Is "Lord of the Rings" Racist?

Rummaging around the Worldwide Web is often a strange and wonderful experience, and sometimes a strange and awful one. While happily chasing Tolkienesque rabbits here and there on the internet, I came across a thread at a white supremacist forum, wherein the (subconscious) racist message of Lord of the Rings was being admiringly sifted and expounded on.

And then there was the obvious symbolism of the One Ring representing a World Bank conspiracy (those pesky Jews, of course).

On the surface, there might appear to be racism in LOTR, but I hold that only a racist could read it that way. It makes as much sense to say that, because Darth Vader wore black, George Lucas thinks black people are evil.

It also reminds me of something Chesterton said in Orthodoxy;

...though St. John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.

This applies to Tolkien, as well... in spades.

Comments

[John Kasaian]

Let us pray that the good Catholic message within LOTR is soon recognized by these louts and upon recognizing LOTR for the great moral drama which it is, will lead these sick nogoodniks toward conversion & reconciliation for the salvation of their mortal souls (if their souls haven't already been consumed by hatred!)

[Der Wolfanwalt]

Tim, when you mention Darth Vader, it unfortunately brought to mind the unfortunate movie "Chasing Amy," which I unfortunately watched. In spite of all this misfortune, however, there was a redeeming moment of humor in the piece.

A character in the flick comments on how "one might think that Darth Vader being black would be a good thing, because he's down with the Force and all," but that Lucas went and ruined it in "Return of the Jedi" by showing that Vader was actually a white guy. The moral Lucas was pushing, according to the character, is that "inside every black man there's a white man trying to get out."

I don't know why that just occurred to me, but crazy interpretations of LotR just make me laugh.

[Del]

"inside every black man there's a white man trying to get out."

Totally missing the moral, which is "inside every evil man, there's a good man trying to get out."

But a lunatic (such as a racist) always misses the main point in order to satisfy his monomania.

[Der Wolfanwalt]

@ Del:

I completely, totally, utterly missed that connection. Wow. :)

[Maolsheachlann]

Lord of the Rings is totally racist. Just ask the National Association for Orcs and Goblins. They're LIVID with Tolkien, I can tell you.

[Tim J.]

"Lord of the Rings is totally racist. Just ask the National Association for Orcs and Goblins. They're LIVID with Tolkien, I can tell you."

Oh, you're naughty...