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The thing is, D&D and the settings it has inspired, like Shadowrun, have a lot more in common with the pulp fantasy of the early 20th Century than with the Tolkien stuff the resemble superficially. From what I can tell, the orcs in Tolkien are entirely supernatural, they aren't stand-ins for other races and the colonialism is there, but not like in Howard or Lovecraft. When you look at pulps, like Howard (who I guiltily really like), the different races are, well, races. The Shemites and Picts and not-Africans aren't different species, they're literally racist caricatures. D&D used those kind of characterizations but overlaid them with the Tolkien "races" and pow, now we have weird uncomfortable racist orcs. (I know Tolkiens dwarfs are based explicitly on Jews, but I don't think any of the others share the same kind of racial/religious stand-in status. Correct me if I'm wrong.)
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Mar 12, 2015 21:10
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 00:57 |
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