To Be Fair, It's Only A Little Problem...

*sighs*

This winter has seen the release of two new major fantasy series, Willow (Disney+), set years after the original film, and The Witcher: Blood Origin (Netflix), a prequel to the hugely successful series The Witcher, based on the books of the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski. Both feature actors with dwarfism playing fantasy dwarves in central roles.

You might be thinking “hurrah for diversity!”...

No, as a long-suffering 'Guardian' reader, I can assure you I'm not! I know what's likely to be coming. 

...but the existence of fantasy dwarves on screen holds a complex and sensitive history for those of us who have dwarfism off screen.

*sighs even harder*

So, you want to ban real-life dwarves from acting? 

On the other hand, the decision Peter Jackson made not to cast actors with dwarfism in his The Hobbit film series and The Lord of the Rings felt frustrating at the time, given the aforementioned lack of jobs offered to actors with dwarfism.

Oh. So, you want to have your cake and eat it. Like so many professional whingers... 

Of course, all of this is only fantasy, and people might be reading this thinking “it’s obvious those characters aren’t real, so what’s your point?”. My point is that we need to see more accurate dwarfism representation on screen before people who know nothing about us can reject the wealth of misinformation they often subconsciously consume.

Funny, whenever I watch 'Tenable', I think of it as 'that quiz show Warwick Davies hosts'. I don't think of it as 'that quiz show hosted by the dwarf actor'. 

Isn't that what we're supposed to be aiming for?