There's Something Missing In 'The Hobbit' That A Lot Of People Didn't Notice At First

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.upworthy.com/theres-something-missing-in-the-hobbit-that-a-lot-of-people-didnt-notice-at-first3?c=upw1

Curator: Megan Kelley

Patrick Rothfuss is a fantasy author best known for his series "The Kingkiller Chronicle."

He's also pretty well-known for generally being a badass bringer of real talk. Case in point: During a Q&A at a pop culture event in Chicago, he was asked the following question:
"What would you change about fantasy?"

Rothfuss hit the nail on the head: Until an author purposely counteracts the fact that many fantasy stories (weirdly) don't feature female characters, the pattern is pretty boring and predictable. Not to mention sexist.

Published on May 6, 2014
Here is the Q&A Panel at C2E2 with author Patrick Rothfuss. I enjoyed the panel and he's really nice! He did make a special announcement near the beginning.


And, like he says, most authors don't even realize they're perpetuating it. But they do have the power to change it.

Don't miss the full recording of his answer below. My favorite part is where he admits to having written a fantasy novel in high school that didn't have a single female character. "Not even a serving girl. No one even thinks about their mom."

FULL story at link.

[uppityperson]

1. Yup, adding that female elf with love interest was a bit to overcome the male centered adventure

[AnnieBW]

2. And a lot of Tolkien Purists are complaining about her!

Okay, I admit that I think that Tauriel is a Mary Sue character inserted by the female scriptwriters. But, if you're going to add in a Mary Sue character, make sure that the actress is as much of a Tolkien fanatic as Peter Jackson is! (Apparently Evi Lilly was one of the actors walking around with well-worn copies of "The Hobbit" on-set.)

[Avalux]

3. Seriously? Tolkein wrote it the way he wanted.

Why change it just make sure it's politically correct? Stupid nonsensical outrage to expect the story to be changed so some people aren't offended.

[Wounded Bear]

4. I think box office receipts have more to do with it...

than "political correctness."

The original "Hobbit" was a kid's story. They've matured it a bit.

[Barack_America]

5. I couldn't have stood three movies-worth of pure dwarf vs. Orc.

One hobbit isn't enough to make that much testosterone bearable. I was grateful for the expansion of the elf storyline.

[JI7]

6. Tauriel is one of the best parts about the Hobbit films which were not nearly

as good as the LOTR films.

didn't care for all the overdone fighting scenes which made it seem like you were half watching someone play a video game.

[JI7]

7. not when the character improves it, in the book the Bard Character only shows up at the end

out of nowhere to kill the dragon.

if they had left the film just like that it would not have been as good.