Lord of the Rings

Bismillah,

Saruman misled the otherwise "good" white guys.  But there weren't any tribes of good black, yellow, or red people at all.  This was just something I noticed in this major film series.  People say that this series was meant to depict the wars going on at the time.  If that is so, why aren't there any "tribe's like I mentioned".

Okay, I am going to pipe in here to defend pour Peter Jackson. 

When JRR Tolkein wrote the Lord of the Rings, he was doing so because England had no epics like exist in other cultures.  He also based many of the events and concepts in LotR from an ancient Finnish writing called the Kalevala.  Now, I'm pretty sure when the Kalevala was writing most Fins had never seen a black man.  Elvish in the books also based from Scandinavian languages and dwarves are also a legend originating from Northern Europe. 

As for Black vs White.....in many cultures Black is evil and White is good, symbolizing a purity....Why do Muslims not where their black clothing on the Hajj???

In India, Kali is often painted black, she is Death and destruction, but Durga is painted White, she is birth and courage. 

The Yin and Yang symbol from Asia is also Black and White.  Yin is the the man, and the Sun....forces of good, Yang is the woman and darkness...sometimes associated with evil.

Often symbolism is used to make it easier for the viewer to pick out the bad guy.  In Sci Fi movies, often the Evil Overlords soldiers are in psuedo Nazi uniforms....but there were other militaries prior to WWII that had similar uniforms. 

I think sometimes we fall too much into the trap of trying to read into things that just aren't there.  Tolkien died before Civil Rights and Multiculturalism were talked about and pushed.  Its probably more of a simple answer of European culture and lack of knowledge or attention to any possible inferences outside of the intended.

Saruman the White is a villian in LotR's, but he is always in White.  This is to show the power of his Magic and that he is not Human.  Gandalf the Gray is a hero and becomes Gandalf the White when he rises in rank as a wizard and transforms into a higher being.

As you notice characters like Aragorn and Legolas are clad in green, this is to represent their ties with nature.  Bright white is a symbol of purity and power, but not in a racist sense of the word. 

We really have to becareful in these days of hightened sensitivities on race and religion to avoid seeing things that aren't really there.  I am a Mormon, we are a people that proselyte....but that doesn't mean my responses to forums are with the intention of converstion.  They are with a sincere wish to share and learn.  I don't like rap or R&B, does that make me racists?  Especially here in the US, labels are often a double edged sword.  Everyone wants to belong to something special...they claim to be Irish on St Patrick's day, or Native American or Russian, even when born in the US.  Truth be told, each of these were a bad thing at a point in time, but not always.  So, what will things be like in 50 years.  Will it be vogue to be from the Middle East, or to be able to trace your roots to a survivor of Katrina or the Tsunami? 

Needless to say, I focus less on things that give the wrong impression and focus more on the things that teach the right thing.  LotR is about battling opression and evil.  Its about Good people coming together to defeat evil, together.  And if you notice, only together do they prevail.  Divided, they lose.