LOTR rascist?

[Marcatili]

Saw this news report about LOTR being rascist and thought it was pretty sillly- if that's the right word...but then I am a white guy and thus inherently rascist anyway right?


here's the link
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,106818,00.html

[Aven]

Phht. I thought that The Matrix was more rascist. Nearly every Asian person dies or has to get into some week fight with a white guy that they could easily win (yet don't) :p Seriph was the only Asian person who didn't stay dead...

And seeing as though you are Aussie Expat, watch Hi-5. That show just tries to make the Asian girl stand out. She doesn't need help though as she is the hottest of them all :D

[winjer]

Wasnt there a scene in the book where they talk to one or two of the dark skinned people and they arent bad people . Its been a while since i read the books though.


Aven: Wow that girl is hot. Is that a kids show or something. I wanna watch it now.

[AnarchyAo2]

This is so stupid. People are always looking for a reason to point fingers and name names. I think that these people need to stop being so damn over sensitive out this and just enjoy the books/movies. I mean, you can tell these people are taking shots at this movie because its a huge hit and it will stir up controversey. If the series was only a set of books they wouldn't be so damn concerned about it. Anyone can analyze a movie and pick out racist, or agist or any thing that ends with a -ist. Its like saying "Ever noticed that in Wizard of Oz, how the lion is always scared? Yeah, the author must have something against those lions. Now, lets go make a big deal out of it." Or like in "Guess Who?" there are more men then women. (there really are, go count for yourself). Does that make the milton-bradley sexist? No!

I think that people who go to the movies and analyze them for these racist parts, are more racist then the makers or anyone else! Like, my step-sister had this black boyfriend. And I've never really had any close relationships with a black person or any other race, so I really didn't know what to say to him. So when he asked me a question I started to studder. He said something like "Oh, Allison, I didn't know you had racist step-brothers. You know what the NAACP does to them?" Of course no one stuck up for me, my dad, step mom (otherwise known by me as the B.B.B. Bobby big bitch), and step sister just sat there and laughed! Now, I'm sort of afraid to not to look at black people or to look, or look to long, or say something that might sound the least bit racist. The point of my story is that people that make a big deal out of racism are only making racism worse. Its making people afraid of being racist and as a consequence its making people racist. If that makes sense.

[Redder]

I knew treebeard was white!

[Aven]

Originally posted by winjer
Aven: Wow that girl is hot. Is that a kids show or something. I wanna watch it now.

LMAO. Yeah it is a kiddie show. I can't watch it though. They all have little pupet friends that they talk to and have games with. All of the pupets are fairly normal, except for the Asian girls friend. It is this bizarre tenticle creature. The funny thing about that is that it is just so Hentai related :D They always have to make her stand out. Whenever it comes time to dance, the four blonde bimbos pair off and she just dances by herself.

I'm not sure if it is because she is Asian, or if she is sleeping with the producer. It could also be because she seems the most intelligent out of all of them though...

btw Winjer, did you actually look it up on the net? You will also be pleased to know that you can by far too many different DVDs by them. just have a look on ebay or something.

Anyway, to sum up. LOTR is cool and Hart needs to think.

[winjer]

yeah i looked it up . i was that bored.

[Mr. Teatime]

some people are so full of crap. LOTR is based on european mythology not some place with multiple races. I mean, its set in a time were people of other races were practically a legend. its more of speciesism (elves-dwarves) you know? And the orks are dark because of light and shadow. humans are creatures of light. darkness is fear. they should look at african or asian mythoglogy because that has no other races in it. or indian or aztec were whites are the bad guy. some people just stir up trouble.

and didd you read the article that said the firemen couldn't decorate there firehouses according to their religion? Christmas is christmas man, and the firemen practiclly live in that house.

[Pencil Soldier]

I'snt that very article being racist considering that Peter Jackson and J.R.R Tolkein are both WHITE? Is just becuase they are white that they are typed as racist? I want to file a complaint.



:o

[Sammy]

The Uruk-hai also too closely resemble Native Americans,

!LOL! :rofl:

That's one of the most racist things I've ever heard!!! I'll have some of whatever they're smokin'!

[Marcatili]

Personally I think that while it is a good thing to be tolerant and accepting of other people's races, cultures and religions the concept of 'political correctness' has begun to go too far, where it starts to restrict the personal freedoms and rights of an individual to express their feelings about an individual of another race/ culture/ religion without being labelled rascist.

Personally I think political correctness is actually just a polite exterior facade which many can adopt to hide their true prejudices.

But anyway, an example of restrictive and unnecessary PC is Christmas, as Teatime said. Here in some of our schools they wanted to take all the Christian references out of Christmas for the sake of the children of other religions. If the school is going to remove the Christian influence, they should remove the entire Christmas thing right?
But what happened was the Islamic and Jewish leaders came out and said that it was unnecessary to do so, and that many people in their faith actually liked the story of Christmas and the themes of joy, hope, etc.

One more point- In Star Wars Episode2 we find out what Boba Fett actually looked like. I was disappointed that his mysteriousness was finally destroyed by revealing who the man was under the helmet. I posted something to that effect on theforce.net to which I was labelled a rascist, hating him because he was black!
Now I live right near Mt Druitt, which is like the Pacific Islander capital of Sydney and have had many friends of that background- I've got nothing against them but because I didn't like the individual as that character and he happened to be a different race to mine, I was called a rascist.

oh well

[Brain]

ONE TWO THREE FOUR...


HIGH FIVE!!


*cough* Sorry. @;-)

[Marcatili]

it's great to see that the topic of rascism is bringing all the Australians together through the medium of children's entertainment.

I think there's a deep social statement in that somewhere...

[Aven]

I'm not trying to be bought together through children's TV, just hot Asian women :D

Ah, I miss my girlfiend :(

[MrMojo]

Ugh. Hey, guys, white is associate with being pure while black is associated with being dark ! EVERYONE HAS A RACIST MENTALITY !

[cucaracha]

such discussions are sooo stupid imho...

Should we shoot the sun because it's white?
The color "white" doesn't represent people of a caucasian/nordic/european type... white is "genetically" seen a better color in which no menace could hide... sort of evolutionary thing.
Brighter colors appear more friendly.
Even our dog likes to go out when it's bright, he easily gets scared by dark daytimes (yep, he's a coward).

Did I mention it's a stupid discussion?
I really dislike this fashion of exaggerating political correctness.

cu

[AnarchyAo2]

You know, after reading my last post on the subject, I'm going to void it. I change my opinion. I think that people are entitled to their thoughts. But when those thoughts turn into actions that harm others, thats when they've gone too far. I could care less if someone is racist, but when they start harrassing someone else because of it. Thats when the authorities need to intervene. The people that find these vague examples of racism in movies are just as entitled to their propaganda as the racists that preach discrimination from their porches.

[Mr. Teatime]

it is kind of harassing tolkien and peter jackson, you know, its saying: hey guys you're racist and you don't know it!

[AnarchyAo2]

"1.To irritate or torment persistently.
2.To wear out; exhaust.
3.To impede and exhaust (an enemy) by repeated attacks or raids. " ~Dictionary.com

Look at #1. How is voicing your opinion to the media irritating or tormenting persistently? They aren't even making personal attacks (I don't think, I'm not about to re-read the article to prove a minor point.), so I wouldn't even consider it the least bit harassing.

[Vader]

That is the most pathetic thing i have ever read. Do these people have nothing better to do than trying to find fault with the best movies ever made.

[Mr. Teatime]

oh. ok then. its still kind of picking on them though. its stupid to rip apart great shows i think.

im with expat on the boba fett thing. i think he should have been a pale white guy with a black greasy beard. or maybe an asian guy like bruce lee or jackie chan.

[threelegged_chicken]

I mean, you can tell these people are taking shots at this movie because its a huge hit and it will stir up controversey

well i just have to say that they accomplished their goal here. i mean i worked on me. it got me to click on this thread and post a reply and insert my small and inconsequencial point of view which will have no relative effect on those who's provincial views contradict my own...

what the hell did i just say?

3-leg

[ClocktowerArtworks]

The lord of the rings trilogy is really racist. i mean...casting the orks and goblins in such a negative light just because their culture is deeply rooted in murder and genocide?! i mean...c'mon...that's their culture! and portraying dragons and wargs as being slobbering beasts of burden, when they are, in fact, truly an enlightened race of animals despite decades of oppression?

wait...i missed the point here didn't i? what were we talking about again? oh...nothing of importance? very well then.

[Marcatili]

hang on Teatime!
I think you missed by point about Boba Fett.
My problem wasn't that he was portrayed by Temuera Morrison, a Maori actor, it was that the man under the mask was revealed at all...Boba Fett's mystery was a huge part of his appeal and to have him revealed left me cold...
although hearing his New Zealand accent, or perhaps his 'Druitt' accent (as I said i live near a place called Mt Druitt which is like the Pacific Islander capital of Sydney) basically took me right out of the movie. The films are set in a galaxy far far away and yet he sounded exactly like all the guys who live down the road from me...i'm not sure if you get what i mean.
Anyway it was the other people who thought I hated him because he was black...personally I would've liked him to have been a bit more alien rather than just a straight human but I guess that's racist huh?

Also Teatime, a white guy with a greasy beard? Sounds like George Lucas.

[dfacto]

Man if I was American Indian I would wanna kill that guy. American Indians do not look like the Uruk-hai! wtf! If they did the Europeans would have run away and never returned.

I also found that that whole page pissed me off. I hate political correctness, and I think it should be punishable by a bitch-slap.

The second article was funny as well as annoying though.

[threelegged_chicken]

WARNING SARCASM: Actually the uruk-hai did, if you listened carefully, speak with the stereotypical haltingly broken english that is shown in any western. "No spoil half-lings" "Saruman want halflings alive"

actually the spoke better english than the hobbits. interesting... Maybe Jackson was racist against the English.

3-leg

[Fightergraf]

This is almost as Pathetic has the Dungeon and Dragon
case's.

[LiL QoH]

Oh christ.. this is a joke right?

[Forge]

intellectual masturbation...

[AnarchyAo2]

Whats that? Sounds like fun.

[Scrubbin Bubbles]

did some one mention masturbation?

oh and i think the ur-kai native american thing came from the white hand face paint. I think the Western Plains Nations would decorate their ponies with hand prints. But using hand prints for body adornment is a cross cultural practice. I think its fairly common in old aboriginal australian paintings as well.
I remember reading somwhere that the mercenaries were a conglomeration of a bunch of different cultures. The art crews on these films worked hard to make sure the various groups represented did not resemble any cultural group to much. The only group that i noticed with any cultural leanings was Rohan, with its heavy celtic/scandanavian scrollwork. And this I believe was kind of a slaute to the cultures from which Tolkien drew so heavily upon for inspiration.

but hey I'm just masturbating cause it feels good.

[otis]

We Irish Americans have been, and continue to be made fun of and teased. Not to mention Irish are looked down upon by the English. But you don't hear the Irish whining and complaining about all the drinking jokes. All those fucking NAACP cry babies should just shut the fuck up...nobody CARES! these people will always find somthing that "offends" them. Our society should just tell them to DEAL WITH IT, and stop taking away our rights to freely express ourselves. Read the next article about the firehouse and Xmas tree. If a fucking Xmas tree offends you then you must be crazy. I don't get offended if I see a manora(sp?) or any person celebrating what ever holiday they wish ..as long as the sybol has peacfull intentions.

I fear for our future the more we put up with this shit. The longer we keep our mouths shut , the more we will see this happen.

[N D Hill]

what you all have to realize is that whenever anything gains a huge ammount of attention such as the Lord of the Rings films, people who do nothing but find things that offend them just come out of the woodwork. They did it with the Star Wars prequels or pretty much anything where they can insert their own twisted subtexts into. Either something's racist, insensitive towards 9/11 victims, or someone thinks it has any kind of message (good or bad) regarding homosexuals. If someone wants to piss and moan and whine about something, they'll never lack oppertunity as long as their exposed to the mass media. Their pathetic and simply have to feel offended so they can whine and feel important for two seconds. They don't care about accepting things for face value. They want Lord of the Rings to offend them for that sake. It's a pathetic existance... Really funny from my point of view but pathetic.

[ClocktowerArtworks]

it is human nature to resist "oppression" or to improve your station in life by tearing down those in power. however, as in this case...our (the u.s.) government's perceived mission to provide equal rights for all, is only effective when attempting to achieve equality and tolerance on a minor level. more offensive than christmas trees at firehouses is the u.s. government's adoption of the christian religion (ie. "in god we trust"..."one nation, under god") so...to all of this...i say "poo...who gives a fuck." that and...:rolleyes:

[AnarchyAo2]

So, should firemen decorate their firepoll? Would that make you feel safer?

I don't wanna turn this into a religious debate. But you know on TV, they have interview's with people that almost died or something. And their like "I used to be a atheist, and when I almost died, Jesus said 'Bipp-ity boop-ity BOO!'" Now! I'm a believer of the sweet lord himself!" Well, why doesn't Budda or Zeus ever come and save them and make them believers. You never hear about that happening.

[otis]

I agree ..only a dumb ass bigot would make the corralation of " white vs black = good vs evil." Hell that's what the slave drivers actually believed in the south! It's ironic how people try to rid the world of God and religion by blaming religions and God for the all the problems in the world,.. when actually it's PEOPLE who create ALL this shit.

I think God just watches us fuck things up. Hey, at least he gives the power of choice to make our own decisions....(whether they are good or evil.) That's pretty nice of him considering our track record. :D

[Hanuka]

erm... thoug everyone else here will disagree with me, i have to say this isnt entirely wrong.
IN FACT, all the nordic legends ARE throughout fascism. this is a matter of fact, guys. Its not about gimli and legolas getting friends, but about orks and ugly deformed creatures being evil - every hybrid (right word?) there is is evil.
There is no good human/elves-hybrid in nordic myths and no dwarf-human-hybrid. Its as simple as that, one shouldnt wonder whyHitler used these legends for propaganda purposes.
Besides that, I dont think LOTR is really racscist either, theres aragorn loving an elf ;) I dont see the bad guys as "blacks" either, thats plain stupid. There are no "blacks", because there were about no "blacks" in the old nordic myths. thats not a question of rascims but of geography :P
I think Peter Jackson did a rather good job on LOTR, the dialogues and some characters being the only flaws. Theres nothing rascist about the movie but about the mythology - and i think 99% of the people who saw the movies didnt even notice anything like that, because there was simply no focus on that.

hope the grammar and vocabulary wasnt all wrong XD

PS: I didnt waste my time reading the article, its on foxnews... so if anything's wrong correct me ;)

[Neil]

LOL someone mentioned Hi-5.

I watched the american version of it and man the white girl is real hot. Oh wait i must be rascist because i dont love the asian and black girl equally. Sorry. :D

[Aven]

What? the US version of Hi-5 had a black chick too? The Aus version just has one Asian chick. Two blonde bimbo females and two blonde bimbo males. Australia wins the rascism award :D

[bat]

I am beginning to think that humans should be banned from the planet. Or at least the "deep thinkers".

bat

[kaeruchan]

I'm black and I saw LOTR 1 and 2 and i'm anxiously waiting to get some time off from homework to catch number three in the movies. When I saw these movies, the race wasn't an issue at all to me. Maybe sometimes people read into these things too much. I think it takes more intelligence to understand instead of always trying to find something wrong with something or someone. That kind of thinking is what created racism in the first place. Maybe someone will get on me for it, but that's my opinion.

[Marcatili]

Hey guys, I thought this thread was dead but anyway, I was in the servo yesterday and saw a Hi-5 CD and immediately thought of this thread...anyway the CD had a promotional sticker covering the face of the asian girl!

just thought you should know

[softdrawer]

get a life

[JoshuaTheJames]

Originally posted by otis
We Irish Americans have been, and continue to be made fun of and teased. Not to mention Irish are looked down upon by the English. But you don't hear the Irish whining and complaining about all the drinking jokes. All those fucking NAACP cry babies should just shut the fuck up...nobody CARES! these people will always find somthing that "offends" them. Our society should just tell them to DEAL WITH IT, and stop taking away our rights to freely express ourselves. Read the next article about the firehouse and Xmas tree. If a fucking Xmas tree offends you then you must be crazy. I don't get offended if I see a manora(sp?) or any person celebrating what ever holiday they wish ..as long as the sybol has peacfull intentions.

I fear for our future the more we put up with this shit. The longer we keep our mouths shut , the more we will see this happen.

word...

[davi]

Whoever wrote this doesn't seem understand past cultlure... I don't really see how the orcs being african american really makes it racist anyways, shit if they had narrower eyes and appeared asian would that be a bad thing?

In my opinion people try too hard to make things seem racist now in days.

I've never seen a movie where i went "OMG THAT ALIEN/MONSTER IS SO CAUCSAIAN WTF?!"

[DanSTC]

What this asshole doesn't know is that literary buffs had already debated this subject to death years before this dipshit started bitching about the movies. His arguments are just watered-down repeats of the same old crap over the books.

Actually, LOTR is quite ANTI-racist. After all, Sauron wants to control everything under his ONE way. Meanwhile, the diverse cultures and races of middle-earth who must put aside their differences and past disputes to defend against Sauron. There's no question as to why the book series has often been compared to the allies fighting against the axis powers of WW2. (Though in my opinion, to draw such a hasty historical metaphor would be selling the books short.)