Wolmania - Friday, September 23, 2022
Wow, it's Friday again. Seems like that just keeps happening more and more. People are saying.
Let's get started with the first Wolmania of Autumn 2022.
Item 1: a link
The Wretched of Middle-Earth: An Orkish Manifesto
This previously-unpublished essay by the late Charles W. Mills (1951–2021) seeks to demonstrate the racially-structured character of the universe created by J. R. R. Tolkien in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Written long before the popular film series, the essay critically examines Tolkien's novels and comments on the nature of fictional creation. Mills argues that Tolkien designs a racial hierarchy in the novels that recapitulates the central racist myth of European thought.
Tolkien is having a moment as the author/world-builder behind a truly epic masterpiece of imagination. Also he perpetuated a lot of harmful stereotypes.
Item 2: a list
Gifts from The Twelve Days of Christmas, ranked:
- A partridge in a pear tree
- Twelve drummers drumming
- Two turtle doves
- Nine ladies dancing
- Five golden rings
- Eleven pipers piping
- Three French hens
- Seven swans a-swimming
- Four calling birds
- Ten lords a-leaping
- Six geese a-laying
- Eight maids a-milking
Item 3: a media recommendation
Item 4: a photograph
See ya!
Did you know? The photos in this newsletter usually link through to a page with additional context/information. Try clicking on this one and see what you think!
Thanks for reading. Stay safe out there. See you next week!
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