To my knowledge, no, there was no outcry over the Tolkien movies. I do find it interesting that the Witcher series on Netflix has actually cast little people/dwarfs/dwarves for their dwarf characters. Could be that they’re cheaper than CGI effects, but also kudos for employing actors who probably have trouble getting work. Wonder what Mr. Dinklage thinks of that?
Yeah, I’m not entirely sure what Mr. Dinklage’s point is here. Is it an objection to the Dwarves being caricatures?
I think that might be it…
Speaking as someone with Jewish ancestry, I’ve never felt offended by Tolkien’s Dwarves. I only wish they were the “worst” example of Jewish stereotype (and even that’s a bit shaky a claim) in literature. Tolkien did not use the typical (and derogatory) stereotypes of Jews, but he did take some inspiration for his Dwarven culture from Jewish history, language, and so forth - which is quite a different thing when done well.
There actually was a very brief blink-and-you-miss-it mention that Dinklage’s character was not normal.
Another instance of an actual dwarf being cast in a role that didn’t require a dwarf for plot purposes was the role Warwick Davis played in the Doctor Who episode “Nightmare in Silver”. While it is acknowledged in story that he is of extremely short stature that role could have been played by a full-height actor with only the most minor rewriting.
David Rappaport was cast for a Star Trek episode that did not center around his height, but his suicide attempt prevented that from occurring (t’s possible that the original script had some reference to his height, but the role he was to play was recast to an actor who is not a dwarf (Saul Rubinek))
The question to be asked about representation of little people in media is whether the depiction is trading in stereotypes. An issue that I can see being more problematic in a live-action version of Snow White than the cartoon version is that the depiction of the seven dwarfs is fairly infantilizing – they sleep in night caps in little beds all in a row, they’re smitten with Snow White without being actual romantic options, etc. This is largely fine in a cartoon where “cute” characters are pretty standard fare. But little people being regarded and treated as child-like is a real-world stereotype, and I could see how a straight remake with dwarf actors could be offensive.
Yes. I don’t think he objects to dwarfs in movies. I think he was proud of his role in game of thrones, where it was completely relevant that his character was a dwarf. I think he is okay with portrayals of a dwarf as a sympathetic character, but not with portrayals of dwarfs that focus on “ha ha, it’s a dwarf”. And the latter is definitely how “the seven dwarfs” usually come off.
I can sort of get the feeling of what makes this offensive but its hard to put into words.
To me there is something very othering about the use of the dwarfs in the Snow white story. Plot wise there is absolutely no reason for them to be dwarfs. They could be giants, or elves, or talking badgers, and nothing would change. The important thing to the story is that they aren’t normal, and so add an aura of magical separateness to Snow Whites new life. It is like the movie posted above, you put a dwarf in a dream because its weird.
I think if the story was (which it very easily could have been given the racial understanding of the time) Snow white and the seven blacks, the 1930’s Disney movie would have met the same fate as Song of the South.
Isn’t that the point? Snow White is accepted by a group that is likewise rejected by society. They have formed their own family and she is added to it. The story shows that these “others” are more tolerant and better people than society at large.
These seven are not humans with achondroplasia. They are established mythic others of the fantasy world, like elves (but not talking badgers, we don’t need no stinkin’ badgers). This set of mythic creatures are generally set up to be miners and smaller than humans, whether in Tolkien’s world, or even in Pratchett’s world where the dwarf who was an adopted biologic human is specifically a play with the concept. The baggage of elves or giants as mythic creatures of choice wouldn’t have worked in this story though. Too consistently powerful creatures in traditional fantasy mythologies.
FWIW as characters I remember the fleshed out personalities, and character growth, of several of the seven more than any other character of the movie. Grumpy grows lots more than Snow White or the Prince does, and has more complicated motivations than does the evil Queen, for example.
We’re talking about the Disney animated version/? They have pretty distinct personalities.
I like Peter Dinklage, but his rant, here, is at best premature. We don’t know how they will be portrayed. Nor are the human, they’re mythical creatures like elves are. I can see that even as non humans, their portrayal could be problematic. But that depends on how they are actually written.
This seems like a good place to mention the extraordinary novel Mendel’s Dwarf. (I could swear I reviewed it on Amazon, but don’t see my review, although it is supremely tedious to search so maybe I just missed it.)
Anyway, talk about a dwarf who is a complex, sympathetic, unlikeable, extraordinary character! It’s apparently a love-it-or-hate-it book (it was not well received by everyone in my book club, which read it at my recommendation) but put me in the “love it” camp. Read it if you can.
(Although I did read it 10 years ago … maybe it contains some content that would be considered objectionable now that I didn’t pick up on in less woke times. I don’t think that’s the case, but apologies in advance if it hasn’t held up as well as I hope.)
I like that explanation of the story. The dwarfs befriend Snow White. IIRC don’t they save her life? It’s been awhile since I watched.
The comedy comes from their unique character traits. They are a family that were proud of their jobs. I can’t recall them being mocked for being dwarfs.
Then you will just have to take the word of someone less tall than you.
Why can’t people just take such remarks (as by Peter Dinklage) at face value? What does the POV of some middle aged white dude matter in this discussion?
He thinks the stereotype of small people being little more than excavators dehumanizing, is that really so hard to grasp?
Actually… we don’t know that he objects to their trade as miners. It could be some other trait(s) he’s opposed to. As I said, I’m not really clear what is getting Mr. Dinklage upset here but, given his past statements about being a dwarf in the entertainment business, I assume there is something with substance there. He’s definitely all for short-statured actors getting more work but opposed to certain types of work he feels is demeaning and/or dehumanizing. He is not, however, the Official Spokesman for All Dwarfs Everywhere, this is his opinion. Other dwarfs may or may not feel the same. Dinklage’s words get a lot of attention because he’s now a star actor and household name, and I’m glad he speaks his mind, but his is not the final word on whether or not this proposed movie gets made.
… who is also a dwarf and considered disabled because of that fact. He’s not a typical MAWD.
I didn’t get any of that when I watched the Disney movie. They formed their own family? What? They were rejected by society? Huh?
There’s no explanation for them in the movie that I recall: they are simply seven dwarfs that live in a tiny cottage.
(bolding mine)
Were they, tho? The Disney movie was made in 1933; The Hobbit was published in 1937. In the Grimm Bros. story the dwarfs are not explicitly miners, that I recall. And other than this story, I don’t recall any folk tales that featured magical dwarfs.
Tolkien is largely responsible for establishing the “mythic others of the fantasy world”.
No; they catch her sleeping in their home after she ransacked it looking for food. They hear her tale of woe and are sympathetic, so they allow her to become their servant.
I think it is dubious to assume they are a family. It is as likely that they are all peons who have no choice but to live and work together.
Upthread, I linked to the Wikipedia article about dwarfsin folklore, which notes that dwarfs have long been a part of Germanic/Norse folklore and mythology (which is presumably where Tolkien took his from).
So it sounds like being miners may be more a part of the traditional essence of dwarfdom than being short.