I'm most sad that Eomer doesn't look like Karl Urban, he looks more like he came from Gondor than Rohan.
I'm always curious about how they do interpret the colour by for these Universe Beyond products. Like what about the Fellowship is meant to be Abzan over say Bant, same for Rohan being Jeskai, when Naya is probably a better fit.
It's easy enough to say "I hope you see yourself in this world" and seemingly much harder to actually let people with other skin colors live in it.
Before this discussion, it never even crossed my mind that I would ever need to see latinos in Innistrad in order to feel immersed in Innistrad. Same with Ravnica, Kamigawa, etc. Lorwyn is my favorite plane and there's not even any humans there. Similarly, my heart has lain in Middle Earth my whole life and there's absolutely nothing in there that I could even apply or associate with America, North or South. The fact that apparently more and more people need to see their own ethnicity and culture populating literary and artistic works in order for them to feel like they can immerse themselves in them is to me actually a symptom of a large cultural problem.
Since this seems to be a recurring specific point you have, and I seem to have no luck with Googling this, where does Tolkien discuss the Dúnedain or whomever it is you're referring to as "a blessed and chosen people meant to incarnate the virtues of Northern Europe that Tolkien himself said tried to rescue after being corrupted by Nazism." Like, I can't find him talking about any specific group in the books like that.
I got a no politics warning so I'll just try to answer this particular address to my post. From his letter #45:
Anyway, I have in this War a burning private grudge – which would probably make me a better soldier at 49 than I was at 22: against that ruddy little ignoramus Adolf Hitler (for the odd thing about demonic inspiration and impetus is that it in no way enhances the purely intellectual stature: it chiefly affects the mere will). Ruining, perverting, misapplying, and making for ever accursed, that noble northern spirit, a supreme contribution to Europe, which I have ever loved, and tried to present in its true light. Nowhere, incidentally, was it nobler than in England, nor more early sanctified and Christianized.
How does this apply to Aragorn? Well, he clearly embodied Tolkien's ideas expressed in this extract, an ideal ruler, a leader of men par excellence, the true king who was to bring about an era of reconciliation betweent the human and the divine. Basically the "king" aspect or avatar of that noble northern spirit (much like Gandalf was the angelic/divine and Frodo the everyman). Now it's true that Tolkien was not a "nordicist" and much less a supremacist of any kind, as much as some people to this day still try to make the public believe (with good success; see what his own British government had to say about his works a few days ago). Regardless of that, Black Aragorn, black Galadriel, mixed race Éowyn, etc, just doesn't feel like Tolkien. It's just a deviation from what Tolkien tried to portray. It's purposely changing part of what the book was talking about, and for no other reason than marketing (how many black employees and artists does Wizards actually give work to again?). Obviously many of its themes and ideas are not linked to any specific real-world group of people and can be appreciated by anyone (and I hope they are for centuries to come!), but the visual appearance of the characters is what gave the story its cultural origin/flavor. Heck, Wizards are experts at this: we have a Greek plane, an East Asian plane, a pre-Columbian/American conquest plane, various other European themed planes, Indian, ancient Egyptian, etc, and for the most part the people inhabiting those planes, as well as the cultural aesthetic, artistic designs, etc, look like they come from the places and periods they are based on. And guess what, that is cool. It gives each world a unique feel. Well, Middle Earth is the OG of precisely that. Every Magic plane is essentially a smaller excercise of what Tolkien was among the first to do.
Now if you don't mind the swaps, that's great, more power to you, clearly Wizards doesn't either. But there's a lot of people who enjoy Middle Earth as a world inspired by a certain cultural identity and aesthetic even if they don't belong to it (I'm latino), and it sucks to be instantly treated as a bigot (not by you, speaking in general) if you don't like it when they change said flavor.
Bombadil being a god or, more specifically, a manifestation of the mystery of Creation/The Author itself, beyond even the Valar, while never part of the canon, is something that can be at least deduced from canonical material. On the other hand, Aragorn and Galadriel, the two most important representatives of their respective peoples (a Northern European version of Atlantis, a blessed and chosen people meant to incarnate the virtues of Northern Europe that Tolkien himself said tried to rescue after being corrupted by Nazism; and the Firstborn Elves drawn from Norse and Germanic myth) being black is IMO way more of a misrepresentation.
But, again, face tattoo syndrome. Do something intentionally and evidently controversial, meant to be provocative, but if anyone notices or mentions it, they are bigots, r-ists, etc. It's foolproof marketing.
Well, hate it when I accidentally delete a comment I worked on writing for like 20 minutes.
tl;dr I am a huge Tolkien nerd who remains super excited to this set, to the point I've been wanting to buy at least 2 boxes since it was announced. Still just as hyped, now that we're seeing good cards. And of all the things to care about in a Tolkien adaptation, a character's appearance is about the least important thing, because he didn't care much about it either; most of the consistency we got in LotR was thanks to editors.
There's a long stretch between "Tolkien, whose wish was to rescue and paint the spirit of Northern Europe in a good light (especially during the Nazi regime, as he himself said) wasn't super detailed about his character's appearance" and "Black Aragorn totally makes sense"
Do actual people actually care that they made Aragorn black?
Yes, some people who care both for Magic the Gathering (THE Trading Card Game par excellence) and Lord of the Rings (one of the last, if not the last true and exemplar modern product of a particularly European -specifically Germanic and Norse- sensibility and heritage), care that their favorite game represents their most beloved cultural product well.
When it comes to Tolkien, I think people should realize that a big section of the fans don't just see his works as "generic fantasy world". They see a manifestation of a culture they identify with. Just like the Japanese would see Ruruoni Kenshin or other Samurai/Yokai/etc stories. Everyone is entitled to feel pride for their culture. Does that mean that nobody else can enjoy Samurai anime or LOTR? Of course not, but that doesn't mean people are obligated to take well the inclusion of external ethnicities (for commercial reasons, at that) in your traditional/mythological/historical setting. Case in point: Dragon Ball Evolution. Heck, even Rings of Power to an extent.
So Aragorn being black seems to be a condition put in the general design sheet for the whole set, judging from the previous artwork we saw. Call me whatever you like, I don't like it. One thing is an artist's interpretation of a description, this seems like an intentional contradiction of the description. Don't be surprised if many fans don't like it. And yes, his skin color is not described in detail, but we all know how Tolkien intended Númenoreans to look.
Also, Red for Aragorn is hard to sell. He never was particularly angry or impulsive, and I don't remember his emotions getting the best of him nor defining him. He always kept his cool and was well versed in lore and smart at tracking from being a ranger. Totally Bant in my book, which makes sense as he was raised in Rivendell.
How is Rivendel, the Last Homely House where most of the ancient lore and artifacts of Middle Earth are kept Red in any way? Elrond is one of the most Blue characters in LOTR, he's a master of lore retreated in his private secluded refuge where characters both in the Hobbit and LOTR go to decipher ancient maps and learn stuff.
Whete is Éomer in these pics? Can't find him.
Before this discussion, it never even crossed my mind that I would ever need to see latinos in Innistrad in order to feel immersed in Innistrad. Same with Ravnica, Kamigawa, etc. Lorwyn is my favorite plane and there's not even any humans there. Similarly, my heart has lain in Middle Earth my whole life and there's absolutely nothing in there that I could even apply or associate with America, North or South. The fact that apparently more and more people need to see their own ethnicity and culture populating literary and artistic works in order for them to feel like they can immerse themselves in them is to me actually a symptom of a large cultural problem.
Okay. Now I'll stop.
I got a no politics warning so I'll just try to answer this particular address to my post. From his letter #45:
How does this apply to Aragorn? Well, he clearly embodied Tolkien's ideas expressed in this extract, an ideal ruler, a leader of men par excellence, the true king who was to bring about an era of reconciliation betweent the human and the divine. Basically the "king" aspect or avatar of that noble northern spirit (much like Gandalf was the angelic/divine and Frodo the everyman). Now it's true that Tolkien was not a "nordicist" and much less a supremacist of any kind, as much as some people to this day still try to make the public believe (with good success; see what his own British government had to say about his works a few days ago). Regardless of that, Black Aragorn, black Galadriel, mixed race Éowyn, etc, just doesn't feel like Tolkien. It's just a deviation from what Tolkien tried to portray. It's purposely changing part of what the book was talking about, and for no other reason than marketing (how many black employees and artists does Wizards actually give work to again?). Obviously many of its themes and ideas are not linked to any specific real-world group of people and can be appreciated by anyone (and I hope they are for centuries to come!), but the visual appearance of the characters is what gave the story its cultural origin/flavor. Heck, Wizards are experts at this: we have a Greek plane, an East Asian plane, a pre-Columbian/American conquest plane, various other European themed planes, Indian, ancient Egyptian, etc, and for the most part the people inhabiting those planes, as well as the cultural aesthetic, artistic designs, etc, look like they come from the places and periods they are based on. And guess what, that is cool. It gives each world a unique feel. Well, Middle Earth is the OG of precisely that. Every Magic plane is essentially a smaller excercise of what Tolkien was among the first to do.
Now if you don't mind the swaps, that's great, more power to you, clearly Wizards doesn't either. But there's a lot of people who enjoy Middle Earth as a world inspired by a certain cultural identity and aesthetic even if they don't belong to it (I'm latino), and it sucks to be instantly treated as a bigot (not by you, speaking in general) if you don't like it when they change said flavor.
But, again, face tattoo syndrome. Do something intentionally and evidently controversial, meant to be provocative, but if anyone notices or mentions it, they are bigots, r-ists, etc. It's foolproof marketing.
There's a long stretch between "Tolkien, whose wish was to rescue and paint the spirit of Northern Europe in a good light (especially during the Nazi regime, as he himself said) wasn't super detailed about his character's appearance" and "Black Aragorn totally makes sense"
Yes, some people who care both for Magic the Gathering (THE Trading Card Game par excellence) and Lord of the Rings (one of the last, if not the last true and exemplar modern product of a particularly European -specifically Germanic and Norse- sensibility and heritage), care that their favorite game represents their most beloved cultural product well.
When it comes to Tolkien, I think people should realize that a big section of the fans don't just see his works as "generic fantasy world". They see a manifestation of a culture they identify with. Just like the Japanese would see Ruruoni Kenshin or other Samurai/Yokai/etc stories. Everyone is entitled to feel pride for their culture. Does that mean that nobody else can enjoy Samurai anime or LOTR? Of course not, but that doesn't mean people are obligated to take well the inclusion of external ethnicities (for commercial reasons, at that) in your traditional/mythological/historical setting. Case in point: Dragon Ball Evolution. Heck, even Rings of Power to an extent.