Elon Musk Finds Male Characters In Rings Of Power Cowardly. A Fellowship Of Fans Are On A Quest To Call Out His Fragile Masculinity
High fantasy is a genre I have come to enjoy as a reader. Harry Potter is the earliest high fantasy book that I read and I was utterly floored by the world-building presented by JK Rowling in it. Another fantastical world that I am coming to love is The Lord Of The Rings. While I am yet to fully watch the movies (I have it in bits and parts, yes), I am diligently following the new prequel of, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, which is dropping one episode every week on Amazon Prime Video. I am truly amazed at the concepts, the language, the world, and just about everything else shown in the two episodes so far.
And it is not just me, the entire LOTR fandom has showered love on the series and is raving about it on Twitter. Except for one person – who is none other than Elon Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX owner has taken to his Twitter account to say some nasty things about the new show. Sharing his disappointment, he wrote, “Tolkien is turning in his grave.” Further ahead, he wrote that every male character in the show is either a ‘coward or a jerk’ except for Galadriel and he went on to appreciate her.
Tolkien is turning in his grave
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 5, 2022
Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only Galadriel is brave, smart and nice.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 5, 2022
Of course, this comment invoked the wrath of the LOTR fandom who called Elon Musk out for his remarks and also went out to offer counter opinions. One of them wrote, “This is staggeringly untrue”, while another wrote, “What about the elf from the watchtower? Do we ignore him because of his shade?” People have also come out in support of Arondir and called him to be a heroic character on the show.
The glaring exception to this is Arondir, of course. I wonder if there's some particular reason why Elon doesn't see in Arondir the particular kind of male hero he's looking for! https://t.co/zof599RlDI
— Aaron Bady (@zunguzungu) September 5, 2022
this is staggeringly untrue https://t.co/sMgL5wVfAp
— Jim the Jim (@curlyjimsam) September 6, 2022
What about the elf from the watchtower? Do we ignore him because of his shade? https://t.co/C7WIumrGxV
— Viking Jack 🏴 (@VikingsCymru) September 6, 2022
Another Twitter user also went on to call him a racist and said, “I’m guessing Musk doesn’t like that there are Black people in it. THAT’S his real problem ?.”
I'm guessing Musk doesn't like that there are Black people in it. THAT'S his real problem 😂 https://t.co/3BsmwYVdW2
— Wayward Puggle (@PuggleWayward) September 6, 2022
Have you even read the books? 99.999% of middle earth is idiots, cowards, jerks… Thats the POINT
Aragorn is not the norm. Bill Ferny was https://t.co/wuTUlQ1JFS— Big Poppa G 🍞 (@Big_Poppa_G) September 6, 2022
https://twitter.com/AllariPilaSitha/status/1567020881758818305
Elon angry because he doesn’t see himself represented in Lord of the Rings like he used to https://t.co/3Xq1Zzgfuo pic.twitter.com/o41Big5TMt
— Aaron Stewart-Ahn Strike‼️ (@somebadideas) September 6, 2022
Elrond is awesome. During IV is great. Arondir is too cool. I'm sure Isildur and Elendil will be great too. Elon, on the other hand, is: https://t.co/JMLEXWXXvd pic.twitter.com/X2CqK6eOdh
— ʙʀɪᴀɴ -𝔻𝕠𝕔ℍ𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤- ʜᴀʟʟ 🇮🇪🏳️🌈 (@DocHikes) September 6, 2022
Elon is projecting again. Cowardly jerk that he is. https://t.co/hxNdm1LVjD
— Darcy (@darcwood) September 5, 2022
A classic case of a disturbed Male Gaze. https://t.co/Hsfjo1kCVG
— Liam Hogan (@Limerick1914) September 5, 2022
Also read: ‘The Rings Of Power’ Showrunner J.D. Payne On Warrior Galadriel, Building On Female Friendships From Tolkien’s Work
Another Twitter user went on to point out that Prince Durin, who is the most traditionally masculine character is presented in an overwhelmingly positive light.
The most traditionally masculine character on the show is presented in an overwhelmingly positive light lmao https://t.co/fUORbgayWI pic.twitter.com/dBBitrSAEm
— Fremen Jake (@Handsome_Jake_) September 5, 2022
bruh the best character outside of galadriel is a dude https://t.co/VEcC4MTVez pic.twitter.com/dJ9VcshZQ7
— azra (@AzraelsAim) September 5, 2022
Also read: ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power’ Episodes 1 & 2 Review: Spectacular, Packs Lore And Fan Service, And Brimming With Cautious Promise
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power has two episodes available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.