Do visual depictions of monster orcs involve visual racial stereotypes? A brief report

Abstract

Orcs are monsters with origins in Irish folklore popularized in the Lord of the Rings book and movie series, and also widely used in the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) game systems. In recent years, controversies have arisen regarding whether orcs involve racist depictions or may promote racism in real life. Recent evidence from other studies finds that playing D&D is not associated with real-life racism, and most people including people of color don’t find depictions of orcs to be offensive or racist. However, it may still be possible that racist stereotypes are used in visual depictions of orcs. The current study sought to address this with a content analysis of 78 images of orcs from the D&D game or from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies from the 1970s and 2000s. Use of racist stereotypes were very rare in visual depictions of orcs and incidental when they did occur. Evidence did not support that visual depictions of orcs depended upon visual stereotypes of real-life human groups.