Racism and Tolkien.

[blantyr]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I think the whole thing is rubbish, but there are always people who find what they're looking for, whether it's actually present, or not.

It is common in the real world that one's enemies in war are demonized. Propaganda is created to make Others less than human so it's OK to kill them. A classic example is the portrayal of the Japanese during World War II as buck toothed and wearing thick round glasses.

In one sense, not showing that the people of Middle Earth did the same thing feels unrealistic.

Today, this is less politically correct than it once was. Still, there are less than flattering names and stereotypes associated with middle eastern terrorists.

Yes, Middle Earth supposedly reflects our own world in the distant past. Yes, people's skin colors and cultures shift as one goes away from the Shire in a way that vaguely echoes the real world. No, racism was not a major theme being pushed by the professor. He had a lot of other themes he was playing with in much more significant ways, and he tried to deny that these more blatant themes were being used in an allegorical way. Yet, if one is writing epic fiction centered around issues of good and evil, it's very hard to make one's tale uninterpretable as allegory.

Anyway, I haven't been inspired to go out and find a citizen of Far Harad to harass.