April 24, 2003

Response to the Grounded Orcs
Lilly

When I first read the books, I never once questioned orcs or thier origins. I frankly didn't care: they were big, evil, and they came in overwhelming numbers. I just wanted them to die quickly; I never considered thier creation. But, when one is making a movie, one has to show things like that or the audience begins to question and then make fun of the hole in thier reasoning. Apparently, orcs are depicted as fungus-or-mold-like growths that spring up in big, nasty, dark, cesspoolish areas. That gives new meaning to the term orc-infested!! I'm not sure if even Tolkien considered the reproduction or orcs. One thing is sure: there are no orc women, and so I guess the Orc-as-fungus theory has to stand. It was gross...but pretty clever!