3 ms·

You do know that Lord of the Rings is a fiction right? It happens in a reality where literal magic exits. I mean does the story specify the skin color of every

You do know that Lord of the Rings is a fiction right? It happens in a reality where literal magic exits. I mean does the story specify the skin color of every character? Does it say that every elf is white skinned? I mean this is in a magical world, for all we know hobbits skin tone changes with age like that of Chimpanzees, being light when they are young, and darker as they get older. Or maybe non-binary genders are actually quite common among wizards. There is plenty of room for diversity in a fictitious universe. In fact a lack of diversity requires the special reading here, not the other way around. Then the story is literally about a bunch of races solving a problem by working together. I mean the text it self literally celebrates diversity. Why wouldn’t you depict that in your casting?

b112 4y ago
Different species, not races.
- runarberg 4y ago
  Sorry, I’m used to use the word race in a fantasy setting and species in a natural setting. A race in a fantasy world is any species a character of that story can belong to. This gets confusing e.g. in Star Trek where races exist in the fantasy sense and in a cultural sense (e.g. Being black (cultural race) is as much a part of Benjamin Sisko as being a human (biological race) is).
  - b112 4y ago
    Yes, I agree. I just feel it important here, as the divides are huge, both culturally and especially physicallly, than what we used to think of as 'race' between humans.
- mrob 4y ago
  In Lord of the Rings, humans, elves, and orcs can all interbreed, so they are all the same species.
  - runarberg 4y ago
    Different species can also interbreed in the natural world. E.g. wolves and coyotes regularly produce fertile offspring (most often via dogs since wolves and coyotes mate at different times), grizzle bear and polar bear likewise (will happen more often as polar bears migrate south from the melting ice caps). Even humans interbred in the history of our species with different species of humans (most notably Neanderthals). I think the both terms are correct, but I like races better because species also includes every lifeform which can never be characters, like ravens, wargs or even tobacco plants.
  - b112 4y ago
    Just like donkeys and horses then?
    - mrob 4y ago
      Donkeys and horses produce infertile mules. Elves and humans produce fertile offspring. Aragorn has elvish ancestors.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - robonerd 4y ago
        > Donkeys and horses produce infertile mules. Usually.
      - samatman 4y ago
        In the Dark Sun setting from AD&D, the offspring of humans and dwarves are also infertile. Also called muls, which isn't the most creative move but hey. I don't recall there being any children of dwarves and men in the Tolkien legendarium, though I've not read it all by any means. Given how common "interfertile but with sterile offspring" is between related species in nature, it's relatively rare in games and fantasy settings.

b112 4y ago

Different species, not races.

runarberg 4y ago
Sorry, I’m used to use the word race in a fantasy setting and species in a natural setting. A race in a fantasy world is any species a character of that story can belong to. This gets confusing e.g. in Star Trek where races exist in the fantasy sense and in a cultural sense (e.g. Being black (cultural race) is as much a part of Benjamin Sisko as being a human (biological race) is).
- b112 4y ago
  Yes, I agree. I just feel it important here, as the divides are huge, both culturally and especially physicallly, than what we used to think of as 'race' between humans.
mrob 4y ago
In Lord of the Rings, humans, elves, and orcs can all interbreed, so they are all the same species.
- runarberg 4y ago
  Different species can also interbreed in the natural world. E.g. wolves and coyotes regularly produce fertile offspring (most often via dogs since wolves and coyotes mate at different times), grizzle bear and polar bear likewise (will happen more often as polar bears migrate south from the melting ice caps). Even humans interbred in the history of our species with different species of humans (most notably Neanderthals). I think the both terms are correct, but I like races better because species also includes every lifeform which can never be characters, like ravens, wargs or even tobacco plants.
- b112 4y ago
  Just like donkeys and horses then?
  - mrob 4y ago
    Donkeys and horses produce infertile mules. Elves and humans produce fertile offspring. Aragorn has elvish ancestors.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - robonerd 4y ago
      > Donkeys and horses produce infertile mules. Usually.
    - samatman 4y ago
      In the Dark Sun setting from AD&D, the offspring of humans and dwarves are also infertile. Also called muls, which isn't the most creative move but hey. I don't recall there being any children of dwarves and men in the Tolkien legendarium, though I've not read it all by any means. Given how common "interfertile but with sterile offspring" is between related species in nature, it's relatively rare in games and fantasy settings.