#tolkienillustration | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blankdblank · 1 year

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I posted 444 times in 2022

245 posts created (55%)

199 posts reblogged (45%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@blankdblank

@theincaprincess

@ruthoakenshield

@tolkienillustrations

I tagged 131 of my posts in 2022

#marvel - 84 posts

#escaped child assassin - 44 posts

#the hobbit - 35 posts

#venom - 33 posts

#eddie brock - 32 posts

#lotr - 21 posts

#loki - 14 posts

#thranduil x oc - 14 posts

#thranduil - 14 posts

#james rhodes - 13 posts

Longest Tag: 51 characters

#the big jolly man is actually canon so deal with it

My Top Posts in 2022:

Trick Letters

“You know the trick to writing letters to important figures is to just write it as if you’ve been friends for a lifetime.” That was the smile laced advice from your grandpa when you were going to write a letter to an idol of yours to share on their latest works you deeply admired and were inspired by to include a sketch of said inspired work to boast maybe just a tad to said idol.

So two glasses of wine into a quiet night in a borrowed study while naked Dwarves made good use of the largest of fountains in Rivendell you sat with parchment and pen in hand to write such a letter. There was a huge leap between an Elf Lord and an Elf King, and the Elf Lord Thranduil Oropherion was said to have a mighty grudge against the Company, so if some wheels could be greased with him then perhaps some effort might be made with the Elf King through the stubborn loftily positioned Elf Lord blockading the success of this quest.

‘Thranduil Oropherion,

My dearest of friends, my how it has been ages since I have seen the likeness of you, and I find myself set upon a path to do so again. I do apologize for not writing, as the life of an artist can find rather difficult means to produce stable supplies of parchment and ink.

How is your dear Little Leaf? I have not seen him since he was knee high to a grasshopper! I do hope he has grown into your fine stature and ever just temperament, and quite selfishly upon your part a fine match to your stunning eyes.

By fine fortune I have come across a Company of Dwarves on their way to a firm sounding place named Iron Hills and am taking up your old sadly dust riddled offer of an invitation to visit for myself and whom I might find within my company upon reaching your borders.

Currently we are within the borders of Rivendell amongst the good will of another highly esteemed friend of yours, Lord Elrond, who respectably is mum upon granting news of your life as to give you the delight of sharing our time apart merely between us. I as always shall be counting the hours until I might be amongst your presence again,

Until the end of time your faithful friend,

Echo.’

“That should do it,” was confidently muttered between blows on the ink on the soon to be folded, wax sealed and messenger bird delivered letter that would have the Elf King wide eyed and staring at the letter at a loss for how he had misplaced all memories of this so called fondest of friends who thought ever so highly and possibly held a hidden romantic regard for him upon finer detailing of the wording of the letter.

And once he had regained his bearings the kingdom was to be readied for this guest who for a week he would tip toe as they did the same around vague gestures of memories of supposed years within early life they had once shared side by side much to the amusement of the confused Prince and knowing Company this Echo had traveled there with.

Fire whiskey, not the most appealing of drinks but with a barrel strapped across your chest and nothing but trees ahead in a forest holding a kingdom that was home to the Elf Lord you assured the Dwarf King and Company you had smoothed things over with. A few drinks was all you could hope to help get you over this dire task of smoothing the waters ahead to get yourself and everyone else to that dragon infested mountain beyond all of these trees you swore were intentionally closing in on you as you made camp for the night.

Loudly your teetering self gasped and pointed at a piece of artwork you imagined to never see again that tore you from following like a little duckling the statuesque guard assigned to lead you to the Throne Room. “My statue! I haven’t seen this in ages! Someone within this forest is a fan of my work!”

Pt 2

52 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

To The Moon

Got this adorable idea at work. Blind date gone wrong and the guys jump in to save the day. :)

...

Dressed up in a shimmering floor length cocktail dress with glittery wedges, makeup and pins in your braided bun to match you were locked in an urge to both remain stoic and keep from bursting into tears. The supposed ‘great guy’ you were set up with, who was ‘ready to get back on the horse’ of the dating world after a messy breakup, had both shushed and ignored you for most of the first course of the meal through the live show anyone was rarely able to get tickets to without a blood sacrifice or be able to drop a mortgage payment in one go. And here he was practically with binoculars spying in his ex across the way who as you’d seen him check her live feed a million times since he picked you up and first shushed you to hear the audio reading app that fed into his car Bluetooth system to read her posts as they aired the entire way here. But he’d already pulled away from the curb and you vainly loved your intact epidermis and new outfit to throw yourself out the window on the highway.

But a slight break in the show and a swap of courses and you slipped out of the table and auditorium. Headed to a worker outside in the lobby with armfuls of brooms and dustpans aiming to be ready for the showtime swap who seemed stunned but overly helpful to assist in giving the written address of where you were to give to a cab service.

$27, that was all you had in cash for the driver who refused to take cards. So ten went to the fare and teetering on the brink of tears you were let out outside the Smithsonian. Where you aimed to take a solitary walk to calm down and try to distract yourself as you somewhat showed off your overly dressed self to impress anybody tonight, as you had aimed to feel at least wanted after a travesty of a breakup yourself your supposed friend from work had tried to help you get back up on the horse yourself.

And yet in front of the wooly mammoth exhibit you huffed in a glimpse at a reflection of a streak of your eye liner from failing to stop a tear from breaking free. To the aim of a try to find a bathroom you turned and froze seeing a man with smudged raccoon like black war paint on his face around his eyes and brows in tactical gear complete with weapons across his body. Mask in hand the brilliantly blue eyed man blinked as his free hand brushed his chestnut hair out of his face, “See you dressed up for the new exhibit too.” He said playfully making the grey and red winged suit clad man beside him snicker and look away to keep from laughing longer, having noticed as Bucky had that a familiar face who randomly dropped by the tower to see Tony they always seemed to miss the chance to talk to was here.

“You’re the guy,” you said pointing at the banner on the corner at the end of the wall naming the next exhibit as the newly updated Captain America exhibit with the so named Bucky Barnes pictured underneath the Captain named down the middle of the colorful banner.

“Steve was asked to drop off some things,” he said after a quick nod, “Then we’re off.” His eyes scanned over you as you tried to steal a look at your reflection again to subtly fix the streak only making it worse. “You okay? I can punch somebody if they bothered you.” He said making Sam grin wider at the clear offer to help the distressed pretty lady Bucky had openly been following while trying to think of a cool pickup line as Sam had told him to try to give dating a go finally after years of being pushed to do so.

“No, he’s at the show three blocks over. I’m,” softly you sighed, “Forming a shambled plan get home, they had a sign, the atm is broken and cabs only take cash now apparently and the cookie patrol took most of mine the other day.”

Sam asked, “Why is he three blocks over and you’re here alone? He stand you up?”

“No,” you said sheepishly and looked away. Trying not to cry again, making them both step closer as Rhodey in his suit came around them to see what they were distracted by.

“You okay Miss?”

Nodding and shrugging you said, “Ya,” sniffling as you blinked a few times to try and keep calm. Only making him look at the guys on his left.

Bucky asked, “You came here from the show? What’d he do? Offer stands I’ll go punch him.”

In a roll of your eyes to keep tears from gathering in your eyes again you drew in a deep breath as Rhodey shuffled his weight on his feet, then you explained, “I got set up on a date. Supposed ‘great guy’ but he shushed me in the car-,”

“He shushed you!” Sam and Rhodey whispered angrily to Bucky’s eyes narrowing protectively.

“All so he could listen to the audio reading of the live feed of the ex he supposedly is ready to get ‘back up on the horse’ after dating. My choices were stay in the car or leap out onto the highway. Apparently I was there to make her jealous and he didn’t so much as look at me for the seating debacle. Which is putting it lightly, practically had to be airlifted in to my seat for how strenuous they try to make the supposed elite seating look. It’s two gates and four steps to the door no matter where you sit in our section, or in ordering what was supposed to be a good appetizer,” you held up two fingers.

“Two pieces of toast with a cough of grated cheese and a slice of the tiniest blandest tomato in the world. I know women who would weep knowing they were passing that off as authentic Italian cuisine! All that was missing was a pair of binoculars for him to be spun all the way around in his seat to watch her all night! So I left, but the cab won’t take credit and I had enough to get here and pay the ticket fee thinking the atm was working, but it’s not.

Rest of this town is gung ho to go digital, looking at you like you walked in with a ruck sack off a three month train binge you so much as have exact change for gas. And now this guy is part of a wrench in the whole scheme that makes my daily commute fifty minutes longer as they can’t sustain power or keep up the facade that everyone loves the digital life! Especially when billionaire scientists are tripping the power grids for half the borough every other week! We’re not all billionaires unable to hold our paychecks in our pockets! I like my coin purse, thank you very much, as much as the next person who likes a hefty bit of jingle on hand to flick into a machine or looking glass when you get stuck waiting on a bridge or building with a view.” You said with voice fading off in a look at the guys uncertain if they would start laughing at you for he absurd you felt at that moment.

Rhodey said in a shake of his head, “Ya he’s not getting away with that.”

Sam nodded and sternly asked, “Where’d he park?”

“In the garage.”

“Where in the garage?” Rhodey asked, “We’re gonna go egg his car,” he said parting your lips.

Sam nodded saying, “First we’re gonna let you have a sneak peek of the exhibit then we’re gonna go buy some eggs.”

Softly you huffed and said as you felt the grit of another line of makeup being brushed down your other cheek as you brushed away a sudden tear you didn’t feel gather but felt fall to the exposed bit of your chest to soak into the neckline beneath it. “I, have to fix my face.”

Bucky said plainly, “No you don’t, make it look like we’re a couple, matchy matchy.”

Sam and Rhodey both felt an urge to look at their friend. Only to grin at the restrained giggle that had a grin split across your face and eyes give a hint of an amused shimmer to show an internal light there of a usually bubbly person under this frustrating evening that had drawn him like a moth to a flame. “I have to find a bathroom.” Bucky turned sideways gesturing to the door a bit more down the hall behind them and watched you pass, seeing Sam give him a thumbs up on the smile worthy cheesy comment behind your back.

The assassin grinned to himself as Steve came out of the exhibit to hear Rhodey say plainly as an order, “We’re gonna take a new friend of Bucky’s through the exhibit and buy eggs to go egg her ex date who shushed then ignored her.” Instantly having the Super Soldier agree as it was a means to help his best friend help this mysterious stranger.

The whole group was waiting when you came out of the bathroom to what you imagine would have been a hallucination of some concussive head injury of an accident you couldn’t remember, thanks to said accident. Right there they stood and all you could say in seeing the line of armed men in tactical armor was, “Somehow I feel underdressed.”

See the full post

59 notes - Posted September 14, 2022

Trick Letters Pt 2

Pt 1

*.*.*

So two people asked for the sequel and I had a rough week and it slipped my mind, so for the two people still reading here’s the sequel.

*.*.*

“Mushrooms apparently have ensnared the minds of the Dwarves, My King.” Tauriel spoke giving her report on the new prisoners, and the other seems to be under the influence of something else entirely.”

Looking over the bare space behind her the King asked high atop his throne, “And where is this supposed other?”

“Refused to leave a garden we passed and is sharing a tale on a statue within its borders she claims to know of.”

That had his brow arch up, “Which statue?”

“The one of the butterfly fountain, made a claim she sculpted it.” That had the King spring off his throne with staff in hand looped by the wrap he was barely able to keep resting on the edges of his wrist for its balloon behind him on the path back to that specific garden.

Underneath a wide brimmed hat his body locked at the sight of shimmering curls like moonlit snow in a silvery blue hue due to the shadows cast upon them a figure straight from his dreams had now found itself in front of him again. Tattered outer patchwork coat to the knee showed only hints of tall boots etched with remnants of patterns never known to these shores but those of the West. A lone figure he had spoke to on a daily basis but merely as a bread basket wielding young Elf far smaller than he stood now that pulled him back to that same heart racing sticky tongued silence for the silver flecked purple eyes and almost marble carved face that would be aimed his way again.

Tauriel was the one to clear her throat, lost to wonder at her guardian’s silent pleading stare meant by his pounding heart to make the stranger turn and face him once more. And blocked by that same brim those eyes not able to meet his own locked in a wobbly turn of the petite body clearly in need of several weeks of hearty meals and pampering spa treatments to reach its former glowing content glory had a dried blood stained finger aimed at his staff. “You have a stick too!” And out of her jacket a duo of sticks woven to one knotted sort of cane to help with the clearly bound leg was shown to him. “Mine doesn’t do anything fancy like Gandalf’s, but I imagine with the size of yours it might have some knighting powers. Surely bound to have some prowess to it around here.” Bilbo at her side tipping back the water skin raised to his lips from his hip to help wash away the dry feeling in his mouth as he tried not to nod off. His smaller self had been kept nearer to this stranger as they possibly could have ended up in the same place and were not linked to the Durins and their death march at all.

Waving her stick you tapped it to an amused but stiff guard’s shoulders, “I dub thee Sir Such-and-Such of the realm, protector of that patch of petunias over there!” With a hint of a shadowed grin seen the King’s way the stranger lowered the stick to clear sight of the guard biting his lip to not laugh aloud or so much as snicker at the obviously inebriated stranger. “Or do you just use it to poke people who refuse to get out of your way and pick up cloaks you drop?” Before he could dare to answer the stranger spoke again, “I like your cloak, is that Tirion silks? Don’t see many of those,” closer they moved to the still silent King whose eyes flinched wider a moment in their circle of the King adjusting the wrap and lengths of wider bits on his sleeves. “Doriathan swans and Vanyar pumpkin patches, very bold choices, and in this color! Your family must have been very sturdy to pride these patterns.”

“Hmm,” he tilted his head slightly to the tap of the stick to his shoulders, “I know these, but thinner,” grip of his bicep was taken as that same stick was used to tilt that hat back so in his hunch forward to be a few inches from her face he could clearly see the light spread in her eyes and widely smiling face. “Um!! Ten thousand years and here you are! Have I earned a whisper of your name yet? Surely out of our youths I’ve earned something of a respectable stance to hear a syllable at least you towering tease.”

Just barely his voice cracked as a hand rose to take hold of his chin to angle his eyes more into a stream of light they were missing, “Those are most certainly my Um’s eyes. Even so in the meantime while you ponder my worthiness of said whisper does your family still sell those honey butter dripped scones and mint rolls? I only have two silver coins to my name,” and the side of her jacket was moved to reveal a small barrel on a rope length of a strap laid across her dirt and leaf debris stained tunic and worn vest. “But I got some fire whiskey from the shape changer on the outskirts of this forest. King surely can wait. He planted my statue in his garden must be a possible friend at least and patience for a reunion of this grandeur.” A wink was shot Tauriel’s way, popping her brows up, and the stranger now had the King upright and his arm locked under hers, “Now, where is that shop of yours, my mysterious Um?”

All he could do was to shake his head Tauriel’s way and lead his missing prized one to his apartment where those very mentioned treats were in wait for his supper, a weekly ritual to remind himself of the mysterious being he never rightly had the courage to speak to properly before the world of the West fell apart.

And behind the both of them in mention of food Hobbit instinct took over and Bilbo’s groggy self teetered after the both of them in hope of a morsel for himself. “Although when we do have to be seen by this Elf King I will have to tell him he has quite the spider problem, unless that is part of the protection of the forest, then he’s done a magnificent job in concocting that labyrinth, they almost caught me twice. Three if you count the time they crept in when I was asleep.”

The pop in her tone had the Elf Prince who had been waiting with the stranger and Hobbit smile wider in curiosity to join the trio for a meal to learn more about his father’s rarely spoken upon fumbles of his youth encircling this figure who had wandered back into his life to render him speechless once more.

@lilith15000 @theincaprincess @jesevans @devilishminx328

67 notes - Posted November 2, 2022

Oc who used to be an actress in horror films back in their old life before being sucked into Middle Earth face palming as Thorin and the Company get into yet another argument over where exactly the proper path to Thranduil’s hidden kingdom is : *sharply inhaled and lets out the most blood curdling scream that has the Company even draw their blades.*

Thorin : What is it?! What do you see?!

Elves out of every tree in the distance and from one of the five paths comes racing their way with weapons drawn to head the path the Company has come and oc starts walking where the Elves came from. : Castle’s that way.

Fili and Kili excitedly hurry up to ask : Where did you learn to do that? And can you teach us?!

Oc : My cousins used to torment me when I was little. Hated I was better singer than they were, vocal training comes in handy. Used to trap me places. Got good at screaming, how I landed in horror films. Best screamer around always made the papers for terrifying the people who lived around the movie filming locations. Pays the bills between other shows I got picked for on the stage.

Thorin stormed to oc’s side : How did you assume they would help us on a scream alone?

Oc : Worth a shot. So far haven’t met a person here who wouldn’t race after a scream like that. Got you to whip out your sword too you big secret softy.

Oc winks at Thorin and continues on as his steps halt a moment. @theincaprincess @jesevans @lilith15000 @devilishminx328

71 notes - Posted November 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I Now Pronounce You Mud Monsters

....

“Sham!! For two ages now all I have heard is that a bride I neither have need of, as I have an heir already, nor time or skill to woo without means of an arranged union and here I stand 15,000 years old without such bride in sight! Now you grant me a correct prophecy of my near future or is said bride to come falling out of the sky?!” The King with arms in a swing out dramatically in front of him, as if to say what now, stood staring at the seer near to being ousted from his lands for being a fraud.

See the full post

98 notes - Posted October 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

4 notes · View notes

itariilles · 4 years

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Race in Tolkien Masterpost

I have compiled a list of some of the resources available on the topic of race and racism in Tolkien. By no means is this list exhaustive, and I welcome anyone to include their own additions which I will include and update on the original post when more resources are made available.

If you are having any trouble accessing any of the links listed below, please shoot me a DM and I can either send you the PDF if it is an article, or a working link if available.

Last updated 30/09/2023

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@antiracist-tolkien

@diversetolkien — The whole blog honestly, but these posts on Galadriel in particular as Ayesha, and the personification of Manifest Destiny. Her very important take on Eöl is linked below.

@askmiddlearth — now defunct, but they have a downloadable guide on racism in Middle-Earth here.

@tolkienillustrations’ post

@maglors-anion-gap’s post and follow up on the Petty Dwarves and critique of Tolkien.

@chutzpah-haver’s post on Tolkien’s antisemitism in his portrayal of dwarves.

@itariilles’s post and follow up on my personal experience of racism at a fan event, and the systemic problem of racism in fan spaces. I am looking to write more media interpretation/personal Tolkien essays in the future so keep your eyes peeled!

Twitter

This thread by Helen Young explaining Tolkien the anti-nazi, but not anti-racist.

@diversetolkien‘s twitter linked here.

My twitter here. I will occasionally post about race and Tolkien, but the focus is more generalised on Tolkien fandom, media and reception.

Youtube

(N.B. searching “Tolkien racism” or any variant will produce... interesting results to say the least. Lots of white people coming to the age-old “ToLKiEN WaSN’T rACIsT He hATEd nAziS AnD WAs A prODuCT oF hiS TiME” arguement. That or it’s the silly SJWs and cultural marxism/relativity yada yada yada.)

"The Source of the Rings” series by Moth’s Audio and Videos.

@visibilityofcolor‘s video essay on the “Brute Caricature Trope and its prevalence in media”. Eöl and Aredhel are touched on briefly in the video, but it points out how prevent this trope is in fantasy fiction overall.

Marlon James, “Our Myths, Our Selves”. The seventh annual J.R.R Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature, Pembroke College, Oxford, 26th February, 2019. https://tolkienlecture.org/

The Prancing Pony Podcast, “114 - Race, Tolkien and Middle-Earth”.

Podcasts

Dani Holtz and Craig Franson, American ID Episode 1 “Eye of Sauron: Rings of Power” touches on the American right’s obsession with Lord of the Rings and the far-right trolls that have flooded Rings of Power with waves of racist and misogynistic hate.

Into It: A Vulture Podcast with Sam Sanders, Black Hobbits and the Whiteness of Fantasy (Plus: What Are Abbi Jacobson and Chanté Adams Into?) touches on black characters in fantasy and the Rings of Power TV adaptation about 17 minutes in.

Other blog posts

Stronach, Alex. “Aotearoa is not Middle-earth” The Spinoff, 2020, https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/03-09-2020/aotearoa-is-not-middle-earth

Echo-Hawk, Roger. “Tolkienland.” Would highly recommend reading all of his blog posts. Link to his book “Tolkien in Pawneeland” listed below! http://tolkienland.wordpress.com/

Fimi, Dimitra. "Was Tolkien Really Racist?". The Conversation, 2018, https://theconversation.com/was-tolkien-really-racist-108227.

Fimi, Dimitra. “Revisiting Race in Tolkien’s Legendarium: Constructing Cultures and Ideologies in an Imaginary World”. Dimitra Fimi, 2018, https://dimitrafimi.com/2018/12/02/revisiting-race-in-tolkiens-legendarium-constructing-cultures-and-ideologies-in-an-imaginary-world/.

Yatt, John. “Wraiths and Race” The Guardian, 2002, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/dec/02/jrrtolkien.lordoftherings

Crossley, Laura. “Stand, Men of the West! The Battle for Middle-Earth (and Britain)” Film International, 2015, http://filmint.nu/stand-men-of-the-west-the-battle-for-middle-earth-and-britain/

Crossley, Laura, “Multicultural Middle-earth: Constructing “Home” and the Imaginary in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings” Film International, 2014, http://filmint.nu/multicultural-middle-earth-constructing-home-and-the-post-colonial-imaginary-in-peter-jacksons-the-lord-of-the-rings/

BNP, “No 2,110″ The Guardian, 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/dec/20/thefarright.lordoftheringsfilms

Perry, D. and Young, H. “HOW CAN WE UNTANGLE WHITE SUPREMACY FROM MEDIEVAL STUDIES? A conversation with Australian scholar Helen Young”. Pacific Standard, 2017, https://psmag.com/education/untangling-white-supremacy-from-medieval-studies.

No Alternative. “Lord of the Rings and structural Orientalism” No Alternative, 2012, https://noalternative.org/2012/09/14/lord-of-the-rings-and-structural-orientalism/

Hodes, J. “Orcs, Britons, And The Martial Race Myth, Part I: A Species Built For Racial Terror”. James Mendez Hodes, 2019, https://jamesmendezhodes.com/blog/2019/1/13/orcs-britons-and-the-martial-race-myth-part-i-a-species-built-for-racial-terror.

Stone, Ryan. "‘The Daily’ Transcript: Interview With Former White Nationalist Derek Black". The New York Times, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/podcasts/the-daily-transcript-derek-black.html. The use of LOTR to recruit white nationalism is mentioned.

Lopes, Reinaldo José. “In the skin of the elves: to what extent is “The Lord of the Rings” tainted by racism?”. Super Interessante, 2022, Original portuguese: https://super-abril-com-br.translate.goog/cultura/na-pele-dos-elfos-ate-que-ponto-o-senhor-dos-aneis-e-contaminado-pelo-racismo/?fbclid=IwAR2A3DZlYsn56Esr9iWUkfHDGI57b_mBUZj7aFxvfl692A310lf69mKx1ek&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp English Translation: https://super-abril-com-br.translate.goog/cultura/na-pele-dos-elfos-ate-que-ponto-o-senhor-dos-aneis-e-contaminado-pelo-racismo/?fbclid=IwAR2A3DZlYsn56Esr9iWUkfHDGI57b_mBUZj7aFxvfl692A310lf69mKx1ek&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Young, Helen. “The Rings of Power is suffering a racist backlash for casting actors of colour – but Tolkien’s work has always attracted white supremacists”. The Conversation, 2022. https://theconversation.com/the-rings-of-power-is-suffering-a-racist-backlash-for-casting-actors-of-colour-but-tolkiens-work-has-always-attracted-white-supremacists-189963.

Rambaran-Olm, Mary. “DEAR AMAZON PRIME, I’M NOT A RACIST, BUT WHY ARE YOU DESTROYING MY PRECIOUS MIDDLE-EARTH WITH BLACK HOBBITS?”. Religion Dispatches, 2022. https://religiondispatches.org/dear-amazon-prime-im-not-a-racist-but-why-are-you-destroying-my-precious-middle-earth-with-black-hobbits/ (this article is satirical btw.)

Serwer, Adam. “Fear of a Black Hobbit”. The Atlantic, 2022. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/09/lord-of-the-rings-rings-of-power-fantasy-sci-fi-racist-criticism/671421/

Page, Carolyn. “The Unfortunate Stereotype Reinforced By The Harfoots In 'Rings Of Power'”. Cracked, 2022. https://www.cracked.com/article_35418_the-unfortunate-stereotype-reinforced-by-the-harfoots-in-rings-of-power.html

Welch, Andy. “‘Irish people have faced centuries of discrimination’: why are Lord of the Rings’ accents so offensively bad?”. The Guardian, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/sep/28/irish-people-have-faced-centuries-of-discrimination-why-are-lord-of-the-rings-accents-so-offensively-bad?fbclid=IwAR1Hd8eikkx1aqxmsFf6tzv7W89kO6Q_VUWiGbrO2R4EvBhNPCMsiEyyugs

Blair, Andrew. “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – Why Fandom Has To Embrace Change”. Den of Geek, 2022. https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-why-fandom-has-to-embrace-change/

@diversetolkien. “Maeglin and Eöl, and the Brute Caricature Trope:”. Diverse Tolkien, 2019, https://diversetolkien.wixsite.com/website/post/what-we-can-learn-from-plants.

@weirdnaturalscience. “Our Failure to Address LOTR’s Racism”. tolkienaboutscifi, 2016, https://tolkienaboutscifi.wordpress.com/2016/12/21/our-failure-to-address-lotrs-racism/.

Not really a blog post but Tolkien Gateway has a page on “Racism in Tolkien’s Works”. Treat it with the same degree of skepticism you would on a wikipedia page.

Published academia

(N.B. The visible academic “authorities” of race and racism in Tolkien are white and this is something one must bear in mind when reading this kind of work. There is a lot of discussion on theory and historical context, but there is little on the harm and stereotypes perpetuated by Tolkien’s racialist thoughts a person of colour may read/perceive differently.)

Mills, Charles W. "The Wretched Of Middle‐Earth: An Orkish Manifesto ☆". The Southern Journal Of Philosophy, 2022. Wiley, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sjp.12477.

I implore you to read this one in particular as it is one of the only existing pieces of postcolonial critique written by a black Jamaican author. It’s hidden behind a paywall, and DM me if you can’t access it through the link above.

Kim, Sue. “BEYOND BLACK AND WHITE: RACE AND POSTMODERNISM IN ‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS FILMS.’” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 50, no. 4, 2004, pp. 875–907. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26286383.

Rearick, Anderson. “WHY IS THE ONLY GOOD ORC A DEAD ORC? THE DARK FACE OF RACISM EXAMINED IN TOLKIEN'S WORLD.” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 50, no. 4, 2004, pp. 861–874. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26286382.

Brackmann, Rebecca. ""Dwarves are Not Heroes": Antisemitism and the Dwarves in J.R.R. Tolkien's Writing." Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature, Vol. 28, No. 3, 2010, Article 7. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol28/iss3/7

Reid, Robin Anne. "Race In Tolkien Studies: A Bibliographic Essay." Tolkien And Alterity, 2017, pp. 33-74. Springer International Publishing, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-61018-4_3. Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-61018-4_3. This article can also be accessed by contacting me via DM as I have permission from the author to circulate it in this capacity.

Baker, Dallas John. “Writing back to Tolkien: gender, sexuality and race in high fantasy.” Recovering history through fact and fiction: forgotten lives, 2017. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom, pp. 123-143. ISBN 978-1-5275-0325-0. Available at: https://eprints.usq.edu.au/33493/#:~:text=It%20suggests%20that%20the%20privileged,arising%20from%20those%20privileged%20readings.

Pratama, Fredy W. et al., “Orientalism and Religious Aspects on Characters and Objects In J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings : A Semiotic Analysis” Artikel Hasil Penelitian Mahasiswa 2013, I (1): 1-8. Available at: http://repository.unej.ac.id/bitstream/handle/123456789/60741/Fredy%20Widya.pdf;sequence=1

Winegar, Astrid. “Aspects of Orientalism in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.” The Grey Book, Volume 1, 2005. Available at: https://anyflip.com/njuf/pwvi/basic

Redmond, Sean. “The whiteness of the Rings.” Routledge, 2007. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203939741-13/whiteness-rings-sean-redmond

Fimi, Dimitra. Tolkien, Race, And Cultural History. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. (Amazon UK link)

Young, H. Race And Popular Fantasy Literature. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2015. (Amazon UK link)

Echo-Hawk, Roger. Tolkien in Pawneeland. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013. (Amazon UK link)

#tolkien fandom #tolkien fandom racism #racism in tolkien

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sepdet · 3 years

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@paper-rose-doodles @tolkienillustrations

Two types of Tolkien fans...

(aka Tumblr did the thing)

[post1] [post2]

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maya-tl · 2 years

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hi hi hi did I see in the tags on your post that you started reading the Silmarillion today? :D I'm so happy for you! I really hope you enjoy it! -middle-earth-mythopoeia/tolkienillustrations

Aaaah, thank you! It's very different from what I usually read and English isn't my first language so I'll admit that some phrases go over my head, but I absolutely adored the Ainulindalë and the Valaquenta and it hasn't stopped me from enjoying the rest either!

#my_inbox #eowyntheavenger #can't wait for the geography chapter. I have a map of beleriand on hand just for that.#I also bought the fall of gondolin and the children of hurin & I'm planning on reading those too #but I wanted to start with the silmarillion #I've seen a lot of different fanon depictions of the characters and it's so refreshing to get to read the actual canon #it also includes gorgeous illustrations by ted nasmith and an index on names and pronunciation #+ a foreword from chris and one of tolkien's letters #I was absolutely delighted by that

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tyelpemacil · 2 years

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hi! thank you so much for the happy birthday/new years wishes! :) <3 I just saw your mention on my new years post. a very happy new year to you too! -tolkienillustrations

Hey ! You're welcome 😄 Thank you very much !! 💜 I hope you have a nice day 🥰 (also I want to say that I love your Tolkien blog !!!)

#this is my first ask eheh #ask

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middleearthtolkienfantasyart · 3 years

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I am in too great doubt to rule. To prepare or to let be? To prepare for war, which is yet only guessed: train craftsmen and tillers in the midst of peace for bloodspilling and battle: put iron in the hands of greedy captains who will love only conquest, and count the slain as their glory? Will they say to Eru: "At least your enemies were amongst them?" Or to fold hands, while friends die unjustly: let men live in blind peace, until the ravisher is at the gate? What then will they do: match naked hands against iron and die in vain, or flee leaving the cries of women behind them? Will they say to Eru: "At least I spilled no blood?"

-- Tar-Meneldur in Armenelos, Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife

J.R.R. Tolkien , Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth

@annatar @melkor @tolkienillustrations @saurons-pr-department

High Priest of Morgoth Art by middle Earth Tolkien Fantasy art by Corinna Springl

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middle-earth-mythopoeia · 4 years

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This blog turned two years old today! :)

#yaaay #and I've had tolkienillustrations for like 5 years now

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the-blue-fairie · 3 years

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It’s been years since I first saw this piece of art and I still don’t know why Dan Govar’s Tom Bombadil looks like he wants to murder me.

@tolkienillustrations

#LOTR #tolkien #tolkien art #lotredit #tom bombadil #dan govar

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bookclubforghosts · 4 years

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Important Posts On My Blog

About Me (includes my sideblogs) (this isn’t important like the rest of the posts on this list, but I know mobile users have trouble finding About pages)

https://beautiful-rage-machines.tumblr.com/post/623568987471691776/about-me

Why Shop Black-Owned

https://beautiful-rage-machines.tumblr.com/post/620851403787829248/the-people-who-come-into-my-askbox-dms-and

Reading to Address and Eradicate Biases

https://beautiful-rage-machines.tumblr.com/post/623232111484223488/tolkienillustrations-urcadelimabean-as-white

Site that Identifies Sundown Towns

https://beautiful-rage-machines.tumblr.com/post/623467855939305472

What To Do Instead of Calling The Police

https://beautiful-rage-machines.tumblr.com/post/623849444130045952

Other resources

https://beautiful-rage-machines.tumblr.com/post/621132063463079936

https://beautiful-rage-machines.tumblr.com/post/621378957554679808/ways-to-supportbe-an-ally

https://beautiful-rage-machines.tumblr.com/post/622365297993793536/hater-of-terfs-most-of-the-keep-up-the-work

https://beautiful-rage-machines.tumblr.com/post/622880279235870720/voxe-z-curly-hair-and-all-things-good

https://beautiful-rage-machines.tumblr.com/post/623941627813232640/jakegyllenhaals-here-is-a-carrd-for-blm-here

Please Also Check Out My “Black Owned Businesses” tag by clicking the tag below

#black lives matter #black owned businesses #L writes

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hello-robin-goodfellow · 4 years

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Legolas, by Inger Edelfeldt.

@tolkienillustrations @diversetolkien @mademoiselle-princesse @superkingofpriderock @amalthea9

#inger edelfeldt #tolkien #illustrations #fantasy #literature #j.r.r. tolkien #tolkien's legendarium #l.o.t.r #lord of the rings #the lord of the rings #aesthetics

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warrioreowynofrohan · 4 years

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Okay, this is probably going to offend people, but I need to get it off my chest because I feel like my brain is going in circles.

I’ve seen a lot of posts and statements and articles saying “It’s not the job of black people to educate white people about racism; educate yourself.”

And when it comes to people who are basically saying, “Prove to me that racism exists,” I get why that is a problem. In the interview transcribed in my previous post, my pastor talked about something absolutely horrific that happened to him. And he talks about it fairly frequently, and calmly and collectedly, in public fora, because it can take that kind of testimony to convince some non-black Canadians that racism is a serious problem in Canada. And that’s a terrible burden that he shouldn’t have to bear.

But I do not get the “educate yourself” narrative when if comes to discussions about how to confront and deconstruct systemic and structural racism. When you’e discussing policy - and when you’re discussing the even more complicated issues of forms of racism that can’t be addressed by government action and need to be dealt with in private sector, interpersonal, psychological, and other terms (i.e., it’s not like we can ban microaggressions) - I don’t see how we can get there without white people being allowed to ask black people questions and rely on their expertise and lived experience. There is only so far that articles, and books, and podcasts can take you, because pretty early on - after you’ve consumed a few of them - you are goung to come to issues where 1) there isn’t consensus and 2) there aren’t easy answers.

Ta-Nehisi Coates has talked about the problems of media and white people wanting “black spokespeople” to relay the views of the “black community”, when the black community contains as many viewpoints as it has people. (The media, ironically and I’m sure very frustratingly for TNC, responded to this by trying to treat him as a “black spokesperson”.)

But the only way to do this is to engage with multiple different black people with different viewpoints and, crucially, this means forming your own opinions. We cannot simply echo a generalized black consensus on social/policy solutions if that consensus does not exist and the assumption of such a consensus is, in itself, racist. And that means white people who want to get involved cannot simply listen, absorb, and accept - it means we ultimately need to make choices, I agree more with the perspective and policies of this person than that person, even if I first come across a few of the different perspectives by reading, podcasts, etc.

And that means that we need to be able to get in discussions, online and in person, with black activists and black friends, and we need to be able to ask questions and ask for elaboration and even disagree and debate in order to form thoughtful, meaningful opinions about how to go forward. Because anyone can spam their representatives with form emails, but if we really want to try to convince other people - friends, family, business leaders, politicians - we need to know what we’re talking about, have a strong understanding of our views and the arguments behind them. Trying to convince people by parroting standard talking points does nor work, and leaves them with less respect for your opinion. I know - I’ve tried. (On First Nations issues. The fact that there are several hundred First Nations groups, all with their own differing views and priorities, makes it very hard to say “We should do X because the First Nations want it” without looking like a moron.)

And I feel like I’m being told that if I try to have these conversations with black friends - and make them real, two-way conversations - I am making things worse. But without those conversations I am completely incapable of making things better.

One of the articles I read (thanks, @tolkienillustrations!) compared white people asking black people to explain racism to interrupting a professional baseball game to ask a player the difference between a ball and a strike. Fair enough. But to continue the metaphor, the goal isn’t for white people to watch the ‘baseball game’, it’s for us to participate. I see three options: 1) white people are supposed to learn everything for themselves, comparable to someone who has never played baseball trying to learn it solo from books and videos; 2) white people can learn from other white people, comparable to a whole team of people who have never played baseball trying to learn it by practising together; or 3) white people can learn from conversations with black people, conversations that are two-way and involve some give and take, even though white people will sometimes be clueless and inadvertently offensive; this is analagous to people who don’t know how to play baseball practicing with people who do know how to play baseball.

Option 3 is the only one that gets you a functioning baseball team. And I feel like everything I’m reading is telling me Don’t even bother showing up to the baseball game until you’re a good baseball player and that frustrates me deeply because I can’t do that without practice and I’m also being told that I’m a bad person if I’m not in the baseball game.

I don’t know how to do this without being able to ask questions. I don’t know how to do this without having the opportunity to ask, to try, and to form my own opinions, not solely echoing someone else’s. don’t know how to do this without black people being willing to tell me if I’m being clueless about something without regarding me as the enemy (or for that matter, overenthusiastic white people treating me as the enemy). I need to be able to disagree, challenge and raise counterarguments, because if I am going to try to convince other white people of policy solutions, I need to feel solidly convinced of the effectiveness of those policies and be able to answer the counterarguments other people will make. I can’t do any of this in isolation. I can’t learn all of this from books.

So no, I can’t do this - none of us can do this - without black people being willing to educate us.

(Did I say something clueless in this post? Or this one? I don’t know! I can’t know if nobody tells me!)

(Also, the crying thing bugs me and feels like it’s repurposing old sexist tropes about women deliberately crying to be manipulative. I can’t tell you how many instances of serious criticism from a teacher, supervisor, or other authority figure I’ve got through without crying, but it’s definitely less than 50%. Telling someone they’re a shitty person for having emotions will not, amazingly, cause them to stop feeling those emotions. And yes, I do recognize that people do that all the time to black people who get angry.)

I feel like being sincere and honest is more productive than sticking to talking points and is the only way to really move forward in a meaningful way, so I’m putting this out there even if it is offensive.

(Wow, it feels good to get that out. I feel like I’ve repeated the gist of this post at least 10 times in my head, except all of those contained a lot more CAPSLOCK. I’m like 90% calmer for just having organized this and written it down.)

#racism #racial justice #politics #dialogue #blacklivesmatter

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