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Old 12-26-2021, 11:32 AM   #30
Boromir88
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I'm returning to this thread because yesterday an article about "What Do Orcs Eat Explained" popped up on my Google homepage. After reading it, it jogged some thoughts about this thread and I hope to read others' input.

https://gamerant.com/lotr-what-orcs-eat-explained/

I found the article itself, to put it kindly, a mess. The author appears to have a general knowledge of the books (probably read them at least once), but it was confusing to me.

The main problem (and this is done quite frequently) I can't tell whether this was written to be for movie canon or book canon, because the writer mixes both types together in explaining their point. If It's meant to explain what orcs eat in the movies, I think there's some leaps that are too far, but that would be less problematic. Since we do get the comedic "looks like meat's back on the menu" line. But the mixing of movie canon and book canon, confuses me too much and I can't tell if the author is attempting to explain what Jackson's orcs eat, or what Tolkien's orcs did.

And this:

However, the lands around are said to be fiery and desolate, and Boromir, the captain of Gondor, describes ‘the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume’ at the Council of Rivendell, so the likelihood that the orcs eat things that come from the earth like fruit or vegetables is highly improbable...

However, the gruesome truth is that what the orcs are more likely to be eating is the slaves themselves. It is well known that they greatly desire the taste of man-flesh. It is very credible that the slaves who are being shipped up from the south are actually what is sustaining the vast hordes of Sauron’s army.


While that's certainly the case for the part Frodo and Sam journey through, the author forgot, or omitted, Tolkien explicitly writes the land around Lake Nurnen sustains Sauron's armies.

I'd be interested to hear more input about the article itself, particularly the claim "It's well known they [Orcs] greatly desire man-flesh." I know Tolkien uses cannibalism as one of the most vile and lowly falls someone can endure. (Grima is accused of eating Lotho, as an example). And while I think it's generally accepted orcs are cannibalistic, I don't recall Tolkien ever mentioning that it was "greatly desired" or frequently done to the extent this article argues. That is Sauron brings in slaves for his orcs to dine on man-flesh.

I'd also be interested in general thoughts about movie-canon and book-canon being mixed together. This definitely isn't the first writer to do it, and certainly won't be the last (there are countless internet self-proclaimed "Tolkien experts" doing this since the movies came out). Do we get to a point where the movie canon takes over the book canon as more fans combine the 2 types together?
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