Re: Tolkien and Racism and Affirmative Action | White Council Forum Archive - msg 2798

White Council: The Tolkien Forum archive_13 on this day of

Re: Tolkien and Racism and Affirmative Action | White Council Forum Archive - msg 2798

White Council: The Tolkien Forum archive_13

All Archives Top White Council Archive Index Archive 13 Index

VISIT LIVE TOLKIEN FORUM
Topic: Re: Tolkien and Racism and Affirmative Action
Reply to: Message 2790
Posted: March 19, 1999 at 10:49:20: by Hama
: : Great point Michael. I think I was thinking specifically of Numenor and how it seems to oddly (in my mind) coincide with the rise and fall of Germany during Tolkien's life.

: : So are there parallels between the World Wars and War in Middle Earth? I tend to think so, but only on a global scale. It seems to me to be impossible to distance onesself from your environment completely and thus Tolkien's work had to have been influenced at least somewhat by the turmoil around him, much of which was racially based.

: : anyway, two more cents into the fray.

: I think that the history of Gondor (ignoring the direct input of Sauron) has much in common with that of the Byzantine Empire. The parallels are fairly close, both states were culturally superior to most of their neighbours and were virtually continually embattled on two fronts. It isn't a great leap of the imagination to equate the Haradrim with the Saracens and the Balchoth, Wainriders with the Huns, Avars, Mongols or any other Asiatic steppe-nomad group. Both also accepted aid from the north - Rohirrim and Varangians.


: :Well if their was racism in LOTR, Elrond took a very modern approach. He set up a quota system for the "Nine" didn't he? It's a good thing the EEOC wasn't around back then or we might have had "2.3 for man and 3.7 Hobbits.)

Okay, I guess it's time to pull my tongue out of my cheek.

Other Xenite Sites

SF-Fandom Forum Home Pages






This page is Copyright © 1997-2009 Michael Martinez. All Rights Reserved.

The White Council was the original Tolkien Forum for the Web. The Tolkien Forum on Xenite.Org hosted many discussions between some of the most renowned Tolkien scholars on the Internet. The White Council was renamed to the Tolkien and Inklings Forum after the White Council name was used by other fan sites. The Tolkien and Inklings Forum is now often referred to as the Tolkien Forum by other sites.

SF-Fandom and Xenite.Org are trademarks. SF-Fandom is part of the Xenite.Org science fiction and fantasy network. This forum archive preserves forum discussions which took place on the Xenite.Org message board network from 1997 to 2000. Some messages may have been lost.

More SciFi, or science fiction and fantasy, content may be found if you take a look at LoTR Fan.