Thank you so much for this. My kids had a couple fantasy series they liked read aloud and I remember the cringe of some well-written stories, but very black-and-white, racist stuff (I mean the races aren't supposed to be real but that hardly matters). Understanding the stories as history written by winners makes so much sense -- nation-building myths -- and to read the story again from the other side is the perfect antidote while staying in the Good vs Evil realm of fantasy.
Funnilly enough, you had a similar experience to mine. I was rewatching the movies recently and I felt uncomfortable with the whole black and white and races stuff.
I commented it to my boyfriend. I thought it'd be funny to laud Sauron's technical and logistical prowess. I then made a bet: I could find Sauron fans online. Someone must have disliked the black and white part and must have made an argument in favor of Sauron.
I didn't have to search long to find the reinterpretation I posted here.
Thanks! Went on a Tolkien rabbit hole.
I read this but unfortunately can't recollect much. Only that it was a fun read and I liked it.
That seems like a bit of foreshadowing, given the events since February 2022. We're not Orcs, but people (facts say the opposite), and the west is evil to us.