<
https://theconversation.com/the-rings-of-power-every-adaptation-is-re-interpretation-so-ignore-the-haters-190481>
"Amazon Prime’s billion-dollar production of
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings
of Power has been targeted with a flood of racist and misogynist abuse online.
Amazon disabled reviews for the shows due to “review bombing” — when online
users seek to overwhelm reviews based on political agendas. Online commenters
have both criticized the casting of people of colour and how the story focuses
on powerful women.
Literature scholar Craig Franson has been researching the culture wars and
neo-fascist politics in Tolkien studies. In a podcast he hosts with historian
Dani Holtz, an expert in American conservatism, they discuss how online
fascists use mass media “to harness blockbuster cultural productions,” as in
the far-right backlash to Amazon’s
Rings of Power series.
As a literature scholar who has studied Tolkien’s fiction and scholarly
writings, I encourage discussions of adaptations to gain a better understanding
of how they respond to Tolkien’s works and the world we live in today.
But far-right commenters have tried to shut down any discussion of a new
re-telling that is not to their liking. A better understanding of Tolkien’s
works and the nature of adaptations will combat some of the online
disinformation and harassment campaign."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
