Hobbit Casting Agent Fired For Dismissing Non-White Hobbits

[JDKJ]

And I quote LotR page 4:

"Before the crossing of the mountains the Hobbits had already become divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors and Fallohides. The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller and shorter,..."

Nice. You win 100,000 internets for that one. And you should be making about 99.9% of the posters to this thread wonder why they're so quick to run their mouths about that which they know absolutely nothing.

I'd like to agree, but all the hobbits in Tolkien's main works are Harfoots from The Shire. The Stoors are from a different region, the Gladden Fields.

While the Hobbits should be depicted by white actors, the casting agent really seems like kind of an ass for putting that bit in. If you do things like that, you should subtly hint at them, not go and add a comment like that without permission.

I'm totally confused. What are you trying to say? It's the Harfoot Hobbits that are brown-skinned. Or, at least, "more brown-skinned" (which could well be taken to mean that Hobbits other than the Harfoots are indeed brown-skinned themselves).

Oh crap. Seems I don't know my middle earth trivia quite as well as I thought. Sorry about that.

They probably just want to keep hobbits the way people are used to seeing them, the way they're depicted in TLOTR.

Which is one of the downsides of translating books into films: the lazy among us can then never bother to read the books (not saying that's you, just saying).

 

[likalaruku]

Correction; he has since been Sackvilled. Should I be suprised? Seeing as the LotR movies had all the skin tone variation as a spread of of Club crackers & Saltines.

He sweet, I'm just short enough to qualify for a tall Hobbit woman.

 

[duchaked]

I don't think...that's racist

I mean it's one of those situations where you should be allowed to say "okay, we need this kind of person to act for this role"

ridiculous

 

[JDKJ]

zala-taichou wins this thread. And the whole Escapist site. And the internet. In fact, zala-taichou wins 100,000 internets for pointing out that, beyond all dispute, Hobbits, in Tolkien's mind, were brown-skinned. Way to go, zala-taichou.

 

[duchaked]

On the one hand, racial discrimination is bad. On the other hand, I doubt I would have much luck getting a role in a Hong Kong action flick.

Middle Earth isn't a cultural melting pot.

yeah pretty much
it's a world created using a Western fantasy lore

in a different style, try casting a caucasian in a fantasy setting that's say...feudal Japan
unless it's one of those like "oh my gosh Tom Cruise comes and learns the way of the natives whoo hoo" things

 

[_Cake_]

I always pictured some of the hobbits being a bit darker, but not just the men. Seriously I have a much larger issue with them separating how dark people can be by gender. Either make them all white or all a mix, but not just dark guys. That's fucking stupid and that IS offensive!

 

[RoBi3.0]

And I quote LotR page 4:

"Before the crossing of the mountains the Hobbits had already become divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors and Fallohides. The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller and shorter,..."

Nice. You win 100,000 internets for that one. And you should be making about 99.9% of the posters to this thread wonder why they're so quick to run their mouths about that which they know absolutely nothing.

I'd like to agree, but all the hobbits in Tolkien's main works are Harfoots from The Shire. The Stoors are from a different region, the Gladden Fields.

While the Hobbits should be depicted by white actors, the casting agent really seems like kind of an ass for putting that bit in. If you do things like that, you should subtly hint at them, not go and add a comment like that without permission.

I'm totally confused. What are you trying to say? It's the Harfoot Hobbits that are brown-skinned. Or, at least, "more brown-skinned" (which could well be taken to mean that Hobbits other than the Harfoots are indeed brown-skinned themselves).

Oh crap. Seems I don't know my middle earth trivia quite as well as I thought. Sorry about that.

They probably just want to keep hobbits the way people are used to seeing them, the way they're depicted in TLOTR.

Which is one of the downsides of translating books into films: the lazy among us can then never bother to read the books (not saying that's you, just saying).

I did read the books all of them, and at one point had more Tolkien literature sitting in my personal collection then my local Library owned, and didn't know that. I think the misconception is formed because 1) hobbit linage is only mentioned in the prologue and only briefly. and 2) LotR mainly follows hobbits of the Took line which the prologue specifically stated were strongly of the Fallohide strand (the fair skinned hobbits)

 

[LightspeedJack]

It's not like they would've cast any of the dark skinned actors anyway. Like people have said the Hobbits come from a cold part of the world, they would be light skinned.

 

[Shadedwill]

I'm sorry, but her claim makes no sense. Middle Earth is not a melting pot. I really hope they don't have black hobbits, because that will really be jarring to me and look really out of place. I have nothing against black people or actors, its just that the source material portrays the hobbits as white, if I'm not mistaken. It would just be ridiculous to change that.

 

[RoBi3.0]

zala-taichou wins this thread. And the whole Escapist site. And the internet. In fact, zala-taichou wins 100,000 internets for pointing out that, beyond all dispute, Hobbits, in Tolkien's mind, were brown-skinned. Way to go, zala-taichou.

In Tolkiens mind hobbits could have brown skin. Harfoots are the only breed mentioned to have brown skin and later on in the section quoted fallohides are described as have fair skin and fair hair.

 

[JDKJ]

And I quote LotR page 4:

"Before the crossing of the mountains the Hobbits had already become divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors and Fallohides. The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller and shorter,..."

Nice. You win 100,000 internets for that one. And you should be making about 99.9% of the posters to this thread wonder why they're so quick to run their mouths about that which they know absolutely nothing.

I'd like to agree, but all the hobbits in Tolkien's main works are Harfoots from The Shire. The Stoors are from a different region, the Gladden Fields.

While the Hobbits should be depicted by white actors, the casting agent really seems like kind of an ass for putting that bit in. If you do things like that, you should subtly hint at them, not go and add a comment like that without permission.

I'm totally confused. What are you trying to say? It's the Harfoot Hobbits that are brown-skinned. Or, at least, "more brown-skinned" (which could well be taken to mean that Hobbits other than the Harfoots are indeed brown-skinned themselves).

Oh crap. Seems I don't know my middle earth trivia quite as well as I thought. Sorry about that.

They probably just want to keep hobbits the way people are used to seeing them, the way they're depicted in TLOTR.

Which is one of the downsides of translating books into films: the lazy among us can then never bother to read the books (not saying that's you, just saying).

I did read the books all of them, and at one point had more Tolkien literature sitting in my personal collection then my local Library owned, and didn't know that. I think the misconception is formed because 1) hobbit linage is only mentioned in the prologue and only briefly. and 2) LotR mainly follows hobbits of the Took line which the prologue specifically stated were strongly of the Fallohide strand (the fair skinned hobbits)

Does it specifically describe them as "fair-skinned?" And I ask because if it doesn't, to say that a Harfoot is "more brown-skinned" than a Stoor and a Fallohide could mean that Stoors and Fallohides are themselves brown-skinned, just not as brown-skinned as a Harfoot.

EDIT: Never mind. Robi3.0 already answered my question.

 

[internetzealot1]

What a load of crap. This is why desrcimination laws are broken. If your non-white and you don't get what you want, all you have to do is play th race card. If I remember correctly, the only dark-skinned people in the LOTR books were the humans that worked for Sauron.

 

[Lem0nade Inlay]

This is actually ridiculous!

I mean imagine if there was a movie about Nelson Mandela, and some white actor was refused the role of Mandela and then called the casting director racist. It's the same situation in reverse!

 

[RoBi3.0]

And I quote LotR page 4:

"Before the crossing of the mountains the Hobbits had already become divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors and Fallohides. The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller and shorter,..."

Nice. You win 100,000 internets for that one. And you should be making about 99.9% of the posters to this thread wonder why they're so quick to run their mouths about that which they know absolutely nothing.

I'd like to agree, but all the hobbits in Tolkien's main works are Harfoots from The Shire. The Stoors are from a different region, the Gladden Fields.

While the Hobbits should be depicted by white actors, the casting agent really seems like kind of an ass for putting that bit in. If you do things like that, you should subtly hint at them, not go and add a comment like that without permission.

I'm totally confused. What are you trying to say? It's the Harfoot Hobbits that are brown-skinned. Or, at least, "more brown-skinned" (which could well be taken to mean that Hobbits other than the Harfoots are indeed brown-skinned themselves).

Oh crap. Seems I don't know my middle earth trivia quite as well as I thought. Sorry about that.

They probably just want to keep hobbits the way people are used to seeing them, the way they're depicted in TLOTR.

Which is one of the downsides of translating books into films: the lazy among us can then never bother to read the books (not saying that's you, just saying).

I did read the books all of them, and at one point had more Tolkien literature sitting in my personal collection then my local Library owned, and didn't know that. I think the misconception is formed because 1) hobbit linage is only mentioned in the prologue and only briefly. and 2) LotR mainly follows hobbits of the Took line which the prologue specifically stated were strongly of the Fallohide strand (the fair skinned hobbits)

Does it specifically describe them as "fair-skinned?" And I ask because if it doesn't, to say that a Harfoot is "more brown-skinned" than a Stoor and Fallohide could mean that Stoors and Fallohides are themselves brown-skinned, just not as brown-skinned as a Harfoot.

Yes

Quote
The Fallohides were Fairer of skin and also of hair, and they were taller and slimmer then the others.......

 

[JDKJ]

And I quote LotR page 4:

"Before the crossing of the mountains the Hobbits had already become divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors and Fallohides. The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller and shorter,..."

Nice. You win 100,000 internets for that one. And you should be making about 99.9% of the posters to this thread wonder why they're so quick to run their mouths about that which they know absolutely nothing.

I'd like to agree, but all the hobbits in Tolkien's main works are Harfoots from The Shire. The Stoors are from a different region, the Gladden Fields.

While the Hobbits should be depicted by white actors, the casting agent really seems like kind of an ass for putting that bit in. If you do things like that, you should subtly hint at them, not go and add a comment like that without permission.

I'm totally confused. What are you trying to say? It's the Harfoot Hobbits that are brown-skinned. Or, at least, "more brown-skinned" (which could well be taken to mean that Hobbits other than the Harfoots are indeed brown-skinned themselves).

Oh crap. Seems I don't know my middle earth trivia quite as well as I thought. Sorry about that.

They probably just want to keep hobbits the way people are used to seeing them, the way they're depicted in TLOTR.

Which is one of the downsides of translating books into films: the lazy among us can then never bother to read the books (not saying that's you, just saying).

I did read the books all of them, and at one point had more Tolkien literature sitting in my personal collection then my local Library owned, and didn't know that. I think the misconception is formed because 1) hobbit linage is only mentioned in the prologue and only briefly. and 2) LotR mainly follows hobbits of the Took line which the prologue specifically stated were strongly of the Fallohide strand (the fair skinned hobbits)

Does it specifically describe them as "fair-skinned?" And I ask because if it doesn't, to say that a Harfoot is "more brown-skinned" than a Stoor and Fallohide could mean that Stoors and Fallohides are themselves brown-skinned, just not as brown-skinned as a Harfoot.

Yes

Quote
The Fallohides were Fairer of skin and also of hair, and they were tall and slimmer then the others.......

Hmmm. I'm not gonna quibble the point (I'm happy enough to know that there are some brown-skinned Hobbits) but the quote doesn't necessarily mean that the Fallohides were fair-skinned. It could mean that they weren't as brown-skinned as a Harfoot. "Fairer" sounds as if it only makes a comparison, not a statement. But, again, it's a minor point and I ain't gonna quibble you on it. I'm just glad to know ther're some brown-skinned Hobbits (the same way I was glad to see that one African-American NASCAR driver) and that Gullom's Jewish. I'm cool.

 

[hightide]

It seems like a lot of people know that keeping the hobbits all white is a good idea but can't quite reason it out. First off, fantasy shouldn't be held to a lower standard, just because its make believe doesn't make it a lower form of art. In fact, the best fantasies all make sense in their own world, there is a reason fans get angry when a fictional character does or is something unreasonable, like say how Aizen from Bleach turned out to be (spoiler alert) unbelievably powerful pissed off lots of fans. That being said.

I don't believe the hobbits should be just white cause that's what the author said, but because to give them a multi culture look would ruin (imo) the most important thing they bring to the story... Innocents. They are a sheltered race that has had peace and happiness even though the outside world has been undergoing war after war, basically, they are inbreeds. It doesn't make any sense to have hobbits of different skin tones because they aren't multi culture, they are the opposite, they have been living together in peace for so long they all look the same and act the same. Even if you did write it into the fantasy world for there to be darker skinned hobbits, it doesn't change the fact that the viewer would associate the differences in skin color with different cultures, again ruining the sheltered hobbits idea by making them seems more worldly.

 

[Skratt]

As far as I am aware. The original books of J.R. Tolkien never had any colored hobbits. I don't think this is discrimination based on prejudice, rather, keeping to the original spirit of the novel. Naz Humphreys appears to be playing the race card, and it was easily predicted that she would do so. The ironic part of it is, that in by forcing your skin color into a fictional culture whereas such a provision was never made, is racist in itself. It does not respect the cultural heritage of the native hobbit. Maybe just ethnocentric?

How exactly can you determine the color of the skin of all Hobbits from a book? From what I remember, I have never read where it would indicate one way or the other. And why is it not perfectly acceptable to have a black dwarf or dark skinned Hobbit?

I've always found it amusing that the closer you are to good and light, the paler your skin and the closer to evil and darkness, the darker your skin. Obviously pigmentation works in reverse in the fantasy realm, or maybe it's just a kind of evolution - better to hide from beasties in the dark by being black? That's funny, I've always found it hard to discern colors in the dark...

 

[JDKJ]

It seems like a lot of people know that keeping the hobbits all white is a good idea but can't quite reason it out. First off, fantasy shouldn't be held to a lower standard, just because its make believe doesn't make it a lower form of art. In fact, the best fantasies all make sense in their own world, there is a reason fans get angry when a fictional character does or is something unreasonable, like say how Aizen from Bleach turned out to be (spoiler alert) unbelievably powerful pissed off lots of fans. That being said.

I don't believe the hobbits should be just white cause that's what the author said, but because to give them a multi culture look would ruin (imo) the most important thing they bring to the story... Innocents. They are a sheltered race that is peace and happy even though the outside world has been undergoing war after war, basically, they are inbreeds. It doesn't make any sense to have hobbits of different skin tones because they aren't multi culture, they are the opposite, they have been living together in peace for so long they all look the same and act the same. Even if you did write it into the fantasy world for there to be darker skinned hobbits, it doesn't change the fact that the viewer would associate the differences in skin color with different cultures, again ruining the sheltered hobbits idea by making them seems more worldly.

Read Tolkien. He never said the Hobbits are "white." According to Tolkien, the Hobbits are multi-ethnic or multi-racial. Take your pick (i.e., at least of various skin tones, ranging from "brown" to "fair").

 

[esperandote]

they didn't cast women for bilbo? SEXISM!!

 

[RoBi3.0]

And I quote LotR page 4:

"Before the crossing of the mountains the Hobbits had already become divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors and Fallohides. The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller and shorter,..."

Nice. You win 100,000 internets for that one. And you should be making about 99.9% of the posters to this thread wonder why they're so quick to run their mouths about that which they know absolutely nothing.

I'd like to agree, but all the hobbits in Tolkien's main works are Harfoots from The Shire. The Stoors are from a different region, the Gladden Fields.

While the Hobbits should be depicted by white actors, the casting agent really seems like kind of an ass for putting that bit in. If you do things like that, you should subtly hint at them, not go and add a comment like that without permission.

I'm totally confused. What are you trying to say? It's the Harfoot Hobbits that are brown-skinned. Or, at least, "more brown-skinned" (which could well be taken to mean that Hobbits other than the Harfoots are indeed brown-skinned themselves).

Oh crap. Seems I don't know my middle earth trivia quite as well as I thought. Sorry about that.

They probably just want to keep hobbits the way people are used to seeing them, the way they're depicted in TLOTR.

Which is one of the downsides of translating books into films: the lazy among us can then never bother to read the books (not saying that's you, just saying).

I did read the books all of them, and at one point had more Tolkien literature sitting in my personal collection then my local Library owned, and didn't know that. I think the misconception is formed because 1) hobbit linage is only mentioned in the prologue and only briefly. and 2) LotR mainly follows hobbits of the Took line which the prologue specifically stated were strongly of the Fallohide strand (the fair skinned hobbits)

Does it specifically describe them as "fair-skinned?" And I ask because if it doesn't, to say that a Harfoot is "more brown-skinned" than a Stoor and Fallohide could mean that Stoors and Fallohides are themselves brown-skinned, just not as brown-skinned as a Harfoot.

Yes

Quote
The Fallohides were Fairer of skin and also of hair, and they were tall and slimmer then the others.......

Hmmm. I'm not gonna quibble the point (I'm happy enough to know that there are some brown-skinned Hobbits) but the quote doesn't necessarily mean that the Fallohides were fair-skinned. It could mean that they weren't as brown-skinned as a Harfoot. "Fairer" sounds as if it only make a comparison, not a statement. But, again, it's a minor point and I ain't gonna quibble you on it. Again, I'm just glad to know ther're some brown-skinned Hobbits (the same way I was glad to see that one African-American NASCAR driver).

To be fair, browner of skin doesn't really mean that the had brown skin just that it was a little browner then white, but I wont quibble either. The only way to figure out exact skin tones would be to find a passage specifically describing what the Stoors skin color was as they seem to be a shade right in the middle of the two. The prologue doesn't do that.

What the passage means to me is that Tolkien meant for hobbits to basically be a cross section of current humanity. meaning that any ethnicity could be cast as a hobbit.

If you want I guess I could type that entire passage for clarity.