Elon Musk and The Rings of Power

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Who: Elon Musk

What: Complains Men Aren't 'Smart And Nice' Enough In 'The Rings Of Power'

When: Sept 5, 2022

Where: Twitter

Why: “Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only brave, smart and nice”

How: Lord of the Rings prequel series on Amazon Video largely adapted from the immense backstory found in the appendices of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the adventures of Frodo and the Fellowship, and – as we're told in solemn voiceover by Morfydd Clark's Galadriel – centuries after a great war between Morgoth, a godlike being of supreme evil, and the elves.

References:

Delbyck, Cole. Elon Musk Complains Men Aren't 'Smart And Nice' Enough In

'The Rings Of Power'. September 2022. HuffPost.Elon Musk Complains Men Aren't 'Smart And Nice' Enough In 'The Rings Of Power' | HuffPost Entertainment

Kelly, Stehen. The Rings of Power review: A visually staggering, flawed epic.

August 2022. BBC News. Culture. The Rings of Power review: A visually staggering, flawed epic - BBC Culture

On September 5th, 2022, Elon Musk submitted a post on Twitter about the hit Amazon original series, The Rings of Power. In that Twitter post, Musk said, “Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only brave, smart and nice” (Musk 2022). Musk’s Twitter post was in relation to the masculinity represented in the show so far. The Rings of Power is a popular Amazon original show heavily influenced by the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie collection. It is the origin story of these two movie collections, based during Middle-earth's Second Age. This time period stretches over to nearly three and a half thousand years, accompanying many of the series’ major events that took place in the middle of this period, more or less 1500-1701. This period was between the First and Third Ages, which had rooted the culture and history of most of the Middle Ages (Delbyck 2022). The events that occurred in the series were long before the adventures of Frodo and the Fellowship, and centuries after the great war between Morgoth and the elves. Moreover, the series displayed the societal norm established during that time period, which greatly contrasts with the representation showcased in modern-day films and television shows.

Musk’s complaints about the masculine representation had also cascaded into an ethnic representation issue as well. The Rings of Power had almost an entire all-white cast (with the exception of the newly created elf character Arondir played by Ismael Cruz Córdova). Ismael Cruz Córdova is an Afro-Latino Puerto Rican actor who played a Silvan elf on the show. Outside of the show, he was subjected to negative comments about how the cast is supposed to strictly succumb to an all-caucasian cast, as the events took place in Middle Age Europe. The main character, Galadriel, was a female royal Elf of both the Noldor and the Teleri, who had displayed lesser feminine qualities, “Musk’s comments arrive after trolls have attacked the fantasy series for “disrespecting the source material” by casting non-white actors in major roles and not making Galadriel “feminine” enough” (Delbyck 2022). However, this idea is necessary in order to maintain the main power and respect throughout the show. Power and respect was important in order to maintain order and establish dominance amongst a male dominated population. Any sign of weakness will lead to doubts of the current leader and justify why a woman shouldn't hold that sort of power. Overall, there was a lack of minority and healthy masculinity in the show, which Musk had thought to be precarious considering how far we have progressed in society.

Masculinity varied depending on the time period and the situation at hand. As previously discussed, Masculinity had been projected on TV and film as strong, rigid, and domineering for years. Societal norms dictate gender roles and sociocultural expectations based on biological identities. Men are expected to demonstrate masculine behaviors justified by a system of beliefs. The belief system in the Middle Ages was determined by social status, hence the role of a man that society was multitudinous. The Middle Ages was a hierarchical society, where men dominated that society and women were expected to follow suit of the rules put in place by men. Though Musk wanted better representation of femininity and masculinity (since the medieval times were several thousand years ago) it is important to analyze their definition of male and female during that time.

In conclusion, masculinity has been redirected to more caring and vulnerable points of view, reestablishing what masculinity is supposed to be. However, much like the Middle Ages, men are expected to act a certain way due to the societal norms put in place throughout the years. Though the standard has changed, there is still the expectation of men demonstrating leadership qualities. Elon Musk submitted a post on Twitter about the hit Amazon original series, The Rings of Power on September 5th, 2022, about how there was a lack of minority and healthy masculinity in the show, which Musk had thought to be precarious considering how far we have progressed in society. However, to keep the authenticity of the and time period, the director had to analyze and display what masculinity was due to the time period. Men were expected to demonstrate masculine behaviors justified by a system of beliefs. The belief system in the Middle Ages was determined by social status, which then had decided his role in society and the standards held against him.

References:

Delbyck, Cole. Elon Musk Complains Men Aren't 'Smart And Nice' Enough In

'The Rings Of Power'. September 2022. HuffPost.Elon Musk Complains Men Aren't 'Smart And Nice' Enough In 'The Rings Of Power' | HuffPost Entertainment

Kelly, Stehen. The Rings of Power review: A visually staggering, flawed epic.

August 2022. BBC News. Culture. The Rings of Power review: A visually staggering, flawed epic - BBC Culture