LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?
Whether you think cinema died with Hitchcock or only got good once Michael Bay started blowing up helicopters, this is the place where moving pictures are discussed.
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?The same could be asked for nearly any book which doesn't specify the race of unimportant characters. How stupid would it be if every book felt the need to include atleast one ethnic minority.
"Frodo scanned the crowd in search of Pippin. He noticed a heavy set black hobbit drinking some kind of grape cordial in amongst the hoards of white-folk." -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?Well, if you think about it, this Tolkien seems a bit biased if you get my meaning. The bad guys (or evil men in LOTR) are Easterlings (Arabs, Africans), Northeners (Scandinavians -> Vikings) and Southrons (Spanish people). These people are so corrupt and are shown as morons whereas the Men of the West are depicted as the saviours of freedom. The Men of the West represent England more than any other country. The rest of the Men featured in the book are backward, and are corrupted by the Dark Lord. Now, I am not saying Tolkien is a hateful bigot, but he does have his biases. The Hobbits were supposed to show typical English folk. You can see they are described as being quite ignorant, and closed-minded (they see anything different to their society as "queer"). There are exceptions (such as Frodo, Sam etc), but the rest generally keep their head down and get on with their lives, enclosed in their own lands.
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?Pfft, hardly as bad as J K Rowling. Do you remember one SINGLE aboriginal australian in Harry Potter?(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
What the hell are you talking about, tolkien was an outspoken nazi sypathiser!!!! -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?It's called grape drink.(Original post by Odd Future)
The same could be asked for nearly any book which doesn't specify the race of unimportant characters. How stupid would it be if every book felt the need to include atleast one ethnic minority.
"Frodo scanned the crowd in search of Pippin. He noticed a heavy set black hobbit drinking some kind of grape cordial in amongst the hoards of white-folk."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UayQTu2kH-U -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?Yeah, it's a little known fact that the elves were based on Hitlers ideas about the aryan race.(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
What the hell are you talking about, tolkien was an outspoken nazi sypathiser!!!! -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?This! I can't stand it when they stick in the stereotypical sassy yet overbearing black woman who does absolutely nothing in the film but, like, snap her fingers and go 'mm hm'. It's pretty insulting.(Original post by Pavlina)
Attachment 134870
On a more serious note, perhaps there weren't black hobbits because, back when Tolkien was writing LOTR, racial equality wasn't really a thing yet. So it's plausible that he envisioned all of the hobbits to be white.
Because Tolkien probably hadn't envisioned any black hobbits, slapping one into the movie just to avoid criticism about racism would have been, in and of itself, racist. Tbh, movies without black characters bother me much less than movies in which a black character has been included PURELY to have a black character, so that people like you don't ask why there weren't any black people in the movie.
You know the type of movies I'm talking about - the one where the black guy is either chief of the police department, or the best friend of the protagonist, and usually dies within the first 5 minutes. Aren't those movies much more offensive? -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?And homophobic too, I mean not one gay sex scene in harry potter! Who the hell does she think she is!(Original post by Bonged.)
Pfft, hardly as bad as J K Rowling. Do you remember one SINGLE aboriginal australian in Harry Potter? -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?And yet, I am getting negged rep. All I did was point out an observation, and asked a question based on that, looking to learn. I thought this place was called 'the student room'.(Original post by Bonged.)
Some people don't get sarcasm. Funniest thread I've seen in a while.
People, honestly. -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?Well at least Tolkien wasn't homophobic.(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
And homophobic too, I mean not one gay sex scene in harry potter! Who the hell does she think she is!
Sam, and Frodo were clearly a pair of homosexuals. -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?What good would it have been to write a book that was PC?
The fact that Tolkin didn't make the characters in the Hobbit multicultural hasn't actually done anyone any harm. Besides. It's a story. And a story which really doesn't hinge on the characters being of many different ethnicities. -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?And who were the orcs based on??(Original post by Historophilia)
Yeah, it's a little known fact that the elves were based on Hitlers ideas about the aryan race.
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?Definitely lol.(Original post by fat_hobbit)
Well at least Tolkien wasn't homophobic.
Sam, and Frodo were clearly a pair of homosexuals. -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?The climate of the Shire and characteristics of a hobbit means they are white. Tolkien puts great emphasis on how hobbits keep themselves to themselves and don't go on adventures or even leave their native Shire. Who knows, there might be a settlement of black hobbits in Southern Middle Earth?
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?No. Why should I? Every story doesn't have to involve someone that of my ethnicity. I loved Fellowship and the Two Towers... even though I thought Return of the King was a bit overhyped.(Original post by fat_hobbit)
As a black man, don't you feel offended?
It doesn't bother me in the slightest. -
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?And for the people trying to explain the geographic and ethnical significance, please stop the BS. Its a damn story, it doesn't have to reflect true life demographic of 1930's England, Earth or middle earth
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Re: LOTR: Why were there no black hobbits?(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
Racist!
