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But in a fictional world where different races have various magical powers and vastly different anatomies, a character's race (or rather species) rather does de
by Tycho 16y ago
But in a fictional world where different races have various magical powers and vastly different anatomies, a character's race (or rather species) rather does define a lot about them from the reader's perspective.
I mean do episodes of Star Trek go 'this is Bob, the sentient space nebula - he has two kids and likes to drink with his friends at the weekend' ?
LoTR no doubt does have some collectivist/nationalist/whaterverist trappings, but I find it completely unfair the way people call Tolkien racist by juxtaposing some modern and inanalagous ethnicity debate onto his fictional world.
- crux_ 16y agoRE: Star Trek: Yes, they do that -- only it's Isabella, the sentient space nebula, not Bob. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_Friend_%28Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_Friend_%28Star_Trek:_... I think you can fairly call Tolkien racist without bringing an external debate into it -- the fact is that as an author he spent an inordinate number of pages establishing racial heritage, and his characters are deeply straitjacketed by their race.