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Tolkien Black (originally known as Token Williams and Token Black) is a fictional character in the
adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of maj ...
animated television series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...
''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...
''. He was originally voiced by
Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. ...
, later changed to series art director, storyboard artist and producer
Adrien Beard Adrien Beard (born ) is an American producer, storyboard artist and voice actor. He provides the voice of Tolkien Black in ''South Park'', as well as serving as the art director and lead storyboarder on the show. Beard had won three Primetim ...
. The original name "Token" was a play on the politically-correct ideas of
tokenism Tokenism is the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial or gender equality w ...
, but in " The Big Fix" it was
retconned Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...
that his name was "Tolkien", not "Token", despite his Facebook profile using the name "Token" in "
You Have 0 Friends "You Have 0 Friends" is the fourth episode of the 14th season of the American animated television series ''South Park'', and the 199th episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 7, 2010. In the ...
" and him writing his name the same way in “
Raising the Bar Raising the Bar may refer to: Film and television * ''Raising the Bar'' (2008 TV series), an American legal drama television series * ''Raising the Bar'' (2013 TV series), an American reality web series about barmaking * ''Raising the Bar'' (20 ...
”.


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 African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
student attending the school until Nichole Daniels was introduced in "
Cartman Finds Love "Cartman Finds Love" is the seventh episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated sitcom ''South Park'', and the 230th episode of the series overall. It premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on April 25, 2012 and is rated TV- ...
". 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. Token is a member of a 4-part group that works against the main four characters ( Stan, Kyle,
Cartman Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to by his surname Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom ''South Park'', created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main charact ...
and
Kenny Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith". ...
) in multiple plotlines, which consists of him,
Craig Tucker Craig Tucker is a fictional character in the adult animated television series ''South Park''. One of the main characters' fourth-grade classmates, he debuted in the season one episode " Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" singing "We Wish You a Merry ...
,
Clyde Donovan Clyde Donovan (formerly known as Clyde Goodman and Clyde Harris) is a fictional character in the adult animated television series ''South Park''. He is voiced by series co-creator Trey Parker. Clyde is a student at South Park Elementary School, an ...
and
Jimmy Valmer James "Jimmy" Valmer () is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''South Park''. He is voiced by Trey Parker. He is physically disabled, requiring forearm crutches in order to walk. Character biography In season 7 ep ...
. 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 Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...
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 "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the series premiere of the American animated television series ''South Park''. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997. The episode introduces child protagonists Eric Cartman, Kyle B ...
", though having no spoken line. He was composed with
construction paper Construction paper, also known as sugar paper, is coloured cardstock paper. The texture is slightly rough, and the surface is unfinished. Due to the source material, mainly wood pulp, small particles are visible on the paper's surface. It is used f ...
and animated through
stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
. From "
Weight Gain 4000 "Weight Gain 4000" is the third episode of the first season of the American animated television series ''South Park''. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 27, 1997. In the episode, the residents of South Park excitedl ...
" 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. 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 Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...
, which alters the pitch to that of a fourth grader.


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 "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" is the eleventh season premiere of the American animated television series ''South Park'', and the 154th overall episode of the series. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 7, 2007, and ...
", where he was upset by
Randy Marsh Randall Gilbert Marsh (born April 8, 1949) is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1981 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues from 2000 to 2009. Marsh wore the uniform number 30. Major Lea ...
saying the n-word on ''
Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or '' Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-J ...
'', in which he did not forgive Stan until later in the episode, as well as in "
Christian Rock Hard "Christian Rock Hard" is the ninth episode of the seventh season and the 105th overall episode of the American animated series ''South Park''. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 29, 2003. In the episode, the ki ...
" where he was annoyed with
Cartman Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to by his surname Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom ''South Park'', created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main charact ...
, where he was fed up with him, and physically assaulted him in front of many
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
fans. He is also very talented, such as in "Christian Rock Hard" where he is highly skilled with the
bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, though he gets annoyed as his talent due to Cartman's
stereotyping In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
even though Cartman was right. He is also talented in singing in the episodes "
Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...
", as well as "
Here Comes the Neighborhood "Here Comes the Neighborhood" is the 12th episode of the fifth season of the animated television series ''South Park'', and the 77th episode of the series overall. "Here Comes the Neighborhood" originally aired in the United States on November 28, ...
". Tolkien is also good at fighting such as in the episodes "Christian Rock Hard" as well as "
Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of ''South Park'', originally aired on July 17, 2002. In the episode, Bebe Stevens's breasts begin to develop, and the boys are suddenly drawn to her even though they had n ...
", 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". Token was also ranked at #19 by Looper on a list entitled "25 Popular ''South Park'' Characters Ranked Worst to Best".


References


External links


Tolkien Black
at South Park Studios {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Tolkien South Park characters Black characters in animation Child characters in television Television characters introduced in 1997 Fictional African-American people Fictional characters from Colorado Fictional elementary school students Male characters in animated series Things named after Tolkien works Animated characters introduced in 1997