[davidy123]

I don't think propaganda pieces are going to contain full reality, practically by definition. Which is not to say the times weren't dire. But Tolkien's work is fantasy and considered deeply moral under contrived circumstances. Viewed as a simple story it's fine, but given their stature I'd rather watch x-men, which has more nuanced characters, or something that tries to be accurately and considerately historical, or something that isn't about finding excuses for glorious battle.

[tbjohnston]

Hmmm. What in the Tolkien canon, or in his letters, suggests that any of his works are propaganda?

[davidy123]

That was meant to be a reply to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17248468

[tbjohnston]

Ok. Your preference is your preference - and I don't think anyone's going to suggest that you shouldn't watch X-Men if you want to. At the same time, one might reasonably read your comments and come to the conclusion that nuanced stories are better than ones that are not.

There is evil in the world. Auschwitz was evil. The Famine-Genicide in the Ukraine was evil. The Gulags were evil. The death of (tens of) millions of Chinese during the Great Leap Forward was (the result of) evil. One could go on. Many people, and I'm one of them, would reject any nuance that tried to diminish and explain away these evils. Do I want to understand what I can do to prevent them? Sure.

There should be room for both nuanced stories and grand narratives.