Title

More White Supremacy? "The Lord of the Rings" as Pro-American Imperialism

Publication Date

10-1-2005

Document Type

Article

Abstract

"The Lord of the Rings" continues Hollywood's recurrent theme of good triumphing over evil. The viewer is supposed to identify with the heroes, whiteness, and goodness, which of course triumphs over evil and blackness. Although the cast is made up almost entirely of White people, people also do not question this narrative of White supremacy. To contrast the goodness of the main actors, hordes of nameless people of color serve the familiar role of enemy. The Orcs and Goblins represent Hollywood's overarching and historical narrative of people of color as angry, crazed, dark, ugly, thick lipped, and constantly fighting among themselves. Not one is light skinned or even "good enough" to wear light colored clothing. In this article, the author explains how this film reflects White superiority. He further contends that this film and the American imperialism it represents would not work so well if not for racism.

Publication Title

Multicultural Perspectives

Volume

7

Issue

4

First Page

54

Last Page

58

Publisher Policy

pre-print, post-print (with 18 month embargo)

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