Amazon's Rings of Power.

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Drucquers Banner

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,792
29,620
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
This thread made me go ahead and finally watch it. I never took up Wheel of Time, but I've been enjoying this. Not as good as the movies, but it's fine a time. I don't know what people are going on about.

I'm of the opinion set characters should stay to their own ethnicity: 007 should stay caucasian because that's what his character is and how he was written, yet I diverge when it comes to, say, different, original characters. For this intstance I bring up Miles Morales' Spiderman. He doesn't replace or rebrand Spiderman, he's just his own spidey existence and fits into the spidey universe just fine. That's how I see the actors of this show. I feel like the inclusion does the show good, personally.
Not quite the same thing. But a trope I loath is the fantasy setting used to explore racism and prejudice. Oh look at how people repress the elves and their magic powers. Like wait if x-people could throw fire balls using their will it would actually make a lot of sense to be afraid of them and treat them differently. I just feel like it's bad writing and counter to it's own point. Just reminded me of that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: frozenchurchwarden

Alejo R.

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 13, 2020
841
1,683
48
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I have tried watching the first episode twice now, maybe a third will help.
I watch a lot of World War II documentaries plus show that show off all are military hardware. In WWII, They built a factory that was 3.5 million ft so they could crank out thousands of B24 bombers, the factory name was Willow Run. Ford and Wily combined to make 650,000 4 wheel drive jeeps. The billions of bullets and millions of bombs and shells turned the US in the worlds only super power. The amount of car factories and other factories that were told to mfg all kinds of parts and new aircrafts, tanks, Aircraft Carriers, Destroyers, Battleships, Subs. I could go on but they all did their jobs and produced more than anyone thought was possible.


We out spent every every other country by a huge amount and created the largest most technically advanced military that the world had ever seen.

Compare it to today and we could wipe out the whole planet if we wanted. Russia could team up with China and who ever else and would be destroyed. For an example, we have 22 aircraft carriers and Britain is in second place with 4, China has 2 and Russia has one.

Our sub fleet alone could wipe out China and Russia and anyone else.
When you research this stuff it is mind boggling. Did anyone know that the US has 800 basis around the world? It goes on and on and it is cool to learn about it all.
Since money is a scarce commodity, the question is what is being left to do to maintain that military power. On the other hand, the real problem is that no one can beat the USA in a traditional war, but at least Russia also has the nuclear power to end the entire world, including the USA.
 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,635
14,749
I call this TV show “Bezo’s Billions”
Yeah, several years ago, when this "woke" content started being injected into so much of the product coming out of the entertainment industry (including this type of appropriation and revisionism) some were making the argument that it's nothing more than the same old profit motive as always...because this is what today's audience wants.

But now after years of countless examples of this type of contrived crap failing spectacularly (in films and TV series...and even comic books) it is obviously not what the audience wants...yet they still continue to churn it out no matter how much money is lost. So no, it is not motivated by profit, but by a social/political agenda.
 
Jul 26, 2021
2,219
9,054
Metro-Detroit
Since money is a scarce commodity, the question is what is being left to do to maintain that military power. On the other hand, the real problem is that no one can beat the USA in a traditional war, but at least Russia also has the nuclear power to end the entire world, including the USA.
Generally speaking, wars generate money and innovation.

Regarding Ring of Power, my three year old is a domestic terrorist that monopolizes the television with a tyrannical fist. God forbid I try to catch a game or wrestling for more than 10 minutes.

The Disney princesses reign over the screen, but I secretly enjoy the movies. The trick is to pay half attention so there is more to watch or hear over the next 10 times the movie is on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: strave19

Alejo R.

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 13, 2020
841
1,683
48
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I enjoy the Hobbit films, but it was and is still hard for me to understand why the production quality was lessened compared to the LOTR films. I mean, shouldn’t the technology have improved? It’s also hard for me to understand how the same writing team made both trilogies, and yet the writing in the Hobbit films was, well, a bit underwhelming in comparison.

One really long Hobbit movie probably could have captured the whole story nicely. Bringing in all the pale orc side stuff from the appendices made it feel like a different story. But all the while it still feels like Tolkien, where Rings of Power does not.
It's like when a band spends years in the underground and releases its first album. What you're hearing is a distillate of years and years of writing songs and trying them out live. usually the 2nd album doesn't reach the same quality. Jackson spent years and years developing the script and production of the first trilogy and knew that he was betting everything on succeeding with the fellowship of the ring. The hobbit trilogy is a much more comfortable and safe work than the original.
 

Alejo R.

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 13, 2020
841
1,683
48
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Yeah, several years ago, when this "woke" content started being injected into so much of the product coming out of the entertainment industry (including this type of appropriation and revisionism) some were making the argument that it's nothing more than the same old profit motive as always...because this is what today's audience wants.

But now after years of countless examples of this type of contrived crap failing spectacularly (in films and TV series...and even comic books) it is obviously not what the audience wants...yet they still continue to churn it out no matter how much money is lost. So no, it is not motivated by profit, but by a social/political agenda.
The entertainment industry always has a share of failure, whether it is Woke or not. For every Woke production that fails, there is another one that also fails even if it doesn't have even 0.01% Woke. Specifically speaking of The Rings of Power, it has had a sufficient number of views for production to continue. It's been panned by critics, that's true, but it hasn't been a commercial flop.
 
  • Like
Reactions: strave19

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,635
14,749
it hasn't been a commercial flop.
The reporting I've seen on it says it's lost money.

Personally I really don't care one way or the other...I haven't seen it and am not going to see it, only because I've heard and read enough about it to know I'm not interested. Many of my favorite movies were not commercial successes, and I place no significance on that. But most of those types of films in the past did not have huge budgets. I'm merely pointing out that there is now an obvious long term pattern of funding and forcing "woke" content that the mass, general audience is not interested in.
 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,635
14,749
I'm waiting for the "woke" remake of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman

Tranzilla+200.jpg
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Kobold and olkofri

CallMeSangy

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 12, 2022
131
362
Central Virginia
Not quite the same thing. But a trope I loath is the fantasy setting used to explore racism and prejudice. Oh look at how people repress the elves and their magic powers. Like wait if x-people could throw fire balls using their will it would actually make a lot of sense to be afraid of them and treat them differently. I just feel like it's bad writing and counter to it's own point. Just reminded me of that.
Oh that's understandable. On your point, I was reminded of the X-men when you talked about fear of powers. Many Shows go into this type of argument, and I've even seen an anime which waded into the matter of psycopathic behavior with an analogy to psycic powers and those in the position, and mental constitution, to kill others without empathy. Anime is probably a wierd one to bring up, and may turn you off, but that show has had me thinking for the last 6 years or so.

But for rings of power, I liked its use of this trope. Makes me wonder how bad things have been in the thousand years from here to LOTR that the dwarves could never sit down and easily share a brew with an elf. But the biggest thing, for me, was the subjugation of some of Man by the Elves. The southerners did fight for Sauron in the previous war, so it does make sense that there is contention and distrust between the two sides. Not the most ground breaking or impactful take on the topic, but I did enjoy that aspect.
 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,635
14,749
That doesn’t even make sense. It’s a 5 season product that isn’t even for sale on an a la Carte purchase. It can’t exactly “lose” money.
Fair enough...I have no idea if given enough time it will eventually turn a profit or not, but I kind of doubt it given the size of its budget.

And for the record, I did enjoy the 3 LOTR films, but only saw the first Hobbit and hated it...didn't watch the other 2.
 
Mar 1, 2014
3,647
4,916
Yeah, several years ago, when this "woke" content started being injected into so much of the product coming out of the entertainment industry (including this type of appropriation and revisionism) some were making the argument that it's nothing more than the same old profit motive as always...because this is what today's audience wants.

But now after years of countless examples of this type of contrived crap failing spectacularly (in films and TV series...and even comic books) it is obviously not what the audience wants...yet they still continue to churn it out no matter how much money is lost. So no, it is not motivated by profit, but by a social/political agenda.
Yup, Disney/Amazon are just footing the bill for a lame attempt at social manipulation right now.

(I also never watched the last two Hobbit movies, the new Amazon abomination is an easy skip.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: SBC and brian64

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,049
14,666
The Arm of Orion
Fair enough...I have no idea if given enough time it will eventually turn a profit or not, but I kind of doubt it given the size of its budget.

And for the record, I did enjoy the 3 LOTR films, but only saw the first Hobbit and hated it...didn't watch the other 2.
Yup, Disney/Amazon are just footing the bill for a lame attempt at social manipulation right now.

(I also never watched the last two Hobbit movies, the new Amazon abomination is an easy skip.)
I loved the LOTR movies—even with some artistic licence, they remained true to the core and spirit and ultimate message of the book.

The Hobbit... well, I did enjoy them, but I wasn't at all impressed with the heavy artistic licence taken there, and much less with the inchoate wokeness—you know, the "multicultural" Dale/Laketown. At least one of the main villains was put in a drag and pictured receiving a suitable punishment for being a scoundrel.
 
  • Like
Reactions: brian64

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,635
14,749
Below is a link to the original review mentioned in the piece you posted.

I found it interesting and well written...and I strongly suspect I'd feel the same way if I watched it...but if it's even just half accurate it's not worth the time to me.

 
  • Like
Reactions: olkofri

maker

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 22, 2018
191
175
I didn't care about Dwarven women not having beards or Elves having short hair until I started noticing how the regular peasants and city folk started reminding me of episodes of Star Trek the Next Generation when they would go to some primitive village and then it hit me. The Short haired elves are frickin' Vulcans!
 

Dyakoff

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 16, 2022
106
341
Ukraine
I might be a bookworm but I consider Game of Thrones, Witcher, Rings of Power and Wheel of Time TV series to all be failures different only by the degree of their disgrace.
 
  • Like
Reactions: frozenchurchwarden

Alejo R.

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 13, 2020
841
1,683
48
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I'm not going to say it's great because some chapters were tedious.
If I liked the photography and the production-
The script has its holes, like all scripts.
What I would like to know is.
In what sense is it a Woke production?
To what extent does it contradict Tolkien's writings?
 

SBC

Lifer
Oct 6, 2021
1,526
7,268
NE Wisconsin
Guarantee this thread is going to get shut down if we start explaining to the zeitgeist to those who are desensitized to it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kobold