Tolkien Black (formerly known as Token Black and Token Williams) is a fictional character in the adult animated television series South Park. He is voiced by series art director, storyboard artist and producer Adrien Beard. Tolkien was originally a play on the politically-correct ideas of tokenism, but in "The Big Fix" it was retconned that his name was "Tolkien", not "Token", despite his Facebook profile using the name "Token" in "You Have 0 Friends".[1]

This article on a notable topic needs additional citations for verification. An editor has performed a search and found that sufficient sources exist; these may be found on the talk page. (July 2022)

Tolkien Black
South Park character
First appearance	"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" (1997)
Created by	Trey Parker Matt Stone
Designed by	Trey Parker Matt Stone
Voiced by	Trey Parker (1999) Adrien Beard (2000–present) Lou Rawls (singing voice; "Wing")
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Elementary school student Police officer (future)
Family	Linda Black (mother) Steve Black (father)
Religion	Roman Catholic
Education	South Park Elementary
Residence	South Park, Colorado, United States

Biography

Tolkien attends South Park Elementary, who is a third-then fourth-grade student of Mr. Garrison's class, who was replaced by Mrs. Nelson in season 19. He was originally the only African American student attending the school until Nichole Daniels was introduced in "Cartman Finds Love". Residing in South Park, he is the only child of Linda and Steve Black, who were originally the only African American family in the town until the Daniels family first appeared. Tolkien is a member of a 4-part group that works against the main four characters (Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny) in multiple plotlines, which consists of him, Craig Tucker, Clyde Donovan and Jimmy Valmer.

From season 1 to season 25 he was originally named Token, as a play on the politically-correct idea of the "token black guy" in TV shows; but it was retconned in "The Big Fix", where his name is actually "Tolkien", named after his father's favorite author, J. R. R. Tolkien.

Character

Creation and design

Tolkien debuted in the series' first episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", though having no spoken line. He was composed with construction paper and animated through stop motion. From "Weight Gain 4000" onward he is animated with computers, though is rendered to mimic that of the construction paper used in the first episode. Tolkien is not offered the same free-ranged motion as hand-drawn characters, as he is shown on one angle, and is animated with a jerky fashion.[2][3]

Tolkien is African-American, with dark brown skin and short black hair, and usually wears a light purple long sleeve shirt with a yellow letter "T" on it, and dark blue jeans. Adrien Beard speaks with his normal vocal range and is edited with Pro Tools, which alters the pitch to that of a fourth grader.[4]

Personality and traits

Tolkien is known for being rational and intelligent. He is also known for standing up for himself and his rights, such as in "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", where he was upset by Randy Marsh saying the n-word on Wheel of Fortune, in which he did not forgive Stan until later in the episode, as well as in "Christian Rock Hard" where he was annoyed with Cartman, where he was fed up with him, and physically assaulted him in front of many Christian fans.

He is also very talented, such as in "Christian Rock Hard" where he is highly skilled with the bass guitar, though he gets annoyed as his talent due to Cartman's stereotyping. He is also talented in singing in the episodes "Wing", as well as "Here Comes the Neighborhood". Tolkien is also good at fighting such as in the episodes "Christian Rock Hard" as well as "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", and in "Good Times with Weapons", where he is seen holding nunchuks.

Reception

Paste magazine ranked him at #17 on a list entitled "The Top 20 Best South Park Characters".[5] Tolkien was also ranked at #19 by Looper on a list entitled "25 Popular South Park Characters Ranked Worst to Best".[6]

References

External links

• Tolkien Black at South Park Studios

На других языках

[es] Token Black

[ru] Токен Блэк