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Black hobbits, female heroes and other races in Amazon’s new ‘Lord of the Rings’ series draw mixed reactions
Oct 14, 2021
Amazon’s upcoming ‘Lord of the Rings’ series has drawn criticism for “preachy multiculturalism” after it emerged that the show will feature a diverse cast with a “tribe” of multi-racial hobbits and a “very strong female presence”.
Earlier in the week, British actor Lenny Henry revealed that he would be playing a “black hobbit” from an “indigenous” tribe called the Harfoots – a variety of hobbit described by Lord of the Rings (LOTR) author J.R.R. Tolkien as having darker skin.
Describing the series as a “prequel to the age” seen in the LOTR books and films, Henry told the BBC that the show was about the “early days of the Shire and of Tolkien’s environment”. In Tolkien’s fantasy world of Middle-Earth, the Shire is the green grassland home country of the hobbit people.
“So we’re an indigenous population of Harfoots. We’re hobbits, but we’re called Harfoots. And we’re multicultural. We’re a tribe. We’re not a race,” said Henry, who added that the Harfoots were made up of a number of different ethnicities.
https://www.rt.com/news/537446-amazo...y-cast-reveal/
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