I think this is one of the best and most concise summaries of the failures and weakness of ROP. Beautifully put in every way.

It seems like we can all agree to some degree on the list you've made. I'm sure those things bother each of us more or less - as you said - based on our own unique perspectives.

It feels like some fans are frustrated that when those complaints are outlined - the show's defenders (be it other fans, or the producers, or Amazon, or the media) sometimes just labels all complaint as racist trolling. I don't think they're doing that - but I can tell it's what Youtube thinks they're doing. Youtube presents it as the most obvious and primary concern with the show - it's performative wokeness and the fact that the studio is using that wokeness as a shield against criticism. I believe DGHCaretaker refers to this as "Fan-baiting" but I may be wrong - please correct me.

I can imagine this would be really frustrating - because you see a show that seems half baked at times and when you point it out people call you a racist.

HOWEVER

I think this thread has done a great job of diving into the nuance and starting to untangle some of this. I think the show has been pretty honest about its slow start - in the usual, politically diplomatic film studio speak way. I think they've heard the criticisms and we'll likely see the fruit of it in season 3 and beyond. But we have yet to find any evidence of DEI being one of the reasons why the show is stumbling - let alone evidence that it's obvious.

Debuting a show like this with a cast like this in the middle of a culture war like this is not the same thing as sacrificing good story-telling on the alter of diversity. I keep repeating myself because that seems to be the claim and accusation but there doesn't seem to be any real THERE there.

It feels like some fans are frustrated that when those complaints are outlined - the show's defenders (be it other fans, or the producers, or Amazon, or the media) sometimes just labels all complaint as racist trolling. I don't think they're doing that - but I can tell it's what Youtube thinks they're doing. Youtube presents it as the most obvious and primary concern with the show - it's performative wokeness and the fact that the studio is using that wokeness as a shield against criticism. I believe DGHCaretaker refers to this as "Fan-baiting" but I may be wrong - please correct me.

Dr. Thala Siren
@DrThalaSiren
Sep 9, 2022 • 17 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X

“Fan-baiting” is a form of marketing used by producers, film studios, and actors, with the intent of exciting artificial controversy, garnering publicity, and explaining away the negative reviews of a new and often highly anticipated production. 1/10

Fan-baiting emerged as a marketing strategy in 2016/17, after fans of beloved franchises such as Ghostbusters and Star Wars objected to what they saw as poor writing choices, sloppy scripts, and cheap alterations to plot lines and characters for the sake of shock value. 2/10

Along side these critics, there was a small group of bigoted but vociferous commentators who objected to the inclusion of black and female actors in roles traditionally held by white male actors. Some of these individuals began publicly harassing actors. 3/10

Bigots have always attacked diversity on screen, but in a highly polarized political climate, instances of harassment on garnered disproportionately massive media coverage, which provided production studios with both free publicity and a new defence against actual critics. 4/10

Studios seized the opportunity to discredit criticism of poor writing & acting, insinuating that these, too, were motivated by bigotry. What used to be accepted as standard critiques were increasingly dismissed as part of the ignorant commentary of a “toxic fandom.” 5/10

Soon, it became standard practice before release to issue announcements specifying diverse casting choices, coupled with pre-emptive declarations of solidarity with the cast whom they now counted on to receive disparaging and harassing comments. 6/10

Actors who are women and/or BIPOC became props & shields for craven corporate laziness and opportunism. The studios save money both by avoiding expensive veteran writers as well as by offloading publicity to news outlets and social media covering the artificial controversy. 7/10

“Fan-baiting” works. It brings in a new sympathetic audience whose endorsement is more about taking a public stance against prejudice than any real interest in the art. “Fan-baiting” also permits studios to cultivate public skepticism over the legitimacy of poor reviews. 8/10

“Fan-baiting” also compels reviewers to temper their criticism, for fear of becoming associated with the “toxic fandom” and losing their professional credibly, resulting in telling discrepancies between critic and audience review scores. 9/10

The true nature of “fan-baiting” is never so clear as when a script is well-crafted and audience reviews are accordingly positive, exposing the announcements, declarations of solidarity, & grooming of skepticism for what they really are: cynical corporate marketing tactics. 10/10

Put another way, media corporations have found a way to monetize the racism that they set their actors up to receive. 11/10

Amazon knows exactly what it's doing. One of the first images released was of Disa. On cue, a couple bigots said the predictable, allowing a giddy Amazon to release its pre-prepared scripted statement denouncing the "pushback". It's the new business model. 12/10

Fan-baiting isn't "black people getting cast". Rather, it's corporations banking on black people getting harassed to inflate publicity. Hence, diversity casting is in part motivated by the hope that the corporation can maximize harassment and, consequently, $$$. 13/10

Racism and sexism are the main issues. A secondary issue - one that is being overlooked - is corporate monetization of bigotry. Even while a studio purports to be "challenging bigotry" it is also counting on bigots being bigoted, and doing its best to direct them to the actors. 14/10

Solution: Media corporations should (a) hire experienced writers and give them the time required to write great characterization and plots for these actors, (unlike Amazon and Disney) and (b) accept critique rather than suggest all critique is motivated by bigotry. 15/10

As evidenced by the success and great reviews of HBO's "House of the Dragon" in comparison to Amazon's Rings of Power, both of which feature a diverse cast, the problem is the quality of writing, not the complexions of the actors. 16/10

For those of you who like this thread on #fanbaiting, know that it is an example of structural racism: the individuals involved may not be personally racist, but the profit motive of the corporations who employ them orients them to make decisions that harm racialized peoples. 17/10

As a fan of House of the Dragon - I'd be curious to see if the writing team changed in season 2 because the quality dropped way off. Not sure how that affects or is affected by the theory presented in your post.

What do you make of the people for whom Rings of Power makes sense?

Like me.
Nothing about the casting confuses me.

And I'm someone who knows the lore. How is that possible?

Most fans and non-fans I've talked to have had mountains of discontent - but it's usually things that normally get picked over, like that's not how I imagined it, or I wish they had the rights to really tell the 2nd age story, or the Balrog shouldnt' be there etc.

When I meet fans who are stuck on the race of the cast, it usually leads upon further investigation into the waters we're drowning in now. Namely - Amazon forcing its agenda on people and how "Everything needs to be woke now" and stuff like that. It's almost never someone who genuinely can't make sense of the casting from a lore perspective.

I'm willing to accept and believe that I'm meeting an anomaly here - someone whose concern really is rooted in what they say it is - and I'm genuinely curious, what do you make of fans like me?

Is it ok that we exist? Or are we betraying Tolkien somehow by being fans of this show? I hope not, because I'm a huge fan of ROP and I'd hate to have to turn in my Middle Earth passport because of it.