"Should GW Ditch the Dwarves?" Topic

Disney recently announced that their Snow White remake will not have the Seven Dwarves. Peter Dinklage, the well-known actor who is also a Little Person, has called for an end to "outdated stereotypes" in films.

Would you like to see Games Workshop remove Dwarves from its ranges of figures?

I know folks who want the "Squats" back in 40K.

In legend and folklore, surely dwarfs were not human beings who have suffered from a medical condition that has restricted their growth, but an entirely different species that just happened to be shorter than homo sapiens? In the Peter Jackson films based upon Tolkien's books, dwarfs (and hobbits) were played by ordinary actors who were made to appear smaller than the Men by clever camera angles and other cinematic tricks.

Personally, I don't care what Games Worksop does, but I see no reason to remove dwarfs from fantasy wargaming to satisfy some modern notion of 'political correctness'.

Absurd. So, no.

Real life dwarfism has nothing to do with fantasy dwarves, nor are fantasy dwarves either insulting, mocking, ridiculing, diminishing or otherwise misrepresenting any real life person.

Ironically, fantasy dwarves are, in the main, treated as heroic, intelligent, talented, stalwart, loyal, and highly resilient in adversity. In GW's world, they're the closest thing to "good guys" the franchise has.

And, for the record, Peter Dinklage has never portrayed an actual fantasy dwarf. His character in Game of Thrones is not a member of a fantasy race, just a human being with a (somewhat grotesque) form of dwarfism.

And whatever he might have thought he was portraying in the current Snow White debacle, it ain't a fantasy dwarf…though it could indeed be called a fantasy (as in something which does not exist).

Are we going to re-edit The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and all other fantasy books with dwarves?

If we continue to give into this crap, yes, they will.

No, they are derived from Norse mythology – they are not short humans, they are an entirely different species.

Baruk Khazad! Squats forever!!

As noted, the medical condition and the Northern European myth share little but the name. If the post-Walt Disney company treated an African, Middle Eastern or Native American legend the way they're currently treating German folklore, they'd never get done apologizing for it.

But why specifically GW?

That would be ridiculous. Dwarves in fantasy are a specific race. It is not in any way tied to real world or to issues in our world. I also read an article from a little person who was put out by what Disney had done. He said there is very little work for people of his size and now they Snow White and the seven dwarves away from them.

I think all forms of any humanoid types should be banned-as we--as history shows -- are generally evil…

regards
Russ Dunaway

"Disney recently announced that their Snow White remake will not have the Seven Dwarves."

Massive overdoses of human growth hormone for everyone, yay! ;-)

"Would you like to see Games Workshop remove Dwarves from its ranges of figures?"

With continuing "scale creep", they'll be as tall as the humans in the other ranges in a few years… ;-)

No. Ridiculous of Disney to remake _Snow White_ without them; if they're objectionable -- and I don't think they are -- the movie shouldn't be remade at all.

And, she is not Snow White, who called such because of her…snow white skin. In the new movie she's a women of color. Wait until you see the dwarves replacements.

In other news, Disney's upcoming biopic of Booker T. Washington will star Harrison Ford.

And Bill, no.

As long as Bob Olley doesn't stop sculpting them, IDK what GW does with their line.

Wasn't Tyrion Lannister a jerk because everyone, especially his family, crapped on him in a heinous way his entire life for bigoted reasons?

Too many people in this world today are looking for an opportunity to be offended.

Other answer:
I would like to clutch my pearls.

Well, Squats are back.

You also have Fyreslayers, Kharadron Overlords and the old range now part of Cities of Sigmar.

Oh, and MESBG

Far from banning dwarves, GW has recently reintroduced "Squats" to back into Warhammer 40,000. This happened about 11 months ago! They are not called Squats; they are the Leagues of Votann, but they definitely are "space dwarves." The model range is quite nice and the faction seems to be popular.

This faction has experienced a controversial release from a rules standpoint, and a happy medium is still being sought.

Would you like to see Games Workshop remove Dwarves from its ranges of figures?

Well, they sort of ditched Dwarves when they dropped Warhammer Fantasy Battle and brought out instead Age of Sigmar (which features Duardin instead of Dwarves).

Their Middle-Earth range still contains dwarves, however.

Will Games Workshop discontinue Dwarves; they are the arch enemies of Goblins.

And ALL fantasy miniature manufacturers should stop making vampires out of respect for persons suffering from cutaneous porphyrias.
link

Give me a little time, and I bet I can come up with something at least that good about any fantasy race, and most SF ones. Can't we find something sillier to have hysterics about?

Voltann. Yeah, I saw them. But Zephyr was right. They're about a head too tall to be Squats, look like Space Marines printed out at 2/3 scale, and generally suffer from all GW's current deficiencies. I shall continue to pick up space dwarves as and when I can, but these people will not be invited.

As noted, Fantasy dwarf folk are a totally different species from humans – so, no

They should also ban elves as they discriminate against people with big ears who go to discos!

Tally Ho!

On Parzival's point, Dinklage did play the dwarf Trumpkin in the Narnia movie Prince Caspian.

But as others have pointed out, in all fantasy settings Dwarves are a different race from humans.

Forgot he was Trumpkin. Oh, the irony— if he's really so opposed to fantasy dwarf roles, he ought not to take them.

I'm going to take a different tack semi-seriously.

Dwarves are a major element of the Norse Religion, being a major part of the creation mythology there.

So to ban dwarves would be, in effect and practice, religious discrimination.

" if he's really so opposed to fantasy dwarf roles, he ought not to take them."

He seems to be coming across as a small man (and I don't mean his physical stature… ;-)

There was a 90s-early 2000s movie/telemovie that was loosely? Based on snow-white. The dwarfs had the names of the days of the week. One, at least, was a tall actor, seen him in other things too. Long sort of face and dark hair. He wore yellow with a floppy hat, from memory.

So this isn't completely new.

But I thought the idea was live action versions, not complete new takes.

I don't care if they are dwarfs due to dwarfism, in fact that makes sense in a mine. I get more annoyed when odd people (technical term) get used in regular roles as its jarring and something for a viewer to get their head around before you can begin, but the show already has and you missed half trying to figure out why some forign guys in a supposably western role, or someone's really tall, short, fat, thin, amupated, coloured, wearing glasses, dressed like the opposite sex, so on is there for no particular reason.

If it's in the script for a reason, like 7 dwarfs, that not such an issue.

A nerd could have glasses, a bully be fat, so on with no nessesary explanation. As other examples.

Robin Williams as Mrs Doubtfire was part of the story and the name of the film and not jarring.

Why is snow white not, that is jarring.

What is jarjar Bink's is also jarring.

Why a dwarf is tall and in yellow is jarring.

A Black kid and an Asian kid in a group of kids playing baseball is, usually, not jarring.

You don't want your audience spending time thinking about your behind the scenes choices. You want them watching the darn movie.

It sounds like snow white is pretty much canned, going by YouTube.

Dwarfs are back in Warhammer The Old World, so that's for sure.

Elves tall, dwarfs short, orcs Green.

Apparently magic the gathering (or is it wizards of the coast entirely? Is getting rid of the word Tribal, apparently. So it gets better…

About what I'd expect from a south pole elf.

Explanation?

Or just drunk on syrup?

Games Workshop CAN'T drop the dwarves, I haven't even painted mine yet !!

Don't worry.

In fact GW are bringing out more dwarfs soon…ish.