Rings of Power DOUBLES DOWN Changing Tolkiens LOTR

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon prime video was meant to adapt J R R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. But it changed the lore in an attempt to update it for a modern audience. While the marketing for Rings of Power Season 1 split opinion, the actors are still giving new interviews that continue the same Rings of Power talking points that led to the season 1 viewing figures. Will Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 be worth watching?
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[@disparutoo]

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is back with new cast interviews, who are repeating the same terrible marketing that they tried for season 1. It looks like Amazon has learnt NOTHING from the mistakes they made in season 1 and instead, are going around hoping that if they repeat it often enough, it'll actually become true. Combine that with now other Lord of The Rings properties taking Rings of Powers leads and deciding to break canon rules on their own. Only to silence anyone who is asking for them to maintain the integrity of the world in Lord of the rings online. Did Rings of Power embolden other people to follow their lead, or is it just a coincidence? Let me know your thoughts down below, and as always, thanks for watching :)

[@johnstrawb3521]

6:11 - dear god. It's been a while since I first heard that. The sheer stupidity of the writing throughout is jaw dropping.

[@RyoMassaki]

Propagandists/activists can't admit failure. It's impossible for them, because when they do, all the castles made of sand come tumbling down (on them). Which is unbearable because their whole life is a lie. The 5 stages of grief also do not apply to those people, they only go through 2 stages - absolute denial and total madness. They feel/know that they would not survive the truth so they cling to the lie until it crushes them.

[@zenocrate4040]

Any idiot self-important enough to think Tolkien would approve of any of this should take the time to read through the letters that record his outrage and despair at the 'treatments', 'adaptations' and 'improvements' of his stories: A letter from 1958 contain [Tolkien's comments on the film 'treatment' of The Lord of the Rings: "...If Z and/or others do so, they may be irritated or aggrieved by the tone of many of my criticisms. If so, I am sorry (though not surprised). But I would ask them to make an effort of imagination sufficient to understand the irritation (and on occasion the resentment) of an author, who finds, increasingly as he proceeds, his work treated as it would seem carelessly in general, in places recklessly, and with no evident signs of any appreciation of what it is all about. .... The canons of narrative an in any medium cannot be wholly different ; and the failure of poor films is often precisely in exaggeration, and in the intrusion of unwarranted matter owing to not perceiving where the core of the original lies. ...He has cut the parts of the story upon which its characteristic and peculiar tone principally depends, showing a preference for fights; and he has made no serious attempt to represent the heart of the tale adequately: the journey of the Ringbearers. The last and most important pan of this has, and it is not too strong a word, simply been murdered. [Some extracts from Tolkien's lengthy commentary on the Story Line:] ... 9. Leaving the inn at night and running off into the dark is an impossible solution of the difficulties of presentation here (which I can see). It is the last thing that Aragorn would have done. It is based on a misconception of the Black Riders throughout, which I beg Z to reconsider. Their peril is almost entirely due to the unreasoning fear which they inspire (like ghosts). They have no great physical power against the fearless; but what they have, and the fear that they inspire, is enormously increased in darkness. ... ... 20. The Balrog never speaks or makes any vocal sound at all. Above all he does not laugh or sneer. .... Z may think that he knows more about Balrogs than I do, but he cannot expect me to agree with him. 21 ff. 'A splendid sight. It is the home of Galadriel. . . an Elvenqueen.' (She is not in fact one.) 'Delicate spires and tiny minarets of Elven-color are cleverly woven into a beautiful[ly] designed castle.' I think this deplorable in itself, and in places impertinent. Will Z please pay my text some respect, at least in descriptions that are obviously central to the general tone and style of the book! I will in no circumstances accept this treatment of Lórien, even if Z personally prefers 'tiny' fairies and the gimcrack of conventional modern fairy-tales. The disappearance of the temptation of Galadriel is significant. Practically everything having moral import has vanished from the synopsis. ... I do earnestly hope that in the assignment of actual speeches to the characters they will be represented as I have presented them: in style and sentiment. I should resent perversion of the characters (and do resent it, so far as it appears in this sketch) even more than the spoiling of the plot and scenery. ... We pass now to a dwelling of Men in an 'heroic age'. Z does not seem to appreciate this. I hope the artists do. But he and they have really only to follow what is said, and not alter it to suit their fancy (out of place). ... The spiral staircase 'weaving' round the Tower [Orthanc] comes from Z's fancy not my tale. I prefer the latter. ... Part III.... is totally unacceptable to me, as a whole and in detail. ... all I can say is : The Lord of the Rings cannot be garbled like that."

[@nicbrone1846]

@@johnstrawb3521 do you know why people get likes? Because a finger can glide through the wind, but a cellphone can only sink downward into your pockets.

[@Diomedes_XXII]

Thanks, boss. I really appreciate these viddys. It's infuriating how they destroy the cannon to seem superior to normal people like me. Thanks again for standing up for what's right.

[@cappy2282]

It's almost like sullying the original is more important to them, than delivering a good story

[@dany1441]

I believe there is certainly an element of truth in your suggestion. The envy and jealousy at real, genius level creativity is sure to play a role in subverting something great into something mediocre.

[@johnstrawb3521]

@Cappy 22 Of course. Tolkien is an incredibly intelligent, successful white man who created his mythos at a time when there were all of 20,000 non-whites in Britain. You might have no idea how enraged they are, at white men who are good at something. The anti-white racism of race swapping disgusts me, tbh.

[@djohn1671]

switch out 'i have a TEMPEST in me' with ' i have a TAMPAX in me' and galadriel makes sense in her behaviour.

[@AmigaWolf]

It is, it has always been. “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” George Orwell

[@The_Primary_Axiom]

Of course it is. You see it now even in historical stuff Hollywood puts out, like this new Cleopatra docuseries. They’re trying to rewrite history through entertainment. Once it’s weird and woke, but dozens of times it’s an agenda. How many times have they turned a white historical to black now 5? Queen Charlotte, Guy Fawk, that one artist forgot his name, Anne Boylen, Jarl Jaakon, Cleopatra and few more. All actual white famous historical people turned black. Don’t even get me started on the fictional characters who’ve been swapped.

[@rodseel4545]

In reality, the Rings of Power was the SECOND domino. The Wheel of Time was the FIRST domino. Amazon destroyed Robert Jordan's canon, in preparation of destroying Tolkien's.

[@MikeTheD]

Amazon clearly has the wrong people in key places. They are just pretending at the art form, and it IS an art form. If anyone could mimic “Hollywood magic”, other countries and entities would’ve pulled it off. They tried countless times. Hollywood itself can’t even do it anymore, so imitations like Amazon are screwed.

[@Lonovavir]

I seriously hope that if Amazon wants to adapt Brandon Sandersons novels he says no in every language.

[@jdx478]

Im really sad about Wheel of Time. The books will just remain books. At least Narnia had 1 good movie and went mainstream. Wheel of Time on the other hand ..

[@Boethius4748]

The fact that was done to WoT was pathetic and I’m genuinely confused by it. The world in the books was already ethnically diverse and the books have a ton of strong female characters. Of course those strong females, just like the males, have their flaws so maybe I’m answering my own question

[@tylerskiss]

Dominoes were falling long before either of these. The moment Lucasfilm decided that the lead characters of their new trilogy had to be 3 non-white characters with a female lead ans then built the story from there was part of the dominoes falling….

[@JonathanSirico]

Amazon emailed me last week and took my Rings of Power review down, despite it being professionally critical and sighted specific examples. They are purging again before S2.

[@Alexs.2599]

They don't what hear the truth, so they're censoring people for expressing valid criticisms of this terrible series.

[@debanydoombringer1385]

They're threatening some with removing their ability to leave reviews.

[@shanwyn]

Remember the early 2000's? When Fans argued passionately about the movies and what and why they left out certain characters like Bombadil? The fights were heated and intense. Now, 20+ years later I remember those and think: aahh the good old times when we actually had something to argue about in a good movie and not this crap

[@paulkelly2701]

Were you at TORN or TORC? Both?

[@sigmacademy]

That's because way back then, BOTH sides of the argument cared PASSIONATELY about the lore, and knew it like they knew their own house/home. Now you have people looking to ACTIVELY change everything about the lore (to fit themselves BETTER into a world they have no love for or intention of respecting) and those who actually GIVES a damn.

[@suzannekirkwood6392]

I have to admit I'm glad they left Bombadil out. First time I read the book that part always bored me, when I re read it I skip past that section. I must say the one thing this TV series has achieved - it's made me more interested in reading Tolkiens works pre Lord of the Rings

[@-Zikade-]

Oh yeah. There were some changes in Jackson's trilogy I didn't like but which I _understood_ . Bombadil being left out I actually agree with but I had issues with Faramir's characterization for example. However, while not agreeing with it I still understood their narrative reasons for the change. With Rings of Power... pfft! Unlike Jackson, they seem to change stuff for the sake of changing stuff and are more concerned about some modern day "message" instead of actually telling a good story which respects the source material. I fully understand changes need to be made for different mediums but there's a good way and a bad way to adapt someone else's' work. Jackson wanted to tell Tolkien's story, RoP wants to twist it to fit their own agendas.

[@troybaxter]

​@@-Zikade- yeah, at least Peter Jackson understood the medium he was working with and that he couldn't be 100% faithful to the source material, and that he still needed to be respectful to Tolkien's work.

[@MajorSmurf]

Her grief and sadness was so intense... That she literally forgot how her own afterlife works and didn't give two shits about her supposed dead husband. Also minor detail where the f did Galadriel leave her daughter while rampaging across middle earth? OH THATS RIGHT! The writers forgot about the mother of Arwen and Wife to Elrond. By changing lore they have essentially made it so that she has abandoned her daughter somewhere for hundreds or thousands of years. WOW great mum! Great job writers.

[@shadf7902]

Shes strong and independant, literally its the only narrative thats mattered since feminism tainted america, ta hell with everything that matters in life, to pretend to be a strong independant boss babe

[@authorpgbadzey5775]

Yeah, great point. I kinda wondered when someone would mention Celebrian, but it's telling that the ROP creators aren't the ones to do it... probably because they have no clue.

[@sneeringimperialist6667]

I'm sure that in this version her daughter ran away from home at an early age... Who wouldn't...

[@MajorSmurf]

​@@sneeringimperialist6667 Ya know it wouldn't surprise me if they'll have a twist in theiir fanfiction where Elrond has been keeping her in a basement somewhere.

[@authorpgbadzey5775]

@@MajorSmurf Careful of people hiding in basements...

[@ihaveafettfetish9348]

If Peter Jackson isn’t around, I’m not bothering with it. Just watched the LOTR trilogy yesterday for the thousandth something time, and it still never gets old. A complete masterpiece, and I think it’s the greatest composed trilogy ever as well. I love John Williams too, but Howard Shore’s work in LOTR literally gives me goosebumps and hits me in the feels every single time. The Fellowship of the Ring has been my favorite film of all-time since 2001, and it will always be. Franchises these days like LOTR, Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, etc. have unfortunately been corrupted by Hollywood and will never be the same. I’m just thankful for the past though.😁

[@papalaz4444244]

There is no "fatigue" for these 20yo films. In fact, people are looking forward to a new extended cut of TRotK which is out to celebrate the 20th. There is no 66% drop there.

[@alphax4785]

I'll just watch Disparu's recap vid, all the plot points, lots of humor, no suffering through the actual show or giving Bezos and his execrable company any money or attention whatsoever... aside from Parrot Media's metrics where all clicks no matter how tenuous are the same as watching the show itself.

[@Steven9567]

@@papalaz4444244 when they say fatiuge they mean wyite people cause appearly they aren't allowed to exist

[@Arcexey]

@@papalaz4444244 return of the king is back in theaters now for 20th anniversary. 4 hours 20 minutes. all the theaters in the california bay area were sold out and kept opening new show times.

[@iz9744]

Even if Jackson is on, i will not watch it. Even if they make it the best show of all times, i will still pass. Even if Tolkien himself resurrected and took over Amazon, i would pass. What they did is a SACRILEGE and, much like particulary nasty fart in a crowded room, it cannot be taken back. Get woke, go broke.

[@raflkhanal4978]

Love this quote at the 16:49 mark: "you are trying to use someone else's IP as a crutch to support your own idea that you know wouldn't be able to survive on its own, because if it could you would have made it that way" Well stated sir and well done

[@chasjetty8729]

Tolkien fought at the Somme to give me a future unmolested by the fools of his day. I feel compelled to fight to give Tolkien his past unmolested by todays fools. Stand up for a thing’s integrity people. Rewriting the works of the past to erase differences resembles the world of Orwells 1984.

[@anonimoalfin]

never better said 🍻

[@IkarusKommt]

He had not fought at Somme. He was a yellowbelly so he drank some bleach and got off the lines with gastritis.

[@chasjetty8729]

@@IkarusKommt and still twice the fellow we are, excellent point.

[@chrisgibson5267]

​@Chas Jetty Quite right Chas. And Tolkien was struck down by Trench Fever brought on by the lice that infested the soldier's uniforms. But hey, Trolls gonna Troll.

[@christopherkelley1664]

He fought in the Somme because the British government false-flagged Europe into war because they could no longer compete with German manufacturing.

[@AncestorEmpireGaming]

The first few seconds describes Disney’s Star Wars as well. They will never change and will always double down.

[@Likexner]

I dont care if they change. Even if they did a 180 tomorrow, fell on their knees and begged for forgiveness, i would still not come back. They crossed too many lines, they dont deserve another chance.

[@npcperson2158]

Movies and TV have Always had government involvement in terms of propaganda.

[@kaczan3]

Double down. They only strategy chicks have.

[@Likexner]

​@@npcperson2158 True. However, it has never been this bad in my lifetime. I was born in 1995. Most of the messaging i grew up with was pretty basic, universal stuff like "family good, drugs bad, cops good, our troops good, [insert geopolitical enemy] bad". It was never about convincing your son that he is a girl or that he is a racist because he is white.

[@SirBlackReeds]

Bob Iger himself said something to the effect of "I'll groom a billion children before I let this company die!"

[@decentralizeddemocracy8335]

Back in the USSR we had the same thing. They called it social realism. Every piece of art had to be infused with class consciousness in the most blatant unsubtle way possible. Modern California art reminds me of the Soviet art so much I can't even decide which one is more terrible.

[@paulkelly2701]

Which makes this person wonder how Prokofiev and Shostakovich managed. I know, Shos did some of his work as a Stalinist. And some very much not.

[@decentralizeddemocracy8335]

@@paulkelly2701 they were internationally renowned. Soviets were very interested in their image on the world stage. It basically was like the diplomatic protection.

[@malice5121]

Where do you think these cultural vandals get all of their teachings from? They are marxist commies that have been indoctrinated into thinking that the Soviets were right all along; it was the world that was completely wrong and they need to fix the world.

[@Jim-pq9pm]

I was just thinking earlier today that the only time I've ever liked social commentary in a story is when it is done with extreme subtlety

[@napoleonfeanor]

There is quite a lot of good Soviet stuff. Not sure if they were translated in English. Every not totally irrational dictatorship knows there needs to be escapism.

[@theboredguy2107]

They dont care about the lore, they care about the message.

[@occasional-dabbler]

In fact, they don't care about the message either - they care only about their sad, shriveled ego, grasping at reassurance from their small social circle.

[@turtlerx]

​@@occasional-dabbler If you knew how deep the message goes then you would know its all about the message. They get paid to put the message out at any cost

[@theboredguy2107]

@@occasional-dabbler yeah but “the message” is their vehicle to grow their ego so it is still about the message. Unless for some unforeseen future event the message dies and they all leap on to a new thing all at once rather than activism.

[@joakim_g]

@@theboredguy2107 Exactly, they use the "the message" to make themselves look and feel better than others. In other words: they are virtue signalling.

[@Tenchi707]

Tolkien's body of work is a masterpiece and these idiots are ruining it and are so clearly disrespecting his work and the fans.

[@thedmdidit9842]

I don't think the writers or actors understand that IMMORTAL elves means they cannot die NATURALY. Reason I believe this is for some reason they made immortal into invincible. I am sure that anybody can just tank a pyroclastic flow to the face.

[@malice5121]

*I don't think the writers or actors understand that IMMORTAL elves means they cannot die NATURALY. Reason I believe this is for some reason they made immortal into invincible* This is so true. I think this point is a bigger issue with the general masses, in general, as well: confusing immortal and invincible.

[@debanydoombringer1385]

Well they killed her husband who's also an Elf and her brother. Maybe it's just female Elves that are invincible.

[@mikes5637]

​@@malice5121 I got that early on when 2 elves that were very obviously crushed by the ice troll at the start basically shook it off and carried on.

[@whenpigsfly8178]

I don't think they know what ''immoral'' means either, lol.

[@TaoScribble]

A video review I watched argued that Frodo and Sam stood next to lava with unrealistic results and no one complained, so people shouldn't complain about Galadriel getting hit in the eruption. He argued for rule of cool, because 'it looks REALLY cool.' My counter argument is that standing next to lava and not bursting into flame is a well-worn trope; getting HIT with the lava/an eruption IS NOT. The same reviewer also really enjoyed a lot of the ""deep"" sayings throughout the series, so.

[@mogadeet6857]

Yeah, I have a fixed idea of Galadriel. From the books by Tolkien.

[@silverscorpio24]

"I know we smeared monkey excrement on the Sistene Chapel, but it's better this way!"

[@Talviir]

Funny part is in LOTRO, you MUST have 'lore accurate naming' on their RP servers (per Turbine's policy). but bearded elven women? That's fine!

[@anns9970]

I played in the distant past. They did away with that lore accuratee name thing

[@peterpan408]

Bearded dwarf women.. OK! Bearded elves.. No!

[@Quandry1]

I played a long time ago. If I still played I know I would have been banned for immediately writing on their forums. "If you don't want us to discuss culture war topics. Why are you doing a playtest for an update that is entirely a culture war topic meant to appease a small group and their allies in their culture war fanaticism?" You know that they wouldn't have liked that.

[@Levi_Manifesto]

Thank you Disparu for covering LOTRO. I'm not really a veteran of the game as I've just started playing it last year, I did so because I was seeking refugee from all the media that try to push "The Message". I did not expect that a 16 year old game would also go this way.

[@Neutral_Tired]

These guys need to make up their minds about whether they're following Tolkein's message or his message was toxic and they're improving it

[@troybaxter]

I'd rather listen to the thoughts and ideas of a man that saw the horrors of WWI at the Battle of the Somme, than modern day activists that virtue signal every day.

[@XiaoFury]

The actors/actresses can't just say that the social messaging and calling your viewers patently evil didn't ruin Rings of Power.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

Even without social messaging, the lack of adherence to the source material, the massive plot holes, the discrepancies in timelines, the ridiculous coincidences, like swimming in an ocean, and happening to bump into the raft that has Halbrand, and then suddenly the flagship of Númenor shows up. The whole thing is a bad joke. The marketing didn't help, but even if the marketing had been fantastic, the show still would have stunk.

[@wrayday7149]

The one narrative to rule them all.

[@leddmask]

Lost a friend over that “patently evil” comment. They argued that she didn’t call “fans of Tolkein” patently evil but instead people who hate RoP

[@Eagle_Eye407]

That's ok. We all are.

[@adamscott7238]

@@dronesclubhighjinks all stories are just coincidences so not that strong of a point

[@MarvinHartmann452]

I'm more worried about how they "adapt" the real world than anything else.

[@Wyzai]

If "culture war trolling" is a bannable offense, people should start reporting the admins.

[@adamwest8256]

Knowing the present state of Hollywood, the only thing I'm interested in seeing in the Lord of the Rings reboot is Jack Black's portrayal of Tom Bombadil.

[@RoseBaggins]

Ditto

[@iz9744]

And Lizzo as Goldberry?

[@adamwest8256]

@@iz9744 no. Unfortunately she gets cast as Mount Doom.

[@whenpigsfly8178]

@@adamwest8256 Damn, I was hoping she'd be Shelob.

[@willbohland3698]

@@whenpigsfly8178 The butt cheeks of Sauron.

[@stephenlanuto5993]

It's sad and disturbing that this show became insanely jealous of the "witch weighs the same as a duck" scene from Holy Grail

[@dougmphilly]

we have today's internet winner

[@landotucker]

She turned me into a newt.

[@josepnebotrius872]

Winner

[@wumpusrat]

As a random aside based on the "reading the end of the book first", my mom used to love reading mysteries. And she'd read the end first, to see who did what, then would go back and read through the book from the start. I asked her about it once, and she said it was because she liked to see how well the author pieced things together and if it made sense what they wrote at the end. Knowing who the villain is from the outset let her read through the book seeing if what they were doing made sense. It was an interesting way of doing things.

[@shadf7902]

I start on page one at the top left lol

[@paulkelly2701]

That's a great way to re-read it, I'd say. :) The fun is being led down one garden path after another, misreading McGuffins and red herrings, etc.

[@marhawkman303]

@@paulkelly2701 Yeah, it's easy to write a mystery novel as something the reader has no hope of figuring out.... just don't give them the right clues. writing a solvable mystery that's not obvious is the real challenge.

[@_Uh_Oh_]

My GF does it with films and tv series, she will google what happens at the end right away. Really bizarre behaviour

[@Gyrfalcon312]

So... me watching spoilers doesn't automatically negate the necessity of watching the rest of the work... I think your Mom just inspired a revelation here.

[@big_red01027]

Sophia Nomvete remains the World Champion of Insufferable Cows.

[@texasbeast239]

The word "adapt" comes from the Latin *_aptere_* or to fit, plus the prefix *_ad_* meaning "to or toward something else." To adapt a book is to make it fit the physical limits of a film or TV show (screen time, budget, bladder sizes of audiences, etc.). Adapting a novel means taking a story that was made for one medium or format, and making it work in a different medium or format. A problem with ROP as an adaptation is that they are shamelessly going far beyond merely trying to modify the book story for a different medium, but also for a different audience. They're actually more concerned with entertaining that audience, than with telling the story supposedly being adapted. So this isn't really adapting. This is attempting to appease a chosen part of the population, scavenging bits and pieces from a revered work as fodder and random ingredients to do so.

[@papalaz4444244]

they did not have any right to The Silmarillion so it's not an adaption at all - it's a fanfic

[@soothsayer1964]

I agree; it's not an adaptation, it's a deliberate slap in the face to our great shared heritage and mythology, as is everything else that this zombie cult is pushing.

[@theeffete3396]

It's not adaptation... it's corruption. RoP didn't just add new elements to the story, it fundamentally altered the themes and character motivations. The cringe dialog and nonsensical plot were just the icing on the shitcake.

[@soothsayer1964]

@@theeffete3396 yep - shit topping lol.

[@LoneSilverW0lf]

And they’re also pandering to perhaps 1% of the population, who may very well not exist in actuality.

[@Peter-jl4ki]

They kind of are protecting the source material. By making the new content so bad and detached that it's never getting accepted by any relevant part of the fanbase, they ensure the original content remains pure and untainted. Surely that's what she meant.

[@OljeiKhan]

You are right about the fanbase but this show is also reaching everyone else and that means everyone else gets to know Tolkien's universe through the Amazon lense. Wich means Tolkien's work will be imprinted in public mind through this version. Wich means Tolkien's entire work will be basically dead.

[@TheAlterspark]

@@OljeiKhan Considering the viewership numbers that leaked I don't think this bastardization is reaching very many people lol.

[@OljeiKhan]

@@TheAlterspark people pirate. A lot. Especially in non-western countries. For example when my friend's students ask him about Galadriel they go by the Rings of Power version. I'm the "Tolkien expert" of my circle so the amount of "correcting" i HAD to do since the show aired is insane. So much so that i actually started cutting it short and telling the kids "that whole thing is fanfiction just read the material and day-dream the scenes yourself i'm sure you'll do better than Amazonprime"

[@Alexs.2599]

@@OljeiKhan I hope you can continue to encourage your friends to read the books instead. Then they will see why we loath this series.

[@adamscott7238]

@@TheAlterspark dozens of millions is still a lot. Considerably more people watched this show than have read the Silmarillion

[@rnbnatl]

When we were told by Saruman that the dwarves delved too greedily into the mountain, who'd have thought that it was Disa he was talking about all this time?

[@darthlaurel]

When actors get talking points, that is where their craft and skill is really tested.

[@glados4765]

The gas lighting actors and writers do to protect their ego is hilarious.

[@zenocrate4040]

Here's a few lines from a letter Tolkien wrote in 1971: "[M R Ridley] had done me the honour of placing the works of his old colleague in the ranks of 'literature', and gaining me intelligent and well-equipped readers. Not a soil in which the fungus-growth of cults is likely to arise. The horrors of the American scene I will pass over, though they have given me great distress and labour. (They arise in an entirely different mental climate and soil, polluted and impoverished to a degree only paralleled by the lunatic destruction of the physical lands which Americans inhabit.)..."

[@papalaz4444244]

"They arise in an entirely different mental climate" He really was a genius. He saw the obsessive autism of American fans back then.

[@harbl99]

Damn Tollers! I mean, tell us how you _really_ feel about the American hippies who latched onto LOTR.

[@alwaysplotting2096]

@@papalaz4444244 What's that about autism? As someone diagnosed with high-functioning autism, I promise will not take offense. Just curious is all.

[@debanydoombringer1385]

That's about hippies that were doing a Hobbit fest kind of thing. It was rather disturbing and he wanted no part of it.

[@finalfantasy50]

​@@papalaz4444244 there is nothing with obsessive fans with autistic focus and drive, they are the ones that love it most and can bring attention to fake fans and destroyers of the franchise

[@Harbinger359]

Rings of Prime is one thing, but the betrayal of LotRO in particular cuts deep. Playing through to the end of Moria and Mirkwoid way back in the day was an amazing and valuable experience, and I loved how they drew upon the lore to create something new and different. If nothing else, they cannot go back into the past and destroy the experiences that I had, but it is still a very sad thing. And worse still, I know that there are those out there who would read this and giggle with glee...but these are truly wicked folk, who are only interested in themselves and delight in misery and suffering. I would say that in truth, none of these people are actually interested in reflecting "the world we live in today". Reality abides by set rules, and these rules have not changed. But they cannot abide by this and so they are desperately trying to warp reality to suit their own ends, and twist absolutely everything wrought by human hands or nature itself into a shape that reflects their inner hellscape. What flies in a computer game or on a Hollywood screen will not fly on Earth. They are doomed to fail, of course, but sadly whether this end comes soon or late they have the power to wreak great devastation throughout the world. One need only look at what happened to Star Wars, and that is just the tip of the iceberg...for what else could the levelling of the most profitable franchise in history be but the very definition of destruction? There is a silver lining, however; that these things are being rejected wholesale is a positive, as it means the majority of people living today remain sound of mind, whatever relatively minor quibbles we may have with each other. Further, they are burning down their own towers, the very structures that give them all their reach and power - and in so doing, driving the rest of the population to look to the Past, towards the original books and to older media. And what is more, to create anew free of the madness of the MEDIA.

[@soothsayer1964]

"giggle with glee" - there's only two people I know who are like that about this crap. Both of them support men in dresses reading books to kids about how girls liking action man means they're in the wrong body.

[@Harbinger359]

@Sooth Sayer I know one myself; he is the sort who earnestly believes that just about every human being who has ever lived and the majority of those currently living today were simply wrong about damn near everything, until he and his ilke showed up.

[@shadf7902]

@@Harbinger359 lmfao, if you looked up the word ignorant in the dictionary is hia face shown there?

[@Harbinger359]

@@shadf7902 yes, and he is also featured next to arrogant as well

[@adamscott7238]

@@soothsayer1964 hey so youre really outspoken about republicans making child marriage legal right, and the banning of kids in hooters right? You wouldnt be outraged about something youve never been to that rarely happens and not be outraged about the other right?

[@TorvinRW]

Great video bud, and thanks for covering the major issues going on with LOTRO atm. Tolkien fans really have to stand up to defend his legacy in an age where people are out to destroy it, change it and get every penny they can from 1 of the greatest pieces of literature to ever be created. Hopefully there is enough incentive to beat back Amazon, Standing Stone Games and whoever else decides they wish to disregard Tolkien's Lore to benefit themselves. Thanks again Disparu 👍👍

[@Hotchpotchsoup]

Been thinking of going back, played since release and took some short breaks and last time I played Mordor had been added... now with the bearded ladies I don't know if it's really worth it. 🤔

[@TorvinRW]

@@Hotchpotchsoup it isn't imo. Devs ran it further and further into the ground progressively each update. N I'm not sure after this that it will have much more life left in it

[@fellowshipculture4982]

Well its in beta so there is always hope they take players comments into account before they release it. problem is that standing stone games is owned by embracer group, which also has the rights to LOTR and are working with WB to remake the films - this does not bode well. If lotro goes down the route of these character changes (bearded dwarf women ok aside) I can see if a lot of people take up these changes ie Elves with beards then lotro will end up losing over 50% of the existing player base or not willing to pump money into it anymore and a good percentage will do this at the time of the update being implemented. The only way to change woke / ID politics ideas into products is buy voting with your wallet! Lotro should stick to tolkiens works only!

[@tamariskhorne9264]

Just the fact that they are threatening, bullying and censoring players is enough for me to hope the whole game goes down the crapper

[@fellowshipculture4982]

@@tamariskhorne9264 I think Disparu hyped it a little - from the streams and forums i have seen, they said anyone posting on the forums about the culture war outside of the discussion around character creation would be banned from the forums. So as long as the posts are Tolkien in nature and lotro based it is allowed. So the hope is that the options are limited to certain genders and races when they release the update

[@dwhiteeagled]

Gotta say that most of the crowd on the LOTRO server I played on (Laurelin IIRC) was pretty woke, tried to to justify all the changes RoP made and of course, tried to ban everybody who voiced a different opinion on the grounds of racism regardless of how rational and reasonable their arguments were. So not surprised LOTRO ends up going this route.

[@Harbinger359]

That's really sad to hear. The community's really changed then since I last played.

[@harbl99]

I was kicked off a Tolkien forum I'd been on for nearly 20 years for using the word Naugrim by the same kind of people. F**k 'em, I know more than they do.

[@Harbinger359]

@@harbl99 I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad to hear you feel that way. Such folk truly are an ignorant bunch.

[@bombadida]

Seriously? The community is great on LOTRO. The fact most of them are sensitive to racial issues only works to make the community better (sorry is that what you meant by using the term Woke?). I doubt "they tried to ban everybody", sounds like lazy stereotyping of just being disagreed with. Tolkien wrote for his time, the 1950s, and based his knowledge on ancient northern European folk tales, it is totally cool to update that for today's audiences, I mean, current adaptations show, this is a work of living art. All art can be dated to the time of its making.

[@Harbinger359]

@damian mills Evil oft finds its way through the door with niceties, appealing to Man's better nature, before revealing its true intentions: the negation of the sacred, the debasement, defilement, destruction of any and all it sees fit. You and your ilke have come for Tolkien because he and his work represents Virtues you cannot abide, the love and pursuit of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. His work is timeless, and that it was written in elder days only adds to its value. It was not written for one small slice of people dwelling on this Earth, it was for everyone who lived during his time or came after. It already is "for modern audiences" just as it is for Tomorrow's audience, just as all that is built to last was made for those who will come later. Only a Fool, or one of the Wicked would say otherwise. Given the tripe being churned out today the people of today need Tolkien and other great works like his now more than ever. Your pretense of compassion is merely a front to hide your true aims. I know what spirit moves you; you are just another hound of Satan.

[@papalaz4444244]

In the films, everyone looks like they are wearing real clothes and there is wear and tear and dirt. In this show, everyone looks like they are wearing a costume made of old curtains. And they couldn't see the difference.It's cosplay.

[@RoseBaggins]

*ahem* ... "I saw it in the window and just had to have it." 😉 Carol Burnett did it way better, I know, but still ....

[@josie_the_valkyrie]

Hilariously the armour in RoP is actually cloth.

[@papalaz4444244]

@@RoseBaggins Who?

[@papalaz4444244]

@@josie_the_valkyrie Exactly what I said, yes

[@petriew2018]

@@josie_the_valkyrie the armor is shockingly bad.... part of it is plastic, part of it is so obviously just printed to look like armor and you can see the creases in the pattern when they bent their arms. A billion dollar product and it looks as cheap as those old straight to syndication action shows Flash back to Jackson's trilogy and they hand embroidered special surcoats for the main characters to wear under their metal armor just so the actors felt like their characters. It was a detail that would only show up on camera by mistake, but that's how much passion went into that production the people who made Rings of Power should frankly be embarrassed

[@gqubed1]

I find it hilarious that interviewers can sit in front of these people and keep a straight face while they talk about feeling protective of an imaginary, non-existent person that they are pretending to be. How is this not pure psychosis?

[@sigmacademy]

They want to fake being like us, that's why, because they think that gives them credibility - while at the same time want to "flip" people into liking their complete opposite that was on the screen. They don't get it that if they were as passionate fans of the property like we were, THEY'D be the ones on set DEMANDING authenticity from the showrunner/director and writers, just like Cavill did for his show. But defending fan criticisms doesn't get actors or actresses paid in Hollywood, so OF COURSE they won't do that. :/

[@frankiekl87]

I love that part where Aragon traveled back in time and lore to kill Sauron in a Thai fighter before teaching stones to look up

[@cormoran2303]

I remember LOTRO in the early days. It's adherence to the canon was all thanks to the Tolkien estate making that a requirement. Once that fell thanks to a bitter money-hungry grandson, the devs could do anything they wanted. I'm glad I haven't played it in years.

[@colinstewart3531]

Its important for the world of fantasy and Tolkien, that the first dwarf princess of color be the drive for the dwarfs delving ever deeper in greed for mithril, resulting in the fall of Moria. I mean if thats what it means to be empowered, I guess, you do you.

[@Wayne-jh4mi]

I mean that would explain why there are no POC in the lord of the rings movies. They saw her awaken the balrog and said nah all people of colour must die😂

[@josepnebotrius872]

The same with hobbits. There was an uprising against their dark evil leaders. So hobbits settled and cultist harfoots were forced to keep migrating until their extition.

[@Quandry1]

@@Wayne-jh4mi you don't see any POC's because the live in a different part of the world... they live in the south and east beyond mordor... Where LOTR takes place entirely in the north west... the south west mostly being ocean with some islands as I recall... We're literally in the wrong part of the world... and only with some of Mordor's forces do we ever really see any POC's at all... bandits and pirates and other bad types lured north and west in hopes of plundering riches while he attempts to take over their homelands as well. There is so much room for stories to take place in that part of the world that they could have done if they wanted to do something tolkien-esque but completely original.

[@josepnebotrius872]

The same with numenoreans. Maybe showrunners considered black numenoreans literal. So most perished in the sinking of Numenor. While those in Umbar kept fighting against their White cousins and haradrim until the seconds conquered Umbar.

[@annatardlordofderps9181]

So far, the uncontested king of terrible articles that I've seen was a CBR article asking the difficult, hard-hitting questions like "Do Elves have children in Lord of the Rings?"

[@sigmacademy]

True, but at this point the "mainstream geek outlets" are so low-effort they can't even be interested to actually do the research for their articles, or write something of worth. I guess if I was unmotivated to do my job or paid next to nothing to pump out articles about things I have no interest in, I would probably be exactly the same as them in writing those articles.

[@Tallacus]

I wish as an Actual Amazon Employee I can file a complaint against the heads of Amazon Film and TV about how their frivilous spending has hurt me personally. The entire company is taken a hit and Salke and Sanders still spend like they have all the money in the world. Because of them the company had to drive away customers by charging a $15 delivery fee for Prime Groceries. I could not get consistent shifts anymore and had been told by two supervisors to go look for work elsewhere. All because of the pride of two people. Especially Salkhe who should be terminated!

[@josepnebotrius872]

While Amazon a company obsessed in productivity is firing thousands of employees. Amazon studios keeps producing shit and wasting money. I keep thinking Amazon studios is a money laundering scheme.

[@parva777]

I have been literally SICK of having to look at ROP, I have been hurt at the very core of my Tolkien love. Disparut... You are the one that have heal my wounds on the way, thank you !

[@phunnyguy9382]

The lore had infinite potential and they completely squandered it with an infinite budget

[@JohnSmith-ns6dp]

Infinite? It was only around $700 million.

[@phunnyguy9382]

@@JohnSmith-ns6dp however much they wanted they could have gotten. Importing out of season flowers for meaningless value just cause, wasted money and wasted potential

[@mantrid777]

"I don't finish books when I know they're not going to end how I want them to" That explains Amazon, Disney, Netflix writers, directors, actors: - why their characters don't arc - why their characters are arrogant self-inserts - why their stories are crappy power fantasies - why they don't learn from mistakes and just double down No ending means no arc, no character development, no change, no learning. They don't like The Hero's Journey, they're terrified by concept of Sacrifice, they don't want to learn from Return Home Changed ending, so they fix it all: flatten the journey into a static self-advertisement featuring themselves and their virtues enclosed in a safe-space. That's why these shows all look like public service announcements with quests (and a lot of CGI). With "The Message" being the product advertised.

[@maguffintop2596]

Really very well stated!

[@CallmeKenneth-tb1zb]

Sure but we have dominos too, and our dominos falling over are far more destructive to their bottom line then their depravity will ever be to Tolkien's lore. So please, Amazon, please Disney, please Standing Stone Games, keep defiling the lore, because I want to see your companies burn to the ground, and from the ashes of the old, new, exciting, and creative stories will be born.

[@tobygagnon1443]

Nomvete reminds me of a bit Douglas Adams wrote about Zaphod. He was put into a machine ment to drive him insane and kill him by showing him how unimaginably unimportant he was compared to the entire universe. He survived and and said the machine actually told him he was more important than he already knew he was. Turns out he was in a simulated universe created specifically for him. To get some information out him.

[@ikept_the_jethryk2421]

Remember kids, if the product is free, you are the product!

[@Hotchpotchsoup]

How's that supposed to scare anyone? It's immensely narcissistic and/or stupid to think you matter to the universe, you can blow up our entire galaxy that is a 100.000 lightyears across and it'd still barely be a fruitfly doing a small number2 (by fruitfly standards) on something the size of the Pacific ocean.. maybe.. We're basically nonexistent in comparison to everything else. I'm sure you know this already tho

[@maxmercer1931]

They didn't even bother to use FX to make Morfydd Clark look as tall as Galadriel is supposed to be

[@harbl99]

Morfydd is 5ft nothing, Galadriel was over 6ft tall. As a far superior elf once said: "Would you like me to get you a box?"

[@OneGlass]

Look up "sunk cost fallacy" and you will understand.

[@rpgadventurer32]

This is happening, including with LOTR online, because of the current Tolkien estate that is very different to what it was when Christopher Tolkien - Tolkien's son - was still alive. The changes and insertion of non Tolkienian "diversity" all started to happen very rapidly, both with ROP and with other products that showcased Tolkien's characters like the recent DND's cards after Christopher had passed in 2020. Even the ROP book covers were a reflection of these rapid developments. I'm not really surprised by what is happening with LOTR online as it coincides with the forced diversification by other companies adapting the IP. In their specific case, Warner Brothers control the rights to the video games including LOTR online. They are the ones who likely forced the developers to insert these new "diversity" options in a way that contradicts Tolkien's worldbuilding, and these DEI policies are now being implemented in full with other properties as well, like with the new upcoming Harry Potter movies and even with the recent Hogwarts Legacy game that made no sense when it came to the various NPCs on the map or even the character creation customization options. Warner Brothers has adapted in full the DEI policies in every single entertainment property that they have the rights to, and the same is true for every major company in Hollywood. Expect the same or worse to happen with the new LOTR movies that were recently announced.

[@ryxan6968]

If you cut out someone's tongue,you not prove that person lied,you prove that you fear what that person could say.

[@jaymievos3133]

yea, i get what you're saying they aren't even sticking to egyptian lore anymore on Netflix either.

[@Likexner]

dey wuz kweenz

[@fuddthedestroyer4454]

Tax write-off for Amazon.

[@darthlaurel]

Money laundering scheme for amazon.

[@SpitshineSneakers]

The biggest irony of girlboss Galadriel is that the actress needed therapy for acting like a girlboss. It’s like the whole girl boss phenomenon in a nutshell; the people clamoring for it want the praise and adoration they think they’ll get, but none of the hard work and responsibility that’s required to earn that respect.

[@SaltyWarPig]

The Dwarves were not created by Illuvatar. They were a sub-creation of Aulë, one of the Valar, in disobedience of the will of Illuvatar. However, Illuvatar had mercy on Aulë because of his humility and allowed them to live, only that they were made to sleep in darkness, under stone, until the waking of the Firstborn in the deeps of time under the light of the innumerable stars.

[@occasional-dabbler]

I have yet to see a screen presentation of Tolkein's dwarves that came anywhere near the authentic item. Thorin in the appalling Hobbit films had some hint of it, but so surrounded by garbage. Gimli onscreen was a worthy effort, but even that just fell into the 'beer and axes' stereotype.

[@josepnebotrius872]

Is was a kind of the Abraham Isaac's sacrifice. Eru telling Aüle as you sincerely were going to sacrifice your creation you love over all other things. I forgive you And I will be mercyful and I will not make you destroy your creation... With just one condition.

[@Quandry1]

@@occasional-dabbler It's not an entirely wrong stereotype. that stereotype did come at least in part from tolkien's works. It was by no means the only thing about dwarves like it sort of became for a long time... but it wasn't totally off the mark. Got to appreciate a stereotype's roots now and then.

[@BloodyArchangelus]

Modern Lotr(original trilogy) was influenced by DND and.. a bit Warhammer who is a LOTR deconstruction.

[@Quandry1]

@Sergalius check your dates again. LOTR predates D&D by about 50 years and the trilogy is where it started. It is not some super modern rendition.

[@hatuletoh]

My god, did you see that quick shot of Morfydd Clark grinning, presumably a screen shot from the article. She looked like she did in that insane slow motion scene on the horse--weird as hell. I've never seen someone who is at their most unattractive when they smile. Maybe I was too hard on the Amazon's Lard of the Rings directors. I thought they did a terrible job of directing Clark in the show, but it turns out they were just making the best of the situation and doing all they could to ensure she didn't have to smile any more than absolutely necessary. On the other hand though, why the slow motion with that horse scene?

[@shadf7902]

It makes the cringe last longer, and pads the runtime out.

[@paulkelly2701]

Two words for you: Brie Larsen.

[@whenpigsfly8178]

More fan torture. And dentist torture.

[@TheRealMonkeyrogue]

I completely forgot they were actually filming....sweet mercy, let it die.

[@Demondragonkinggav]

Correct. Ignoring a Problem only makes the problem worse and usually bigger.

[@BoopedNose]

How a hefty 300 lbs lump with a loudmouth can play a dwarf is the real mystery of middle earth

[@futtynucker]

They are desperate to destroy something great because they could never create something of equal value themselves. Not even with a hundred lifetimes.

[@EvilExcalibur]

You know, I thought that Sophia's self absorbed demeanor was just marketing in the lead up for the show. I never would've guessed that she really is just that far up her own rump.

[@futuremainiac6351]

Bomburella?

[@jeanpauldelachaumette2409]

Disparu is spot on about Disa being a Sith Lord, she's apparently the reason the Dwarves dug too deep and found Durin's Bane (who will more than likely kill both Durin's). I bet she's not actually a dwarf woman but actually a trans Souron.

[@occasional-dabbler]

The Balrog is female! 😈

[@kaczan3]

Disa step in a dookie.

[@Lonovavir]

At this point I seriously hope that if the entertainment industry offers to adapt Brandon Sanderson novels or Timothy Zahns star wars novels their answer is no.

[@paulkelly2701]

Or think what would happen Neil Gaidan.

[@reidmason2551]

*Heir to the Empire* is being adapted already, albeit with Ahsoka Tano replacing Luke Skywalker (because "The Force is Female" and all).

[@skyscraperphilosopher8476]

I'm surprised they didn't just cancel the show after the reception of the first season...

[@shadf7902]

I was very surprised with how bad that show was, I loved all the movies but rop wasnt even worth sitting through.

[@debanydoombringer1385]

They can't. They're under contract for 5 seasons no matter what.

[@whenpigsfly8178]

They have to keep digging. There's gold somewhere.

[@sigmacademy]

They can't. They're contractually obligated for a certain amount of seasons. So it WILL get made to matter how bad a steaming pile of you know what it is. :/ Meanwhile, actually good shows struggle to stay on the air, but somehow the studios and companies have money to burn on nonsense.

[@nopenada3449]

I was really looking forward to the Rings Of Power, but despite the awesome production standards, I couldn't even make it through Season 1 Episode 1. Wokeness ruins everything it touches. First Star Wars, now this, The Little Mermaid, all of it. Wokeness is a disease. Amazon, Netflix, Disney, Hollywood... they're all infected. I can't stomach any of it anymore. It's all Godless, degenerate mind garbage. They can keep it. I'm done.

[@shadf7902]

Yes we need everyone else to say this and follow through with not giving them anymore money, let them all crash and BURN!!

[@ziephel-6780]

They are infested with chaos corruption. Only the God Emperor can save their souls now, they must be purified in holy fire and exterminatus.

[@DaffodilAbyss6]

The first time he brought up the floating ship quote, I didn't hear the word "ship". And honestly, that made the scene 10x better

[@unknownplite]

This is like if the writers of Gnomeo and Juliet went and said “This is what Shakespeare wanted, and we are updating his writing. They are all Gnomes now, and we don’t care if you like that or not. This is historical.”

[@zephodb]

Rings of Power isn't part of Tolkien's Legacy, nor the Middle Earth Universe. It was pretty bad as a stand-alone if you had changed things enough to not technically be a terrible LotR Fanfic, standing on its own it is very sad. As an Adaptation of Tolkien's work, it is a miserable horror. Everyone should refer to this show as, "Amazon's Rings of Power, which is Unrelated to Tolkien's works".

[@tlilmiztli]

Sad thing about LotR Online - I heard about this game recently from a streamer who showed how beautiful world is there, precisely how faithful to books to the last detail, precisely showing even color of cloth of characters from the books, locations, everything. Whats more - its free to play. I was about to jump into that world, explore it as a peaceful hobbit, it looked so different from the rest of the games out there. Now I dont see a point. If only I knew about it before that nonsense getting into it... But one thing I will have forever. Books. They cant change them, these bastards.

[@DOOMRaider297]

Oh yes yes they can change books. I will not be surprised if the sensitive readers get to Tolkien’s books for next major rerelease make sure you keep hard copies.

[@TheLegendaryBillCipher]

And the Tolkien Estate, who had such a problem with Jackson's films, is ok with this? They must've got some _serious_ Bezos Bucks.

[@05Rudey]

I hate what they did so much, that if i'm watching something and I see Lenny Henry or Clark. I'm switching over or if I see their names in a new film that I might want to buy, I will pass on that film and spend my money elsewhere. I'm more than happy with the books and the older films, the anti-fan fiction by amazon has done a good job in damaging one of the best stories ever told.

[@RoseBaggins]

Fair point, but I must say, give The Man Who Invented Christmas a chance, it's actually really good.

[@mkeogh76]

Morfydd Clark was grossly miscast. If you're going to have Galadriel as a kickass warrior woman girlboss, then you don't cast a barely 5ft, 95 lb. actress with zero command presence to play her. Clark looked ridiculous in her "fight" scenes (and apparently was so frightened doing them that she needed therapy.) The rumor that she was cast because she bears a resemblance to Amazon production head, Jennifer Salke, who wanted a self-insert as the "hero" may very well be true considering how poorly Clark fit the role.

[@Likexner]

"If you're going to have Galadriel as a kickass warrior woman girlboss" Just dont do that.

[@brolohalflemming7042]

She bears a resemblence to that classic Hollywood symbol of diversity and strong, independent women. The GHB, or Generic Hollywood Blond. Put her, Larson, Heard, Lawrence etc in a lineup and the diversity should be obvious. Ripley wasn't blond. Nor was Nikita (the French version). One actor that suprised me recently though was Kristen Stewart in Underwater and Crimes of the Future. Underwater got criticised as an Alien clone, but in some ways, I thought Stewart's role was better than Weavers. Sure, there was some poking fun at male characters. But Ripley was the last surviving officer(?), so you'd expect her to take charge and show leadership. Norah was just an engineer who took charge. And nuked Cthulhu! But a strong female character that seemed a lot more believable than many others. Galadriel's just not convincing as a kickass warrior woman girlboss.

[@mjuk1984]

Great video, Disparu! I appreciate your take on this. In particular using the "broken window theory". It's very juvenile for people to opt for this path of seeing what they can get away with. Worse, it encourages more bad behaviour until the proverbial line is finally crossed. I'm always amazed how people repeat the mistakes of history and expect different outcomes.

[@shadow_entity9191]

I'm going to listen to Clamavi de Profundis for the rest of the night to ignite the dwarfen flame inside of myself to feel better.

[@harbl99]

And now I have _The Song of Durin_ brainworming me. Thanks.

[@sigmacademy]

Dwarves don't do flames, they do raging bonfires. Anything less would be an insult to them. :P

[@DeadlyPlatypus]

The Cultural Vandalism IS the point.

[@suzannekirkwood6392]

I finished the series - sort of - I watched your reviews. I stumbled across your channel, watched the first two reviews, tried the episodes, then went back to your reviews. You were far more entertaining🙂

[@theoconstantinou2839]

Gandalf driving a Ferrari & Aragorn riding a Harley Davidson. Pure Tolkien

[@markbrowne181]

I can explain why they are doubling down. Its not based in Storytelling, or about making money. If it was you'd be right to call it stupid and ridiculous. This actually relates to ESG's, brought to you by the WEF. Amazon has signed up to an ESG score, with diversity, inclusion and equality. This is why they are doing this, to achieve the best ESG score. This is about social engineering, not capitalism or story telling.

[@Alexs.2599]

Which makes this whole thing even worse.

[@josie_the_valkyrie]

Equity, not equality. They hate equality.

[@JackEverton101]

-The game Updated for a modern audience

[@DJWHITE_]

Basically the same that’s happening to every other franchise then.

[@The_Primary_Axiom]

It’s J. R. R. Token now not Tolkien.

[@zenocrate4040]

Here's some lines from a letter to Rayner Unwin Tolkien wrote in April 1958 (Negotiations were proceeding with the American film company. The synopsis of the proposed film of The Lord of the Rings was the work of Morton Grady Zimmerrnan.) "... It is not necessary (or advisable) for me to waste time on mere expressions if these are simply directions to picture-producers. But this document, as it stands, is sufficient to give me grave anxiety about the actual dialogue that (I suppose) will be used. I should say Zimmerman, the constructor of this s-l, is quite incapable of excerpting or adapting the 'spoken words' of the book. He is hasty, insensitive, and impertinent. He does not read books. It seems to me evident that he has skimmed through the L.R. at a great pace, and then constructed his s.l. from partly confused memories, and with the minimum of references back to the original. Thus he gets most of the names wrong in form - not occasionally by casual error but fixedly (always Borimor for Boromir); or he misapplies them: Radagast becomes an Eagle. The introduction of characters and the indications of what they are to say have little or no reference to the book. Bombadil comes in with 'a gentle laugh'! .... I feel very unhappy about the extreme silliness and incompetence of Z and his complete lack of respect for the original (it seems wilfully wrong without discernible technical reasons at nearly every point)."

[@debanydoombringer1385]

There's a reason no one remembers those movies. Just like this will be, they were left to rot in history. The big difference is we got a really amazing look into the world we cherish in our mind thanks to Jackson's love of the material. We saw the potential and it makes this feel so much worse.

[@Kwolfx]

I was one of the 37% of the people who finished all eight episodes of the first season, though I did it out of a perverse curiosity to see how bad it could get. I was never disappointed in this regard. Every new episode seemed top the previous one in stupidity. However, I have no intention of watching any part of the second season of this disaster fest. If the decision makers at Amazon were surprised that only 37% of viewers finished watching the entire first season, they shouldn't be surprised if only 37% of the people who finished watching the first season bother watching the first episode of the second season. My guess is the fall in the ratings for the second season of the Rings of Power will make the viewership for the third season of the Mandalorian look like a tremendous success by comparison.

[@josepnebotrius872]

Me too. And I won't expend more time of my life in season 2.

[@incurableromantic4006]

"Slippery slope" is not a fallacy or even a theory - it's an iron law of history. Always gate-keep ferociously.

[@HarryBrownhole]

'The world of the walking Tolkien'🤣🤣 Morfydd Clark and Sophia Nomvete may think Tolkien owes them some gratitude, but where's their gratitude to the very first of everything: Jennifer Lawrence?!🤡's

[@neiladkins6726]

Wow! One of your most impressive videos i have had the pleasure to view! Couldn't agree more, and the broken windows theory is very compelling / worrying. Please keep this stuff coming, we need to educate the woke world what it is doing. It is eating itself ALIVE at the moment.

[@AliciatheCho]

The Broken Theory has been disproven quite some time. But I’m not sure if would apply to media. Viewership is money. The audience showed its displeasure by changing the channel.

[@MrDudeman4321]

Well I started from the beginning of the show and never got to the end, so I have no idea how the season ends. And I’m fine with that.

[@paulkelly2701]

I never got past the trailers.

[@greyman1104]

Congratulations on the many views you're getting now, you deserve it.

[@Hollyclown]

The worst part about this whole thing is that they waited for Tolkien to die before blemishing his work. They have no spine.

[@tonig.1546]

Still my favourite Morfydd Clark role to this day is Georgiana in Pride & Prejudice and Zombies. The "resting cold bitch face" just suits her. However jokes aside, the concept of escapism has been so utterly destroyed by modern media and social media it is so saddening. Now everything needs to represent the world we live in and generally speaking, nothing can be made for enjoyment.

[@sigmacademy]

Well, I can highly recommend Cocaine Bear and Super-who/Superheroes malgre lui (2021). The dark humor and subtle dialogue in it is just GOD--TIER.

[@lukegorneykphs2668]

Why do i feel like this cultural battle is actually worth going to war over? Tolkien is the epitome of the values of the past... of pre post-modernism. We must fight for the values he embedded in his writings... they are true.

[@paulkelly2701]

The Once and Future Values.

[@christineKT]

Fantastic link to the broken windows concept

[@elam3654]

I have legit started to wonder if some people actually view demographics as a sort of 'hive mind' or that weird forest that's technically all the same tree.

[@howlinmad4208]

Not doubling down, they just can't be wrong

[@shadf7902]

Thats what it means basically. They were wrong before but they dont wanna be right lol!

[@kaczan3]

Sounds like chicks in general. And they are led by chicks and serve chicks' interests, so it makes sense.

[@haitolawrence5986]

I purchased a lifetime membership to LOTRO. Good times. I left for a time but then decided it was time to go back a few years ago. The company had been sold and my account was gone along with countless hours of gaming. This expensive, crappy series is basically the pay cable version of that level of horse shite. Never again.

[@mynamename5172]

I also have a lifetime and was able to get it back recently - I did so as a palate cleanser from RoP Episode 1. So of course they are trashing the game. Soon enough I will see bearded lady elf NPCs with afros running around Rivendell (you know they will happen). Which is good, because I need to not waste time and money on an MMO. Suck it LOTRO. 90% of the players seem to hate it, but they are going to do it anyway.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

Galaxy-sized egos.

[@TheGamerZapocalypse]

The animated THE HOBBIT is a really faithful and great adaptation of the book. 1977 Rankin/Bass. Truly inspiring.

[@curtisbryce5096]

Actors are a bunch of mewling quims.

[@Arkaine197]

To be fair, the games weren't exactly following the Tolkien lore long before Rings of Power, Helm Hammerhand And Isildur were Nazgul in Shadow of War, the difference is people are willing to look the other way because Shadow of War is a fantastic game.

[@the1ringer]

But LotRO was as close as you could get. They made some implausible choices in places but rarely, if ever, directly contradicted the lore as far as I saw.

[@christophersmith8316]

Those games were from the start not part of Tolkien lore by their license.

[@Annatar_Lord_of_Gifts]

Yeah the shadow games were never lore based. Good games yes, but pretty damn removed from the lore. Though I did love seeing Sauron as Annatar in them

[@PerfectZeroMusic_]

I mean, yeah, in the 1 in a billion timeline where rings of power was good despite changing the lore, people would still like it cause it'd simply be a good show

[@mynamename5172]

@@the1ringer As soon as I heard Umbar and Harad were the themes for the new update I knew "trannies and afros" were going to be shoehorned in everywhere. Bearded lady elf NPCs with weird afro-dreads hair (WTF is that hairstyle haha, did these devs even attend an art class) are likely in the future, and if you do not want them you are a Nazi. Which is fine, it is another reminder that I do not need to be wasting time on an MMO. I have one of those lifetime subs, so I can't even cancel.

[@MrBothandNether]

Because cultural programming, is more important than story

[@rockandsandapologetics7254]

I love The Lord of the Rings, the book series by J.R.R. Tolkien, and have some knowledge about why it is written the way it is. Furthermore, Tolkien said that if it hadn't have been for C.S. Lewis The Lord of the Rings may not have been much more than a hobby. Yet it was Lewis and his Inklings that helped encourage him to complete the work. So when these actors are taking pot shots at J.R.R. Tolkien they often take down some of the most influential writers of our time. Tolkien is easily the father of Contemporary Fantasy. Lewis became the father of Christian Apologetics. Hugo Dyson a professor in early English poetry, and fan of Shakespeare, Owen Barfield, an attorney who wrote articles about the group and whose daughter Lucy Barfield Lewis pens a brief letter to at the beginning of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Charles Williams, another writer of great fame. Brilliant men one and all. To try to re-write Tolien would have offended them all, and there's not an actor alive that even matched the quality of these men. Therefore it would be best for these new actors to simply be quiet. To them I offer this challenge, "Remain silent, although you may be considered stupid, or keep talking and remove all doubt."