Today’s special, bonus episode interrupts our “Eye of Sauron” series to dig into the week’s Tolkien-centered, headline news. We’ll talk about the struggle unfolding between media-titan Amazon and the far-right, troll armies review-bombing its new Rings of Power series. We’ll also reiterate some points we made in episode one about the mass-media ecosystem that online fascists use to harness the global advertising power of cinematic blockbusters. Then, we’ll dig into two fresh examples of this ecosystem at work: a supercharging tweet thread by billionaire, mega-troll Elon Musk and a wildly irresponsible, feature article from CNN.

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Notes

News Coverage of the Review Bombing

Hollywood Reporter, “Is the ‘Rings of Power’ Getting Review Bombed? Amazon Suspends Ratings.” James Hibberd, 2 Sept. 2022.

Hollywood Reporter, “A Racist Backlash to ‘Rings of Power’ Puts Tolkien’s Legacy into Focus.” Richard Newby, 2 Sept. 2022.

Huffington Post, “Elon Musk Complains Men Aren’t ‘Smart and Nice’ Enough in ‘The Rings of Power.” Cole Delbyck, 6 Sept. 2022.

Guardian. “Lord of the Rings Stars Speak out against Racist ‘threats, harassment and abuse.’” 8 Sept. 2022.

Coverage We Analyze

CNN. “When ‘Wokeness’ Comes to Middle-earth: Why Some Say Diverse Casting Ruins the New ‘Lord of the Rings’ Series.” John Blake, 5 Sept. 2022.

Wonkette. “Actual Racist Trolls Real Mad about Fictional Black Elves, Hobbits.” Stephen Robinson, 6 Sept. 2022.

Further Reading

The Conversation. “The Rings of Power Is Suffering a Racist Backlash for Casting Actors of Colour—but Tolkien’s Work Has Always Attracted White Supremacists.” Helen Young, 7 Sept. 2022.