6/03/2005

Middle Earth: A Multicultural look

We all loved the books and the movies and dressing up as the characters during sex, but is Middle Earth a racist quagmire perpetuating centuries of cycling violence and hatred. For the purpose of exposition I will say it is.

Mordor: Racial Ghetto
The Orcs, Guys from "The South" who ride Elephants (or Oliphants, whatever) whoever that could be alluding to, and Jewish Pirates (I mean look at them), in addition to Saurumons race baiting of the Hill people (Allegheny trailer trash?). All these people being brought together by the "Great Eye" which we can all translate as the Democratic party, to destroy the good wholesome vaguely Norse peoples of middle earth.

Gandor: Third Age, or Third Reich
Gandor, the all white nation that protects the world from the Easterlings ( also known as the Pan-Slavic horde) leader goes insane and commits suicide at the cusp of defeat, ordering himself set on fire in his Bunker like castle, I wonder who that could be. Luckily, the people of Gandor stashed away a old King to bring out for the Fourth Age/Reich ( Hey the Germans have a similar myth about that for Emperor Barbossa).

In short these are some classroom ideas I think might help advance a classroom discussion on multiculturalism in the Tolken Trilogy:
- What kind of social grievences do the Orcs have, use examples from the text.
- Is the Ents unwillingness to participate in the surrounding community inapprorpiate, why?
- Do you think the Ents would hirer a Orc who had better work experience and refrences over a citizen of Gandor whose skills and experience were inferior, Why, Why not?