It lacks specificity.ĭespite these shortcomings, “The Rings of Power’s” visual style is impeccable. The conflicts presented are so broad – portrayed in stereotypical terms of good versus bad – that a political reading from either side of the spectrum can be projected onto it. JA Bayona, the director of the first two episodes, creates more than a few stunning images, but his claim that the show tackles topics such as Francoist fascism does not hold weight. In terms of the politics in “The Rings of Power,” this is the methodology: a perpetual hint at political ideas that never form. When a company that has squashed any attempts for its employees to unionize tries to reimagine itself as a purveyor of progressive ideology, something is surely amiss. The central issue is that the show’s association with Amazon undermines this very experiment. Naturally, one might applaud the progressive decision to diversify historically white roles. ![]() The works of Tolkien have an undoubtedly complicated relationship with race, and the bioessentialism in his books deserves interrogation. In the first three episodes of “The Rings of Power,” with each episode running just over an hour, the only clear detail is that a nebulous evil lurks nearby.Įven the show’s efforts at post-racial casting fall short. Even in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” which takes a fair amount of time getting off the ground, everything is precise and the audience has no problem following the dynamics at play. Their only function is to set up future conflicts while also aggressively reminding the audience they are watching a show about “The Lord of the Rings.” In comparison, Peter Jackson’s films never fail to have a clear thematic throughline and swiftly establish the stakes and goals, despite the long run times. (IMDB)įor example, the first three episodes are purely expository. Morfydd Clark in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022). Any political subtext that Tolkien originally wrote about, namely the rise of totalitarianism after World War I, has been flattened by Jeff Bezos’s marketing team in an effort to make the show more profitable. While the original books drew upon a wealth of extratextual influences, from the poetry of Siegfried Sassoon to the novels of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the series’s sole inspiration is itself. The biggest failing of the show is its prioritization of self-referentiality. If this seems incredibly intricate and somewhat indecipherable, you would not be mistaken. Finally, Elrond, an elf who has aspirations of political success, attempts to climb the social hierarchy through a series of schemes. A race of Hobbit-like creatures known as the Harfoots live peacefully until their world is disrupted by a comet that crashes next to their village. The elf Arondir suspects a deep evil is lurking in the section of Middle-earth he has sworn to protect. Galadriel, an elven warrior, takes it upon herself to hunt down the malevolent Sauron who killed her brother. Set about 5,000 years before the films, the plot of the show is relatively dense and follows a Leo Tolstoy-esque structure where numerous independent plot lines eventually converge for some grand catharsis. The show’s technical prowess cannot save it from faulty storytelling and ideology. Even though it might be one the most expensive television series ever made, costing around $465 million, its fastidious writing comes at the expense of other crucial story elements. ![]() ![]() “The Rings of Power,” Amazon’s new series set in the world of Middle-earth, continues this downward trend. ![]() For years, a filmed version of “The Silmarillion” has been embroiled in a copyright court case, as reported by Screenrant, so thorny that it would be a miracle if even a single second of footage is ever shot. “The Hobbit” movies are considered the epitome of a corporate cash grab. However, ever since “The Return of the King’s” 2003 release, every effort to adapt a Tolkien property has gone downhill. When Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of the books came out in the early 2000s, they were received with such praise that one would be forgiven for thinking Jackson was JRR Tolkien reincarnate. Perhaps no intellectual property is more prized than “The Lord of the Rings.” Similar to a huge serpent, the trilogy has coiled around almost all of Western culture and rearranged many of the classic archetypes the imaginarium of the public associates with the fantasy genre.
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