Are women just bored of the rings?

[Dispater]

Uh yeah, but as for being film characters in the -films- what did these women really do? Arwen had a crucial role in FOTR when she saved Frodo, but in TT was left hanging, and in ROTK showed up for the ending Galadriel seems to have more importance for the quest, but her presence is like Arwen, passive and in the background.

I argue Eowyn is the only female character of any importance. She develops and her actions come with their consequences. That she slew the witch king was critical to the outcome of the batle of Pelenor fields and thus the whole quest.

Just my 2c.

 

[Null Boundry]

Simply for my own thoughts but can I just confirm that the point of this thread is that the idea of not likeing Tolkien is a crime. Anyone who says different is an idiot with barely enough brains to string two words together.

 

[shilsen]

Though, most likely, that was the reason Eowyn performed the deed she did in the RotK and not a (male) hobbit as in the book. Certainly, in the cinema where I saw it, Eowyn's act and accompanying line elicited cheers from several women in the audience.

What deed was this? In the book, Merry stabs the Nazgul in the leg and then Eowyn sticks her sword between helm and mantle. That's what I saw in the movie too.

 

[Buttercup]

Simply for my own thoughts but can I just confirm that the point of this thread is that the idea of not likeing Tolkien is a crime. Anyone who says different is an idiot with barely enough brains to string two words together.

Null Boundry, I'm not sure what you're saying. Are you suggesting that we, the people who have been posting in this thread think that people who don't like JRRT are idiots? Or are you stating your own belief that people who don't like his stories are idiots?

If the former, I don't think anyone has said that. What people have objected to is the idea that liking or disliking his work and the movies has more to do with gender than anything else.

If the latter, well, I think you're wrong. But you are entitled to your opinions.

 

[pogre]

Well, this has been an amusing read.

Not sure where I fall on the arguments, but I tend to agree with Teflon Billy. Marketers are not lazy - they work their tails off to figure out what sells and why.

I also agree that LOTR is less of a male movie than many others, but the fact that it may appeal to males more should not be surprising.

I see no reason that a film about pseudo medieval warfare should have significant female roles. That does not necessarily mean that it will not appeal to females.

The first column presented in this thread was most certainly backlash - definitely I am above the crowd tone there.

 

[Elf Witch]

Well, this has been an amusing read.

Not sure where I fall on the arguments, but I tend to agree with Teflon Billy. Marketers are not lazy - they work their tails off to figure out what sells and why.

I also agree that LOTR is less of a male movie than many others, but the fact that it may appeal to males more should not be surprising.

I see no reason that a film about pseudo medieval warfare should have significant female roles. That does not necessarily mean that it will not appeal to females.

The first column presented in this thread was most certainly backlash - definitely I am above the crowd tone there.

If the movie is 'pseudo" medieval not based on actual history then there is no reason not to have significant female characters. I get rather tired of this argument in fantsay movies books and RPGs. That woman did not have a significant role in the real middle ages so that is a good reason not to have them. Well, there were no wizards, elves or hobbits in the medieval world either but that did not stop them from popping up all over the place.

 

[KaCee]

If the movie is 'pseudo" medieval not based on actual history then there is no reason not to have significant female characters. I get rather tired of this argument in fantsay movies books and RPGs.

Agreed! Again, that's why I love Kay's books. There's always at least one strong female role, not bound to ridiculous modern stereotypes. I make an effort to increase the roles for women in my own books too. The sequel to my current novel will see a woman get really pissed off and go to war over it, while her supposedly more powerful brothers can't be bothered.

That woman did not have a significant role in the real middle ages so that is a good reason not to have them.

Except that women did have significant roles...they were just often forcibly excluded from history. I'm not one of those raving loonies out to rewrite history and call it "herstory" (ugh, what a horrible term), but I heartily recommend Vicki Leon's Uppity Women series, which offer plenty of examples of women who made huge differences in history. You will have heard of many of them, but some were deliberately eradicated by the next generation of patriarchal males. Not that that always worked...see Nefertiti. There are reasons more folks today know about her than her husband, Akhenaten. And the only reason Akhenaten's son Tutenkhamun is famous is because his tomb was intact.

Women weren't the majority of newsmakers by far, but there's plenty of 'em to be recognized.

Seriously, check out Leon's books. They're a really good read for any history buff, and great inspiration for RPGs.

 

[Celtavian]

re

I saw alot of women at the theatre when I went. My friend's mother even enjoys these movies. I still think the majority of the audience was male, but I would bet at least 30% to 35% was female. I don't know why folks complain about Tolkien.

This is the same kind of debate certain critics have about Tolkien's lack of minorities. Where's the article about how this movie is a snoozer to non-whites because it lacks non-white characters? I'm sure that is out there somewhere as well.

 

[Hypersmurf]

This is the same kind of debate certain critics have about Tolkien's lack of minorities. Where's the article about how this movie is a snoozer to non-whites because it lacks non-white characters? I'm sure that is out there somewhere as well.

Heh. I just had a horrible flash of a movie with Jet Li as Legolas, Bill Cosby as Saruman, and Wesley Snipes as Boromir...

-Hyp.

 

[Elf Witch]

Agreed! Again, that's why I love Kay's books. There's always at least one strong female role, not bound to ridiculous modern stereotypes. I make an effort to increase the roles for women in my own books too. The sequel to my current novel will see a woman get really pissed off and go to war over it, while her supposedly more powerful brothers can't be bothered.




Except that women did have significant roles...they were just often forcibly excluded from history. I'm not one of those raving loonies out to rewrite history and call it "herstory" (ugh, what a horrible term), but I heartily recommend Vicki Leon's Uppity Women series, which offer plenty of examples of women who made huge differences in history. You will have heard of many of them, but some were deliberately eradicated by the next generation of patriarchal males. Not that that always worked...see Nefertiti. There are reasons more folks today know about her than her husband, Akhenaten. And the only reason Akhenaten's son Tutenkhamun is famous is because his tomb was intact.

Women weren't the majority of newsmakers by far, but there's plenty of 'em to be recognized.

Seriously, check out Leon's books. They're a really good read for any history buff, and great inspiration for RPGs.

I have read one of the uppity books. The uppity woman of the new world I did not realize there were more of them I willhave to go look for them.