Amazons 'Rings Of Power' First Look And 'South Park's' Name Change Of 'Token' Stir Up Simultaneous Discussions On Race

Amazon Studios revealed "first look" pictures for its new Rings of Power show that is expected to come out in November 2022, and in doing so, sparked a massive debate online relating to creative choices. Because the story takes place separately from Lord of the Rings, there was, as explained by the showrunners, a bit of blank canvas space for a story that features new, original characters created by the network.

These choices ended up coinciding with a big hoax and controversy back when the show was first teased in 2018, known as the Elves of Color Hoax that was started on 4chan and eventually proved to be true. Because of the potential for characters being made that weren't as expected based on the books, the reaction on social media was very charged, with people both defending and attacking the creative choices made by Amazon.

This is a promo image of a dwarven princess in #TheRingsOfPower. Given Tolkein said female dwarves were indistinguishable from male dwarves, it's pretty clear Amazon's not fussed on sticking to the cannon. I wonder why…? https://t.co/XvDVtZXBMv pic.twitter.com/EmJGp55FaW

— Dr David Jeffery (@DrDavidJeffery) February 10, 2022

The line in here that many #Tolkien fans will fear: "Can we come up with the novel Tolkien never wrote". Now the task is to prove to the community that it is worthy. #TheRingsOfPower #LOTRonPrime #LOTRROP #RingsOfPower https://t.co/QlNYXUH09P

— Shaun Gunner (@ShaunGunner) February 10, 2022

WELCOME TO THE MOST EXPENSIVE FANFIC IN HISTORY #TheRingsOfPower https://t.co/6zXuPV5LEw

— Josu Gómez 🇪🇺 (@Eleder_) February 10, 2022

It shouldn't reflect the real world. That's what fantasy is for. Not to portray the modern world, as beautiful as it may be. The world Tolkien created is not the world we are living in today. There should be a distinct difference. Just my opinion.#TheRingsofPower #LOTR #prime pic.twitter.com/XeJVNCWCJd

— Christofer von Collas (@ChrisvCollas) February 10, 2022

The main cause of commotion comes in the form of two characters that are both originals, Arondir, a Black elf character, and Disa, the dwarven queen. Despite the initial displeasure shown by some longtime fans of Tolkien, who for years had been speculating on this moment to happen, there were plenty online who were very happy at this new creative direction being taken by the studio.

For decades now, the calls for Lord of the Rings to be more inclusive have been noticeably cast aside, with this being the first time several females and people of color were cast as characters of great importance and given center stage.

Take everything away from racists, fuck them, leave them with nothing to enjoy, they don't deserve it. Middle Earth doesn't need to be their racist utopia. I hope there's an engaging plot and that we see LoTR as never before. Diversity is always the right choice. #TheRingsOfPower pic.twitter.com/cz0V6LELjc

— rrricorrrica (@ricoakenn) February 10, 2022

The silvan elf Arondir, played by Ismael Cruz Córdova, is a character who’s been created for the series. #TheRingsOfPower

(Source: @VanityFair) pic.twitter.com/YkZec9Xgog

— The Rings of Power News (@RingsOfPowreTV) February 10, 2022

I will say that the dwarves in these shots are my favorite especially the dwarf queen 😭. However, I have a problem with the elves because from my understanding male and female elves have long hair 🤷‍♀️

— my-fantasy-horror-ocs-5521 (@EmmaBai75943402) February 10, 2022

While this was going on, another conversation revolving around JRR Tolkien and race was taking place, this time spurred on by South Park. The episode that came out last night revolved around the character Token Black, who for years was seen as being a stand-in for Black stereotyping with the character's name even being a reference to having a minority character for the sake of having one.

The crux of the episode is that Token, who has been known by this name for decades, is actually named "Tolkien" and that both the audience and Stan Marsh have been racially mischaracterizing him as a stereotype instead of an individual. The impact this had on the South Park online community was profound, with many posting about the episode immediately after it aired.

This name change wasn't entirely without its own set of issues, however, as many fans pointed to other points in the series where Token's name was explicitly spelled out, by the character himself, multiple times.

The editors of South Park wiki going to change Token's name to Tolkien after the episode premiered 0.001 seconds ago pic.twitter.com/WUSPS5BJhJ

— Mismagius2297 (@LeMismagius2297) February 10, 2022

fanficition writers going through all their south park fanfics and changing any mention of token to tolkien pic.twitter.com/THJKYmdkGj

— !! kenny/leslie 🐾 COMMS OPEN !! (@emojianaIysis) February 10, 2022

So South Park just revealed that Token's name was actually 'Tolkien', and Stan has just been saying it wrong… but didn't he open up his own production studio in 'Raising The Bar called 'Token Black Productions'? pic.twitter.com/93YmJat6mY

— Gil Dice (@Whiteboardpoets) February 10, 2022

The new episode makes me so confused #SouthPark #token #Tolkien pic.twitter.com/FkDqG7rJxV

— miles (@Gr33nuser) February 10, 2022

25 seasons later, Matt and Trey are still killing it on South Park. Retconning Token's name saying his name is actually Tolkien, after the writer, and accusing everyone who ever thought anything else as being a "racist piece of shit," is a pretty great bit. Done very well.

— Jacob (@_Converter_) February 10, 2022