What is the controversy surrounding the cast of Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings series?

The first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power have been released. So far, the series has been met with a lot of positivity, from the stunning visuals to the beginnings of a nubmer of interesting storylines for characters old and new.

However, a section of the internet population has made it their mission to attack the staff and actors on the show for the depiction of a number of characters, basically those who are not white.

It started with the first released images which includes the Dwarven wife of Prince Durin, Disa played by Sophia Nomvete. Trolls attacked her on Twitter as she is a black woman playing a dwarf.

The trolling became so bad that Amazon stopped accepting reviews on their website. The number of false one-star reviews was deemed too much.

Changing views of race and Tolkein

Some have argued that it is justified to point out that J. R. R. Tolkein, the author of the books the series is based upon, wrote some races to have particular features. In one example, Elves are described as “wonderous fair”. However, considering the first of the books were written nearly a century ago it should come as no surprised that a number of characterisations are based upon racist tropes.

In another, Orcs, the villainous footsoldiers of the armies of Morgoth and Sauron, are said to be “repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types”. Considering that Morgoth crafted the Orcs from corrupted Elves it could be seen as a racist trope.

That these fictional barriers are ignored should not prove to be a large hurdle for most audiences. If they do, then maybe the series isn’t for them. Steve Toussaint, who plays Corlys Velaryon in the ‘Rings of Power’ competitor ‘House of the Dragon’, had this to say when his role as a naval commander with black skin was attacked.

“They are happy with a dragon flying,” Toussaint said. “They’re happy with white hair and violet-colored eyes. But a rich Black guy? That’s beyond the pale.”

This feeling is echoed by Ismael Cruz Cordóva who plays the elf Arondir. Hailing from Puerto Rico, Cordóva pushed back against his aim to play an elf in the series, despite his black skin.

“When I said, ‘I want to be an elf,’ people said, ‘Elves don’t look like you,”’ he said in an interview, “When I heard about the character on the show, it felt like a mission.”

A CNN article titled “When wokeness comes to Middle-Earth: Why some say diverse casting ruins the new ‘Lord of the Rings’ series,” the idea of black elves and black characters in general is described by conservatives as “making propaganda”. Having black actors in an adaptation of a hundred-year old story is propaganda, apparently. Tell that to Cordóva who finally has the chance to feature in a role previously excluded based upon fiction.