Saturday, April 26, 2014

A Rant: Hobbits, Women, and Orlando Bloom

Last December, a review of the second Hobbit film "The Desolation of Smaug" ran in a local paper. It was no different than any of a thousand other Hobbit movie reviews, until I came to this line:

"… and the return of Orlando Bloom as elf Legolas. Now, besides hairy-footed hobbits and bushy-bearded dwarfs, women have a reason to get excited about this trilogy."

Excuse me?!

I didn't know I needed a reason to get excited over this latest trilogy. Silly me, I thought watching all of the previous trilogy (extended editions, no less!) and reading Tolkien's books was reason enough.

But, it turns out, I was wrong.

Because clearly I, as a woman, couldn't possibly be interested in any other aspect of these movies.


Not the richly detailed world. Not the story of an unlikely hero finding his courage and saving the day. Not the mind-blowing scenery of New Zealand or special effects. Certainly not the acting chops of some of the UK's most talented character actors (most of whom I'd have few other chances to watch here in the US). And of course I wouldn't be interested in a dragon!

Because clearly the only thing that could possibly make my girly little synapses fire is a so-called* pretty face.


It's not like I could possibly watch a movie for several hours without Hollywood's idea of eye candy to keep my attention. And I couldn't possibly find any of the other male actors compelling by virtue of their screen presence or acting ability.**

Because clearly I couldn't have been devouring fantasy books since I was old enough to read.


And I certainly couldn't make weekly trips to my library to find *more* fantasy and sci-fi books to inhale.

Because clearly women aren't interested in sci-fi and fantasy. Right?

* No offense intended to Orlando Bloom, who seems like a nice guy.
** Two words: Lee Pace.

2 comments:

  1. Found you over at AW. Marketing still lives of stereotypes.Marketing is a horrible, horrible thing. The saddest part is that it still works :(

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! Yes, marketing is fueled by stereotypes - it can be so infuriating! I recently read an interesting analysis on Black Widow in the Marvel movies
      http://www.dailydot.com/fandom/black-widow-reviews-wrong-captain-america/
      Basically, even though her sexuality is never highlighted in the movies, the media continually labels her solely as 'the hot chick.' And the ultimate irony - the day after I read that article, my local paper ran a review of Captain America, and only mentioned Black Widow to talk about her catsuit. *facepalm*

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