IMDB deleted all negative user reviews for The Rings of Power • Hacker News Board

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

#461

Post by swayvil » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 3:00 PM UTC

joemazerino wrote: post #371

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…

It actually is the point. Wokeism cannot create likeable characters or plotlines.

It's a matter of taste.

Some like deep mythology.

Some like having their politics stroked.

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

#462

Post by Bakary » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 3:01 PM UTC

throw-away_42 wrote: post #427

Bakary wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Racism certainly plays a big part in the frequency of such complaints, but it nonetheless raises some important questions. Ultimately, nobody really, genuinely holds the opinion that an actor can be of any appearance for any role. There will always be exceptions that will break their immersion, because unlike with theatre there is the expectation that the movie is WYSIWYG. To give an extreme example, would you be com…

> [would you be completely undisturbed] if a Jewish camp inmate in Schindler's list was portrayed as a black person? Why would you be disturbed in the slightest? Hitler hated blacks, and yes, some WERE actually in concentration camps: "Although no exact figures exist, it is known that a significant number of black people were detained in concentration camps and forced labour camps during the Nazi reign, and that many…

I am aware of this historical reality, but note that I specifically mentioned a Jewish camp inmate. Now, you might say that it's entirely possible that an Ethiopian Jew, somewhere somehow, was caught in the Holocaust's net and shot by Amon Göth, but let's be honest, we would be verging on bad faith argumentation at this point.

Taking the example even further, what about a specific Jewish inmate whose appearance is solidly documented an in the popular imagination, such as Anne Frank?

Ultimately, some expectations are seen as socially acceptable, others are not. But there are always expectations.

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

#463

Post by hn92726819 » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 3:01 PM UTC

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…

> It feels like the modern world superimposed in a fantasy setting

I know exactly what you mean and I think bridgerton does a great job of it feeling just natural and normal. Acting seems normal in an alternate universe, this feels like what history could have looked like. So it definitely can be done well, but I think it's so much easier to have shows just ignore details and just take you out of it.

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

#464

Post by rdedev » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 3:02 PM UTC

Rant423 wrote: post #210

I choose to ignore user reviews/ratings altogether. On IMDB right now 60% of the ratings (not reviews) are either 1 or 10 [1], and that's completely ridicolous. I much prefer the critics' scores - and right now they're 84% on RT [2] and 71 on Metacritics [3]. Which are reasonable numbers. [1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7631058/ratings/?ref_=tt_ov_rt [2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_lord_of_the_rings_the_..…

I don't completely disregard the user reviews. It helps me get a feel of the type of movie or series when comparing it to critics review. The Gray Man has low critics review but high user reviews on rotten tomatoes. So i expected it to be something i can enjoy without too much of an investment. And it did. Helped me get through my 14 hr flight

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

#465

Post by vintermann » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 3:04 PM UTC

matsemann wrote: post #417

vintermann wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People love Gandalf, Aragorn, Galadriel, Legolas etc. and want to see more of them. > People don't give a crap if any new story is "faithful". These two statements contradict. The net effect of it not being faithful, is that it doesn't feel like the Aragorn, Legolas, Galadriel etc. you knew. The casual fans will notice too, just a little later and maybe less consciously than the more dedicated fans.

No. People love an old wizard in grey clothing. They don't give a crap if some lore said he beat 1 Balrog but in the show it was 5 giant orcs or whatever. Casuals have never read the background material, I just want to be entertained.

If that was true, as I told you, then there would be no reason to pay for the "IP". You can have an old wizard in grey clothing for free.

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

#466

Post by LunaSea » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 3:04 PM UTC

inopinatus wrote: post #253

jltsiren wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the Second Age for you. None of the major characters is supposed to be likable, except maybe Elendil. This is not a story about heroism and self-sacrifice. It's a story where powerful people do stupid things out of pride, great empires fall, and almost everyone dies.

The peanut gallery does not like being reminded that their simplistic preferences make for poor art.

What kind of insecure loser you must be to have these kinds of opinions about other people's tastes in art.

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

#467

Post by webmobdev » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 3:05 PM UTC

pseudo0 wrote: post #38

WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

It seems kind of weird to characterize Tolkien fans being interested in a new, high-profile Lord of the Rings show as "brigading". Of course the people with the biggest emotional connection and interest in a franchise will be the ones most active in reviewing, creating YouTube videos, and discussing it online. I think the better question is why so many established sci-fi and franchises seem to be alienating their cor…

They are not alienating their "core" audience - they were never the major target audience.

The reason why most of the Marvel TV shows, Star Wars, Wheel of Time, Rings of Power, Halo etc. all appear to be "dumbed" down is because the target audience are teens and young adults. It's the "catch them young" tactic - all these streaming services are competing to get teens hooked to their streaming services. The next gen spend more time hooked to their screens than our generation. And we "oldies", having seen tons of shows now can't be so easily thrilled with a new show. But even if a show is a damp squib, teens can still be excited by certain elements of it as it will be a new experience for them. Generate the right emotions, and you have them hooked ...

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

#468

Post by WastingMyTime89 » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 3:05 PM UTC

canuckintime wrote: post #366

thom wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only way to faithfully film the book would be to make some sort of anthology series, and I don't think that format works well for big-budget prestige drama. As I've said elsewhere, might have been better to start with Prelude to Foundation, perhaps.

> The only way to faithfully film the book would be to make some sort of anthology series, and I don't think that format works well for big-budget prestige drama. It wouldn’t work on traditional TV but this is streaming on AppleTV. Budget was not a barrier AND ‘ratings’ don’t really matter for Apple either. That was the best opportunity during the period of PeakTV to just do what works artistically best for the adapt…

You are not going to like what I’m going to say but I think the reason they rewrote so much of it is simply that the books are not particularly good in the first place. The ideas are very interesting but that was mostly kept. The prose and characters are rather poor and the stories mostly serviceable. I do wish there was less violence and more focus on trades and exchanges however. That would have been a better show.

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

#469

Post by dylan604 » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 3:09 PM UTC

ethbr0 wrote: post #269

Bakary wrote: 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.

Watching it happen over and over, my impression has been that: (a) Creative leaders (producer, director, writer) hired for these projects chafe at having anyone tell them what to do ( and this especially includes the source material! ). (b) Creative leaders hired for these projects are typically not themselves fans, and do not elevate anyone who is a fan to a position of authority, and so lack even an awareness of th…

Welcome to the concept of creative license.

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

#470

Post by Beltalowda » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 3:09 PM UTC

coffeeblack wrote: post #162

hunter-gatherer wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it just comes down to a money making tactic of making the movie/show available to the widest audience available to increase revenue. In my view it is sad, and basically creates more dull and less interesting cinema. I've been wanting a good HALO movie since the game was released... but I doubt I'll ever get it.

Do these movies make money though? It seems to me that all these large corporations are more concerned with following ESG than with their own customers. What happens if you don’t follow “the message” we saw with Tesla some months ago.

The new Star Wars films made $2 billion, $1.3 billion, and $1 billion in box office alone (this excludes streaming, DVD sales, merchandise, etc.)

So yes, they're making money.

(I have no opinion on these films btw; I haven't seen them, and only dimly remember the old ones – I never cared much for them.)