Race Swapping Tolkien

[@aethertoast4320]

Remember when "seeing yourself in a character" meant that you identified with personality and behavioral traits? I barely do anymore.

[@suddenlycrows]

I wish we could go back to the time where media was awash with mutant humanoid animals. My friends and I related to them just fine when we were kids and they weren't even the same species as us!

[@Liquidsback]

​@@suddenlycrowsYeah but then everybody became horny adults and they rule 34'd it.

[@sipalingindonesia]

it's hard to do so in US where skin-color somehow becomes one of your defining trait.....

[@BrainWitchSiv]

Whoa whoa whoa. Are you suggesting that the human condition is so universal that stories can transcend cultures, race, and even time? Madness! Joking. For the all that is holy, I am joking.

[@salmonblox]

That’s the saddest part of all of this, to me. Identifying with characters who DON’T look like me… that’s one of my favorite things about fiction! It’s kind of the whole point. But now we have to look like our heroes to empathize at all, it’s just sad. These people are missing out on some great stories with that attitude

[@Swindle1984]

"You're ok with a fantasy world that has magic, elves, and dragons, but get upset when I insert a 2023 Chevy S10 with luxury leather seats and a sunroof?"

[@zachalou3073]

They really reveal their own weird flavor of racism when they try to “clap back” at the criticism

[@hope-cat4894]

They're so excited to see raceswapping amd "own the racists" because they are _Iconoclasts._ Iconoclast: One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions. And they're racist too.

[@dragonforks93]

If they had their way they wouldn't have to clap back, it would just be illegal to criticize them.

[@alandees1334]

“People are more than just their appearances”. Amen and well said. We all need to constantly keep this in mind. Great video.

[@scormern]

Sad thing is, the art design is really badass, if they just named and used them for something unrelated to Tolkien's works, people would have probably liked the characters. I mean, the sword itself looks really cool.

[@browal14]

yea if it was original and not based in Tolkien's work there would be zero problems

[@gojifan4001]

Just make him another character, and he's good to go in Tolkien's universe

[@eminmahmudov9505]

I like how they have Mina Harker as a variant for Thalia because it is their own ip, but changing Tolkien’s characters for their own satisfaction is soooooo dumb

[@shinrailp1416]

That's ususally the problem with these raceswapped characters. Most people(there will always be some) would not mind having, black, asian, female or whatever main characters as long as they writing is actually GOOD. But the whole race swapping is just a tool for incompetent writers to cash in on a build-in audience so they don't HAVE to write anything good. If they really want to make something with characters of a specific race or gender just.....come up with something new, worked great for Spiderman and Miles didn't it, a completely new character working with the pre-existing ones. But once again, that would require effort, skill or integrity, neither of those beeing something most Hollywood writers have any of.....

[@YountFilm]

No.

[@Gorbz]

The last time someone tried to adapt Lord of the Rings for a modern audience, less than 35% of people finished watching it.

[@pureshotzz44]

Yep f that show...

[@rastez6961]

Because it was one of the worst serie ever created by some garbage talentless woke people.

[@BankaiFever]

I only watched the first two episodes

[@ChrisSuperDude]

My favorite response was someone said "How would Tolkien respond to black Aragorn. His word is the final say." And someone said "He would hate this, tell you you're wrong, and then tell you to go to mass."

[@dlevi67]

Or somewhere else with four letters.

[@hanoord9412]

I wouldnt say tolkiens word is the final say tho. Like its okay to be a tolkien fan and still disagree with him on some points. I have massive respect for the dude, but its weird how eeryones treating like every word he ever said was gospel

[@dlevi67]

@@hanoord9412 I would say that an author's world on the world they have created - and spent over 50 years creating, revising and trying to make more 'real' and self-consistent - is pretty much the final say. Nobody asks you to 'agree' with it, but don't expect anyone else to agree with you.

[@hanoord9412]

@@dlevi67 its still fiction tho. No matter how much time and passion some creator put in his work, if its fiction its weird to say that one interpretation is more "real" than another. black aragorn and white aragorn are both just as real, which is to say: they both dont exist

[@dlevi67]

@@hanoord9412 Of course it's still fiction - but if you want to invent a complex, compelling and original universe with a black character as one of its protagonists, go ahead and do it. Don't ride roughshod (and highly disrespectfully) on someone else's efforts. Aragorn was not black; there are thousands of pages written _by Tolkien_ where he repeats time after time that his intention was to create a mythical corpus for England based on the Anglo-Saxon culture, and by definition that does not include 'black' characters. Tolkien mentions Haradrim (Southrons), but - perhaps deliberately, perhaps because he never had the time - does not elaborate on what happens in Harad; have a go there, if your ability in world creation is limited. At least it will be more original and respectful than changing what the author wrote. Don't give me - and the rest of the world - the bullshit about "but it's all fiction anyway". If so, why do "they" want to use the setting, the names and part of the history? Because "they" are lazy, unoriginal and uncreative, and nowadays anything LoTR means a big audience has already been built? Not really a set of morally compelling reasons...

[@verindictus3639]

6:01 "No one wants a modern take on Tolkien's stories." No one NEEDS a modern take on Tolkien's stories; those stories have always been timeless!

[@AlkonKomm]

speak for yourself man, I desperately want a modern take on tolkiens story where all the guys are incompetent buffoons and the real brains and brawns of middleearth (the women, of course) defeat sauron by not even really having to fight, cause they're so much stronger that he just dies instantly at the sight of their girlboss aura.

[@gregrobinette8620]

​@@AlkonKomm I'm ashamed I didnt pick up the sarcasm immediately umtill you said girlboss jaja 😂

[@verindictus3639]

@@gregrobinette8620 They say such crazy things that they mean with complete genuineness, it's getting harder and harder to tell the sarcasm from the real thing all the time.

[@gideondejongh838]

@@AlkonKomm Lol.

[@sipalingindonesia]

@@AlkonKomm a modern take on middle-earth would have flying cars to replace the horses,and laser guns and nukes to replace swords,axe and bow. come on man,be more imaginative!

[@Bizagro]

I don’t understand how Finding Nemo could have been so successful when it was only watched by humans and not fish people

[@disappointedfather5114]

Here's all that needs to be said: "We're making Black Panther, but featuring Ryan Gosling." "That's racist! Black Panther is a black character!" "Well for REPRESENTATION reasons, we need him and a few more whitewashed characters, because Wakanda's all black folks, and that simply isn't inclusive. Why do you care? After all, it's FaNtAsY!" And if that's not enough for them to see, let those artists/writers/creators diversify themselves into boycotts and bankruptcy.

[@bingobongo8701]

Anyone else find it sad and kinda racist these companies purposefully race swap characters to draw attention to their product.

[@albatross4920]

It all comes off as incredibly petty

[@YetAnotherTechRaccoon]

They're not just "kinda racist"... Their inability to be self-aware of their racism, even in good faith, is absolutely astounding. These corporations are pandering to a very tiny minority of people who want this. Other than that lost, possibly narcissistic group, noone asked for this. I'm black, and I do not want this. Anyone who does is of low IQ and has an inability to see beyond themselves. It's absolutely frustrating, and there are tons of people who will defend bullshit like this. Even a tiny bit of scrutiny to the argument of race-swapping in any serious way should have given them pause. They should lose money. Again, who asked for this?

[@blalhoihreuf]

As a white guy, I have always found this kind of thing to be pandering of the highest order. Can't believe people fall for this shit.

[@P-P-Panda]

Ye it’s gross

[@zachalou3073]

Yes! Like in another context race swapping isn’t a big deal, but it’s just the overall BITTERNESS that makes these people do it

[@northstar6920]

Tolkien is spinning so fast in his grave, it's causing tectonic plates to shift.

[@autobotstarscream765]

At this rate, he's about to Spin Dash right through the ground and bring judgment at sonic speed!

[@MegaMilenche]

So, that's why the Balkans have a monsoon season in spring and summer now.

[@sterlingwhite8473]

Might cause another reshaping of the world

[@parkertufts5251]

That's our next renewable energy project. We'll harness the energy of people rolling over in their graves... Turn it into steam for a turbine or something...

[@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer]

If any character in fiction can be race or gender swapped, we need to ask these activists, why should writers describe how anyone looks anymore?

[@DgardsGaming]

also why can't we do it to black characters.

[@SlimmArmstrong]

Y’all preaching, tho. 🙏🏾

[@SpikeRazzor]

​@@DgardsGaming You need some other than the miniscule handful to do so.

[@gideondejongh838]

Precisely.

[@jakeastside]

Nah. You guys allowed this to happen. Hopefully all form of media will conform to race and SEXUAL diversity uwuuu

[@parkertufts5251]

Hey that black guy stole Aragorn's sword!

[@ChoseeComprende]

And identity!

[@rob832]

And owes tons of child support!

[@Chronoboy21]

This man, here, is a voice of reason in a reasonless world. I think you hit the nail on the head big-time with this, JSG. Thank you!

[@ericlee4177]

Race swapping of any kind is ridiculous in this day and age thanks to all the stories out there. What's worse is all the people defending changing someone else's art and legacy.

[@Yayofangamer16]

Blackwashing characters for MUH PROGRESSIVE VALOOS is colonialism.

[@longtsun8286]

They better brace themselves for a WHITE Black Panther, with the comic book artist responsible, throwing these people's words back in their faces, when they complain about race-swapping a black character for a white one.

[@elirien4264]

​@@longtsun8286 That will never happen. It would be "offensive"..

[@longtsun8286]

@@elirien4264 Race-swapping a white man for a black one, was considered "offensive" 70 years ago; it no longer is. Can we say with any certainty race-swapping a black man for a white one, will still be considered "offensive" 70 years in the future? And FYI, I'm Asian. I dislike race-swapping, and try to uphold the Golden Rule of "Treat others as you wish to be treated,"- I certainly do NOT want a white man swapping my (Asian) heroes' race for his own.

[@sipkestorm4050]

@@longtsun8286 The only acceptable swaps are when they go from white/male to black/female. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that these people are incapable of creating their own stories, it's actually quite sad.

[@meatbagspaai6370]

Getting real tired of how these people have no actual arguments to support their positions, they just try to bellitle and shame everybody who disagrees.

[@elirien4264]

"It's fiction, so it doesn't matter".

[@kennethsatria6607]

​@@elirien4264 Then literally why do they care to change it in the first place eh?

[@dee-wreck]

Because representation matters

[@mateuszmierzejewski1355]

@@dee-wreck no, no it doesn't

[@gregrobinette8620]

This thread hates quotation marks huh 😂

[@SoldierSpiderx]

I am black, and I am sick and tired of the blackwashing we are seeing in Hollywood and Entertainment as a whole. The fact that a lot of people in my community is eating this up is downing right saddening. Why would you want sloppy seconds? Don't you think you deserve better! You mean to tell you are okay with switching characters who were originally Caucasian and turning them Black? Imagine if it was the other way around and they turn original Black character and making them another race. Black Panther 3 starring Timothée Chalamet as the next Black Panther because who cares about being faithful to the source material right?!

[@-Siculus-Hort-]

im thinking they can't make anything of their own, and it's also about the message. nothing belongs to anyone solely, everything anyone does or thing belongs to everyone. it's all about kommunism.

[@SoldierSpiderx]

@@-Siculus-Hort- true like they could totally make a new black character and focus being that character up but no they want be lazy and just race swap that character

[@Ante-Anima]

I know that's not your point, but Chalamet is kinda "meh" as an actor imo. He perfectly fits Paul Atreides character who is kinda out of his own body tho (crude summary I admit).

[@pascalsimioli6777]

Not only they don't think they deserve anything better but they also see themselves exclusively as their color and gender. Imagine if I said "nah I don't understand Ripley's heroism in Alien cause she's a woman and I'm a man" or "I truly can't sympathize with Captain Holt from B99 cause he's black and gay and I'm straight and white" so so dumb.

[@sipalingindonesia]

apparently they assume black peoples operate on hive-mind basis. every black dudes that don't agree with the "agenda" must be uncle toms in disguise.....

[@markkettlewell7441]

‘Why scrape the bottom of the barrel when you can bury yourself under it” That is just too funny, I nearly spat out my drink when I laughed 😂❤

[@DavidM_10]

"The general rule [in fiction] is that, unless the author says otherwise, the fantasy world's rules follow the same rules as the real world. So [for example] unless the author says people can fly, you should assume no-one can fly." I love that explanation. So many activists ignore that fact in order to validate their agenda-driven changes.

[@wyattr.9995]

I love this quote. Aragorn is explicitly stated as being fair skinned though

[@zephodb]

Your first line alone, "If you're going to ignore what Tolkien wrote, why even adapt his stories?" alone wins alone. >.>

[@zanestearns2143]

I always love your lotr takes jsg. I love that you're a person who grew up so different from me, black, from a big city, and you can nerd out as hard as me but more eloquently, a more rural white guy, that someone so different from me can also see parts of himself in this thing we both love. It's great to see it represented so obviously, how human we all are with things like this.

[@hoppa_2184]

I would say your point is written eloquent in itself. And it most definitely is a beautiful point to make as well. Different countries, different races, different backgrounds and upbringings and yet we can still connect over a shared passion.

[@darthkaton]

Wotc did this for ESG points but to also distract people from the pinkertons fiasco.

[@D-Skotes]

This was a known thing way before the Pinkerton thing.

[@jamesneese7663]

Well it's working isn't it since all rhe critics and minority activists have completely forgiven them and are hailing them as heroes of diversity and inclusion. Goes to show how fickle the activists really are. Corporations bad unless they pander. Then Corporations good.

[@elnurgling]

As someone who struggled reading The Hobbit in Dutch as a kid and then tried The Lord of the Rings and couldn't even make it halfway through the first chapter I can wholeheartedly agree with the Professor when it comes to dissing the Dutch translation. Dutch is not a very eloquent language at the best of times, and when it comes to fantasy creature terminology basically everything is translated as either gnome, witch or bogeyman. Bought the english versions a few years later, gobbled them both up and re-read them half a dozen times (even though none of the characters even remotely resembled me, except perhaps Tom, Bert and William).

[@eugene8498]

12:07 Actually Legolas is only known for his golden hair because of Peter Jackson's portrayal. His dad King Thranduil is said to be blonde, but there's no direct description of Legolas' hair color in the books, except where it's described that his head was dark in the NIGHT (so might not be dark in the day). It's likely he inherited Thranduil's golden hair, but it's also possible that he had dark or silver hair like other Sindar or Silvan Elves.

[@maurelneimar]

Man, this is just depressing, i am not even angry anymore, just saddened by how such a beautiful work from Tolkien is being defiled.

[@ChrisSuperDude]

My fiancee loves LOTR so much that I gave her Gladriel's ring for an engagement ring. I knew I had to marry her as soon as she said "Rings of Power is bullshit, I'm not watching it."

[@tdsdave]

@@ChrisSuperDude A keeper , precious you might say :)

[@Yayofangamer16]

Blackwashing characters for MUH PROGRESSIVE VALOOS is colonialism.

[@Yayofangamer16]

Blackwashing characters for MUH PROGRESSIVE VALOOS is colonialism.

[@frankb3347]

Yeah my anger turned into apathy long ago. Just spend your money on things that you think are worthwhile. If companies want to keep destroying all the big franchises that's fine. I just won't be spending any money on it. The original works still exist and that's what matters.

[@guyjperson]

You're a hell of an orator for this stuff. Thank you. Well said.

[@ThePickledAuthor]

The way you roll off LoTR lore with such little effort always makes me smile. And this just saddens me as an author. It would suck and be somewhat insulting if someone took my work after I died and said "Hmmmmmm, let's modernize this and change things!" It's sad, it really is.

[@Liquidsback]

In the late 90's they did Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes. Set in modern California, but kept the dialogue in, I think that would be somewhat okay. Or you can have Ancient works retold into modern or post modern settings with their influence, Ala, O Brother Where art thou is the Odyssey and 1978's The Warriors is Xenophon's Persian Expedition. But alas that is too much effort for movies now a days.

[@Don-ds3dy]

Why is it that supposed racists like myself can enjoy foreign movies with 0 white characters, but these people cant even cope with the fact that ancient and medieval europe was like 99% caucasian.

[@derekgarvin6449]

You were in top form for this video. Well done. Been a while since I heard you drop bars like that

[@BradLad56]

5:27 Right there. They totally destroy their reasoning for this crap with that one sentence. If fans from all over the world have been enjoying Tolkien's work for decades, why do the characters need to reflect them?

[@saintbinkley4988]

“… you’ll learn to think better of others, and yourself.” What a powerful ending sentence! Poetic! My relationship to JSG’s work is complicated, but damn! This is the sort of thing that keeps me coming back!

[@zealot644]

What is complicated about it?

[@gregorygreenwood-nimmo4954]

It is even better that the flavour text on Eowyn's card begins; 'Am I not of the House of Eorl?' Which, given the fact that she is of a different ethnicity than her purported full brother Eomer in these card's artwork, suddenly becomes a legitimate question instead of the rhetorical one it is intended to be.

[@dusk6159]

''Is this Tolkien's work and characters, o Witch King?''

[@DonnyZaZa]

didnt even think of this lolol

[@OlympusPublicAffairs]

They damn sure kept Saruman white as bread though.

[@nerdanalog1707]

It's become a dangerous time when art, under any form, is used to intentionally divide people instead of uniting them.

[@Mikael22-18]

I saw an artist get called racist for drawing cartoon Ariel recently. Amusing that they advocate for changing a characters race and think it's ok, but drawing the original character is racist? these people are mentally ill.

[@jamesneese7663]

It's not mental illness it's about ownership. They feel they own Ariel so now no one else is allowed to play with her. And can now throw the accusation of racism around with abandon.

[@JP-vj7fp]

They are anti-white.

[@kennethsatria6607]

​@@jamesneese7663 I think its still mentally ill

[@-Siculus-Hort-]

i saw that also. someone said it was "black erasure".

[@-Siculus-Hort-]

@@jamesneese7663 KOMMUNISM!!!

[@ArchArrow1]

I love it when you talk about this topic because you know the lore so well and defend it even better. Thank you. Much love and respect.

[@TheRavenShadowsWolf]

You know, every time you've read one of Tolkien's letters, I've respected him and you that much more. I could not have said it better, and would never try.

[@jamespaul6315]

Im not a fan of lotr, but its impossible not to respect him and the enormity of his influence

[@gregrobinette8620]

​@@jamespaul6315 yes, I'm not a fan either but I admire his devotion to English culture. 👍🏽

[@charlesjmouse]

"...and keep your forked tongue behind your teeth, snake." Very well said. Representation - is what narrow-minded and bigoted narcissists demand. Relatability - is for anyone who understands empathy and character. ...always assuming that such people aren't simply playing such racist games in an attempt to gain attention and sell more 'product'.

[@anteeru]

6:19 Just a little addition: Late in his life, Tolkien gladly worked closely with his German (and Danish) translator to translate the English and some of the Old English names into their German and even some Old High German equivalents. 'Baggins' became 'Beutlin', 'Hobitton' became 'Hobbingen' etc. Even the old english 'Isengard' was slightly changed to 'Isengart' to reflect the different spelling of the same Proto-Germanic root *gardan (as in German 'Garten', eng. 'yard') in Old English and Old High German. Most of the Old English names were left unchanged, though, cause Old German and Old English are very similar and Old English has roughly the same effect on a German speaker that it has on an English speaker: sounding vaguely familiar and vaguely strange at the same time.

[@SamuraiMotoko]

I saw art of a white wizard with a glowing white hand with really dark skin, and thought "so this is Saruman", I was wrong, it was gandalf, even if before gandalf art didnt show him with dark skin, and new art is comming out like that. so maybe they decided to change him in the middle of production? Obviously Saruman looks almost exactly as christpher lees version. and I bet because they dont race swap evil characters, how convenient isnt it?

[@Godpk11]

Yep. Gotta stay white because evil. Lol.

[@TheSuperappelflap]

of course they cant race swap bad characters, that would mean a melanated person would be the bad guy and thats a no-no. same reason they dont gender swap the bad guys. bad guys have to be white men.

[@scoticvsgossage9378]

The Easterlings are portrayed as Celtic warriors in blue paint

[@alexfriedman918]

All hail Queen Blariel and King Blaragorn! Sadly, Awkwafina sang at their wedding - there were no survivors!

[@garreonlefay6703]

Sir, I think you just won the internet today 😂

[@isaiahsmith7123]

You could say it was a Red Wedding, but Ginger erasure is real 😂

[@TheSuperappelflap]

lmao

[@MrVenona]

Awkwafina's song has been deployed in Ukraine against Russian forces.

[@opinionatedlookinboy5555]

Little Chinese dude named Akwafina. That's funny. Imagining him singing is more cringe than my spine can handle. 'Might shiver myself into being a paraplegic. lmao

[@Geek0ftheWeek]

Be careful JSG, WoTC and Hasbro might send the Pinkertons to go knock on your door and have a little "chat".

[@draykohunter6805]

😂 I can't see the word Pinkertons and not hear in Arthur Morgan's voice, and to have it in on modern-day context sounds unbelievable to me.

[@CevicheGato]

More like Militech. For a word at your house

[@petriew2018]

you say that as if either of those companies could afford the plane tickets at this point

[@thisisnotachannel]

Fuck the Pinkerton's.

[@Geek0ftheWeek]

@@petriew2018 are you unaware that the Pinkertons are on WoTC/Hasbro's payroll? Welp! Have fun going down that google rabbit hole 😆

[@Divinegon1706]

As someone who has really enjoyed playing mtg the last few years, I've been super depressed by this product and company direction. This was the final straw. I'm so glad you made this video! Thank you for defending Tolkien's life work.

[@EFJoKeR]

I absolutely love your videos. You put into words, what many MANY of us are thinking, and feeling. Thank you for standing up for the right thing, and speaking the truth !!!

[@benmiles00]

Ra'men brother. I was stunned to see people even reaching for the definition of 'pale.' As you said, if people are so shallow and narcissistic that they have to see themselves in Tolkien's work then I, for one, don't want them anywhere near it.

[@-Siculus-Hort-]

wait..so now people are redefining the defantion of 'PALE'?!?! oh shit.

[@PersephoneDaSilva]

​@@-Siculus-Hort-Yes. To them, "pale" doesn't mean white. I even once had an argument with some brat over whether Hermione Granger was black or not. When I pointed out she was classified as "pale," the person told me that she wasn't necessarily white because she's pale. I went on to find proof that Hermione was white but she still wouldn't shut up. Also, another brat called Hermione black and asian by stereotyping her: frizzy/puffy hair means she's black. Being the most intelligent student in her grade means she's asian. Yet I was the "racist" for pointing out the stereotyping and for saying Hermione was white. This is also why the other brat jumped in to run her mouth about not-white Hermione. Oh and The Cursed Child, which got approved by J.K. Rowling blackwashed Hermione. Clearly, either Rowling is okay with that, or she didn't actually read through the story.

[@artstation707]

@Lala Emm Don't forget the manifest pigmentation.

[@robosing225]

narcissists. all of em.

[@artstation707]

@@robosing225 Correctionists.

[@piratebear3126]

WotC has a history of using identity politics and virtue signaling to distract from controversy. When Wizards had some issues with creeps in high positions in the company, they banned a handful of older cards because of muh racism and as such hardly anyone has heard of the original controversy. Straight out of Activision-Blizzard’s playbook, and look how horrific AB’s workplace was. The art is actually pretty sick, just make up a character from the southern lands rather than naming him Aaragorn.

[@dandare9055]

I doubt they are aware there were any Southern lands... tbh even Rings of Powaah writers proven they had no idea on geography and much less history of Arda. For goodness sake, I was so confused when I realised of Haradrim in their show were milky white and kinda European (same for Orcs for some reason) but Numenor was mixed... but why use Haradrim if they get whitewashed? It all makes no sense unless we assume immense incompetence combined with varying degrees of hate (though mostly incompetence)

[@jadonking5404]

Almost makes me wish they used some of the Shadow of Mordor/War characters. I think Baranor would've looked sick as hell.

[@elliottgaal9774]

Ah yes. The Cynical Seven. The modern iteration of Power Nine but done in order to protect players from those traumatic pictures. And in all in honor of St Floyd.

[@sipalingindonesia]

this is actually why they're declining.... it's not that they don't have any talents to realize their vision (oh no,definitely not) but they inject foul intention into their works, it's impossible to consume their products and tell it was done "just for entertainment sake". suddenly the only ones that are able to buy their products are ones that have same ideology as theirs.....

[@dashippo5896]

"I am no linguist" the man who literally made multiple languages with grammar for his FREAKING BOOK. GOOD LORD this man was way to humble, I would do ANYTHING to hear him speak on this today.

[@tkps]

I curse the day he had a tax bill in the late 60's that pushed him to sell the rights to those books when in the early 70's sales took off with such a bang they've never stopped selling since. If only.......

[@Bubben246]

False. He wrote the books to show off his con-lang.

[@DubThaDetailer]

Bro, this video is incredible. You've gained a subscriber for sure. Very well done. So glad this popped up on my feed.

[@mateuscristianschannelen961]

Oh, but by the way, Saruman, the second main villian, just behind Sauron in terms of threat, he's more book accurate than the movie version. Why is that, I wonder?

[@dyotoorion1835]

This is one of the clearest and best constructed arguments from Just Some Guy. Spot on. :-)

[@ArkhaosGR]

“Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made.”

[@Launchpad05]

'Mad TV' predicted this nonsense we're seeing right now.

[@kennethsatria6607]

I thought this was too extreme of a take but then I saw the tv show like actually watched it. Nothing wrong with a black elf, except that it doesnt work with this already existing story unless they actually have seperate populations. These guys are ONE species. Middle Earth is also only one continent. The other ones exist and thats where other races of human occupy.

[@MagcargoMan]

Where's you get that fake quote from? I don't Tolkien would appreciate people like you spreading misquotes of his work.

[@rivereuphrates8103]

​@@MagcargoManthat's a legit principle in the mythos Tolkien created. It's clear he derived it from the Catholic understanding of evil. And he was right.

[@MagcargoMan]

@@rivereuphrates8103 Nothing you said disproves what I said. That quote is not the actual quote.

[@inspector2363]

Does the Ring have to be a "ring" why not a bracelet or necklace? Do Dwarves & Hobbits HAVE to be short?

[@RtheDoost]

I enjoyed how this video is also a take on the breakdown of communication in the social space. Well spoken my dude!

[@ComradeCommissarYuri]

This is a Sauron executive he doesn’t know what Aragon looks like

[@chadschmaltz9790]

After reading that letter, I'm convinced that Tolkien would be livid if he saw what they are doing to his works.

[@mjbull5156]

I think he would have some choice words for his current heirs.

[@garreonlefay6703]

​@@mjbull5156 Well, he would disown his grandson just for starters

[@elliottgaal9774]

Indeed. Does make you think they waited for his son to die before moving to desecrate the legacy

[@sailiealquadacil1284]

He's probably spinning in his grave right now.

[@artstation707]

Why would he be? He based some of it on Apocryphal books which weren't describing the current inhabitants of the Shire. Try to understand. Fiction tends to be an inversion of truth. From time to time reversions are offered. Thus, those ignorant of certain things, become enraged, not knowing they're the victims of a great, great delusion. Tolkien would be disappointed, not because of any particular version of his work, but because there exists an information superhighway to betray his sources of inspiration.

[@tommymurphy6753]

Minor gripe, Legolas' hair was never specified in the books. His father who was a Sindar Noble of Doriath is described as having Golden hair, yet nothing is mentioned of Legolas' mother who may have been Silvan (generally darker hair of the Nandorin Elves), but i do envisage him also having blonde hair.

[@pascalsimioli6777]

Although blonde is a recessive character so maybe he has more chances to be black haired? Or a combination of the two?

[@tommymurphy6753]

@@pascalsimioli6777 probably, but like I said, we are not sure his mother's parentage so there is every possibility he is blonde like Thranduil. But that's just a thought, nothing was implicitly stated in LOTR

[@permeus2nd]

The saddest part to me is if they made these as new separate characters and made up a new non LOTR backstory most people would be saying how cool they look. I’ve always loved the artwork on MTG cards the artist do a fantastic job, the art for these cards is really nice they just don’t look anything like the characters they are meant to be, because of the vast amount of Detail that Tolkien put into HIS world you could be forgiven for thinking he just copied the history books of a real world he found a way to enter heck his history books are probably more detailed that some of our real world history.

[@CardinalBiggles01]

Exactly mate. I know it might seem a bit petty to some, but our island's mythology and folklore was almost wiped out by the Norman invasion and occupation in 1066. Tolkien understood this being an expert in the field. As you said, he wanted to gift us with his own creation. It was never meant to be exclusive to others for them to love and appreciate. Just read stuff like Joseph Campbell to understand why stories from all over the world appeal to human beings no matter where you're from.

[@viniciusdelimaalvim2670]

I honestly laughed my ass off seeing some of these cards - more than I wish to admit! XD

[@Sonicsaber]

They just can't understand, nor care to understand, that quite a few people don't like sloppy second 'reimaginings' of a beloved character. They just want their scalp, and damn the consequences. (At least, up until the consequences become too damning for them, which I HOPE will happen sooner rather than later.)

[@Sycokay]

But but but if Tolkien had known that race someday was as important as it was at a time where he lived...ah damn. It was.

[@artstation707]

All of his efforts are about race, and inversions of roles. It was all meant to be hand signs and codes. His mistake was to think it would remain secret forever.

[@soothsayer1964]

@@artstation707 we can only live in the time we live in.

[@dandare9055]

Merry... after joining the armies of Rohan he somehow turned black... excuse me as I laugh myself to death. So medieval Cavarly forces could turn one black. I had no idea. Thankfully MTG is here to educate me.

[@chucklebouf5379]

I think Merry is just inconsistent lighting across cards, though he is significantly... swarthy compared to Pipin. Gandalf is a real head scratcher, he's black on some cards, white on others, vaguely Asian sometimes. I could almost understand if they just had different versions of everybody but they are dead set on Aragorn/Eowyn being black every single time and denying you an accurate version of them. I would bet money WotC will ban someone from a tournament for bringing in a modified card that replaced Aragorn with a picture of Viggo from the movie.

[@dandare9055]

@@chucklebouf5379 Why his hair became curly though?

[@DarkTider]

Actually, i like that solution! They should just have made multiple versions of each character, so we had both book accurate art and alternate art versions for both Asians, Africans, and latinos.

[@Spamkromite]

Well, white elves turned to black orcs after entering Mordor so, perhaps the "black-washing" magic exists in Middle Earth 🤣

[@nk_3332]

I think it happened when he killed the Witch-King, because it happened to Eowyn too.

[@animalunae]

I've seen so many videos about this topic but your explanation and background, including JRRT's comments to the translator, describes the issues perfectly. I honestly facepalmed when seeing the Eowyn card... wth... Thank you for your insight!

[@sandeepdavid846]

Extremely articulate as always, you could give the prof himself a run for his money!!

[@terrab1ter4]

On the note of Dutch translation: it's pretty standard for Dutch translations to 'dutchify' names; for example, this is done to most of the nomenclature and names in the Harry Potter series (Hermione --> Hermelien, Slytherin --> Zwadderich, Quidditch --> Zwerkbal). It's less about making these things more 'Dutch' and more about making them intelligible to a Dutch-speaking audience - especially when the story is aimed at children, who do not all understand English. That said, it always bothered me to no end that names were changed and now as an adult I only consider the original (English) for these names; and I definitely understand why Tolkien got so upset when Dutch translators applied a standard procedure to a work without realizing the amount of effort and care its author had put in crafting the linguistic reality of that world. Great video, and thank you for making us aware of that excellent letter. It really shows how Tolkien felt about his work and gives us a clear insight in how he would respond to the travesty that is modern adaptions.

[@TheSuperappelflap]

its been a while since ive read the dutch version of lotr but iirc they didnt change the names much, baggins -> balings, merry and pippin -> merijn pepijn, thats about it. the names of places and most other characters werent changed at all. it also isnt necessary to change the other names because they are based on old english and norse names which are pretty close to germanic and dutch. old english and dutch are so similar i can understand about half the words without too much effort.

[@BWMagus]

I've never understood the logic of changing names to make sense in another language; they are NAMES. "Lothlorien" is as foreign to me as it is to a Frenchmen. Getting sucked in by, in part, the names, is part of the world-building and the experience. I only understand it when translating to extremely different languages; like, I'm sure some things would be very different in Japanese, because Japanese is written and spoken SO differently that they don't even have characters for them, or possibly certain mouthsounds are simply impossible for them without alot of practice.

[@hanoord9412]

i think tolkien underestimated how clunky and mundane dutch pronunciation can sound lmao. imagine pronouncing baggings in dutch. or 'de heer van de ringen', sounds stupid lol

[@michaelgabster1192]

Thank you "Just Some Guy", you are the voice of reason. Make great black and white characters, we don't need sloppy seconds.

[@Th0rn5555]

Indeed, just make a cool fantasy world with "diverse" characters and stuff, but nooo this people can't build anything new they can only corrupt what already exists

[@crocidile90]

He really missed out on the title, could have been the tokening of Tolkien. But yeah, this "diversifying" always seems to go one way.

[@hanoord9412]

@@Th0rn5555 they already made loads. Mtg always had a very diverse cast of characters. this os just keeping with their aesthetics

[@sebastianpinoalipaz5935]

-Pale doesn't mean white -Well... dark doesn't mean black -H̷͙̤͎̾̈́͘o̴̪̰͂̃̋̀ẘ̴̘̱̮̩̄͌͠ ̶̤͍̩̳̂̔̚ḏ̶̢̎͛a̴̩̝͔̓̇͠ȑ̷̼̼́̒ẻ̸̱͛̓́ ̷̲̽̓̕y̷͈̠͒̎ỏ̶̳̞̙̻ų̶̭͈̊̂̚͠!

[@tomkerruish2982]

He comes!

[@npcimknot958]

people seem to forget there is a big burning star called a sun...

[@tomkerruish2982]

@@npcimknot958 "The sun is mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace..."

[@liandel]

Legolas‘s hair are never described. People assume that he has blonde hair cause of his father, but Tolkien says blonde haired elves are extremely rare

[@sxatcychan1988]

In other words, Orlando Bloom didn't have to dye / cover his luscious brunette locks. 😆

[@umegadarkstar2657]

So much passive-aggressiveness in that Kotaku post...

[@dandare9055]

I hate what they did to my sexy Boi. Andúril was such a sexy, sexy sword: why ruin that?

[@RoseBaggins]

I know, right?

[@Grubnar]

Also, that ... thing! looks like it was stolen from Conan: Exiles (VG). It does not look like it is from LotR, nor does it look like an original design. It looks like a lazy copyright infringement!

[@RoseBaggins]

@@Grubnar someone noticed the runes are all wrong.

[@Grubnar]

@@RoseBaggins "The longer you look at it, the worse it gets!"

[@dandare9055]

@@kingj9664 You... should probably re-read my post.

[@SkyAllStars]

I just love your content. Your voice is so soothing, and your takes are so well-articulated and backed up with documentation and logic. I also loved how you went further than "black Aragorn" to share the absolute insanity of this card set. It's so absolutely insane, I honestly can't believe these cards are not a parody. Thanks for shedding light on this nonsense and standing up for Tolkien. I'll be sure to share your video with anyone who tries to argue with me that these lazy race-swaps are okay.

[@Xel963]

They never cared about the lore. They only care about having the IP.

[@hanoord9412]

they added quickbeam, scouring of the shire, saruman of the many colors, even bill ferney. But a few raceswapped cards ruin it? its way more faithful to the books then the movies, still dont see many people complaining bout those

[@DenkaSaeba3]

I think this is one of your best videos. Expecially in the last minutes.

[@tonypapas9854]

"Return of the Kang" LMFAO - well played!

[@RangerRobin0404]

"We want a modern take on Tolkien's work" ...Oh so even WoC wants to forget Rings of Power happened, right?

[@ElComanchero]

Love the video. Just a minor addition: Tolkien drew inspiration from Scandinavia not only to dwarves. He was, for example, incredibly enthused by Finnish language and some Quenian words are basically identical to their Finnish counterparts. Also the epic of Kalevala and its Finnish folk stories influenced Tolkien's work; story of Turin is basically story of Kullervo, and Gandalf was influenced by Väinämöinen, etc. But no trying to be wise here, you know a great deal more of Tolkien than myself :) Again thanks for the video! Edit: I was corrected that Finland isn't officially, but merely culturally, a Scandinavian country, which is true.

[@Chuckx97]

That's true but a small correction here: Finland is not a Scandi country but a Nordic country.

[@ElComanchero]

@Chuckx97 Very true 👍🏻 As a Finn, it may seem less confusing for others if we speak ourself as a part of Scandinavia, but you're right, we aren't officially a Scandi country. Thanks for correcting.

[@BWMagus]

@@ElComanchero I did not know there was an officiating body of Scandanavian-ness. Like, is Sweden going to be kicked out for having too many foreign immigrants?

[@cwba1rd372]

I would say Tolkien was heavily inspired by Norse Mythology. He also took a ton of other Lores from all over and mixed them into the story, but Norse was a massive part of his story

[@yesplatinum7956]

Fun fact scandinavia comes from a German word meaning the dangerous island

[@taiwanjohn]

Aha... now I get it. This was the "splinter in my mind" the last few days... wondering subconsciously when JSG was going to address the *_New Improved Aragorn_* controversy! Brother, you did not disappoint!! And as always, you bring the receipts with direct quotes from JRRT himself, and present it all with entertaining narrative. Well done, sir! Many thanks! ;-)

[@rabnadskubla8594]

Gandalf turns from Asian to black in death after fighting the Balrog. I guess the "Flame of Udûn" really did a number on his skin.

[@maguffintop2596]

Your title had me in tears laughing!!! Thank you I desperately needed that laugh!! You’re good kid, very good.

[@boba6890]

Incitement was a prime motivation in WoTC making Aragorn Black; riling up Tolkien fans is great publicity. Tolkien's books recreate ancient English mythology because French conquerors obliterated it. There are Black and brown people in Tolkien's world, but he was recreating the mythology of England, not Asia or Africa. Further; isn't this racist? This guy looks nothing like Aragorn and is a joke: He's a Black version of Prince Adam using the Power Sword to transform into He-Man (where's Battle Cat?) There have been Black and Brown fantasy heroes since before most of us were born. In "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula LeGuin most of the major characters, including the protagonist Ged, are brown or Black, and that was written over 55 years ago. Finally, why didn't they just create the easiest race-swap of a Tolkien character imaginable: "Gandalf The Black"?

[@fabs3159]

I think it has become terribly obvious by now that fan baiting has become the primary marketing strategy of most mass media.

[@hanoord9412]

this vid is part of the bait tho

[@buythetickettaketheride1308]

Thank you so much for making these well thought out and very articulate videos, I always look forward to them and appreciate your hard work and creativity!

[@MarvinXOnline]

Thank you for helping me keep intact what little left of my sanity remains. ♥

[@Deweywinkle]

"Asian Butterbur" Okay, now I care.

[@chirimoyan]

those letters from Tolkien are very interesting. he expressed himself beautifully, it's a given but it always amazes me

[@grantmathieson650]

Those who need characters to represent them have such a limited imagination.

[@brick245-x9]

? Lol what, it’s natural for people especially for people of colour to want characters that look like them in genres that happen to be their favourite. I don’t agree with race swapping pre existing characters, but your comment is pretty ludicrous.

[@cin2110]

It's narcissism if you have a little bit of emphaty you don't need representation you can connect with people that doesn't look like you

[@ChrisSuperDude]

@@brick245-x9 And you missed his comment completely. The point is that if you're a colored person and you can't relate to Aragorn or Legolas because he's White then you don't want to be them you don't see yourself as them, you want them to be you.

[@grantmathieson650]

@@brick245-x9 No that's nonsense. Liking and relating to characters should be about WHO they are, not WHAT they are.

[@brick245-x9]

@@grantmathieson650 again wanting good characters that look like you represented in media that you enjoy is not a sign of limited imagination . That’s a pretty goofy statement to make, representation might be nonsense to you but it matters to a lot of people. It’s understandable you consider it to be “non-sense”considering the defacto protagonists in majority of fantasy novels happen to be white.

[@Tronnyverse]

Why do I have this weird feeling that the card art was randomly AI generated? How can the same character end up getting race swapped between 2 cards? Who was in charge of this?

[@black-aliss]

No way. A company as big as WOTC can't be that shameless, can it?

[@Tronnyverse]

@@black-aliss One can only hope.

[@hanoord9412]

cuz all card arts in mtg are made by different artists. always has been and one of the main draws (for me) to the game

[@migueldorneles4]

This was the best take I've seen so far o this subject. Great video

[@Calebgoblin]

Sadly I haven't shown up up a lot of recent videos (youtube stopped recommending) but I'm back and your new intro is cool

[@pufffincrazy5275]

Tolkien: Creates a universe based on English mythology, while also including black people (i.e. the Southrons) SJWS: I’m gonna pretend I didn’t see that.

[@ChrisSuperDude]

The fact that none of them have been bringing that up or trying the same "Comics have always been diverse" argument they try with comics shows they probably watched the LOTR movies one time and that's the extent of their knowledge.

[@mr.sinjin-smyth]

Tolkien's descendants: I’m gonna pretend I didn’t see that either

[@hanoord9412]

I wouldnt call the southrons 'characters' tho. They're just a faceless horde. Also minas thirith was very mich inspired by architecture in greece, not england. dont see anyone complaining bout that.

[@pufffincrazy5275]

@@hanoord9412 You are correct, there are no black characters. The point is that black people exist in LoTR, and that if people want stories in Middle Earth with black characters, that is where they should go to create them.

[@TJH1]

Very well and coherently argued, superb. The Beatrix Potter inclusion was interesting, I never knew JRT brought her up in discussion, fascinating.

[@pageachatter229]

"If you're going to ignore what J.R.R Tolkien wrote, why even adapt his stories?" Because it's far easier to take an existing character and shit on him until he's dark enough, than it is to create an entirely new character and make him/her actually interesting and relatable.

[@dariengoheen747]

Couldn't have said it better.

[@MagcargoMan]

Just curious, how do feel about this sentiment only being applied to live-action Disney remakes changes to the originals but not the changes the originals made to the original stories they adaptations of?

[@pageachatter229]

@@MagcargoMan See, the difference there is that the changes made to bring the original movies to the screen actually served a better purpose; to bring a more child friendly version of those stories to the screen. The only purposes that the live action remakes serve are pointless identity politics, helping Disney retain copyright of the characters, and further lining Disney's over bloated pockets.

[@MagcargoMan]

@@pageachatter229 Ah okay, I get it. Faithful adaptations only matter to you when it fits your political arguments, got it.

[@pageachatter229]

@@MagcargoMan Lol. So, what purpose do _you_ think these reboots serve? And if you're answer is anything to do with 'diversity and representation', then why not make entirely new characters?

[@anonimoalfin]

Superbly done, as ever, Just Some Guy. Thank you so much for caring and protecting Tolkiens true legacy and spirit, but also other beautiful works of art and important monuments of culture… thanks for educating younger generations, thanks for opening eyes and explaining to the general public how identitarian politics, geopolitical agenda, social engineering etc permeates and corrodes and slowly destroy from the inside such works, and the values they champion, to ultimately destroy culture, and society, and debase even more the human condition. Your analysis and critiques are always superb, and the way you face the dark armies and monsters and prosecution resulting from doing the good work, always leave me with admiration and a sense of hope.

[@MrCovi2955]

The argument given for every modern race swap is "so people can enjoy it." When asked "why this IP?" the answer is always "Because everyone enjoys it," contradicting their own stated need. No, the reason they have to race swap and "reimagine" all of these classics is because their own ideas don't sell, so they tack their ideas and ideology onto IPs that do sell in an attempt to make them popular, even though all it does is the opposite by ruining the IP.

[@kaelinvictus6039]

Gondor has no kang. Gondor needs no kang.

[@stevenriley2525]

Excellent analysis. Great use of Tolkien letters. ❤

[@tj1020]

You didn't want to make things perfect; you just didn't like the way things are. ~ Rocket Raccoon

[@jimmydasani8922]

Thank you so much for this video JSG. Tolkien is spinning so much in his grave you could use his casket as a generator