Why Diversity is Good and How Rings of Power Did It Wrong

One of the biggest sources of contention in the discourse surrounding the Amazon series, the Rings of Power, is the creative choice to cast actors of color in roles generally considered white. 

Despite protests to the contrary, it’s hard to see the creative choice to include more actors of color as anything other than noble. The creators of Rings of Power seemed to have a very clear goal in their casting: to make Lord of the Rings fans of all backgrounds feel included in the series. However, the role diversity plays in a piece of art should be at least as intentional and well-reasoned as the motivations to include it. While the goal of the Rings of Power creators was transparent and clear, the execution was anything but.

You may ask, “Why do fans have such strong opinions about diversity in a fantasy series?” And, honestly, if you have no problem with the casting or the series, I’m glad that you can enjoy the series without distraction.

However, the world Tolkien created was developed and complex, even going so far as to include written languages and detailed timelines for entire extinct civilizations. The diversity presented on the show should be as well-constructed and thought-out as any other element in Middle-earth.

To be clear, I’m convinced that racial diversity is, in general, a really great thing. The Bible convinces me of the importance of every life regardless of race in its very first chapter, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27). 

And, while most of the Old Testament focuses on God’s relationship with the nation of Israel, God makes it very clear through figures like Abraham [“…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3b)] that His plan includes all nations of the world, not just Israel. 

The apostle Paul later describes Gentile (or non-Jewish) believers as branches grafted into the family of Christ in Romans 11. Finally, the idea of God’s love being restricted to one people group is definitively obliterated when Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Jesus is a unifier. All people, regardless of background, race, or gender, are able to be part of God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ.

Exposure to diversity of race, opinion and even skillset can help expand our understanding of the world. 

Which brings us back to the Rings of Power. My core complaint is that the creators of Rings of Power sprinkle diversity into Middle-earth with no care or consideration for the effort and structure true diversity requires to exist. In a world as meticulous and detailed as Tolkien’s Middle-earth, hardcore fans will expect more nuanced reasoning for such a change from the source material than seeing elves differently than before. The writers of Rings of Power, J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, paint an image of a Middle-earth largely composed of poor, segmented, isolationist tribes and settlements that tend to be highly suspicious of outsiders. 

Are we expected to believe that diversity would thrive under such conditions? Let’s look at the cultures in Rings of Power’s Middle-earth and honestly evaluate where diversity would realistically flourish or flounder by the rules given to us.

To begin with, I will come out swinging for the Dwarves. Specifically Princess Disa, Rings of Power’s best example of diversity that makes sense within the world laid out for us. Disa works because dwarven kingdoms provide the most believable context for visible cultural diversity in Middle-earth. In fact, the show could have deepened that choice by portraying Disa as a noble or princess of another tribe of Dwarves (perhaps of Nogrod or Belegost) and her marriage to Prince Durin IV of Khazad-dûm would have represented King Durin’s attempt to consolidate power amongst the Dwarves.

In general, the dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dûm would be an excellent place for a diverse cast of actors. Khazad-dûm (or Moria) is one of the most advanced and powerful kingdoms in Middle-earth. Of course they would have dwarves from neighboring kingdoms visiting and even intermarrying. Unlike some other cultures shown in Rings of Power, the dwarven kingdoms are, in many ways, approaching their zenith by the time Rings of Power comes along. Diversity is a sign of a developed and civilized society, and, in my estimation, Khazad-dûm fits that description best.

If the dwarves represent one of the best opportunities for diversity, let’s explore two of the worst: Harfoots  and Men. Harfoots are what Tolkien described as the “browner of skin, smaller, and shorter” ancestors of the Lord of the Rings’ Hobbits. Despite their slogan, “Nobody goes off-trail, and nobody walks alone,” apparently the Harfoots let their own fall behind… like a lot. The Rings of Power shows us the Harfoots’ frankly merciless approach to their nomadic lifestyle; those who fall behind stay behind. 

Poppy Proudfellow’s family fell behind during a blizzard and was left for dead. Elanor Brandifoot’s own father, Largo, is nearly stranded by his own tribe after breaking his ankle. If that weren’t all, when a mysterious stranger arrives at camp, the Harfoot leadership’s first instinct is to, you guessed it, abandon him. Is this really the type of society that would accept outsiders who look and act differently than them? I’m guessing not. There’s a far more compelling argument for mixed-race Hobbits in the Shire at the time of Bilbo and Frodo, around 4,000 or so years after Rings of Power.

What about Men? Well, that’s a bit harder. The dreamy isle of Númenor was inhabited by the Edain, the “Three Houses” of Men who were loyal to the Valar (basically Middle-earth gods) during the First Age. The civilization of Númenor thrived in every aspect of society with the help from the Eldar (or Elves) and the Valar. 

It would be very easy to believe that these three races of men who dwelled on Númenor could vary in skin tone and coexist happily. However, according to lore, the three races would’ve blended over 3,000 years prior to the beginning of the series and have since grown severely xenophobic, especially towards Elves, and look down upon non-Númenoreans. So, ironically and according to lore, this diversely-bred race of men would be pretty dismissive, or even antagonistic, towards outsiders at the outset of the series.

What about the Men dwelling in Middle-earth itself? Well, Payne and McKay portray them as weary of outsiders, even the local healer, Bronwyn, and her son, Theo, are looked on with suspicion. Though it is never clearly stated, it almost seemed implied that the two, both depicted by non-white actors, were outcasts because they looked different. And, honestly, that makes sense. While there are many different races of Men across hundreds of miles of Middle-earth, most of whom are uneducated peasants in a village setting and some of whom are loyal to the Dark Lord, I’m guessing diversity isn’t their highest priority.

Which brings us to the Elves, the most difficult denizens of Middle-earth to evaluate. In his writings, Tolkien generally describes elves as being fair-skinned. However, changing the skin color of the Elves onscreen wouldn’t affect their role in Middle-earth. 

In the real world, time and genetic shifts through generations play a massive role in racial development. But, time and generational shifts don’t affect the Elven race.

Elves typically don’t die off like everybody else unless they are killed. By the time of Rings of Power, there had been, at most, a few dozen generations of Elves on Middle-earth, that is not, generationally speaking, enough time for different races of Elves to span and spread. Moreover, Tolkien differentiated Elves not by their skin color, but by their geological location and whether or not they had lived to see the light of the Trees of Valinor.

However, could Eru Iluvatar (the creator of Middle-earth) have created Elves of diverse skin color who also bred and created mixed-race Elves? Absolutely. Could Elves have populated long enough to create new races of Elves with radically different genetic characteristics? Not likely. While there is far more ambiguity involved, I think it’s safe to say that there is room for artistic interpretation when it comes to Elves and racial diversity.

At the end of the day, there are many ways to justify racial diversity in Middle-earth and use it not just to diversify the cast of the television series, but to enrich the lore of the world. Unfortunately, Payne and McKay seemed content after only achieving the former. 

However, the instinct to include actors of all races shouldn’t be written off as political virtue-signaling. The Kingdom of God will be made up of people of all colors so why is it so far-fetched that a fantastical fictional Earth wouldn’t reflect a similar reality? I really wish Rings of Power had leveraged the potential impact of diversity on Middle-earth or even used a coherent philosophy for implementing it in a way that would expand the enjoyment of fans of all races. But that was not for me or the fandom to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the series that is given us.