Tolkien - Blog Posts
Tolkien being relevant
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
Cute date ideas:
Turn into a giant nightmare bat and a wolf
Enter the devil’s fortress and steal his jewels
Is eldritch joy a thing? Because Tom Bombadil thinks it is.
While talking with the Hobbits, Tom Bombadil puts on the One Ring. For a moment, all of the Nazgul burst into merry song. It is never discussed among them again.
“One small bite is enough to fill the stomach of a grown man”
I’ll probably eat 4
Saturday, 10 o'clock in Middle-earth, time for a snack. Have break - have a Lembas! (Well, at least it’s 10 o’clock AM in Germany ;-) )
The Shire in Winter! 🎄☃❄🍻
“What is a hobbit? I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us. They are (or were) a little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves. Hobbits have no beards. There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off. They are inclined to be fat in the stomach; they dress in bright colours (chiefly green and yellow); wear no shoes, because their feet grow natural leathery soles and thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads (which is curly); have long clever brown fingers, good-natured faces, and laugh deep fruity laughs (especially after dinner, which they have twice a day when they can get it).”
— An Unexpected Party
You’re art is so funny like it never fails to bring me joy every time I see your art!! 🥰❤️ Eärwen breaking three of Nerdanel’s sculptures is so funny to me 🤣 I bet her swans have something to with it, those things can be vicious!! D:< Lol I bet they got threatened by the sculptures lmao
AHHHHH thank you so much!! though i must say, it’s YOUR kind feedback has never failed to bring ME joy 🥺💓 i’m so happy you liked that whole subplot in the anaire sketches!! now thanks to your input, it’s become even more fleshed out?! gosh i love your image of swan queen earwen SO MUCH AHAHA
now im thinking that one of those statues was probably sculpted after feanor, so her swan army most likely had their sights set on it for utter destruction the moment they saw it 😂
did i forget that geese and swans are two different types of bird? yes! did i only realise that once i was halfway done with this pic? yes!! but it was way too fun drawing in this lineless style so i hope you can overlook that 😂😂
(left to right: wee galadriel, aegnor, angrod, finrod, fingolfin, finarfin, anaire, nerdanel, earwen)
This is about Finwë and Miriel isn’t it
she went after my cock like she was smeego. and I was that gay little ring.
Is that my sleep paralysis demon? I didn’t know you know what it looks like @gossip-girl-of-middle-earth
Ok but fr wtf pixie cut and short hair doesn’t suit him at all 😭
THE LORD OF THE RINGS 1978 | Ralph Bakshi
Requested by @the-blue-fairie
Hopefully phones work there as well as wifi so Y/N can record fights and banters between families for research purposes lolol
First Meeting
Maedhros: So you're telling me you're not from this world?
*Y/N trying to play with a lock of Celegorm's hair*: Ohhh I'm definitely not from this world.
Maglor:
Maedhros:
*Y/N to Celegorm*: Pretty boy, your hair is perfect!
Celegorm: Can we keep it? Please?
Glorfindel, Fëanor and Celegorm: big tiddie committee.
Eric Nam and BM from Kard would be jealous. Not Wonho, though.
YES! I call bs on this one, you can’t don’t own the fucking lake Caranthir 🙄 smfh
alright, i made a “for what crimes would you go to prison in first age beleriand” quiz (link in the reblog cos tumblr hides posts with links)
YESS!! Nicolae is perfect as Maedhros
Older brother who takes care of his siblings? Check. Older bro whose siblings actually respect? Check. HOT AND RESPONSIBLE? CHECK.
Danael from Is It Love? is Celegorm from The Silmarillion. Change my mind.
Quick question Silmarillion peeps! How do you pronounce Russandol?? Is it RUH-san-dol or ROO-san-dol??
Aaaaaand that's a wrap! I'm done with drawing the Fëanorians; at least in the same style and as companion pieces.
Here's Fëanor, on his way to commit the crime he's so infamous for. And I am so incredibly happy with my progress. Because, um, when you look at my art of Maedhros and the others, they all look incredibly... thin. So either advanced stick figures or disturbingly underfed elves... I will leave it to your imaginations.
Edit: Also, I just realised "Trouble" by Adam Jensen goes with this perfectly
P.S. Guys, thank y'all for all these nice tags you reblog with; if they were comments, I would've responded😭 but as it is, I can only say I am reading all your commentary with a face-splitting grin and clapping my hands from giddiness-overload. Your responses always make my day, even if it already is great!
Race in Tolkien Masterpost
I have compiled a list of some of the resources available on the topic of race and racism in Tolkien. By no means is this list exhaustive, and I welcome anyone to include their own additions which I will include and update on the original post when more resources are made available.
If you are having any trouble accessing any of the links listed below, please shoot me a DM and I can either send you the PDF if it is an article, or a working link if available.
Last updated 30/09/2023
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@antiracist-tolkien
@diversetolkien — The whole blog honestly, but these posts on Galadriel in particular as Ayesha, and the personification of Manifest Destiny. Her very important take on Eöl is linked below.
@askmiddlearth — now defunct, but they have a downloadable guide on racism in Middle-Earth here.
@tolkienillustrations’ post
@maglors-anion-gap’s post and follow up on the Petty Dwarves and critique of Tolkien.
@chutzpah-haver’s post on Tolkien’s antisemitism in his portrayal of dwarves.
@itariilles’s post and follow up on my personal experience of racism at a fan event, and the systemic problem of racism in fan spaces. I am looking to write more media interpretation/personal Tolkien essays in the future so keep your eyes peeled!
This thread by Helen Young explaining Tolkien the anti-nazi, but not anti-racist.
@diversetolkien‘s twitter linked here.
My twitter here. I will occasionally post about race and Tolkien, but the focus is more generalised on Tolkien fandom, media and reception.
Youtube
(N.B. searching “Tolkien racism” or any variant will produce… interesting results to say the least. Lots of white people coming to the age-old “ToLKiEN WaSN’T rACIsT He hATEd nAziS AnD WAs A prODuCT oF hiS TiME” arguement. That or it’s the silly SJWs and cultural marxism/relativity yada yada yada.)
“The Source of the Rings” series by Moth’s Audio and Videos.
@visibilityofcolor‘s video essay on the “Brute Caricature Trope and its prevalence in media”. Eöl and Aredhel are touched on briefly in the video, but it points out how prevent this trope is in fantasy fiction overall.
Marlon James, “Our Myths, Our Selves”. The seventh annual J.R.R Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature, Pembroke College, Oxford, 26th February, 2019. https://tolkienlecture.org/
The Prancing Pony Podcast, “114 - Race, Tolkien and Middle-Earth”.
Podcasts
Dani Holtz and Craig Franson, American ID Episode 1 “Eye of Sauron: Rings of Power” touches on the American right’s obsession with Lord of the Rings and the far-right trolls that have flooded Rings of Power with waves of racist and misogynistic hate.
Into It: A Vulture Podcast with Sam Sanders, Black Hobbits and the Whiteness of Fantasy (Plus: What Are Abbi Jacobson and Chanté Adams Into?) touches on black characters in fantasy and the Rings of Power TV adaptation about 17 minutes in.
Other blog posts
Stronach, Alex. “Aotearoa is not Middle-earth” The Spinoff, 2020, https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/03-09-2020/aotearoa-is-not-middle-earth
Echo-Hawk, Roger. “Tolkienland.” Would highly recommend reading all of his blog posts. Link to his book “Tolkien in Pawneeland” listed below! http://tolkienland.wordpress.com/
Fimi, Dimitra. “Was Tolkien Really Racist?”. The Conversation, 2018, https://theconversation.com/was-tolkien-really-racist-108227.
Fimi, Dimitra. “Revisiting Race in Tolkien’s Legendarium: Constructing Cultures and Ideologies in an Imaginary World”. Dimitra Fimi, 2018, https://dimitrafimi.com/2018/12/02/revisiting-race-in-tolkiens-legendarium-constructing-cultures-and-ideologies-in-an-imaginary-world/.
Yatt, John. “Wraiths and Race” The Guardian, 2002, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/dec/02/jrrtolkien.lordoftherings
Crossley, Laura. “Stand, Men of the West! The Battle for Middle-Earth (and Britain)” Film International, 2015, http://filmint.nu/stand-men-of-the-west-the-battle-for-middle-earth-and-britain/
Crossley, Laura, “Multicultural Middle-earth: Constructing “Home” and the Imaginary in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings” Film International, 2014, http://filmint.nu/multicultural-middle-earth-constructing-home-and-the-post-colonial-imaginary-in-peter-jacksons-the-lord-of-the-rings/
BNP, “No 2,110″ The Guardian, 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/dec/20/thefarright.lordoftheringsfilms
Perry, D. and Young, H. “HOW CAN WE UNTANGLE WHITE SUPREMACY FROM MEDIEVAL STUDIES? A conversation with Australian scholar Helen Young”. Pacific Standard, 2017, https://psmag.com/education/untangling-white-supremacy-from-medieval-studies.
No Alternative. “Lord of the Rings and structural Orientalism” No Alternative, 2012, https://noalternative.org/2012/09/14/lord-of-the-rings-and-structural-orientalism/
Hodes, J. “Orcs, Britons, And The Martial Race Myth, Part I: A Species Built For Racial Terror”. James Mendez Hodes, 2019, https://jamesmendezhodes.com/blog/2019/1/13/orcs-britons-and-the-martial-race-myth-part-i-a-species-built-for-racial-terror.
Stone, Ryan. “‘The Daily’ Transcript: Interview With Former White Nationalist Derek Black”. The New York Times, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/podcasts/the-daily-transcript-derek-black.html. The use of LOTR to recruit white nationalism is mentioned.
Lopes, Reinaldo José. “In the skin of the elves: to what extent is “The Lord of the Rings” tainted by racism?”. Super Interessante, 2022, Original portuguese: https://super-abril-com-br.translate.goog/cultura/na-pele-dos-elfos-ate-que-ponto-o-senhor-dos-aneis-e-contaminado-pelo-racismo/?fbclid=IwAR2A3DZlYsn56Esr9iWUkfHDGI57b_mBUZj7aFxvfl692A310lf69mKx1ek&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp English Translation: https://super-abril-com-br.translate.goog/cultura/na-pele-dos-elfos-ate-que-ponto-o-senhor-dos-aneis-e-contaminado-pelo-racismo/?fbclid=IwAR2A3DZlYsn56Esr9iWUkfHDGI57b_mBUZj7aFxvfl692A310lf69mKx1ek&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Young, Helen. “The Rings of Power is suffering a racist backlash for casting actors of colour – but Tolkien’s work has always attracted white supremacists”. The Conversation, 2022. https://theconversation.com/the-rings-of-power-is-suffering-a-racist-backlash-for-casting-actors-of-colour-but-tolkiens-work-has-always-attracted-white-supremacists-189963.
Rambaran-Olm, Mary. “DEAR AMAZON PRIME, I’M NOT A RACIST, BUT WHY ARE YOU DESTROYING MY PRECIOUS MIDDLE-EARTH WITH BLACK HOBBITS?”. Religion Dispatches, 2022. https://religiondispatches.org/dear-amazon-prime-im-not-a-racist-but-why-are-you-destroying-my-precious-middle-earth-with-black-hobbits/ (this article is satirical btw.)
Serwer, Adam. “Fear of a Black Hobbit”. The Atlantic, 2022. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/09/lord-of-the-rings-rings-of-power-fantasy-sci-fi-racist-criticism/671421/
Page, Carolyn. “The Unfortunate Stereotype Reinforced By The Harfoots In ‘Rings Of Power’”. Cracked, 2022. https://www.cracked.com/article_35418_the-unfortunate-stereotype-reinforced-by-the-harfoots-in-rings-of-power.html
Welch, Andy. “‘Irish people have faced centuries of discrimination’: why are Lord of the Rings’ accents so offensively bad?”. The Guardian, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/sep/28/irish-people-have-faced-centuries-of-discrimination-why-are-lord-of-the-rings-accents-so-offensively-bad?fbclid=IwAR1Hd8eikkx1aqxmsFf6tzv7W89kO6Q_VUWiGbrO2R4EvBhNPCMsiEyyugs
Blair, Andrew. “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – Why Fandom Has To Embrace Change”. Den of Geek, 2022. https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-why-fandom-has-to-embrace-change/
@diversetolkien. “Maeglin and Eöl, and the Brute Caricature Trope:”. Diverse Tolkien, 2019, https://diversetolkien.wixsite.com/website/post/what-we-can-learn-from-plants.
@weirdnaturalscience. “Our Failure to Address LOTR’s Racism”. tolkienaboutscifi, 2016, https://tolkienaboutscifi.wordpress.com/2016/12/21/our-failure-to-address-lotrs-racism/.
Not really a blog post but Tolkien Gateway has a page on “Racism in Tolkien’s Works”. Treat it with the same degree of skepticism you would on a wikipedia page.
Published academia
(N.B. The visible academic “authorities” of race and racism in Tolkien are white and this is something one must bear in mind when reading this kind of work. There is a lot of discussion on theory and historical context, but there is little on the harm and stereotypes perpetuated by Tolkien’s racialist thoughts a person of colour may read/perceive differently.)
Mills, Charles W. “The Wretched Of Middle‐Earth: An Orkish Manifesto ☆”. The Southern Journal Of Philosophy, 2022. Wiley, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sjp.12477.
I implore you to read this one in particular as it is one of the only existing pieces of postcolonial critique written by a black Jamaican author. It’s hidden behind a paywall, and DM me if you can’t access it through the link above.
Kim, Sue. “BEYOND BLACK AND WHITE: RACE AND POSTMODERNISM IN ‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS FILMS.’” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 50, no. 4, 2004, pp. 875–907. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26286383.
Rearick, Anderson. “WHY IS THE ONLY GOOD ORC A DEAD ORC? THE DARK FACE OF RACISM EXAMINED IN TOLKIEN’S WORLD.” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 50, no. 4, 2004, pp. 861–874. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26286382.
Brackmann, Rebecca. “"Dwarves are Not Heroes”: Antisemitism and the Dwarves in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Writing.“ Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature, Vol. 28, No. 3, 2010, Article 7. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol28/iss3/7
Reid, Robin Anne. "Race In Tolkien Studies: A Bibliographic Essay.” Tolkien And Alterity, 2017, pp. 33-74. Springer International Publishing, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-61018-4_3. Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-61018-4_3. This article can also be accessed by contacting me via DM as I have permission from the author to circulate it in this capacity.
Baker, Dallas John. “Writing back to Tolkien: gender, sexuality and race in high fantasy.” Recovering history through fact and fiction: forgotten lives, 2017. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom, pp. 123-143. ISBN 978-1-5275-0325-0. Available at: https://eprints.usq.edu.au/33493/#:~:text=It%20suggests%20that%20the%20privileged,arising%20from%20those%20privileged%20readings.
Pratama, Fredy W. et al., “Orientalism and Religious Aspects on Characters and Objects In J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings : A Semiotic Analysis” Artikel Hasil Penelitian Mahasiswa 2013, I (1): 1-8. Available at: http://repository.unej.ac.id/bitstream/handle/123456789/60741/Fredy%20Widya.pdf;sequence=1
Winegar, Astrid. “Aspects of Orientalism in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.” The Grey Book, Volume 1, 2005. Available at: https://anyflip.com/njuf/pwvi/basic
Redmond, Sean. “The whiteness of the Rings.” Routledge, 2007. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203939741-13/whiteness-rings-sean-redmond
Fimi, Dimitra. Tolkien, Race, And Cultural History. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. (Amazon UK link)
Young, H. Race And Popular Fantasy Literature. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2015. (Amazon UK link)
Echo-Hawk, Roger. Tolkien in Pawneeland. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013. (Amazon UK link)
#lordoftherings #medieval #goprooftheday #history #goprohero3 #lotr #lordoftheringstrilogy #medievalworld #medievaltimes #thehobbit #armatures #tolkien #goprophotography #jrrtolkien #art #autumn #england #castle #andaluciaviva #sculpture #architecture #imagenarte #instalike #instagood #queens #knowledge #kings #urbex #love #rome (presso Storia e Magia)
Some thoughts about writing, tropes, and writing “rules”:
There are a lot of “do’s” and “don’t’s” and “avoid these tropes” for various genres, and while, sure, it might be best practice to avoid certain sayings or plot points that are overdone, I don’t think it’s really the “overdone” part that’s the issue. In most of these tropes, the initial appeal was some deeper meaning the author was conveying, and I think that’s been somewhat lost over time.
The appeal of LOTR and Sauron wasn’t just “creepy dark lord conquering the world.” The evil of Sauron and the ring was so insidious, because it played on the evil that exists inside of every person, and reflected on the exhausting bravery it takes to do good in a world that feels so much bigger than you. It became a trope, bc future writers and publishers mistook that magic for a product of the surface level plot point.
Pride and Prejudice and Emma made Enemies to Lovers and Friends to Lovers popular, respectively, not just bc of the dynamics themselves, but bc they highlighted human weaknesses, and showed how relationships can better each person involved.
So I think the question is less “what or what not to write,” and more “why are you writing it.” Write what you want, just make sure it’s what your story and characters need.
"Fandom isn't perfect" bullshit have you ever hung out with the Silmarilion fandom? Tolkienites are already chill as fuck but the Silm girlies are elite. No drama, no shipping wars, no antis. THRIVING incest community. The fanfic is BIBLICALLY good. Just a bunch of phenomenal artists drawing elf yaoi in perfect harmony and we could learn a lot from them
Tolkien writing kingdoms' moral decay and eventual decline: they exploited nature, destroyed forests and cut down trees
Tolkien writing male characters' moral decay and eventual decline: he stopped listening to his wife
Finrod the ✨💍Faithful ❤️❤️✨
Fingon the 🏹 🐎Valiant 🪽⚔️
Maedhros the... well... erm... he's kinda tall ig(?)
Elendil : "what do the elves call their friends living by the sea? Watermelons?"
Oropher : "they called them dead. Because Fëanor killed them"
Oropher : "BURN...."
Celebrimbo's spirit : ....
Gil Galad :....
Elrond :.....
Thranduil :....
Isildur : ....
Gil Galad : "FOR GOD'S SAKE OROPHER-
Elrond: So you finally met Legolas, what did you think?
Maglor: ...........................Well, he's ............................................................................................certainly.................................................. cheerful ..............................................
Elrond: The very definition of it.
Maglor: Are you certain he's Orophers' grandson?
elrond sipping his tea: how nice of you to join me for breakfast, thranduil. it’s certainly been a while hasn’t it. you remember bilbo, the hobbit from like seventy years ago? he has a kid now. i know you would just love frodo
thranduil:
thranduil: elrond, where’s my son
Elrond : and what did we do when we have a day off from work?
Theanduil : lay in bed all day and move just enough so that people don't think you're dead
Elrond :...
Elrond : no... We do something adventurous, like maybe go outside. And what's the best part of going outside?
Thranduil : coming back inside
Elrond : No-