Lord of the Rings TV Series in Development - How could this POSSIBLY go wrong...

[mindlessobserver]

The youtube comments section is great. Figure I should save these for posterity and future film students after Amazon deletes it.

 

[thrasymachus]

Is there actual official confirmation the eminem lookalike is Sauron? I kinda doubt it. He doesn't look like it and I don't think they would give that away in a trailer, they may be stupid but not that stupid.

 

[Wuornos]

Once again, we see the glaring double standards when it comes to cultural appropriation. Honestly, I wouldn't give a fuck about Black elves and Hispanic hobbits if it wasn't for the fact that PoC are always accusing Whites of cultural appropriation. It's fairly obvious by now as to who is really appropriating from whom..

 

[mindlessobserver]

Is there actual official confirmation the eminem lookalike is Sauron? I kinda doubt it. He doesn't look like it and I don't think they would give that away in a trailer, they may be stupid but not that stupid.

Sauron is a shape-shifter, so people are saying his Eminem form is for when he's among humans.

 

[Ishtar]

I don’t think people actually know what “fair” means. Sauron isn’t supposed to be “pretty boy sexy”-he’s desirable in the same way an angel is desirable.

That is they exude light and Grace, wisdom, and majesty. Their every word makes men weep and put their hands on their face. You want to worship them, listen to them, follow their commands, take the things they give you.

People somehow got the meme idea Sauron was some sort of trap or rock star-in terms of being carnally appealing(and even that ain’t). But that isn’t what angels are supposed to be or what Sauron came across as to the elves of eregion.

 

[PenguinSuitAlice]

Sauron is a shape-shifter, so people are saying his Eminem form is for when he's among humans.

What's with the high-quality material and the jewelry then? And the blue contacts. Of you're talking about when he was in Numenor he is supposed to be a tall and commanding priest-like demigod figure, that people loved and feared.

I don’t think people actually know what “fair” means. Sauron isn’t supposed to be “pretty boy sexy”-he’s desirable in the same way an angel is desirable.

That is they exude light and Grace, wisdom, and majesty. Their every word makes men weep and put their hands on their face. You want to worship them, listen to them, follow their commands, take the things they give you.

People somehow got the meme idea Sauron was some sort of trap or rock star-in terms of being carnally appealing(and even that ain’t). But that isn’t what angels are supposed to be or what Sauron came across as to the elves of eregion.

Yeah, he's supposed to be imitating a messenger of the Valar, one that was sent to gift knowledge and artifacts to the Eldar. He's supposed to be commanding, highly intelligent and wise. He's the "Lord of Gifts", after all. He should he like some sort of generous and wise divine monarch or herald of a monarch, one that even the greatest among the Eldar seem inexperienced children to, but is acting like he's come to serve and advise them instead of rule them. Like what Galadriel was in LotR except even more overwhelming.
EDIT: As I said before, even the ones who didn't completely trust him didn't truly suspect he was Sauron. His power as a Maia was real and demonstrable, and he was asking nothing in return for what he was doing. It's not like they could go West to the big M on Taniquetil and confirm his claims.
It's if Gandalf the White (a real emissary of the Valar) was actually tricking everyone and was evil and he actually used his true form, and that Denethor and Theoden (both wise and experienced leaders in their own right) were right for distrusting him.

 

[Ishtar]

It’s probable they just got the meme idea of “sexy Sauron” without any of the context or background that this meme derives from.

 

[Miller]

Will this authentic LotR fan be able to fix Sauron?

 

[thrasymachus]

It's been suggested the Halbrand character is really Sauron. That seems more likely to me than the Eminem dude.

(Halbrand is similar to Hellbrant, which is German for hellfire)

 

[Commander X]

View attachment 3518568View attachment 3518569

 

[mindlessobserver]

View attachment 3522197

Honestly, this show is turning out to be a perfect example of modern art. Just like the "rumors of war" sculpture. Pic Rel.


Why am I comparing the two? Quite simple. Rumors of War is a parody of the J.E.B Stuart Statue.



At first glance the two are very similar. But once you look into the details the meanings become clear. The Stuart statue was placed a few blocks away where the man died of his wounds, and was set up as a war monument in the city he died defending a few decades after the event. The artist who made the sculpture wasn't really trying to convey anything else beyond the courage of a man who died in battle.

The Rumors of the War monument on the other hand, is multi layered. First and foremost is its name. Which implies that that there is a new conflict in the offering. If you look close, the man on the horseback is wearing sneakers with a prominent Nike trademark symbol. Nike, a multinational corporation, helped pay for the statue, and the Artist was contractually obligated to include their trademark. And while the cast of the statue was made by the artist, the actual smelting and assembling was done in a sweat shop in China by slave labor of the CCP. Which is just "chefs kiss" perfect. A piece of art, made as a mockery of a century old sculpture, paid for by a multi national corporation, made by slaves in China, and set up as as a protest for post slavery race relations in America. Its honestly a perfect representation of American culture in the current year.

And this is why the Rings of Power is a perfect example too. A diverse group of women fighting against a patriarchy run by an incel cultural appropriator (emininem) and his Ku Klux Klan Hood wearing army of goblins. Not content to make sure all the baddies are white, they made sure to to have the goblin warpaint be white too. Just to make sure you get "the message". Its not meant to be subtle. Its meant to be in your face. Never mind that Tolkien commented the color "white" is anathema to all Melkors creatures, including Sauron. Thats not the point.

The point is something that has been around for almost a century is going to be replaced by a brand. The brand is going to set it up on a plynth with its name on it and won't be subtle at all about how much it hates you. Then it will dare you to complain.

This show isn't a failure at all. Its doing exactly what it set out to do.




Want to hear another joke? The show runners are going to be so far up their own ass, you, me, and everyone watching this show will unironically sympathize with Sauron and his struggle. I guarantee it. They are going to set Sauron up as a living avatar of everything they hate. And since they hate me, you, and everyone who actually likes the message in Tolkiens work, Sauron is going to be the one we will root for. Because he will be set up to oppose everything the showrunners "think" is good.

And that is the joke. This show isn't going to be a drama. Its going to be a tragic comedy. A story about a rebel fighting against the tide of history long after his side ostensibly was defeated. Against an unending hoard of conformity demanding he surrender his agency for "the greater good". Even though he is doomed to fail because the forces he is fighting against are perfect, flawless and can do no wrong he will bumble along. Screaming about how Numenor can be great again, the Dwarves don't need to worry about cave warming getting in the way of digging deeper and so on. Sauron the tragic fool, attempting to cling to the past of the first age even as the second age progress overwhelms him. At no point will he actually come close to being a menace. He will careen from obvious defeat to obvious defeat like the three stooges. Bumbling around with his army of Ku Klux Klan Orcs. It will be tragic and hilarious.

 

[ditto]

For comparison here is the LOTR outtake that had the 'fair' Sauron.

 

[Sinner's Sandwich]

Sauron is a shape-shifter, so people are saying his Eminem form is for when he's among humans.

Still looks like shit. Sauron would never ever take this form. It's canon he would choose to look handsome...but that doesn't matter to Amazon anyway.

 

[Jason Wynn]

Wtf did they cast the kid from Gummo as Sauron?

Isn’t Sauron supposed to be unearthly beautiful in his Annatar fair form? This dude looks like something straight out of Deliverance

 

[mindlessobserver]

Still looks like shit. Sauron would never ever take this form. It's canon he would choose to look handsome...but that doesn't matter to Amazon anyway.

Its worse then that actually. Tolkien was writing a religious mythology. Sauron would not just look attractive. He would act that way too. He would appear as the most virtuous, noble, divine, moral being ever. To whoever was watching.

I am not shocked at all the showrunners of this abortion have failed miserably to accurately portray Sauron. Because the only way you can perceive the evil of Sauron is to perceive the evil in your own soul. Only someone aware of their own evil can see the evil of Sauron. That is why Aragorn could contend with him through the Palantir. Not because Aragorn was a saint. But because he knew he was prideful and desirous of power.

These Amazon writers think they are oh so virtuous. The evil is not in their own hearts. Oh no. The evil is in everyone else. Its why they can't see Sauron. And its why their depiction of Sauron sucks. There is no other way to explain this except in religious terms.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

People somehow got the meme idea Sauron was some sort of trap or rock star-in terms of being carnally appealing(and even that ain’t). But that isn’t what angels are supposed to be or what Sauron came across as to the elves of eregion.

If they understood that, maybe they tried to go for the Tilda Swinton androgynous look she had for Constantine. While not a looker herself for Hollywood standards, she was angelically appealing in that movie.


Of course, she's also freaking Tilda fucking Swinton. This guy is not.

When you watch enough of these woke productions, you eventually start to notice things. Like in this trailer, how, when they are showing "the bad guys" all the diversity suddenly vanishes and its nothing but white men. I think the fact that I now notice these things makes me part of the problem.

It's curious that it's not just any white, but a very specific type of white.

Want to hear another joke? The show runners are going to be so far up their own ass, you, me, and everyone watching this show will unironically sympathize with Sauron and his struggle. I guarantee it. They are going to set Sauron up as a living avatar of everything they hate. And since they hate me, you, and everyone who actually likes the message in Tolkiens work, Sauron is going to be the one we will root for. Because he will be set up to oppose everything the showrunners "think" is good.

And that is the joke. This show isn't going to be a drama. Its going to be a tragic comedy. A story about a rebel fighting against the tide of history long after his side ostensibly was defeated. Against an unending hoard of conformity demanding he surrender his agency for "the greater good". Even though he is doomed to fail because the forces he is fighting against are perfect, flawless and can do no wrong he will bumble along. Screaming about how Numenor can be great again, the Dwarves don't need to worry about cave warming getting in the way of digging deeper and so on. Sauron the tragic fool, attempting to cling to the past of the first age even as the second age progress overwhelms him. At no point will he actually come close to being a menace. He will careen from obvious defeat to obvious defeat like the three stooges. Bumbling around with his army of Ku Klux Klan Orcs. It will be tragic and hilarious.

Ok, you're kinda convincing me to watch this thing...

There is no other way to explain this except in religious terms.

That's the catch. LotR and all of Tolkien's work is highly religious or, at least, spiritual in nature. And this adaptation is made by people who shun religious people and absolutely dislikes Tolkien's religion in particular. With that alone you know it's gonna be a complete disaster.

 

[Ishtar]

If they understood that, maybe they tried to go for the Tilda Swinton androgynous look she had for Constantine. While not a looker herself for Hollywood standards, she was angelically appealing in that movie.

The whole point of Sauron and the Elves is Sauron appealing to their pride and fear. The fact was the Elves were faced with a world in decline/changing-and they loved the world as they had it. The earth itself. Tolkien's theology establishes that the Elves are bound in a spiritual sense to the earth itself-and as the earth ages so do they. They could escape this, but that meant swallowing their pride and just living at the feet of gods, until the end of time, when you know they had worked and struggled to carve out these beautiful realms for themselves. The Rings allow them to maintain their domains and create wonders. The elves are rebelling in the second age-Eru himself had decreed that Arda would age and change, and the elves would have to account for it. They are basically trying to cling to the world as they have maintained, and not accept the time to go "home" has come.

No one who works for Amazon and pretty much no one who isn't an "actual" Tolkien fan understands this.

Sauron's whole pitch is the opposite and he appears as one of the powers-as something and someone the elves would respect. In our terms, an angel, beguiling even. Not an eminem knockoff.

That's the catch. LotR and all of Tolkien's work is highly religious or, at least, spiritual in nature. And this adaptation is made by people who shun religious people and absolutely dislikes Tolkien's religion in particular. With that alone you know it's gonna be a complete disaster.

Interestingly, I have seen efforts to downplay Tolkien's religiosity and political conservatism in recent months. Probably because there are liberals/soyjaks who do like Tolkien but don't want to like "a religious author" or a "reactionary". Also Tolkien scholars who desperately want academia's respect.

But yeah, no one at Amazon is going to acknowledge this. I do not even think the Valar will be included(if they are at all, it will be super indirect references).

 

[Tasty Tatty]

Interestingly, I have seen efforts to downplay Tolkien's religiosity and political conservatism in recent months. Probably because there are liberals/soyjaks who do like Tolkien but don't want to like "a religious author" or a "reactionary". Also Tolkien scholars who desperately want academia's respect.

Like I've mentioned before, they don't really like Tolkien. They like the idea of being known as part of the "Tolkien fandom" and cosplay and consoom the product. When you like something, you don't try to change it and remove its core, you even accept the bad. But they don't like it, they want to simply being able to cosplay and recite the books without needing to understand them. And before doing that, they first need everybody know that Tolkien is Woke Approved™. They can't stan something that isn't Woke Approved™, right?

 

[Ishtar]

Like I've mentioned before, they don't really like Tolkien. They like the idea of being known as part of the "Tolkien fandom" and cosplay and consoom the product. When you like something, you don't try to change it and remove its core, you even accept the bad. But they don't like it, they want to simply being able to cosplay and recite the books without needing to understand them. And before doing that, they first need everybody know that Tolkien is Woke Approved™. They can't stan something that isn't Woke Approved™, right?

Which is why you have nonsensical medium articles claiming Tolkien wasn’t a devout Catholic or he was secretly pro gay(or actually gay), or what have you.

They want to convince their social circles and themselves it’s fine to like him, because they’d feel guilty otherwise.

 

[Sinner's Sandwich]

Which is why you have nonsensical medium articles claiming Tolkien wasn’t a devout Catholic or he was secretly pro gay(or actually gay),

Wtf? There are idiots who say Lovecraft & his stories are queer but Tolkien too?

These fucking garbage goblins. They know that Tolkien & Lovecraft would have told them to fuck off but they need an excuse to use their work so they just pretend it has been full of lgbtxyz horseshit the entire time. And that means it's their right to use their work.