What separates Numenor from the Middle-Earth men
 

This is about the ROP Numenor.

-The knowledge to build megastructures that even a Maiar like Sauron was in awe. Also a advanced river system inside Armenelos.

-Great seafarers and with robust ships that seems capable to handle any conditions out in the sea.

-Progressive culture.

-Taller and stronger than low-men. They seems taller and albeit stronger than ordinary men.

-Longer lifespan. At least for the noble line. The tapestry of Elros and Elrond from episode 3 confirms the bloodlines of Elros can live longer than ordinary men. Ordinary citizens live beyond the average lifespan of a low-men because of the advancement Numenor has with their healthcare. Just my theory.

All of that, but also:

- Virulent racism, to the point of inventing a three-level classification system for humans to justify their prejudices and misdeeds. (The Noldor do this too, though at least they have the justification that the Light of Aman is an actual thing.)

- Slavery.

- Ecological devastation, in the form of literally turning Southern Eriador from forest to plains.

- After Sauron gets his hooks into them: human sacrifice.

Numenor rose higher than almost any other civilisation in Middle-earth, but no other civilisation fell so far.

hS

Actually was referring to ROP Numenor
 

For a odd reason my thread was moved to the Book section. Maybe was it because I didn't mentioned ROP by name.

(Spoilers for RoP below)

In that case: they haven't been systematically suppressed by the Elves for the past undefined number of years. Arondir's introduction made it pretty clear he wasn't just protecting the Southlanders, but also watching them for any sign of pro-Morgoth sentiment. There were also comments about the Elves turning the whole valley where TirHarad stands green and growing, so the Southlanders are basically prisoners in a pretty green jail.

I'm not sure we saw anything to indicate that Numenoreans were stronger or anything. I don't think extended lifespans have even been mentioned! And their boats are very pretty, but the night in the harbour shows they weren't nearly as sturdy as you'd expect. (To get to TirHarad they presumably sailed up Anduin, so they're river ships that occasionally go to sea, not proper ocean-going vessels. Makes sense, since the Numenoreans have been ignoring the mainland for undefined centuries!)

hS

Since Victariongreyjoy has said that the intent was to open this thread in the Movies forum, I have moved the thread back and apologize for any confusion.

Whether in RoP or in JRRT's books, a significant difference between Numenorians and the Men of Middle Earth is that Numenor was established with the approval and gratitude of the Valar and its culture, society and "technology" were, at least initially, fostered and encouraged by the Elves. The Men of Middle Earth were left on their own to find their own way and suffered, in some cases, from initial corruption by Morgoth and later by Sauron.

"Virulent racism" may be going a bit far. While it is true that the late Numenorean Empire got pretty Roman towards the men of Middle-earth, Faramir's tripartite distinction was at least as justifiable as that of the Elves, in this universe, since the Numenoreans' superiority in mind and body (if not morals) was a Valar-given reality, not a fiction. They really were taller, smarter and longer-lived than other men. Of course, that also meant that when they went bad, they had the capacity to go VERY bad.

The tapestry
 

They haven't mentioned about their lifespan, but the showrunners said during SDCC that Numenoreans live longer than a ordinary man. Also the show gave us a nod that the royal line of kings have long-lifespan.