it’s a debate between individuals that understand and accept how adaptations work, and those that don’t.
With the uproar that these disgruntled fans have made, outsiders to the conversation might think that the writers of Rings of Power completely rewrote the story as a sci-fi, or some other extreme difference. The reality of the matter, however, is that if it stays true to the tone, message, and overarching story then it achieves its purpose as an adaptation.
The fans that are opposed to the addition of diversity, whatever their argument may be, are completely dismissing the perspective of entire groups of people. Many of the individuals that are passionate followers of Tolkien’s works and the recreations made of them, have been fans of the stories for years- maybe even their whole lives. For those people, Tolkien’s worlds were a unique and immersive experience that inspired the reader to be courageous. In most cases, they even had a character, or multiple, that they connected to and saw themselves in, but being an almost entirely white cast, this was an experience that in many ways, only white viewers could have.
By making some of the prominent and respectable characters of the world people of color, or by fleshing out the story arcs of a few female characters, the Rings of Power writers made the world more accessible to a broader audience. Now, a whole new generation of young people, at a greater number, can watch this series and see themselves in the characters. That is the purpose of diversity in film, so that the immersive, connecting effect of the characters is not reserved for only one group of people.
It doesn’t make sense in the first place to have such little diversity in films or shows exploring Middle Earth, given that it is a place that is centered around many different types of beings that must work together in the stories. Some fans have argued that because Tolkien’s world is reflective of Europe at the time, that the majority of the characters would be white. However, just like film and television no longer strive for entirely light-skinned casts, Europe no longer looks quite as white as it did during Tolkien’s lifetime.
The environment that inspired Tolkien’s stories has changed and so it seems like a natural process for the stories to do the same. Tolkien wrote a story that was relevant to his time period and that’s no different from what the Rings of Power creators are doing now.
Writing in any genre requires that the writer know who their audience is going to be so that they can write to the standards of that group of people. This is exactly what the writers of the Rings of Power did by trying to create a telling of a classic tale for a modern world. They knew that their audience was diverse and so the content needed to be as well. This is a very important factor in writing adaptations, especially with a story this old.
Further points on adaptation rules illustrate why the decisions the Rings of Power creators made were the right ones. Most importantly, an adaptation is not a translation. In other words, it’s not taking a story in one medium and simply trying to perfectly regurgitate it onto a new medium. When adapting something to a film format, which is highly formulaic if done properly, the writer must prioritize the success of the film or series over the potential backlash from devoted fans of the original work.
Also, it’s important in adaptations that changes made to the content do not take away from the story, but add to it. So far, the changes that the Rings of Power have made seem to abide by this but that cannot be said for certain until the series is released.
There are also a few other details that appear to cater to diversity efforts- specifically for female viewers- that fans have questioned. For one, the trailer appears to be narrated by a female harfoot, an earlier breed of hobbits. This is likely to cater to the audience’s love of hobbits, not to mention the fact that these charming creatures tend to lighten the mood of darker moments in this world.
There’s also the fact that in this series, Galadriel seems to be a warrior which is not recorded as so in Tolkien’s work but this was likely to make her a more relatable and inspiring character to women. Beyond that, it actually makes a lot of sense that Galadriel, notably and knowingly one of the most powerful beings in that whole world, would use her power to fight for what she believed, rather than just letting others do it.
Even the lack of beards on the female dwarf characters have bothered some fans. However, the beards were in no way reflective of the dwarf women’s strength, as one might expect. In Tolkien’s writing, the dwarf women had beards and dressed like their male counterparts for protection, to hide. The dwarf men wanted them hidden for their safety but then went on to overlook them for their appearances, going on to credit the existence of their people to the stones of the mountains. This dismissive depiction of the female dwarves not only makes them seem meek and incapable of protecting themselves, but it also seems contradictory to the ideals and lifestyle of dwarves. The Rings of Power give a more respectable and strong depiction of dwarf women, again, making for more appealing characters for a female audience.
While the amount of notable changes made to the story seem justifiable, the series is not only made up of changes. There are several details about the locations and events in the trailer that seem to deliberately bring to life Tolkien’s words. That being said, the show seems to have figured out a wise balance between illuminating Tolkien’s ideas and making the series relevant to many more groups of people.
It is obvious that the creators of the Rings of Power want this series to be different from but clearly connected to the trilogy and Hobbit storylines. Yet, despite their balancing efforts, there will likely be viewers that refuse to watch the Rings of Power because of its changes for diversity’s sake. That said, rather than losing viewers, the decision to incorporate diversity will likely result in those fans being replaced by new ones that now feel that the diversity offers them a connection to the world.
