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INTRODUCTION
The subfield of Sociology that enquires
about the development and establishment of knowledge, keenly referred to as
“The Sociology of Knowledge” identifies four areas of knowledge production: Experiences,
Interactions/Observations, Institutions, and The Media. In the area of the
media, entertainment is often lost to the other media mechanisms of news and
advertisements, veiling its influence and overall soft power. Collectively, we
do not value the knowledge that we derive from entertainment and other forms of
pop culture. This not only obfuscates its impact and importance on the
development of our own general knowledge; but maintains a sense of frivolity
behind it; relegating it to a hobby, interest or preference. There is purpose
in this persuasion. Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1984) understood that an
individual’s taste in a wide variety of cultural behaviors and objects can reflect
status (class, culture, etc.) and that through taste, status can be achieved
and manipulated. Interestingly however, the reason for that taste is rarely
interrogated beyond a simple, and undisclosed affinity. Yet, because pop
culture is soft power, the reasons people enjoy things, and how they interpret
the media they consume, speaks volumes about their general social perspective.
This is especially salient when considering that the wealthy elite also consume
media, use it as a method of acquiring knowledge and a determinant of “taste”
(In the strictly Bourdieuian sense 😉).
This brief paper will consider the rise of the conservative obsession with
“Nerd Culture” and its direct correlation with media illiteracy- identifying
the power of the “taste” of status; even when it is misinterpreted. Then, using
Lord of the Rings as an example, this paper will show how white
supremacist ideology is filtered through popular culture, making their
fascistic beliefs and behaviors look more reasonable.
Basic Sociological Terms
Before we can engage with this paper’s overall thesis,
there are a few sociological terms that will be an important note to this
analysis. By defining them upfront they can serve as a glossary of sorts.
Culture:
the language,
norms, values, rituals, ideas and physical objects that make up a society’s way
of life that is passed down from one generation to another by formal or
informal forms of education
Subculture
This is a
microcosm of society in which members of sub-cultural groups have their own
language, rituals, values, norms and sanctions.
Individual sub-cultures can be created through demographics (age, race, gender,
class, sexuality disability) interests, (Fan subcultures/ Enthusiasts) or geography
(nationality). Even though subcultures have their own rules, they are still
operating within and are superseded by the dominant cultural authority.
A derivative of this is Counterculture
This is a specific type of subculture that is characterized by the
subculture whose values challenge the dominant cultural norms. There are benign
and malignant countercultures.
Benign countercultures: are the types of subcultures whose
values norms and ideals challenge the dominant cultural narrative (Think
Buddhists in a Christian society or Vegans in a majority meat easting nation.)
Malignant countercultures: Not only
have different values than the dominant culture but seek to change the dominant
cultural practices to reflect those beliefs (Any kind of Revolutionary movement
or an attempt to over throw a government) But it should be expressed that when
we think about Malignant countercultures we need to be Culturally relative and
understand that the reformation/reconstruction of a dominant culture is not
necessarily a bad thing.
High
Culture These are
the pieces of Art music, literature, theater, which derives its cultural value
from being a representation of a high social class; or these are the various
pieces of culture that the current elite uses to express their status.
Popular
Culture These are
the pieces of art music literature theater, film, and technology that have
cultural relevance and importance today having mass appeal to the broadest
group possible (sometimes referred to as “low” culture).
Derivative of this is Nerd
Culture which is classified out of the social pariah stereotype of “Nerd”
to be “of an intellectual yet socially inept person with a high degree of
interest in technical topics and/or fantastic genres of popular culture.
Originally socially secluded and highly self-referential.” (Herbers 2020:1). Nerd Culture came about
due to the synergizing of various genres of popular culture (Sci-fi, Fantasy,
Superheroes and Comic Books) with the advancement and perceived progress of
digital technology and computer science. Originally used as a pejorative,
“Nerd Culture” has become mainstream due to Institutional and power dynamic
shifts within subcultures; thereby reshaping the dominant culture to include
these aspects.
Reference
Group these are
the individuals that we collectively use to measure our own behavior. These
individuals can be living or dead, people that you know or not, those who are
celebrities or personal, real, historical or fictitious. Your Reference
group will change as your biography changes, as you enter new social statues
and participate in new social roles. Your reference group will be different
based upon various social, historical, and cultural factors as well as
demographics. Having a Reference Group usually leads to the elevation of those
in said group to a morally superior status. Emulating such individuals may
cause a transference of those feelings of superiority
In
Groups and Out Groups simply
these are groups that a person has loyalty to (In groups) and a group that one
does not have loyalty to (Out groups). The best example of this Fan rivalries
(whether that be in sports, popular culture, or consumerism).
HISTORICAL
CONTEXT
To begin to deconstruct the
billionaire conservative obsession with “Nerd Culture” and specifically The
Lord of the Rings, there needs to be an accounting of the direct
correlation between the development of digital technology, the reevaluation of
geek/nerd status and a reshaping of masculinity. Where these three things
intersect becomes a vector for the rise of Nerd culture.
The Dawn of the Nerds
Prior to the turn of the 21st century, the
cultural capital of an interest in comic books, film, computers and video games
was low. Regardless of its social status, the appeal of these
hobbies/interests have always been popular, but not always openly. Those of a certain age will
remember the shame of going into a comic book shop (hiding purchases in a shop
supplied black plastic bag usually reserved for pornography) or the social
ostracization once you let slip you enjoyed playing Dungeons and Dragons.
These aspects of culture did not have high value in the late 20th
century that could be invested or traded upon. There were those of us that leaned
into these products and behaviors as a way to find “our people” and build
social networks and communities around such shared interests. While others
suppressed or hid their interests to maintain a sense of status, especially
among children.
While the geek/nerd culture has
always existed; it did not gain social, economic and cultural value until the
birth and integration of the internet. The advancement of technology into the
computer and digital space increased the overall social and cultural capital of
the so-called geek and nerd. A minor point of clarification: nerds and geeks
are similar, but different. Even if the terms are often used interchangeably[2]. According to Smith (2025) adjectives that describe a Nerd
are “academically gifted, tech-savvy, and often deeply immersed in science.” Whereas
a Geek is understood to be “passionate fans who immerse themselves in
Marvel characters, pop culture moments, and vibrant fandom communities.” Thus,
a Geek is a Comic Con connoisseur cosplayers and collectors, and Nerds
are the game developers, engineers and techies. While the range is wide and the
characteristics between them are intersectional, it is the difference of tech
and its implementation, that becomes a historical fulcrum for the rise of the
culture at large. This becomes foundational to the understanding of why so many
finance bros and Silicon Valley douche-bags are terrible a textual analysis to
the point of media illiteracy.
The implementation of the internet
and the networking of computers saw a rise in the cultural capital of those
interested in tech. During the dot.com bubble of the late 1990’s, Internet
start-up companies were hiring software developers and coders to build their
companies from the ground up. We saw fledgling companies being run by the pejorative
“Nerd” having record number evaluations on the public stock market. Because
technology was advancing so quickly, anyone who had knowledge about how these
systems worked was highly valued. These engineers traded on their cultural
capital (Knowledge and experience) from which they gleaned (sometimes) obscene
amounts of economic and social clout (Bourdieu 1984). Even when the dot/.com bubble
burst, those that emerged from it became the leaders of the new era of
business.
Business is fueled by tech.
Therefore, the interests of those who specialized in tech were given more clout
and importance. They became the decision makers, and so, their pop culture of
choice gained prominence. As I explain in a previous essay (2025) Elon Musk and Peter Theil
became established at this time as a part of “The PayPal Mafia.” This
group of “tech bros” (recently given the nickname “broligarchs”) became
cultural “taste” makers. Like Lucas, Spielberg, and now Peter Jackson, who
became the studio that they were originally fighting against in the 1970’s and
80’s. These self-described Nerds and Geeks that grew up with their films as a
part of their childhood became adults and used that pop culture as not only a
personal reference, but as cultural and social lens by which to view the world.
Their ascension into wealth and status was
accompanied by the elevation of nerd culture into the mainstream creating the
immense monopolization of the monoculture.
Sigma Incels: the Gollum of
Masculinity
The arrival of nerd/geek culture on the shores
of mainstream recognition carried with it a few parasitic symbiotes that resulted
in a transformation of toxic masculinity into a variant that was amenable to
the nerd culture that was simmering beneath the surface. Still misogynistic, as
its “traditional” (alpha) counterparts, containing a unbridled seething rage
towards women but now with a sense of egocentric entitlement, and intellectual
superiority.
As I
explain in a previous essay (2018)
“Incel”s (short for
involuntary celibate) are a relatively new form of misogyny. They are a subsect
of “beta” male sexism that is adopted by men who do not fit the masculine
beauty or body standards. Their ideology sees women’s bodies as a products that
they pay for with dinners, vacations, clothing etc. So, from this perspective,
if these men provide material goods for women, then they should have access to
their bodies. They believe that if they
are nice to women and are “supreme gentlemen”, then they have claim to women.
Often “Incel” men frequent predominantly online spaces like 4chan and reddit
from which this isolated subculture has developed this new warped sense of
toxic masculinity that is both fragile (able to be deconstructed with the
slightest slip up) and preyed upon by
our veracious capitalism.[5] The result of which is a group of emboldened
misogynists who’s lack of “sexual conquest” of women they believe is due to
feminism. In their mind, feminism is a
movement that hates men; and that any feminist progress is one that hurts men’s
sexual access to women. Thus, when their
masculinity is shattered by women being able to have free and equal choice,
these men have lashed out violently due to the imagined slights by women that
they have perceived.
This is a new-ish
flavor of sexism; but instead of masculine reference groups holding characters
like Ethan Edwards (The Searchers) Rick Blaine (Casablanca) Harry
Calahan (Dirty Harry) John Rambo (Rambo: First Blood Part II) or the T-800 Model 101 (The Terminator); they were
replaced by the likes of Han Solo (Star Wars). But just as the men
“didn’t match the ‘blueprint’ and match the toughness and independence acted by
Wayne, Bogart, or Eastwood” (Connell 2005:70). They also fall short of being Ford’s
suave, swaggering sultry anti-hero.
The
masculine reference group composition changed again in the 2010’s to include a
more “sigma coded” Masculinity; as I explain in my previous essay (2025):
“Sigma” coded masculinity
arose first from a 2010
blog post by Science fiction writer, Jon Beale, who,
in addition to espousing a myriad of racist and sexist beliefs, expressed his
frustration with the generalization of the “alpha and beta” structure and what
he considered “the losers” underneath them ( Just to go down the list: deltas
gammas, lambdas and omegas). Thus, he coined the term “Sigma male” which is
collectively understood as the introverted “lone wolves” and outsiders that
seemed to be on par with Alpha males, but maybe didn’t express their level of
bravado while remaining intelligent and stoic. One
characteristic of this “Sigma” type of man that is often glossed over is their
expressions of neurodivergence. Many of the character
names that are often proselytized as “Sigma males” are John Wick, Walter White,
Tommy Shelby, Jason Bourne and Tony Stark. Those unconventional
Heroes/anti-heroes, that do not exhibit hyper masculine qualities, are
brilliant but are able to become singularly focused, mission driven, obsessive,
have skilled pattern recognition, able to be a social chameleon but unable to
read social cues all the time. Thereby incorporating qualities of
neurodivergence on the autism spectrum into this questionable masculinity
quagmire.
Not only
did neurodivergence become a sexist masculine superpower through these characters,
but it also reinforced and focused a sense of misogynistic aggrieved entitlement into the fan subculture. These
boys and men that were once bullied, ostracized and victimized a generation
prior, now use their newfound popularity to be the gatekeepers of their particular fan fiefdom.
Alienating women and people of color from these spaces while still consuming
content that reinforces racial stereotypes and the sexual objectification of
women; either as passive rewards, or as a sexualized skin suit for masculine
violence (Valez 2025).
The
proto example of a “sigma coded” masculinity, Neo, from The Matrix, also was the inspirational source for the misogynistic
“red pill” movement. Among incels, this is used to describe the moment when men
realize that equality and feminism is suppressive and that all institutions are
against them stripping them of their identity and their power (Bates 2021).
Consumers of this anti-woke vitamin regimen are vast. The movement links
together fandoms, and various other spaces claimed by men. These
are the insufferable “um, actually” guys, the eclectic internet trolls, gamers,
film “bros”, macho musicians, that collectively make up “the manosphere” (Bates
2021).
This misogynistic “manosphere” conglomeration across
fandoms is often achieved under the guise of accuracy to the “sacred text” and
the importance of maintaining the purity of the pop culture that they revere.
Aside from the obviously white supremacist coded biological determinism those
ideas conjure; this purity, gatekeeping, and hatred is formed out of a
misinterpretation of the media they consume; used as a mechanism to fuel their
own intersectionally unequal ideologies and validate their vitriol; rather than
be an accurate representation of the media content or the intent of the
creators. The “Red Pill” movement was created from a film series made by two
trans women. People complaining about “Woke Star Trek” miss that it was
created with the intention of inclusivity. However, when these
misinterpretations are backed by elites that use their wealth and status to
gain attention, it can have a deeper impact.
SOCIAL
ANALYSIS
As
Nerd culture rose in popularity with the elevation of its scions into positions
of power, it became a prism by which those geeks and nerds interpret the world.
This is the crux of the phrase ‘pop culture is soft power.’ The idea that the
popular media we consume shapes our decision making and understanding of our
reality. The unfortunate assumption inherent in that phrase is that the
interpretation is valid. Yet pop culture is still soft power, even when you
misinterpret it. Especially if you are in a wealthy and/or status position
where your decisions impact many people. How someone understands the media that
they consume, and how they situate the lessons they’ve tacitly learned into an identity,
frames their worldview, and therefore how they see and treat other people. Thus,
when “manosphere” incel men begin to exercise their power; the fallout of their
media illiteracy is something all must reckon with.
A
Brief ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Aside
The
Lord of the Rings is
a high fantasy series of novels written by English
Author J R.R. Tolkein. Set in the fictional world of Middle-Earth, it tells the
story about the downfall of The Dark Lord Sauron through the destruction of his
power source “The One Ring” by an unlikely coalition of different races of people:
specifically, Hobbits, Elves, Dwarfs, Men, Wizards and the occasional giant
eagle. The books that make up The Lord of the Rings compendium are: The
Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. This
was a continuation of a children’s Novel, The Hobbit, which he wrote
years earlier. Tolkien’s work in this fantasy world was so vast that it
required a book of myths and legends called The Silmarillion to
accompany it. The overall themes of the books include religion, environmentalism,
and the addiction to and corruption of power. A lot of material Tolken pulled
from the horrors he experienced during World War I. In the years since, there
have been a lot of other debated themes that accuse the text of being racist,
specifically Eugenicist, too focused on western power and morality, and the
demonizing of the non-western ‘other’. While other interpretations praise the
books for its anti-racism and proto feminism.
There
are parallels between pop culture consumption and legal theory. It’s all in how
the content is interpreted. Much like legal scholarship, those that consume pop
culture see an importance in understanding the author’s original intent
(originalism), or they believe that, once published, the piece of media takes
on a life of its own; able to mean something different to those who consume the
media in their particular time and place (Textualism). Most content that is
consumed today rarely considers the author’s original intent. A textual
analysis allows for a greater amount of diversity of interpretation and makes
it easier to apply stories to the current historical and social context, regardless
of when they were published. It unfortunately also opens the door wide to misinterpretations
that are dangerous and harmful. While it is important to understand that an
author is not responsible for what other people understand in their text and
what they do with the information they glean; there is a level of
accountability that needs to be leveled at them to minimize the spread of
problematic interpretations. Thus, the original intent needs to be understood as
a mechanism of control against misinterpretation. Unfortunately, this can also result
in gatekeeping. Regarding Lord of the Rings, the difference and the
impact of interpretation can be seen with the famed film adaptation by Peter
Jackson
Peter
Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings is culturally beloved. The
three film series (each based on a single book) filmed in New Zealand from
October 1999 to December 2000 after decades of other directors and production
companies failed to bring it to screen. Released one film a year from Dec 2001
to Dec 2003 the series took pop culture and even awards ceremonies by
storm. The final film Return of the King garnering a “clean sweep” of the 12 nominations
at the 76th Annual Academy Awards.
Releasing
just months after 9/11 and the fear, hopelessness, and terror it brought many
Americans and the world, the film provided both a level of escapism
and became the embodiment for the world’s desire for good to triumph over evil. While we’ve learned that actual
peace requires more diplomacy and tact than simply chucking a gold ring into
some lava; there was a succinctness that boosted morale, as if life worked that
way. So, people flocked to consume this content because its ending and success
was a foregone conclusion; a desired respite from an uncertain reality we were
living through. Now, nearly 25 years from its original release, people are
still consuming and making their own content around the films. To the point
that in internet searches, the films are list earlier than the source material
and brought Tolkien into a new century of pop culture
Because
these films were adaptations of Tolkien’s work, they tended to emphasis and downplay
particular themes: Power, corruption as addiction, and environmentalism stayed,
while Jackson seemed to tone down religious (particularly Christian) elements.
It is much easier to frame the films through an anti-racist; pro feminist lends
because of the cultural and historical time period they were created. The ideologies of anti-racism and feminism
were far more accepted in the early 2000s when the films were released. Thus,
there is a blur in the cultural zeitgeist of what comes from the books and what
comes from Jackson’s adaptation. Today, since more people have a passing
familiarity with the films and the production behind it, than they do the
books, the adaptation becomes more of a touchtone than the books in the
public’s consciousness. Unfortunately, this creates a counterculture of
those who are “smug book readers” that believe they know Tolkien’s intent and
therefore have a sense of superiority. That criticism becomes louder and harder
to ignore the more it comes from individuals with wealth, status and power.
The
Billionaire Obsession with Nerd Culture
As
indicated above, the intersection between Nerd Culture, Business, and technology
can be exemplified by the wealthy “broligarchs.” Specifically, the likes of
Elon Musk, Peter Theil and JD Vance. These men and the other people
hanging on in their orbit, consume and express a deep affinity for nerd culture
beyond just using pop culture as an extemporaneous example to get their point across. These men often use “geek speak” including
the language of Tolkien as representation of their In Group status with
one another. This is done for solidarity and as an exclusionary subcultural shorthand.
Yet, for many of them, they seem far more interested in aesthetics rather than
the context of Tolkien’s work. They would host Tolkien themed parties that they
would use to expand social networks using The Lord of the Rings in the
vetting process. With many of them actively naming and styling a
number of their companies from various aspects of Tolkien’s Universe.
·
Palantir- By far the most famous of the ‘Rings’
inspired broligarch tech companies. The name “Palantir” is a reference to
the all-seeing stones of Sauron the Dark Lord. One of which corrupted the
Saruman the White. Created by Peter Theil and apt to its namesake, the
company’s focus is on data harvesting and surveillance. With its contracts, it allows governments, militaries
and corporations to combine and analyze data from multiple sources using AI
software. It has
been tied to Israel’s genocide in Gaza as well as DHS, ICE, and CBP agencies
domestically
·
Anduril- A military intelligence defense
company created by Palmer Luckey in 2017 that takes its name from Aragorn’s
sword, known as “The Flame of the West.” The company is at the forefront of AI
Powered innovations in warfare including drones and other autonomous weapons
systems. By some accounts this has transformed the Military Industrial
Complex to bring LLM’s and other Generative AI into
the Defense Industry.
Currently, is creating a virtual wall along the US-Mexico border its towers reminiscent of the Eye of Sauron.
·
Erebor- Palmer Luckey’s Digital Crypto Bank
is named after one of the wealthy subterranean dwarven kingdoms in Middle-Earth.
It has been described as “virtual currency…that are part of the United States
innovation economy, in particular technology companies focused on virtual
currencies, artificial intelligence, defense, and manufacturing, as well as
payment service providers, investment funds and trading firms (including
registered investment advisers, broker dealers, proprietary trading firms, and
futures commission merchants).” The bank only serves select individuals in the
high to ultra-high net worth category. Basically, it is a tax shelter for the
uber wealthy. A mechanism by which to funnel all their profits and other ill-gotten
gains through.
·
Mithril Capital is an investment firm that had ties to
DOGE efforts to
gut federal spending that took its name from Tolkien’s fictional metal in the
series.
·
Durin Mining Technologies- This company builds and automates drill rigs for mineral discovery taken from the name of a Lord in
one of the Dwarven Kingdoms of Middle-Earth.
It
should be no surprise that all these companies are invested in each other; all linked
back to Peter Theil.
As
one can infer from this list, the use of Tolkien iconography in this way seems
to insinuate either a disconnect with Tolkien’s text as it is narratively
presented (Palantir) implying a level of media
illiteracy, or these
names and inspirations are trading on an understanding of the text that, when
applied to real life, shows a value system that reinforces aspects of government
control, militarism, racism, Western globalization and misogyny. Thus, it is
the (mis)reading of Tolkien’s text in this way that veils these ideas as
dangerous. Allowing these wealth tech “Broligarchs” to launder their crypto-fascism
through the prism of pop culture. Making those ideas both more palatable to a
broader audience and provide plausible deniability in the face of conflict,
criticism or consequences.
A White Supremacist Reading of
Tolkien
According
to Robert Tally (2024)[3], in the Post- Jackson adaptation
landscape The Lord of the Rings wealth elites like Theil, Musk, JD Vance
and others, have openly and emphatically used Tolkien not only as semantic inspiration
for their companies, and their intended goals, but also as a delivery system
for their own ultra conservative worldview. Using the story of Frodo’s Journey
to Mount Doom “and back again” to justify and evangelize their white
supremacist, racist, anti-immigrant, neo-Nazi Christian Nationalism (Tally
2024).
This
Fascistic reading of Tolkien often emphasizes:
·
Tolkien’s
original racist description of the Uruk-hai and that their creation (analogous
to race mixing) was considered an evil abomination; thereby promoting a Eugenic
argument
·
The
use of Tolkien’s morality map That emphasizes “The West:” Gondor, Hobbiton as
good and “The East:” Mordor as Evil. Even using Tolken’s Legend of Races in the
books as a hierarchy.
·
Perceiving the Races of Middle-Earth as white
ethnics unifying to fight the oncoming horde of dark invaders. This could be
used as a narrative parallel to unify various factions of White supremacists
(KKK, Proud Boys, Conservative tech Bros, Jan 6ers, and Christian Nationalists)
·
Saruman
was sympathetic to the plight of these fantastical immigrants from the south
and became corrupted by them. Gandalf, after battle with a dark beast rejects that
same power to become “Saruman as he should have been” in Gandalf the White
·
Segregationist
(Everyone lives in their own lands) and Anti-Interventionism (not wanting to
get involved in a war beyond borders)
·
Gondor
constantly referred to as a literal “White City“
This
reading of Tolkien is obfuscated and laundered under the guise of “entertainment”.
Yet there cannot be a complete dismissal of this interpretation as simply
false, no matter how illiterately stupid it seems, due to the wealth and power
of those that believe in it. In Interviews, JD Vance, Vice President of the
United States, has mentioned that in reading Tolkien and being exposed to Jackson’s
adaptations, he came away with an “apocalyptic frame of mind.” In this it seems transparent
that what these men are inspired by is the industrial control of those that
would be considered antagonists in in Tolkien’s books. Theil and others want to create a
new world order much like Sauron.
But because their support for Armageddon is couched in the trappings of high
fantasy, it becomes a disempowering dog whistle.
Secondarily,
by many accounts these “ New Men of Power” (to borrow a Millsian phrase), and people who share this
interpretation, are not only misguided, but they are terrible Nerds and Geeks. They are the ones that engage in
online trolling, spamming Tolkien Studies Journals and Conferences to bemoan
“woke” casting of adaptations ( Tally 2024). Not only do they have the insufferable
qualities of “try hard” incels. But, their appropriated sigma masculinity is so
insecure that they have to constantly seek validation from others even if they
have to lie about their prowess to
gain/maintain credibility among their fellow men.
While
it is easy to write off these individuals as pitifully sad, insecure, arrested
developed man-babies; that is a coping mechanism for those of us without the
same level of access to power and influence to be able to exist in such an
unequal world. However, the infantilizing and emasculating of these men does
not make their decisions and control over our institutions any less complete.
It just makes living within their tech-bro oligarchy more bearable for the rest
of us. Unfortunately, this normalization still benefits them. No matter how
many jokes we make at their expense, their wealth, status and control allow for
a shaping of the world in their desired image of the pop culture they consume. Therefore,
because of the power that they wield, that representation, no matter how
inaccurate, threatens to become reality.
As
I write this, Warner Bros Discovery shareholders have accepted Paramount’s
bid for a controlling stake in the
company with a purchase price of $31 dollars a
share (up from a
price of $7 before Paramount got into a bidding war with Netflix). This was
after Larry Ellison, uber Billionaire and CEO of Oracle stepped in to help his
son David (CEO of Paramount and Sky Dance media) with the sale.
According
to Lucas Manifreadi at The Wrap:
The
combined company would have the Warner Bros. film, television and video game
studios, its publishing and licensing divisions, DC Studios and DC
Entertainment, HBO/HBO Max and its content libraries, alongside a wide
portfolio of domestic and international television networks, including key
brands such as Discovery, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim,
Eurosport, TNT, TBS, TLC, Food Network and CNN as well as free-to-air networks
in the United Kingdom and Europe and the combined company would have a massive
broadcast rights portfolio to key sport leagues and sporting events across the
United States and Europe, such as the NFL, UFC, All Elite Wrestling, the NHL,
the PGA Tour, the Masters Tournament, NCAA, several UEFA events, the Olympics
among others alongside Paramount's film, television and video game studios,
linear networks and its content library. The deal would also bring MTV,
Nickelodeon, The Movie Channel, VH1 and Comedy Central reunited under common
ownership with Warner after more than 40 years, as well as granting the Warner
stakes on both The CW and Philo.
While, as of this writing, the deal has yet to be approved by the FCC. Its regulators will judge if the sale is an anti-trust violation. However, the deal is considered a foregone conclusion given Previous mergers in the past, and the familial closeness between the Ellisons and the Trump Administration. Ostensibly, now with control of two major news organizations and a literal litany of entertainment content consolidated under a neo-fascist corporate control; it is likely that this hyper conservative ideology will continue to be laundered through pop culture to ameliorate their fascistic world view into the public consciousness.
CONCLUSION
The
laundering of white supremacist ideologies through fantasy reinforces the
importance of seeing popular culture as soft power. With the continued
monopolization of content through corporate mergers, the fascistic
interpretation of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings seems to be the death
knell of diversely creative art. Under these conditions, we should expect the abuse
of nostalgia and the use of familiar lore and our favorite stories to justify
violence and human rights abuses. Thus, there needs to be push back and a
continued vigorous critique of these interpretations less we lose the spark of
human creativity and succumb to an apocalyptic future we have only experienced
in stories.
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