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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

#451

Post by nobodyandproud »

chaostheory wrote: post #380
farleykr wrote: post #61

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…

Yeah, the writing is the issue. I have no problem with ethnicity or even gender swaps. Honestly, a gender swap of a male character would have been better than changing Galadriel The problem is that they’re more focused on tying the series to Peter Jackson’s work and ensuring that children can watch it. The original stories were better.

Maybe the casting shouldn’t be a problem, but the kids asked what happened to all of the black hobbits and elves in LotR.

I had to sidestep that landmine very fast.

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

#452

Post by tzs »

kasey_junk wrote: post #364
concordDance wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actors should be a good match for the role they play. That includes accent, build, height, sex, attractiveness, characterization (Will Smith couldn't play Sauron) and skin colour.

The cast of Hamilton has a few things to say to you.

If you are referring to "Hamilton" using a diverse cast to play characters that were white in reality, I'm not sure that is a good example. The commenter above said "Actors should be a good match for the role they play".

I haven't seen "Hamilton", but from what I've read it has little or no mention of slavery. When you don't have slavery in a story set in that era the character's race usually isn't important for the role so the actor's race doesn't matter.

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

#453

Post by peoplefromibiza »

ABraidotti wrote: post #326
peoplefromibiza wrote: post #167

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…

> Elves are almost eugenetically born all the same Elves are fictive and have a long literary history--mostly publicized by white Europeans. Originally, they were described as evil creatures who infected people with diseases. Tolkien stepped into the folklore at a particular time and place and offered his interpretation. Sticking to a tradition in which they're all genetically similar--and white--is also just an inte…

Elves in Tolkien word are a very specific and thoroughly described kind of fantasy creature.

When adapting Tolkien, I think it helps a lot to have a manual written by Tolkien himself.

> It was subsequent interpretations, like Disney's first version, that portrayed the fish as a whale.

Don't let me even start on that.

I believe the reasoning at the time was that a whale was already as big as a five story building.

Ironically today it would be unacceptable to use a whale with shark teeths [1] as a human eating monster-fish.

Animal rights activists would complain a lot most of all because wales are not even fish!!

[1] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5SHMnaUIAA_GZ7?format=jpg&name=...

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

#454

Post by voidwtf »

farleykr wrote: post #61

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…

Art is an evolution and transforms over time both in its creation and it’s interpretation. The same stories are told across generations and they both influence, and are influenced by, the culture in which they originate.

It’s in this context that I believe every artist sends their creations out into the world. Having a vision of what it means to them and what it may mean to others. A world of the imagination is conveyed that can never be fully reproduced and for which we are left to fill the gaps. It is from these gaps, from our own imaginations, that the story continues. I appreciate that this is a story that will continue to be told, a universe that will continue to grow, through the imaginations of others.

I’ve enjoyed the storytelling and pacing so far, I believe there is time for the characters to become more developed and “likable”. Galadriel, however, was never a “hero”. She was an imperialist with a desire to rule her own realm. She was a self righteous dickhead who proudly refused forgiveness. So far the new series isn’t too far left field. Still, even if it was, I would watch it and judge it on its own merits. I want to see more of this type of content, just like I want to see more Star Wars content. I want to see the future continue to be inspired by, and inspire new additions to the story.

In the end we will collectively and individually determine what is and isn’t canon.

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

#455

Post by AvocadoPanic »

Ekaros wrote: post #178
smcl wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People were up in arms before a single episode aired, because they saw a fictional species (dwarf) had dark skin. many of those people have now pivoted their arguments against the show to being about pacing, writing (note: I’m in no way implying this is you, I haven’t seen any LotR series opinions on HN) - but the racist stuff has already occurred

I wonder how well it would go down if someone made a show about slavery in USA with all of the black people being played by non-blacks... For inclusivity you know? Get some Asians there. Maybe gender swap the historical big figures to boot and have them speak Chinese or something.

Don't we already have this with the majority of slave owners / traders depicted as white? While the reality of the slave trade was more semetic.

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

#456

Post by wizofaus »

peoplefromibiza wrote: post #224
kthejoker2 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean ... she's a fairy, not a human .. what does her skin have to do with the time period or place in which she appeared? And there's literally zero reason to insist that Collodi's description is the only way a fairy character can be portrayed in a staged version of his book. The real problem is getting upset over the skin color of the actors and actresses playing fairies (or stormtroopers or elves or angels or for…

> she's a fairy, not a human .. what does her skin have to do with the time period or place in which she appeared? I mean, why can't we have a viking Black Panther and put Wakanda near Iceland? > The real problem is getting upset over the skin color of the actors and actresses playing fairies No one is upset for that, I, as Italian, am upset that some writer thinks that Collodi's story needed to be changed in ways th…

Can't reply to the post below but where you say "I want to see black people stories, not just black people participating in white people stories where they are not originally mentioned." - I don't personally care if a movie reinterpretation casts a bald black actor (of either sex) for a character that's orginally a blue-haired pale-skinned fairy, but I definitely agree with this statement. And I wouldn't personally have an issue with using obviously caucasian actors in such a story, even if the original authors would have naturally assumed all the characters were black. Unless the character's racial background is important to the story itself (12 years a slave etc.) or the movie is aiming for historical accuracy, I'm all for having an open slather approach to colour-blind casting.

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

#457

Post by ratsmack »

SunlightEdge wrote: post #442

To be maybe controversial... I'm still thinking about it, but I do wonder if diverse casting works in European fantasy stories. The problem I have is that it generally pulls me out of the experience/ makes it less immersive. I welcome diverse castings in modern shows (though we don't need every show to follow a template 'diverse' casting). A common counter argument is, well you can suspend your disbelief and imagine…

>European fantasy stories

European history should be portrayed accurately, be it fantasy or reality. It seems that those that shout loudest about cultural appropriation are the first to glorify cultural appropriation when it suites their world view.

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

#458

Post by [deleted] »

JadoJodo wrote: post #24

I understand that Bezos spent a TON of money on this, but the way he’s forcing it is kinda crazy. The ads for it are EVERYWHERE. I was trying to check out at Whole Foods yesterday and had to sit through a 5s ad for it when I opened the Amazon shopping app (just to get to the Prime member barcode). Deleting reviews to “guarantee” success is just sad.

[deleted]

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

#459

Post by ryantgtg »

ubercore wrote: post #272
peoplefromibiza wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> she's a fairy, not a human .. what does her skin have to do with the time period or place in which she appeared? I mean, why can't we have a viking Black Panther and put Wakanda near Iceland? > The real problem is getting upset over the skin color of the actors and actresses playing fairies No one is upset for that, I, as Italian, am upset that some writer thinks that Collodi's story needed to be changed in ways th…

I want the best actor for a role, not one with the right skin color. You can hedge around the skincolor issue all you want, but that's the basis for your complaint.

I was very surprised by the Wheel of Time reviews (they were almost entirely racist) because I thought the casting was great in that show. It was an eye opener when I finally looked up “what other people are saying” after I watched a few episodes.

Obviously for RoP, Amazon is hoping to avoid the WoT review mess.

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

#460

Post by AdrianB1 »

ubercore wrote: post #272
peoplefromibiza wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> she's a fairy, not a human .. what does her skin have to do with the time period or place in which she appeared? I mean, why can't we have a viking Black Panther and put Wakanda near Iceland? > The real problem is getting upset over the skin color of the actors and actresses playing fairies No one is upset for that, I, as Italian, am upset that some writer thinks that Collodi's story needed to be changed in ways th…

I want the best actor for a role, not one with the right skin color. You can hedge around the skincolor issue all you want, but that's the basis for your complaint.

So a future movie about the Ukraine war is perfectly fine if Zelenski is portrayed by a very talented black woman and Putin by a Japanese drag queen?
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