Eye of Sauron: Rings of Power

Today’s episode kicks off our series on the American right’s obsession with Lord of the Rings. Craig tells Dani all about Amazon’s brand new, billion-dollar Rings of Power series, and we discuss the mobs of far-right trolls that have flooded the new production with waves of racist and misogynistic hate. We also take a step back to think through the larger, social ecosystem that these online fascists have learned to harness in their decades-long, anti-democratic culture war. In the second half of the show, we go back in time to the release of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, which came out in the aftermath of 9/11. Craig recalls his experience of the films’ release as George W. Bush rallied the nation for a retributive war in the Middle East, and we discuss the revolutionary potential that neo-fascist figures like Steve Bannon have found in fantasy fandom.

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Notes

Vanity Fair, “Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Series Rises: Inside The Rings of Power.” Anthony Breznican and Joanna Robinson, 10 Feb. 2022.

Guardian, “‘The history of fantasy is racialized’: Lord of the Rings series sparks debate over race.” Sam Thielman, 20 Feb. 2022.

The Conversation, “Lord of the Rings: debunking the backlash against non-white actors in Amazon’s new adaptation.” Dimitri Fimi and Mariana Rios Maldonado. 25 Feb. 2022.

Time Magazine, “Feeding on Fantasy.” Lev Grossman, 2 Dec. 2002.

Further Reading

Race and Popular Fantasy Literature: Habits of Whiteness. Helen Young, Routledge Press, 2018.

The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood. Kristin Thomas, University of California Press, 2007.