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ZorbaTHut  1yr ago (text post)   Edited 1yr ago   38284 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 12, 2022

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I don't watch the show but I saw a scene from this episode posted:

https://twitter.com/ZeroTwoMexicana/status/1570873687603281924

This is embarrassingly bad on every level.

The dialogue is horrible from a writing perspective, besides sounding unnatural. "Elf-lover" is the best they could come up with? It's not even a proper slur.

Acting is stupidly wooden, nobody seems actually engaged in this scene, not even the extras. The crowd starts chanting inexplicably but without an ounce of actual enthusiasm.

I have to assume this was a brief establishing scene that they crammed in there to make it clear who the bad guys are.

The set and costumes even seem like a fucking afterthought. These are tradesmen... all wearing spotless clothes without a single streak of dirt, grime, or paint to be seen?

And of course, WHO THE FUCK WATCHES HIGH FANTASY WANTING HAM-HANDED PLOTS ABOUT IMMIGRATION? Or is it about automation? Workers that don't tire, don't sleep, and don't age? The only real-world parallel to that is robots.

I think, I honestly do think, the "Elf-lover" chant is meant to evoke both the slur of "n-word lover" and "Lock Her Up".

I have no idea if Payne and McKay (whom from now on out I will refer to as The Ormons) decided on this all on their very ownsome, or if Bezos is meddling from on high asking for particular themes.

They may as well have a scene of a march for "Harris 2024" while they're at it. Indeed, I wonder if The Ormons have cast a black woman as Tar-Míriel for that very reason - ooh, what Strong Woman should we vote for as First Female Ever, can anyone give us a clue? I didn't think before that there was any political reason behind her casting, but I'm starting to think that now.

Is it really, really, really so hard to write Númenor as rich, powerful, gifted - and decadent? That it enters into the battle against Sauron for its own interests and not out of any alliance with the Men and Elves of Middle-earth? Or do The Ormons think of Númenor and their own Hollywood bubble as one and the same - the pinnacle of human achievement and creativity, so they can't be the bad guys in any way at all, and so the baddies come from outside, the redneck flyover states?

I don't want to start reading politics into this show. But it's getting harder and harder to assume good faith on their part.

FWIW I think "elf-lover" is more evocative of "jew-lover".

Fully repurposable slur. Insert your oppressed minority of choice in place of "elf".

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