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IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

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Re: IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

#231
post #186

My issue with the show has nothing to do with the “woke” stuff mentioned here. I don’t like it because none of the heroes are likable. All of them have some form of sticking it to the man and doing what they want as their story line. True heroes are self-sacrificial and reluctant. Contrast Galadriel who acts like a self righteous dickhead with Aragorn who was reluctant to accept his calling spent and three movies pro…

Galadriel took part in the kinslaying at Alqualondë, she is totally a dick. The LOTR movies portrayed her in a much more positive light than the books. True heroes as you describe them exist only in your imagination and in fairy tales.

No she didn't. Tolkien re-wrote her story a few times, and she is a late addition to the myths. In one passage

> Galadriel, the only woman of the Noldor to stand that day tall and valiant among the contending princes, was eager to be gone. No oaths she swore, but the words of Fëanor concerning Middle-earth had kindled in her heart, for she yearned to see the wide unguarded lands and to rule there a realm at her own will.

Which doesn't say she was part in the kinslaying (though it doesn't say she wasn't, but its hard to interpret "Standing tall" as "participated in slaying her mother's kin").

In another version

> Even after the merciless assault upon the Teleri and the rape of their ships, though she fought fiercely against Fëanor in defence of her mother’s kin, she did not turn back. Her pride was unwilling to return, a defeated suppliant for pardon; but now she burned with desire to follow Fëanor with her anger to whatever lands he might come, and to thwart him in all ways that she could.

Which sounds like she participated _against Fëanor_, as in: she defended those being attacked.

In another unfinished version she left Valinor on her own separate from the rest of the Noldor.

In any case, she seems to be motivated by a desire to rule her own realm and a strong dislike of Fëanor.

Also, I am fairly certain that Tolkien was writing a fairy tale when we wrote about Galadriel and co. :)

Re: IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think all critics of “mandatory woke” can be boiled down to “I hate it because it has black people in it”. I mean I wouldn’t personally use the world woke because it looks mostly devoid of meaning but as a European, the mandatory diversity in American production has reached a point where it sometimes gets very funny. I don’t really mind it because it doesn’t affect the narrative structure of what you are watc…

> mandatory diversity For everyone except East Asian males. They are generally not allowed into the diversity club unless they're playing a martial arts expert. East Asian women get casted because, well, at least they're women. Maybe they can find themselves a nice non-East Asian boyfriend in the movie. East Asian men can go and screw themselves. God forbid if they included a conservative older white male who isn't p…

[deleted]

Re: IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

#233
post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Applying Occam's razor, given that this process has repeated for years over multiple franchises, the conclusion is that the core audience is not who you think they are. Online commentary creates a strong visibility bias. Reddit is perhaps the most egregious example of this.

The evidence doesn't back you up here. The Rise of Skywalker made half as much money as The Force Awakens. Rey and Rose Tico merchandise didn't sell. Viewing figures for recent Disney Marvel TV shows have been extremely low. Star Trek Discovery can't be viewed in many countries because no network broadcasts it. Netflix's attempts at woke series tend to get cancelled after the first season. And so on. The poor perform…

Alienating fans doesn't mean you can't also alienate and bore the general audience as well. It's definitely true that wokeness heavily contributes to some of these failures, but the alienation of fans is not exclusively about wokeness to begin with, nor is wokeness always the main driver of mediocrity. Consider boxing matches that now revolve around YouTube stars, and the most recent Diablo's financial success.

The point is that vocal fans who demonstrate their wrath or joy online are a very minor part of what makes a production succesful or unsuccessful.

Re: IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

#234

My issue with the show has nothing to do with the “woke” stuff mentioned here. I don’t like it because none of the heroes are likable. All of them have some form of sticking it to the man and doing what they want as their story line. True heroes are self-sacrificial and reluctant. Contrast Galadriel who acts like a self righteous dickhead with Aragorn who was reluctant to accept his calling spent and three movies pro…

funny, people hated romanticism when it came 150 years ago (Victor Hugo was thrown under the bus), and now people complain because a show doesn't follow the romantic canvas.

Re: IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

#235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Contrast Galadriel who acts like a self righteous dickhead with Aragorn who was reluctant to accept his calling spent and three movies proving himself to be worthy of honor and love You mean three books, right? The difference here is that Aragorn was written by Tolkien, this show wasn't and has completely betrayed the original material. Race or gender swaps are not a big issue, but they become one if the purpose is…

You mean one book, right? /s

Um, six books.

Re: IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

#236
post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Applying Occam's razor, given that this process has repeated for years over multiple franchises, the conclusion is that the core audience is not who you think they are. Online commentary creates a strong visibility bias. Reddit is perhaps the most egregious example of this.

There are some people for whom the name Tolkien means something, usually something very specific and beloved. If those people aren't the core audience, why did they pay out of the nose to use that name in the first place? They could do a fantasy story written all in-house, and save themselves the money. If you're right, the audience should be almost as big, and they get to skip the part where they're accused of grave…

No, Tolkien-lovers aren't the core audience. Every casual viewer that enjoyed or have heard of Lord of the Rings are. Because that groups is about a billion people, not tens of thousands.

Like me, I enjoyed the trilogy. I don't care if this new show isn't in "the spirit" of Tolkien (judged by someone far after his death, how much does that even mean?), I'm gonna watch it because I've heard of the IP before and want to try it out.

Re: IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

#237

Not sure if IMDb has a history of deleting negative user reviews made in good faith, but worth noting that IMDb and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV series) are both owned by Amazon.

They didn't seem to delete user reviews for Lightyear made by all the bigots that were offended by having two women kissing in the movie so it seems that there's some preferential treatment for Amazon properties. And deleting negative reviews by bigots at least would be more defensible than deleting negative reviews from fans of Tolkien who take issue with the treatment of the work they love. EDIT: I still haven't se…

what's wrong with the foundation btw?

Re: IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

#238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it’s not the core audience. People who care about the lore and source material are insignificant compared to the amount of people who just enjoy a lavish production in a medieval fantasy setting. Clearly Amazon is targeting the people who enjoyed the movies and want a similar experience in a TV show format. Most don’t really care that it conforms to what Tolkien wrote. Heck, I’m probably unusual compared to t…

Then why spend the money to get the rights to a known series at all? Make up a new IP in Generic Medieval Fantasy Land with lavish production values. No licensing or contract renewal fees, and you don't upset any existing audience.

Have I watched this new LotR show and their WoT show? Yes. Because I've enjoyed the books.

Would I watch a generic IP they invented? No. At least not until it got huge and I got it recommended by others.

Re: IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't you think that 2 episodes is a bit too little to judge the entire series like that? The show covers A LOT more time than LOtR did, there's plenty of space for character development. Galadriel was not exactly likeable when she participated in the first kinslaying, or when she ran away from the war of wrath.

I managed 2 episodes of Amazon's butchering of the WoT series and judged it to be absolutely crap.

I was a huge fan of the books and frankly I think the book series itself went off the rails at some point. I'm still not even done with book 9 and don't really plan to finish it. I still enjoyed the Amazon series, but I will admit it wasn't perfect. I was surprised to see that so many people seem to vehemently hate it.

I do recall seeing a lot of one star reviews on Amazon having to do with what the actors looked like, and I observe the same thing in the reviews for Tom Clancy's Without Remorse, which I also enjoyed.

Are Amazon productions perfect, on the level of other established studios? No, they're still finding their stride I think, but there is a definite trend of review bombing and I think that's why people are probably assuming it's happening here.

Re: IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power

#240
post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Contrast Galadriel who acts like a self righteous dickhead with Aragorn who was reluctant to accept his calling spent and three movies proving himself to be worthy of honor and love You mean three books, right? The difference here is that Aragorn was written by Tolkien, this show wasn't and has completely betrayed the original material. Race or gender swaps are not a big issue, but they become one if the purpose is…

Isn't it the case that race is acceptably mutable if it isn't germain to the story and that making all audiences feel more accepted and therefore happier is a laudable goal. Nothing woke about greater non white representation. Plenty snowflake about not wanting this.

No. That's the lie being told these days and repeatedly blowing up on faces though
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