Amazon’s Middle Earth is not Tolkien’s Middle Earth
Amazon’s Middle Earth is not Tolkien’s Middle Earth
The Issue
In this petition we ask that the risqué content be removed from Amazon Studios' Middle Earth TV show.
Fans of Middle Earth!
Probably the most loved aspect of Tolkien’s Middle Earth comes from his imagination: how he developed his characters and built Middle Earth has been used by numerous authors for their own fantasy worlds. Tolkien built his stories off of names and created entire languages for all of the races in his world. For Elvish alone he wrote 15 dialects (Quenya Course, MPRNews). Stories of hope, friendship, and courage, made him a highly regarded writer.
While Amazon may be following the events and specifics about Middle Earth, it is not following J.R.R. Tolkien's vision for Middle Earth. Jennifer Ward-Lealand has been hired by Amazon as an intimacy coordinator and will be making sex scenes for the Middle Earth TV Show (The Federalist, Film Daily). Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, has announced that he wants a "Game of Thrones" type show produced by Amazon (Variety, TheOneRing.net). Clearly Amazon is adding sexualized content to the Middle Earth Series. This is completely against how Tolkien created Middle Earth and the worldview he exhibited. Tolkien wanted his work on Middle Earth to be pure (TheOneRing.net). In an article written by Cliff Broadway on TheOneRing.net, Mr. Broadway shows an excerpt from Tolkien's Letter 131 from "The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.” Tolkien’s letter describes that he wanted to fill his stories with "splendour," "elusive beauty," and "purged of the gross." Mr. Broadway highlights the line, "'high', purged of the gross" to make it clear that Tolkien didn't want anything crude or less than tasteful in his works (TheOneRing.net). Tolkien was a devout Catholic, and content such as nudity and sex wasn’t included because he disdained such writing (Patheos). Furthermore, he didn’t need it to capture his audience. For instance, his writing drew in readers because of the detail and story behind it. Tolkien made another world by creating his own detailed language (conjugating verbs and all), in depth family trees, and vast history. The stories he wrote were to have a semblance of royalty. Sex sells, but it cheapens the story and while sensational, it quickly goes out of style (look at Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey). Tolkien’s story is timeless and doesn’t need all the crude, gross additions.
Middle Earth fans should be concerned about Amazon including sexualized content in the show. Tolkien appealed to someone greater than man, so he only aimed, ultimately, to please his Creator. The way he developed his stories with high values created an epic story. Tolkien wanted his books to be read by all ages, and to invoke deep thought into something like why Frodo left behind the fellowship to continue his task alone. Let's not try to "purge" that from his work.
2,195
The Issue
In this petition we ask that the risqué content be removed from Amazon Studios' Middle Earth TV show.
Fans of Middle Earth!
Probably the most loved aspect of Tolkien’s Middle Earth comes from his imagination: how he developed his characters and built Middle Earth has been used by numerous authors for their own fantasy worlds. Tolkien built his stories off of names and created entire languages for all of the races in his world. For Elvish alone he wrote 15 dialects (Quenya Course, MPRNews). Stories of hope, friendship, and courage, made him a highly regarded writer.
While Amazon may be following the events and specifics about Middle Earth, it is not following J.R.R. Tolkien's vision for Middle Earth. Jennifer Ward-Lealand has been hired by Amazon as an intimacy coordinator and will be making sex scenes for the Middle Earth TV Show (The Federalist, Film Daily). Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, has announced that he wants a "Game of Thrones" type show produced by Amazon (Variety, TheOneRing.net). Clearly Amazon is adding sexualized content to the Middle Earth Series. This is completely against how Tolkien created Middle Earth and the worldview he exhibited. Tolkien wanted his work on Middle Earth to be pure (TheOneRing.net). In an article written by Cliff Broadway on TheOneRing.net, Mr. Broadway shows an excerpt from Tolkien's Letter 131 from "The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.” Tolkien’s letter describes that he wanted to fill his stories with "splendour," "elusive beauty," and "purged of the gross." Mr. Broadway highlights the line, "'high', purged of the gross" to make it clear that Tolkien didn't want anything crude or less than tasteful in his works (TheOneRing.net). Tolkien was a devout Catholic, and content such as nudity and sex wasn’t included because he disdained such writing (Patheos). Furthermore, he didn’t need it to capture his audience. For instance, his writing drew in readers because of the detail and story behind it. Tolkien made another world by creating his own detailed language (conjugating verbs and all), in depth family trees, and vast history. The stories he wrote were to have a semblance of royalty. Sex sells, but it cheapens the story and while sensational, it quickly goes out of style (look at Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey). Tolkien’s story is timeless and doesn’t need all the crude, gross additions.
Middle Earth fans should be concerned about Amazon including sexualized content in the show. Tolkien appealed to someone greater than man, so he only aimed, ultimately, to please his Creator. The way he developed his stories with high values created an epic story. Tolkien wanted his books to be read by all ages, and to invoke deep thought into something like why Frodo left behind the fellowship to continue his task alone. Let's not try to "purge" that from his work.
2,195
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on March 26, 2021