A political look at the Matrix movies compared to the Lord of the Rings movies irritated me a little bit, as it took some of my joy out of the Lord of the Rings series. This was an idea that was also in the back of my mind but reading the article only brought it more to the forefront.
The “Rings” films are like promotional ads for those tired old race and gender paradigms that were all the rage back in author J.R.R. Tolkien’s day. Almost all of the heroes of the series are manly men who are whiter than white. They are frequently framed in halos of blinding bright light and exude a heavenly aura of all that is Eurocentric and good. Who but these courageous Anglo-Saxon souls can save Middle Earth from the dark and evil forces of the world?