The corporate forgery of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

One ring to rule them all....
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[@DamienWalter]

Get 25% off any Gentlebands purchase with code DAMIEN25 gentlebands.com/galactic-legends/?rfsn=7900994.4cf8388

[@DamienWalter]

​@scarletina5137 Why are you telling me? If you're too weak to listen to critique that's your problem.

[@scarletina5137]

@@DamienWalter Thats not critique of me or my views its slander of Nerdrotic.

[@scarletina5137]

Ah and you hide my reponse after calling me weak, you coward. What you said about Nerdrotic is slander or disingenuous at best.

[@dalriada7554]

Well, it's mediocre fantasy with names replaced by names from Tolkien. Basically, it's merch, not story.

[@jlworrad]

So glad the Iain M Banks estate turned Amazon down.

[@MRCKify]

Have the options/ rights to the Culture been on the market before, even if they later reverted back to Banks and his estate? 1/4-way through Player of Games myself.

[@jlworrad]

@@MRCKify I’m not sure. All I know is Amazon approached and his widow declined.

[@karldehaut]

❤

[@Tubesmaney]

Did he? I didn't know they made him an offer. Good for him - and us! Love the Iain Banks novels.

[@jlworrad]

@@Tubesmaney This was after he passed away. So likely his wife. But I think she truly understood what his outlook would be. Jeff Bezos resembles half his villains.

[@samuelyeates2326]

I am honestly delighted that Sharkey blew a bunch of money, cranked out garbage, and hasn't profitted off of it myself.

[@crhu319]

Yup

[@_surreal99]

"Nazgûl bureaucrats" god that was perfect.

[@RyllenKriel]

I hope Galadriel fights another volcano in season two. She got out of that with barely a scratch. I fully expect her to slay enemies with lightning bolts from her arise while telling the warriors of Numenor they can't fight and she don't need no man. On the plus side, if we wrap some copper wire around the corpse of Tolkien and hook him up to an electrical grid, we will have energy for a thousand years because he will be spinning in his grave from what these hack writers have done with his world.

[@Hero_Of_Old]

LOTR is European myth, rooted in history, culture and yes, RayCe. But we can't talk about that.

[@JanRademan]

Hollywood's attitude to franchises like Harry Potter and LOTR is like the curator of the Louvre walking down the halls, looking at the priceless paintings and wondering out loud: "People love the Mona Lisa. We should have someone paint a few more and put them up. Then more people will come to our museum."

[@fantasywind3923]

I mean....Tolkien himself understood that Lotr sequel wouldn't be the same.....that's why he abandoned The New Shadow story :)...you just can't overdo it....but regarding the 'forced diversity' it's pushed by these exact corporates who think they are earning some points with that or seeking that mythical 'global audience' and in the end they commit worse crimes of cultural appropriation...because as much as they don't want to believe...some works are rooted in real world cultures....The Lord of the Rings owes much to European cutlural sphere...it is based on it...that's why you will never have Lotr be 'global' because it's not....Lotr doesn't care for Asian or African cultural spheres...it explores the European one! That's where the interests of the author were. And he crafted unique world drawing from those inspirations.

[@mxvega1097]

"The sea is always right!" Just. Epic.

[@alberton.1601]

Not even The Hobbit triology, and that was PJ, is REAL Tolkien.

[@MusicMissionary]

Making it a trilogy was the first clue. Obvious money grab.

[@cogs2937]

The real shame is it could have been good. There are fan edits out there that are.

[@daddycool228]

@@cogs2937 Thanks.Can you point to fan edits?

[@fantasywind3923]

Yep...one of the biggest problems of those films was that...they diluted the story of The Hobbit book bloating it beyond reason! Then the first signs of disease of modern world were seen, from focusing on adding female characters for no reason and making sure the crowd shots of extras are 'diverse' :).

[@MusicMissionary]

@@fantasywind3923 it was so cynical. I saw the first one and thought ok I know a cash grab when I see one.

[@thriddoctor]

The Hobbit was an utter failure too, they turned Smaug into a wyvern and tacked on the whole elf / dwarf love story .

[@sturkster]

Eowyn is LOTRs strrongest female character.

[@DamienWalter]

Arwen gives up immortality for that man-beast Aragorn. That's toughness.

[@EerieV23]

In the books you are right, Arwen is a just a side note. In the movies, she gets her rightful place as the strongest female character.

[@oliverflanagan6438]

I assume that you are talking about the books here where Eowyn is a much more subtle character. She is regularly derided as an example of Tolkien demanding that a woman's existance is one of servitude but her path is more subtle: she initially rebels against the gender defined role and through trickery, fights at the Pelennor fields, killing the Witch King, but this proves to be a hollow victory (and not the feminist triumph of the Jackson adaptation) - Eowyn sees the cost of war first hand, the despair of battle, and through this experience seeks a life of peace as a healer. This is a core theme of LotR and Tolkien's wider writings: the search for peace, mercy, spiritual healing after the most traumatic of experiences... and the fact that he gives this story arc to a female character isn't anti-feminist to me at all. It shows great depth of spirit, that war affects us all in its way.

[@Hero_Of_Old]

Eowyns character is completely misunderstood

[@scarletina5137]

@@DamienWalter Eowyn wasn't immortal, thats REAL toughness.

[@cane6074]

Colonel Kurtz: the Horror, the horror...

[@emessar]

I've said for a while that Rings of Power felt like a high budget fan film ...

[@scoliosis9478]

honestly a fan film would probably respect Tolkien more lol

[@michaelgrosberg2665]

Great video as usual. love the new "out and about" Damo. We get a view of Bali as a bonus!

[@docholiday1476]

The Rings of Power are hatred of Tolkien’s work. Guyadriel is a joke and the show runners are talentless hacks who had wokeify Tolkien. This is what happens when a billionaire who resembles Doctor Evil from Austin Powers creates a studio to impress 20 something girl friend. You get great writing going in and absolute rubbish coming out. Tolkien’s heirs after Christopher who acted as gate keeper for his father’s work certainly appear greedy and well whatever…

[@MarkLittle-rq2bq]

Thank you for pointing this out, the Rings of Power is truly nothing more than 'Fake Tolkien'...also known as 'fan fiction'.

[@hjones4922]

The point on world building seems very relevant to gaming, where the map becomes the basis for the player's exploration of the world on various quests, etc. Has the popularity of gaming played a role in developing a culture that overvalues world building? Are there any games that express and explore themes and myths as richly as LotR?

[@isomeme]

This is brilliant. Existentialism is the only way to transcend nihilism, and the core of existentialism is taking responsibility for building your own meaning in a meaningless universe. I don't "believe in" Tolkien's world in the ordinary sense of religion or myth. I choose to make it part of my perrsonal narrative because doing so makes me better, stronger, and happier.

[@Keffinated]

Are you familiar with the religious existentialists? They’re rather a different breed than the atheist existentialists. Check out Martin Buber, Paul Tillich, Soren Kierkegaard, Nicolai Berdyaev, Miguel de Unamuno, Gabriel Marcel, among others.

[@isomeme]

@@Keffinated , yes, and they have interesting ideas. But their approach always strikes me as an attempt to deflect confrontation of essential absurdity, which I find unhelpful. I align closest to Camus and de Beauvoir.

[@russellwhitfield235]

Why were the youtubers wrong for calling out Dwarves and Elves of color? They were postulating that it was done "because diversity" and cited the letter where Tolkien states that this was a myth for England, that elves are "fair skinned" and on and on. They were not saying that there were not elves and dwarves and men of dark skin in the mythos - just that they could not have been there and then. I never really heard an argument that that wasn't so, only that anyone that called it out was a r'cist. So that Damien can debunk all that in less than 30 seconds to destroy it, I was genuinely intrigued.

[@SP-ny1fk]

Corporate power is depicted artistically in the LOTR

[@Procopius464]

Not all of us jumped on the atheist ship (which also has it's own myths). Tolkien said that he wanted to create a mythology of England, because there wasn't any existing mythology that was specific and autochthonous to England. The Arthurian stuff doesn't count because it is Celtic, and the old Germanic stuff doesn't count because it grew up in Scandanavia. He said he wanted something specific to the English soil. Sadly, most people don't understand his purpose, goal, or intent. As for me, I think mythology is valuable because it creates culture, community, and a shared zeitgeist. Take that away, and people have less in common with eachother, and less to talk about. I think this is the reason why the corporate entertainment (which are all globalists) deliberately deface all these works.

[@bettywing52]

When I was a fan in the Seventies Hard SF from the ikes of Heinlein & Niven & Pohl was suddenly overtaken by a wave of Fantasy & Sword and Sorcery you mentioned. Not that a lot of writers didn't pick up on it like Zelazny and Piers, but the drift to franchise and maps of the realm is reaching its postmodern frame now.

[@chrisb.7322]

Great video. The fly that keeps bothering you, also a great touch. A symbol for the decay of corporate media franchise.

[@DamienWalter]

It turns out rock lava formations have a lot of flies

[@briannicholson4357]

Video admonishing the commercialisation of Tolkien by Amazon.... Then unironically says: "one ring to rule them all and on their birthday, gentle band them"

[@DamienWalter]

It certainly was not unironic.

[@obsidiantain]

Great vid. Love the thematic settings too.

[@wellreadreapergamebooksnstuff]

My first experience of Damien Walter. What a marvellous introduction. EXCELLENT video essay.

[@robynmarler1951]

The whole thing is a grotesque farce, but it's Finrod screaming and crying like a little girl that makes me want to track them down and make them pay.

[@sargent_d4610]

Sorry bro, Eowyn was the LotR’s strongest female character. This movie version of Arwen overshadowed Eowyn.

[@matthewbreytenbach4483]

As much as I like Glorfindel, you could swap any Elf Lord in and arrive at the same result. My issue with Arwen's role in the Fellowship movie is that they didn't just give her Glorfindel's role, they gave her one of _Frodo's_ most epic moments.

[@earlpipe9713]

Amazing video. The only thing that could've improved it would've been a background score of Chad Kroger Enya cover songs.

[@DamienWalter]

I worked in a mall once that played those

[@crhu319]

Amazon just has to lean in to Galadriel as a Nazi personally responsible for the whole disaster of the Second Age. Then Tolkien's whole arc from first to Fourth Age is her character arc personally. And she had all the extremes.

[@MatejZizanovic]

Thing is Amazon doesnt have the rights to Silmarilion - nobody does and nobody will have until 2043. They can only use the names and the setting, NOT the story as it was written. This is what most people shitting on the show dont understand. Now casting is IMO horrible, and they made some really bad choices telling the story, but its not like they can follow a book to the letter like they could with LOTR movies.

[@AsimovVibes]

This is true. Personally I did not like the actors in my first watch. After watching LOTR scores of times over the prior 2 decades, it was a hard to adjust. However ive watched the series 4 times now, and the actors very much grew on me. Especially Robert Aramayo, who I think is the best Elrond we've seen on screen so far.

[@Fl4ppers]

Even fakes can tell a good yarn. Blade Runner 2049. However Amazon Basics LoTRs does not really satisfy that criteria.

[@DamienWalter]

BR 2049 is the real deal, in every way.

[@JCIce007]

It's not that all sequels or prequels are inherently bad. It's that Amazon just paid for the brandname and assigned it to some corporate drone writers. Even the Hobbit films *could* have worked if business stuff didn't result in Del Toro leaving and Jackson unethusiastically rushing 3 films.

[@factorfantasyweekly]

*my therapist* "Bezosauron isn't real. He can't hurt you." *this video - BEZOSAURON*

[@andygrams6344]

To be fair, Jackson’s LOTR is the original fake Tolkien. Not because of swapping out a tertiary character or cutting Bombadil…. But because Jackson/New Line capitulated to the lowest common denominator audience with primary themes of courage against great odds and fellowship/loyalty…. and completely avoided the harder, primary Tolkien themes of death, the pursuit of deathlessness, the absolute beauty in the initial creation of the world while it continually diminishes and fades, and the ongoing battle against evil/corruption- its inherited legacy starting with the epic struggles between the Valar/Maiar , and progression and diminishing in glory over time: first age battles bigger than second age battles and so on…. all culminating in the far smaller, more personal battle in the scouring of the Shire…. These are themes too hard for most contemporary audiences to stomach… so Jackson and his team removed them either willfully or out of ignorance, choosing for the more broad appeal of generic, shallow platitudes…. Leaving Christopher Tolkien THOROUGHLY unhappy with what Jackson did.

[@isomeme]

Most of that is only hinted at in LotR.

[@justinthillens2853]

My favorite thing about the lord of the rings is that every part of the journeys that would have otherwise been mundane were beautified with a deep reverence towards the environment, the trees in particular. There's a life and a seeming consciousness even to the trees that aren't ents.

[@mattcrawford2163]

Really enjoyed this video, so many interesting ideas well articulated. Thank you .

[@slavicgarou6414]

What's wrong with yoga? :)

[@EldritchSkies]

I think the common view of myth/fiction, as being a tool or a means to generate this intangible and ephemeral "meaning" we speak of... is missing the point. It also becomes the most common dismissal of the power of the mind and the existentially challenging nature of it's potential. I've heard many a time "myth/stories/religions/philosophy is all just a coping mechanism to provide meaning. A true realist doesn't use any of these, because he doesn't seek meaning". Again I think this entirely misses the point. What fiction/myth allow us to do is to take a step back and allow our intuition to run rampant, from an objective distance. They are not simply to give us meaning, which may be a by-product. They are to go further than reason can go alone, both in understanding and in bodily potential. Reason isn't what got Wim Hof to push the human body to levels we called "miraculous" and "super-human" before realizing he was normal upon scientific testing. Intuition is a super power and it's what we have slowly but steadily removed ourselves from - both willfully and as an unavoidable consequence of progression - as humankind has become more and more intellectual. I believe religion/myth/faith has always been a crude attempt to access that lost potential which we have yet to replace with reason. It sure seems like hubris to create stories and to "believe" them... or to truly "believe" anything at all for that matter. But it also seems like hubris (and faith based mysticism) to imagine that our monkeybrain's intellectual capacity has infinite potential, while seeing the "limited/subjective/inaccurate" potential of intuition as a given. You could say living "without myth/belief" is a level of freedom that is too scary for weak people, or you could say, that having to make a real choice on what to believe outside of the training wheels of 1+1=2, is a level of freedom that is too scary for weak people.

[@crhu319]

"dark satanic CGI mills" literally now AIs

[@shanecoleman5952]

The Shadow that bred them can only mock, it cannot make: not real things of its own.

[@Tubesmaney]

Thank you Damien! Love this video - keep up the great work!

[@TheJosep70]

It's not just bad Tolkien, it's bad fantasy.

[@doomhippie6673]

A friend of mine is VERY upset that Glorfindel was left out. For that is the best ... "character" in LotR. So there is always somebody with a strong opinion on certain elements of the story.

[@BrendanKOD]

While a lot of the adaptation decisions in the films were good decisions, the ford was a huge downgrade from the book. No problems with Arwen swaping for Glorfindel, but taking away the moment when Frodo confronted all 9 Nazgul and told them off was an even bigger blow than taking away his nearly stabbing the Witch King on Weathertop before getting the counter stab.

[@guidobolke5618]

Wow, that was great, Damian! Thank you.

[@Bonko78]

This is a very well formulated critique, sir! But from what I can tell, those "angry nerd-bros of KZbin" would agree with almost everything you said in this video. Sometimes we know something is wrong but we can't really describe it because not everyone has the academic language to express or to analyze the "true root of the problem" as you clearly do. Instead, they provide their critique in whatever way they can. The reason those KZbinrs are popular is because they are quite obviously sincere in their dismay at being forced to watch every single worthwhile work of fiction being turned into McDonald's. I think we need people of all types to voice their concerns about these things and I see no reason for you and those KZbinrs to bicker over details when you are so clearly speaking with the same voice.

[@DamienWalter]

Reactionaries often agree on the general critique. The difference is they BLAME A MINORITY. That's why reasonable people MAKE IT CLEAR THEY ARE NOT REACTIONARY. Good-day sir.

[@Bonko78]

@@DamienWalter Thank you kindly for the reply. To my knowledge, neither Disparu nor Nerdrotic (shown in this video) have ever blamed "a minority" for the failures of the Rings of Power show. Though they specifically used the lady presenting herself as "the first black female dwarf" as an example of how requirements of "Diversity" and "Inclusion" have contributed in skewing the focus of the production away from good storytelling, which is hard to deny. They also mention the greed and incompetence you bring up here, but rarely as eloquently as you. I think you share more common ground with them than you may realize and that's a good thing.

[@DamienWalter]

@@Bonko78 "They've never blamed a minority" procedes to explain how they blame minorities

[@Bonko78]

@@DamienWalter Well, that would be a less than generous way to interpret what I said. Let me rephrase: Based on what you say in this video (and you do have a lovely way with words), you at least tacitly agree that the casting in Rings of Power --- as well as writing and pretty much every aspect of film making --- has quite evidently been affected by a corporate McDonaldization and commoditization of Tolkien's books. While evidently agreeing on that, the other KZbinrs also argue that a corporate politization via D.E.I. requirements have affected the final result as well. Apparently, the showrunners make a habit of talking about it in several interviews where they brag about how many black people they have in their cast, for example. Now, for those KZbinrs to simply point out that these things happen and use images of that lady when she is explicitly saying she is there for political reasons, is hardly the same as blaming that lady for the overall state of that show, is it?

[@DamienWalter]

@@Bonko78 I'm going to explain this one more time, then I'm going to mute you from the channel if you comment again. Reactionaries often have an accurate analysis, but they then blame a MINORITY instead of blaming those with power. I'm not interested in further discussion with you.

[@dourmoose]

The Wheel of Tedium. 😂👍🏼

[@davidkaplan2745]

Wow! Just, wow! That's the most insightful rant I've heard in quite a while.

[@jonnyleeg4058]

Lol, your thumbnail.. I'm dying 😂

[@factorfantasyweekly]

Incredible video, so glad I found this!

[@micanope]

I don't really care about Lord of the Rings, but I am offended by your dismissal of Nickelback.

[@EerieV23]

Wow, this is such a deep video. Like the books, it will require more than read to digest. Also, thank you for your trip Mordor to bring us this excellent content. Hopefully, the orcs were not too troublesome.

[@angelojermainex]

I’ve watched this video 3 times(it’s only been up 15 hrs) because he makes talking about SF so dramatic and interesting asf.

[@kitchensinkmuses4947]

Great video. An interesting thing about the "reactionary feudalist" claims, is that they miss the point a little bit. Yes, Tolkien wanted a return to the natural heirarchy of things, but in the same way that Robin Hood did and (sometimes) does. LoTR is a post apocalyptic story where the feudal leaders have abandoned their obligatuions to the people in favour of blind tradition or personal glory. The return of the king is not just an event, it is a symbol. Aragorn represents the return to a KIng worthy of the name, who rules justly, and without concern for personal glory and power. He is glorious because he is good, not the other way round. He is willing to die for the common folk (hobbits) to succeed in their mission, over and over again he risks himself. The Return of The KING (capitalised for intention) is teh return to a system where the ruler rules on behalf of the ruled, not on behalf of themself. As I said, like Robin Hood, especially the earliest stories, where there is a deep longing for the deposition of the villain king (John nowadays, but not always), but not to replace it with a republic or commune or anything, but for a return to a king who is just, noble, and a protector of the people and the peace (nowadays usually Richard, but in earlier stories Edward or Henry 1 and 2).

[@EerieV23]

Very good comment!

[@ajiththomas2465]

I dont think the people making the "reactionary feudalist" claims about LOTR are missing the point. What Tolkien is doing with Aragorn is what's known as the great man theory of history, a widely criticized theory that posits that history is made when a few great men come and bring about change while the masses follow. People also have a justifiable disdain for the unjustified heirarchy in the concept of monarchy and feudalism and thus regard Aragorn as monarchist propaganda. Aragorn being a good king because he's a good man is reductive and just plainly not true to real life or logic. What are the policies, the actions as the monarch that Aragorn does that makes him a good king? We have no idea. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And there's a reason why Tolkien hated Frank Herbert's Dune which criticized the tendency of people to put their blund faith in messiah like figures of authority and aristocracy.

[@MRCKify]

It's been awhile since I read Two Towers, but I don't recall Theoden's passivity as blind tradition or personal glory. Denethor definitely was into blind tradition. Even all these years later, I can recall *"I would leave my chair to a son after me, who would be his own master and no wizard's pupil. But if doom denies this to me, then I will have naught!"* But even then, he'd had his own sense of paranoia stoked, which insulated him from his troops and pushed him to despair.

[@MRCKify]

Last I tried, links aren't working in the comments, but Kitchensinkmuses, could you suggest some sources that link Robin Hood to early restorationist/ "purge the evil advisor" narratives? My understanding, probably most recently reinforced by the Race for the Iron Throne blog by the too early departed Steven Attewell, was that Robin Hood narratives are for more likely to have been peasant pride stories long before the outlaw figure was blended with a nobly-exiled Robin of Locksley.

[@gunraptor]

How is yoga a myth? I know people who go to these "stretching classes," and it gave us one of science's greatest gifts: yoga pants. (please realize this is a joke)

[@micheleshave323]

I have never heard a better explanation for the exploitation of J.R.R. Tolkien than what this video expresses. Damien has said exactly what I have been thinking. It makes me so sad to see what is being done with this beloved man’s work.

[@PvtSchlock]

Ideology and religiosity share space in human consciousness, or "mind". I'd say Tolkien was more reactionary as opposed to conservative. He wasn't a citizen so much as a loyal subject of the Crown rendering his duty. A conservative is a liberal and believes in the Enlightenment and its teachings. That black dwarf actress shot her big mouth off about utter nonsense and that's why she drew so much fire.

[@fuzonzord9301]

I think switching Glorfindel for Arwen was a bad idea and also I can't watch the LOTR trilogy because of the Moria action sequences and skateboarding and also weapon and armour choices.

[@phillyphilly2095]

But...didn't Tolkien say he hoped others would expand his mythology?

[@user-mp2fb9ku5o]

other writers like him, not corporate employees

[@phillyphilly2095]

@user-mp2fb9ku5o Tolkien, as an Oxford professor, was hardly one of the common folk. And he didn't give the copyright to his stories away for free. Was he not just another variety of commercial writer? And who gets to be gatekeeper between "authentic" Tolkien and "fake" Tolkien?

[@user-mp2fb9ku5o]

@@phillyphilly2095 Nobody gets to be gatekeeper. Maturity, responsibility and respect are supposed to be the gatekeeps, not people.

[@phillyphilly2095]

@@user-mp2fb9ku5o nicely put

[@the21tinker]

Love your work! You’ve opened my mind to modern myth and I’m rereading all my old favorites with a new framework. Thank you.

[@samloutalbotmusic]

Hello Damien, I have a question regarding the Gentlebands. Do they do them for women? And which band would you recommend for a fearless warrior woman?

[@DamienWalter]

Men only. Get yourself some flowers wench.

[@samloutalbotmusic]

@@DamienWalter :) Okay, Damien! Thank you for putting this wench in her place. The world needs more real men like you!

[@niktonic5379]

@@DamienWalter what, who cares, let her have one

[@MRCKify]

😕Boy, I hope I'm missing some context when I read this thread.

[@khomo12]

Myth sustains us, always have, always will! Thank you!👍👍👍

[@isaacmathews5800]

That ad placement was perfect.

[@user-ot2ln3uc5q]

Fictionalized fiction creating fiction. Meaning that generations reinterpret the source material. Star wars? Etc.... Fantasy and fiction everyone should just chill out. If you love the books like I do, movies dont bother me or shows.

[@TheRealJasonEvans]

Been loving your videos, but lately haven’t been loving the new tracking camera. It’s neat, but it tracks every move you make which means a lot of camera movement. The tracking should allow for some tolerance in movement of the subject so that it’s a bit more natural. That’s the biggest downfall of that tech. Mac OS is guilty of it too with theirs, it makes it hard to continue watching when individuals have that feature enabled in video conferences. If at all possible can you please tone-down the subject tracking sensitivity on your new camera? I would love you for it. Otherwise, I’ve been enjoying your content!

[@DamienWalter]

For video of this kind it's more of a feature than a bug. But I'm talking with DJI about a more sensitive gimbal mode as you describe.

[@w-james9277]

ROP is LOTR in name only

[@markkeogh2190]

Careful on the scree.

[@billlowe70]

I remember hearing this adaption was coming out and read one of the writers in an interview saying "in the first series we will see a young Aragorn..." and I immediately got angry at the idea that they'd be trying to milk the films and in order to do so skip past everything from The Silmarillion which is full to the brim with fantasy epics just waiting to be brought to life with room for expansion etc. Nope..young Aragon.... I haven't seen The Rings Of Power as I know it would just annoy me. I'll watch this review though..

[@AsimovVibes]

Maybe watch the show? Aragorn is not in. Rings of Power takes place thousands of years in the past.

[@billlowe70]

@@AsimovVibes Maybe read my comment? As it happens I couldn't even watch this review. It's not _literally_ the idea that young Aragorn is in it, it' the use of known characters because, if you weren't aware, the industry is terrified of risk/new things - they only green light seqels and prequels and having Galadriel (was in _all_ 6 of the films and the holiday special) is the same thing. "We will see a young Galadriel". I have no doubt at one point she (or possibly her mum) says "go back to from whence you once came from!!"

[@AsimovVibes]

@@billlowe70 I just say maybe watch it because you said you have not seen it, yet you're making assumptions about it... It's actually a really good show. All these haters are just clambering on the bandwagon cause it's trendy right now.

[@billlowe70]

@@AsimovVibes 7/10 IMDB, made by a greedy corporation that doesn't care about the source material, bad reviews from people I trust. I _really_ did try to explain to you how and why these expensive properties are exploited and why ultimately they fall short 9/10 times. There are real reasons you could look at and think about, do look into it. "Haters" is a term of confusion, when people don't understand why others don't like something eg "why all the haters for the star wars prequels?????????? They must be fans of the orginal or something. They're actually _really_ good, you should pay money that took time to earn to sit and watch them for 6 hours to prove me wrong!!" My answer is........"no" Instead I'm going to watch the new series "Casablanca 2: Frankly My Dear Let's Get Hitched" it's made by Disney!!!! in 3D!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@AsimovVibes]

@@billlowe70 you do you

[@VM-hl8ms]

i'm probably off topic here, but aren't super heroes about maximum super heroism but without the myth? minus those instances when the myth is theme.

[@hjones4922]

There are many people who would argue that superheroes are very much modern myths. They function similarly to tales of Hercules or Achilles but there's no need to take them literally. What is "super heroism without myth"?

[@VM-hl8ms]

@@hjones4922 good question. i've said this while having strict line between super hero comic books and super hero movies in mind. don't you think that something from 1 media transferred into another media inevitably loses something in the process?

[@hjones4922]

@@VM-hl8ms Yes, comics have many clear advantages: cheaper to produce so more freedom for experimentation; few creators so more room for a singular vision; long running stories, runs and titles, so mythic aspects and continuity grow organically (instead of 3-act hero's journey).

[@radiuspsychedelic357]

this rant pretty much sums it up perfectly. Butchered Tolkin's world

[@niktonic5379]

Left out the people learning Quenya. :D

[@MRCKify]

Strong Henchmen 21 and Billy Quizboy vibes

[@Mallarkey]

"You don't know anyone who thinks switching out Lord Glorfindel for Lady Arwen was a bad idea." Well you do now. Me. I think that. Glorfindel is brilliant. Anyone who'd read the books, ALL the books, would've been looking forward to a bit of Glorf. Okay, he doesn't do that much in FotR but no reason to replace him, especially if you are keeping his scene in the film. Tom Bombadil, Farmer Maggot, Fatty Bolger, I get them being cut (though sad),

[@DamienWalter]

I still don't.

[@Mallarkey]

@@DamienWalter 😆

[@MatthewSmith001]

I despised the switch out of Glorfindel! He was considered the most powerful elf in all of Middle-Earth and was my favorite character. I hated the movies.... But probably because I loved the books so much and read them an embarrassing number of times. I even had a blown up laminated map of middle-earth on the wall of my bedroom.

[@user-mp2fb9ku5o]

I liked the first movie of the LOTR trilogy. It wasn't accurate to the book and it did some characters dirty ( like farmer Maggot and Glorfindel) but it was obvious that a great deal of effort was put into it and i could exceuse the inaccuracies. But after that each movie was worse than the previous and Hobbit ( my favourite ) was atrocious

[@MatthewSmith001]

@@user-mp2fb9ku5o yep, buddy, they just got more and more ridiculous. While I didn't see it, just hearing about dwarf/elf romance made me laugh and want to puke in turn

[@tehutiboi]

Spot on! I was dying laughing the first part of this video 😂

[@marcocatano554]

Yes indeed!

[@TheNoyouyesme]

Arwen for Glorfindel, no!

[@timlynn5132]

I’m sure he wrote the original books for no payment. 😂

[@garrenosborne9623]

A Blake ref always a nice rhetorical touch

[@spxyx]

The way to win is to ignore it... I have been boycotting all the various "sequels," "Spinoffs," "prequels" of Marvel, Star Wars, Raiders, and indeed this as well. I just don't care.

[@chillax1969]

I loved the books so much I couldn't finish watching the series. Viewers who have no knowledge might fare better. As a stand alone piece of fiction, it had some beautiful visuals. The writing, the story, was plain bad.

[@cjansenATL]

Is that Tongariro Crossing?

[@doloresabernathy9809]

Here, here!! So true and Well said! There are many “products” that are also works of art and love… but to turn a work of art and love into a mere product is a shameful tragedy. The Rings of Power has little more resemblance to the LOTR as action figures of Aragorn and Gandalf. and the action figures are more fun!

[@XerrolAvengerII]

I'm curious how many different adaptations or sequels of books to film get extra strong criticism because of their branding and their title. Many of these disappointments would be passable as standalone films with generic titles and copywrite safe proper nouns, but people hold extra scorn for them because by their title they are placed as equal to the great properties of the past which are elevated by nostalgia and the allure of the elite hipsters mindset.

[@DamienWalter]

They would go completely unnoticed.

[@niktonic5379]

It's their bad, that they use the name and screw it up.

[@Unworshipediety]

I so wanted to like The Rings of Power but the pacing just left me in shambles. I found myself trying to stay interested, but in the end I found myself watching it out of spite. I've discovered fakes that were at the very least full of well-intentioned crap, but that show itself was _fasler than vows made in wine_ , and empty of talent. I expected it to be at worst a *hot mess* but littered with some notable flourishes worth mentioning, though that was not the case. It ended up being such a slog to sit through, as I truly felt like I was wasting valuable time I could have spent elsewhere. Great video though! I really liked the visual style and storytelling aspect of it.

[@josiahbirthright24]

This essay is a great example of Damien at his best. Half the time I don't agree with him, but it's always a dizzying intellectual ride.

[@missAlice1990]

When discussing the myths that replaced God, you forgot about the latest myth - the postmodern myth of deconstructing everything, like gender, for example. The myth of saviour of humanity, trying to find more and more oppressed groups that need a saviour. Probably because you strongly believe in those myths and think of them as noble endeavors.

[@DamienWalter]

Myths are attached to realities. The problem isn't that I can't see the postmodern mythos - I helped write parts of it - it's that you are completely blind to its reality.

[@oliverflanagan6438]

I'm still loving the juxtaposition of Hitler and Stalin with Taylor Swift. F*cking BRAVO, sir!

[@comradethatmetalguy]

We have to be like Gandalf, who knows who the real enemy is; We must save the Hobbits, because hope is in the most unexpected of places; And We must fight for the Return of the King.

[@gabriellynch2764]

Guys its fine. Rings of Power isn't actually part of the lore. It isnt canon. It doesn't matter what amazon says. It is irrelevant whether or not Amazon got liscencing rights from the Tolkein estate. Amazon doesn't decide what is officially canon, the Tolkein estate doesn't either. We do. And Rings of Power is fanfiction if we say it is. So just ignore it. It doesn't matter. The next time someone gets liscencing rights to Tolkeins work they will retcon every single plot point of Rings of Power. RoP will have no lasting impact on Tolkeins lore if we just choose to forget about it. Same goes for the Star Wars sequels. Those weren't canon. I don't care what Disney says. We, the fans get to choose what is part of our fandom and what isnt. It doesn't matter what a corporation says, what copyright says or what the law says. We are the fans and the we get the final say. Spread the word.

[@DamienWalter]

Maybe fix your spelling of Tolkien. It's not helping your argument's credibility.

[@GrantMartin-lh1ok]

The movies were the greatest book adaption in my lifetime the series the greatest disapointment

[@DrLynch2009]

"Fake Asimov" next?

[@DamienWalter]

Not Asimov. As an adaptation I won't call it fake. But it's Not Asimov.

[@crhu319]

Foundation is WAY better than RoP...

[@jeremysmith4620]

The Rings of Power is still better than the Wheel of Time series as a show. As a sleep aid? Wheel of time wins hands down. I struggled to make it more than 10 minutes into any Wheel of Time episode without waking up a couple hours later covered in drool. If one surgically removes part of their brain that appreciates Tolkien's work and just wants to watch a generic fantasy thing, it's ok-ish. Also bearded black dwarves are hot, screw the haters.

[@Aurora2097]

I would actually be okay with Tolkiens legacy being commercially exploited. If we got some good quality for our money! My problem with rings of power is that it was handles so sloppy, so bad writing, so much disregard for the original material. I'd been okay with many changes if the outcome had been good. But it isn't. It is a bad pastiche created by total hacks. Imsee little l8ve in it.

[@duvetboa]

Zombie franchises are sadly inevitable. Corporations squeeze and bleed out all of the passionate and creative staff, because passion can only help you put up with shit work conditions for so long (or the rights simply change hands). At some point these franchises simply become marketing vehicles. We see this happening with film and game franchises too. The original Bungie team that made Halo so great eventually bled all of their good staff and were replaced with well intentioned but less creatively interesting people who never get the opportunity to take risks and innovate due to new corporate interests breathing down their necks. Personally I think the only sensible thing is to accept this and move on. The old media is still great, and every once in awhile the stars will align and another great work will be made both because of and in spite of the corporate machine.

[@elderofzion]

"arwen is lord of the rings strongest female character." um, no

[@DamienWalter]

Fact. Deal with it.

[@elderofzion]

@@DamienWalter she barely appears in the books

[@DamienWalter]

@@elderofzion And that is why she deserves. More. Screen. Time.

[@victorfinberg8595]

without getting into whether i agree with your thesis, i can say that your PRESENTATION is first-rate

[@Procopius464]

Aragorn did not symbolize anything. Tolkien hated allegory.

[@DamienWalter]

But loved myth. All myth is symbolic.

[@Procopius464]

@@DamienWalter He did love mythology, but he also complained that far too many people confuse applicability for allegory. It is true, I see it today. It's worse in the US where they waste all sorts of time talking about how everything is a symbol or allegory for something other than the plain reading. As a result if anyone ever gets famous, people think his story is all code for something else or something personal. Applicability means you can find meaning in it, whereas allegory means the meaning is already set by the author.

[@DamienWalter]

@@Procopius464 Tolkien disliked allegory because he wanted his work read as myth. He did not reject symbolism.