Scholars who study fanworks identify the form as especially suited for recentering the stories of people and groups who are often marginalized and ignored in mainstream media. If there was a mainstream media of Middle-earth, possibly the group most marginalized—if not outright maligned—would be the Orcs.
Within the texts of the legendarium themselves, there is little positive to say about Orcs, who most often appear as herd-like evil pawns, showing little capacity for independent thought or empathy. Indeed, taking the legendarium at face value, Orcs scarcely seem human. In the newest addition to the Themed Collections series, Cuarthol presents ten works of fiction, art, and scholarship that challenge this perception and proceed from a simple but radical stance: Orcs are people.
Of course, the idea that Orcs are people is in fact far from radical. Our real-world history is littered with examples of historiography that seek to dehumanize a group for purposes of propaganda, and the legendarium—written as it is from the points of view of Elves and Men—would be no different. But as the works Cuarthol selected show, considering the lives and perspectives of Orcish characters opens corners of the legendarium that many have not thought about, much less explored, expanding the edges of the legendarium into new lands and points of view.
You can find Cuarthol's collection "Orcs Are People" here. Our themed collections are viewed as a starting point for exploring fanworks centered around a topic, so we encourage adding your own favorite fanworks that seek to (re)humanize Orcs as a comment on the collection. And remember we are always looking for new themed collections; find out more about how to share a collection of fanworks on your favorite character, pairing, genre, or topic here!
Featured Article
Orcs Are People by Cuarthol
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features fiction, artwork, and essays that transcend the idea of Orcs as the enemy, instead considering their humanity.
Art Credit: The Vilest Deed of Melkor by Quinn Thomson (Instagram | Tumblr)
