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The Rings of Power: First Two Episodes Thoughts
A significant attack of neuralgia has knocked me largely off screens and spared everyone who sees my DW from a several-thousand-word-long exegesis on The Rings of Power. I will offer just a few thoughts instead.
* I liked episode 2 much more than episode 1.
* The acting is very good. I put this partly down to impressive directing as well.
* I appreciate that the script (for the most part) is willing to use more old-fashioned words and syntax. Occasional modernisms like "That's not an option" ring a tin bell for me, but they're few.
* I really like the original characters, and I suspect my favorite bits of the show are likely to be those that focus on original characters or original + canon, while the canon + canon scenes are more likely to irritate me due to how far afield they are from the source material. (Given that apparently a condition of the sale of rights was sticking with canon in major points, I'm astounded at how very far afield some of this feels.)
* I am annoyed—and I confess I find it sexist—that while Elvish women have to look gorgeous and young (as they should), Elvish men seem to be largely typecast to look like average-looking, middle-aged humans. It's like the casting director decided the "female gaze" doesn't matter. It's counter-canonical, and it's also big missed opportunity to get a lot of new hardcore fans. It's almost like the thinking is "We'd rather give up easy money and attention than cater to women's desires," and that feels dismissive of het female fans almost to the point of disrespectful. (It's dismissive to anyone who's into attractive men, but the major demographic that covers in marketing terms is het women.)
* My biggest question at this point is where the hell is Celeborn? And I can't think of an answer that would not, to some degree, involve bad storytelling, which worries me.
* Query: Is Celebrían's name actually mentioned in LotR and, if not, are they allowed to use it? If this ends up being an issue, all I can say is "Curse you, Professor, and your patriarchal 'he married the daughter of Celeborn.' Bet you never thought it would come back to bite you this way!" (Please note, I'm joking—mostly.) (That said, if they can't use it, it wouldn't be too hard to just introduce her via made-up epithet, like Lúthien has "Tinúviel.")
* I think they've handled race really well. They've added a lot of representation of people of color in ways that mostly feel realistic and well-integrated into the range of phenotypes presented. Arondir (sp?) so far is an exception (and also the cutest male Elf), but I have hopes we'll see more of the Elvish group he comes from at some point.
* The female Dwarves feel very Dwarvish, very well done.
* I liked episode 2 much more than episode 1.
* The acting is very good. I put this partly down to impressive directing as well.
* I appreciate that the script (for the most part) is willing to use more old-fashioned words and syntax. Occasional modernisms like "That's not an option" ring a tin bell for me, but they're few.
* I really like the original characters, and I suspect my favorite bits of the show are likely to be those that focus on original characters or original + canon, while the canon + canon scenes are more likely to irritate me due to how far afield they are from the source material. (Given that apparently a condition of the sale of rights was sticking with canon in major points, I'm astounded at how very far afield some of this feels.)
* I am annoyed—and I confess I find it sexist—that while Elvish women have to look gorgeous and young (as they should), Elvish men seem to be largely typecast to look like average-looking, middle-aged humans. It's like the casting director decided the "female gaze" doesn't matter. It's counter-canonical, and it's also big missed opportunity to get a lot of new hardcore fans. It's almost like the thinking is "We'd rather give up easy money and attention than cater to women's desires," and that feels dismissive of het female fans almost to the point of disrespectful. (It's dismissive to anyone who's into attractive men, but the major demographic that covers in marketing terms is het women.)
* My biggest question at this point is where the hell is Celeborn? And I can't think of an answer that would not, to some degree, involve bad storytelling, which worries me.
* Query: Is Celebrían's name actually mentioned in LotR and, if not, are they allowed to use it? If this ends up being an issue, all I can say is "Curse you, Professor, and your patriarchal 'he married the daughter of Celeborn.' Bet you never thought it would come back to bite you this way!" (Please note, I'm joking—mostly.) (That said, if they can't use it, it wouldn't be too hard to just introduce her via made-up epithet, like Lúthien has "Tinúviel.")
* I think they've handled race really well. They've added a lot of representation of people of color in ways that mostly feel realistic and well-integrated into the range of phenotypes presented. Arondir (sp?) so far is an exception (and also the cutest male Elf), but I have hopes we'll see more of the Elvish group he comes from at some point.
* The female Dwarves feel very Dwarvish, very well done.
no subject
1) voluminous and restrictive clothing for women
2) long and often intricate female hair that will also restrict freedom
3) short hair and functional clothing for men
Just ugh. I'm really enjoying RoP but there are (non-spoilery) sticking points. Why can't the elvish females and males look more alike and more youthful, which would match their longevity and more contemplative culture? And why can't nomadic harfoot women have simple trousers and tunics instead of ridiculously bulky multi-layered skirts that would catch on branches and always hamper their movement? Medieval fashion has a hell of a lot to answer to in fantasy and even SF.
no subject
I think how to do fashion goes right into how much one wants to follow Tolkien's exact lead vs. evolving the story for the times. Tolkien's lead (as I'm being starkly reminded of my Silmarillion reread) is that Elvish (and Numenórean) societies are very patriarchal, with a lot of emphasis on women's beauty. It seems extraordinarily rare for a woman to be known for anything other than (1) beauty, (2) what romances she was in, and (3) whose child/mother she is. (Galadriel is only female Elf I can think of who seems significantly known for things outside those roles.) In that frame of reference, it makes sense to me that the Elvish noblewomen would be all dolled up, much as he describes Arwen, for example, in Rivendell in LotR and the men would be more clothed for action (side note: I don't buy Celebrimbor wandering all the way to Khazad-dûm (sp?) in his spiffy evening robe). Tolkien does offer a tradition of Elves having some shieldmaiden-type warriors, but this always seems an exception.
My personal desires--which aren't very relevant--tend toward keeping "problematic" worldbuilding and actively exploring it through characters that challenge it, rather than changing it to be less "problematic." Thus, I'd probably rather see a discussion of how fashion is not fair than see fashion made more fair. (But I agree about the Harfoots: simple survival necessity would reasonably argue for simpler clothes.)