Captain Boromir
Hobbit
Currently residing at the Sarn Ford ranger camp.
Posts: 54
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Post by Captain Boromir on Feb 12, 2022 10:14:44 GMT
I have my reservations about this series as well. and I agree that I don't agree with everything they may be doing. I'm going to give it a shot. My hope for the series has gone up since the creators of the series said in the interview that they are not going to go the route of Game of Thrones as far as the sex/nudity. To me it's not needed nor would it align with Tolkien's vision. But I think it's not really fair to rip the show when it hasn't even aired yet.
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Post by Jax Nova on Feb 12, 2022 14:57:58 GMT
The problem with the woke issues is, honestly, a legitimate concern. I don’t think most people are concerned about the ethnicity if the cast, but the sad reality is that in today’s day and age, when they intentionally look for a diverse ethnic cast, usually it is because they are pushing an agenda. That agenda often times falls under the “woke” banner.
I think it’s great to have a wide variety of ethnicities and I have nothing against any people’s groups. (Though I won’t touch on cultures) However, it’s incredibly sad to me that entertainment has come to the point now days where it is (unfortunately) often used to promote a political or ideological point of view. Why can’t we just have a TV series anymore?
So, not that I’m hating on the show, though I’ve mentioned reservations, but I am sad that this even has to be a topic. It shouldn’t be.
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Captain Boromir
Hobbit
Currently residing at the Sarn Ford ranger camp.
Posts: 54
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Post by Captain Boromir on Feb 12, 2022 20:48:52 GMT
The problem with the woke issues is, honestly, a legitimate concern. I don’t think most people are concerned about the ethnicity if the cast, but the sad reality is that in today’s day and age, when they intentionally look for a diverse ethnic cast, usually it is because they are pushing an agenda. That agenda often times falls under the “woke” banner. I think it’s great to have a wide variety of ethnicities and I have nothing against any people’s groups. (Though I won’t touch on cultures) However, it’s incredibly sad to me that entertainment has come to the point now days where it is (unfortunately) often used to promote a political or ideological point of view. Why can’t we just have a TV series anymore? So, not that I’m hating on the show, though I’ve mentioned reservations, but I am sad that this even has to be a topic. It shouldn’t be. I 100% agree. It really takes the fun out of the show when you can tell that it's more about pushing agendas than it is about the story. I really fear that the show is going to be more about that than the actual story. I hope I'm wrong. I will give it a shot, but I'm definitely not getting my hopes up that it's going to be great. There is also so much arguing amongst fandoms that I just try to distance myself from engaging on main platforms. It's so toxic anymore. People can have a difference of opinion but now days it's usually taken to extremes. It's really annoying.
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Post by Hanasian on Feb 13, 2022 0:50:13 GMT
The problem with the woke issues is, honestly, a legitimate concern. I don’t think most people are concerned about the ethnicity if the cast, but the sad reality is that in today’s day and age, when they intentionally look for a diverse ethnic cast, usually it is because they are pushing an agenda. That agenda often times falls under the “woke” banner. I think it’s great to have a wide variety of ethnicities and I have nothing against any people’s groups. (Though I won’t touch on cultures) However, it’s incredibly sad to me that entertainment has come to the point now days where it is (unfortunately) often used to promote a political or ideological point of view. Why can’t we just have a TV series anymore? So, not that I’m hating on the show, though I’ve mentioned reservations, but I am sad that this even has to be a topic. It shouldn’t be. I 100% agree. It really takes the fun out of the show when you can tell that it's more about pushing agendas than it is about the story. I really fear that the show is going to be more about that than the actual story. I hope I'm wrong. I will give it a shot, but I'm definitely not getting my hopes up that it's going to be great. There is also so much arguing amongst fandoms that I just try to distance myself from engaging on main platforms. It's so toxic anymore. People can have a difference of opinion but now days it's usually taken to extremes. It's really annoying. I think it's the people who think by having a diverse cast is somehow 'pushing a political agenda' by the producers are the ones who are publicly pushing a political agenda by crying 'woke' whenever a diverse casting is made. They are just trying to have a TV series here. I agree it shouldn't be a topic. We obviously disagree on who it is making it one. On the GoT thing, other than Jeff Bezos saying that bit about "the next Game of Thrones" when he bought the rights, I haven't seen anything along the way suggesting that this series was ever going to be a sexfest like the George Martin Ice and Fire series was. That seemed to have grown out of proportion to that one simple statement, enough so that it needed to be addressed by the producers. As always, hope for the best. Expect the worst. My tilt-o-meter is more in the 'cautiously optimistic' area these days rather than in the 'somewhat pessimistic' range of a year ago.
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Post by Jax Nova on Feb 13, 2022 18:20:47 GMT
Personal opinions aside (which those will always differ) we won’t know until we see it for ourselves. There is no debate that it’s common for there to he a political or social agenda behind a film or series. That dates back to the late 1800s in Ireland (and maybe other cases) where they used popular media and entertainment to convince the Irish in the Belfast areas (and surrounding towns) to be loyal to England instead of Ireland. And it worked, which is why the Northern tip stayed with the EU even when the Republic gained its independence. But... now I’m getting rather off topic.
I guess my main point is, one might agree or disagree with the agenda they have, but I simply hope they leave agenda out of it entirely.
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Post by Hanasian on Feb 13, 2022 23:55:48 GMT
I guess my main point is, one might agree or disagree with the agenda they have, but I simply hope they leave agenda out of it entirely. We obviously disagree on who the 'they' are with the agenda in the case of this series. The slagging of it, especially of 'the black elf' that I see all over the internet seems to be brought on by a certain segment, Anyway, the trailer airs during the super bowl.
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arelleth
Hobbit
Living in the library at Rivendell
Posts: 49
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Post by arelleth on Feb 15, 2022 5:35:01 GMT
The problem with the woke issues is, honestly, a legitimate concern. I don’t think most people are concerned about the ethnicity if the cast, but the sad reality is that in today’s day and age, when they intentionally look for a diverse ethnic cast, usually it is because they are pushing an agenda. That agenda often times falls under the “woke” banner. I think it’s great to have a wide variety of ethnicities and I have nothing against any people’s groups. (Though I won’t touch on cultures) However, it’s incredibly sad to me that entertainment has come to the point now days where it is (unfortunately) often used to promote a political or ideological point of view. Why can’t we just have a TV series anymore? So, not that I’m hating on the show, though I’ve mentioned reservations, but I am sad that this even has to be a topic. It shouldn’t be. I do understand where you're coming from. However, is it not also pushing an agenda to have only one ethnicity represented? Up until fairly recently most films/series over the years have only really represented one race equally, and we're probably used to it - however, being used to it does not mean it isn't an agenda of its own. And just because we're *not* accustomed to racial diversity in films, doesn't mean that it *is* an agenda. And even if it were, what would the agenda be? Representing real people instead of pretending they don't exist? I'm mixed Chinese/Polish/generic Anglo-Celtic Australian though, so perhaps I just have more of a sensitivity to this sort of thing lol. But I can say as someone who passes well enough as Caucasian but is of mixed descent and culture, it really does feel weird and exclusive to watch all-white casts and always has for me. So how much more for those of indigenous, black, brown or other ethnicities who have every right to escape into a fantasy world in a series but can't relate to characters who look, sound or are built nothing like them? I'm sure from their perspective, casting diversity doesn't feel anything like an agenda. Whenever my family sees someone with mixed Asian features in a film we all get excited! It's a very strange world we live in that thinks a departure from white-dominated casts means something fishy is going on.
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arelleth
Hobbit
Living in the library at Rivendell
Posts: 49
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Post by arelleth on Feb 15, 2022 5:35:12 GMT
Either way though, I'm definitely feeling a bit better about the series than I was before! A friend of mine linked me the teaser trailer on instagram and it actually doesn't look bad - I think the music score is going to be very good!
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Post by Jax Nova on Feb 17, 2022 21:02:56 GMT
No, I completely agree. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest to have any particular ethnicity. I just wish the ones that most commonly use a diverse ethnic cast weren’t so often associated with having an agenda. It wouldn’t bother me one bit if a movie or show didn’t have a single white person in it, just don’t do it to try and make a “social statement.” Do it because those people fit the roles best. That’s my view.
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Post by Hanasian on Feb 21, 2022 23:29:28 GMT
Maybe I missed it, but I still don't see where there is any claim by Amazon or the Tolkien Estate that they are pushing some sort of an 'agenda'. It seems to me it is only be an issue with the crowd that is abandoning the Hallmark Channel for GAC ('Great American Channel'). Anyway... I have noticed a lot of youtube 'analysis' videos approaching the new series trailer from a 'hateful' slant from the beginning. I did find a good balanced and insightful video done by Cory Olsen who has been doing Tolkien podcasts for over a decade now. In this video he separates what Tolkien actually wrote from what has become to many as 'popular belief' in the wake of the Peter Jackson movies. Hos observations on this and War of the Rohirrim reflect somewhat my whole take on these projects. I remain cautiously optomistic with them both. Do give it a watch and listen.
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Post by elora on Mar 14, 2022 2:18:26 GMT
I'm hearing a lot of chatter and commentary based on pretty scant pickings. So, I'm remaining firmly on the fence. It could be good. It could be bad. It could be both. It could be meh (which would be the worst outcome, in my opinion).
I recall, all too well, the handwringing and bloviating around LotR. And the Hobbit. Just seems like more of the same and I see little to be gained into getting into a froth over this.
What all the fuss and both over the Amazon series has prompted me to do, however, is revisit a podcast by Professor Corey Olsen. It's a little more measured in the literary analysis of JRRT's works.
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arelleth
Hobbit
Living in the library at Rivendell
Posts: 49
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Post by arelleth on Oct 14, 2022 10:08:49 GMT
Well, the season finale came out today! What are everyone's thoughts on the series, if you've been following it? My friend group knows me as their resident Tolkien nerd and have been asking me so many questions about the lore that it made me very grateful for my partner recording everything I've been ranting about, good and bad, into her phone for future reference!
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Post by Hanasian on Oct 17, 2022 8:32:37 GMT
Well, the season finale came out today! What are everyone's thoughts on the series, if you've been following it? My friend group knows me as their resident Tolkien nerd and have been asking me so many questions about the lore that it made me very grateful for my partner recording everything I've been ranting about, good and bad, into her phone for future reference! I've mostly waited for all eight episodes to air before making much commentary about it. I did elaborate some in the other Rings of Power thread. To be clear, I never expected much more than an elaborate fanfic because of the nature of the deal made between Amazon and the Tolkien Estate. Overall, on a scale of 1 (bad) to 10 (Good), I'd give it a 6. i didn't think the 'weekly' format worked too well for this. Going back to binge all eight episodes helped make more sense of a lot of it. As bad as the first two episodes were, they made up for it in the last two. I thought they rushed the making of the Three Rings in the last episode, but I liked how it was presented. Is it a good adaptation? Meh. Like Peter Hackson's Lord of the Rings, there was a lot of manipulating and changing and rearranging of lore. I liked the bones they threw, and in retrospect, thought the whole story would have been better serviced if the had left some of it out. The whole Harfoot story would make a good standalone presentation, and had they concentrated more on just a couple story lines each episode and brought it all together in the last couple episodes, it would have presented better.
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Post by Hanasian on Oct 26, 2022 21:38:43 GMT
This summary by IGN pretty much reflects some of my viewpoint on season one of Rings of Power...
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power largely succeeds by staying faithful to J. R. R. Tolkien’s themes and tone, if not all the specifics of his canon. Some inconsistent plotting and unnecessary misdirection slows it down, but doesn’t derail the story, and when it reaches its climax in the sixth episode it all comes together brilliantly. Amazon’s massive budget has produced some of the most remarkable sets and scenes ever on TV, creating a strong successor to Peter Jackson’s beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yet The Rings of Power also remembers it’s the little moments of humor and character growth that really make Middle-earth really come alive.
I will add that they may have tried doing too much with too many plotlines too soon, but I understand they are looking at the bigger picture and the forty-some hours they have to tell a complete story over the five seasons, which judging by the fact filming of season 2 has really only just begun and isn't expected to premiere until 2024 sometime, we may be waiting ten years to get through the five seasons. Hopefully things will speed up some, as it will be a challenge with the actors aging and all. Still, it is a worthy effort, and like Peter Jackson's lord of the Rings project, ticked many of the boxes even if it didn't portray things as I would have liked.
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Captain Boromir
Hobbit
Currently residing at the Sarn Ford ranger camp.
Posts: 54
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Post by Captain Boromir on Oct 27, 2022 3:23:16 GMT
My brother-in-law and I watched it and we both agreed, we liked it. There was some things that were a miss for me but overall I thought it was solid. And they have the chance to fine tune some things in the upcoming season.
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