As the human race enters the 21st Century, we constantly strive towards the goal of equality for all, despite such factors as race, skin colour, religion, wealth or geographical location. However, these factors throughout the last two millenium have helped us shape the structure of society to the extent that we now think of and classify people in terms of lower, middle and upper class. This weekend, the Hall of Fire crew are discussing if and to what extent racial stereotypes and class structure existed in Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
Tolkien’s work has also come under some criticism in recent times due to the pre-construed ideas about certain cultural issues which have changed radically since the time it was written, for example the lack of empowerment women have in Middle-earth. Similarly, notions of what is more acceptable in relation to race and class have also changed since the 1950s and this becomes evident when reading through Tolkien’s literature and coming across some concepts which may be dubbed antiquated in today’s society.
For example, during the thousands of years of history of Middle-earth, it is the “swarthy” men of the East and west who remain the bad guys who more easily fall under the sway of Sauron. Clearly, being swarthy, short and squinty-eyed isn’t a mark of beauty, either. Sauron, meanwhile, is said to have jet-black skin.
And what about class status? Is Aragorn is the right heir to the throne of Kings, because the author seems to hold to class, or caste, beliefs? Then there is Samwise (half-wise in Old English), who remains firm in his belief that his lot in life is to serve others.
This weekend, we hope you come visit one of our two discussion times to debate this fantastic topic (thought up by HoF staffers Frode and Saint) which is open to many an interpratation.
Upcoming Discussions
Apr 13 & 14: LotR, Stereotypes & Racial Class
Apr 20 & 21: The Two Towers – The Motion Picture
Apr 20 & 21: Literary Merits of LotR
Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 5:30 pm ET (17:30) [also 11:30 pm (23:30) CET and 7:30 am Sunday (07:30) AET]
Sunday Chat: 7:00 pm (19:00) CET [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 4:00 am (04:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
Questions? Topics? Send ‘em here.
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For a while now the TORN messageboards have been full of puzzling references to ‘Figwit.’ Who was this character? Evidently some Kiwi extra in the Council of Elrond scene who has no idea how many hearts he’s breaking. See New Zealand’s answer to Orlando Bloom at Figwit Lives! Thanks to ArwenElf, InDUHVidual and their tireless research minions.
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It looks like everyone is jumping into the mix with DVD and VHS pre-orders of Fellowship of the Ring. Add to the list the Official New Line Cinema Shop. We will be updating this list as it grows. [ Complete List]
ps – All of these links will allow for a percentage of your purchase to be contributed to TheOneRing.net. So thanks ahead of time!
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Ford sent us this link to the Full Bloom website which includes a multimedia section where you can download a Black Hawk Down video featuring Orlando Bloom. There’s some TTT trailer download site links too. [More]
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Why are people in some countries baffled by LOTR? Could it be anything to do with the fact that they’re watching pirated videos with appalling translations on the subtitles? Natalya from Henneth Annun sends in some of the most baffling [More]
[Note: It may be unsafe to consume food or liquids while reading some of these. You will be wiping the spray off your monitor.]
UPDATE: I’ve been told the Malaysian translations are a hoax. I don’t know….as somebody who reads the English-translation instructions on things like Good Dot Life Noodles packets [“churn the water is reboiling up”] nothing woud surprise me.
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Recently we reported that the Chinese were having trouble following the plot of LOTR – one reason being that the pirated versions that are rampant in that country contain some of the most horrible translations imaginable. Ever wondered just how bad some of these pirate videos are? Now thanks to Natalya from Henneth Annun, we can give you some idea.
“Here is a collection of subtitles (in English) on a pirated Malaysian FotR video: I don’t care if it’s a bandwagon…
“It’s absolutely hilarious (follow “Next” links to more pages) and absolutely misleading in regards to the meaning of the movie. I wonder how people who watch such a video could understand anything at all!”
Russian translators of pirated FotR videos are worthy competitors for the Malaysians, though. Here is her translations into English of pirated LOTR subtitles in Russia: Henneth Annun
The links above should prove to everybody why pirated videos are bad and shouldn’t be bought, especially videos of such complex and language-heavy movie as LotR:FotR!
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