Dwarf Actor's Guild

[Guest guest]

On Sun, 10 Sep 2000, lee -Hiebert wrote:

> Alls I know is ... Im representing myself when Im doing my act or

> role. If I impact some people in a positive way along my journey ...

> great! I have accepted though that they are ALWAYS going to be people

> complaining about what I do and what roles I MAY take. Some people in

> this group are constantly looking for an argument on this topic.

I don't believe that people who oppose Entertainment Dwarfs do it just to

be argumentative. Besides, lee, I'm sure you agree that the ways

dwarfs are portrayed in the broadcast entertainment media are unrealistic

examples of the way real dwarfs are.

It is an individual's right to seek employment in whatever legal manner

for which they can receive pay. Logically and politically, I fully support

them. Emotionally, I do not.

As Steve once said, " Comedy is not pretty. " One interpretation of

that sentiment is to recognize that much of the comedy in the broadcast

media paints certain minority groups in a bad or unrealistic light. But we

(society) know that virtually no African-Americans act like The Klumps,

that the Chinese typically aren't martial artists like Bruce Lee or Jackie

Chan, and that most blondes aren't dumb and ditsy like Phoebe (Friends) or

Chrissy (Three's Company). But the reason we know those portrayals are

fake is because we are also exposed on a daily basis to positive examples

of these minorities in serious entertainment roles and/or from personal

experience.

The difference with dwarf entertainers is that the vast majority of people

in society have never been friends with a dwarf, or worked with a dwarf,

or seen a dwarf portrayed in a serious role. The end result is that,

thanks to entertainment media, society's view of dwarfs is one-dimensional

-- we are portrayed as cute oddities not to be taken seriously (at best)

or inferior human beings that welcome and/or deserve ridicule (at worst).

Now, that's not to say that every individual in society shares that view.

We all meet new people who obviously recognize us as human beings and

treat us with the respect and dignity we deserve. But we also meet people

who laugh and point, make jokes or idiotic comments, and discriminate. I

believe that the negative encounters we all face are, in large part,

caused by entertainment media's portrayal of dwarfs.

Who is to blame for that? Not lee, not Verne Troyer, not Danny Black

or the Nacho Man. I'll say it again, dwarfs that work in entertainment are

not to blame for the warped perception society has of us. I honestly don't

think entertainment media itself is to " blame " either -- they are just

showing what gets good " ratings " (and some people might accuse me of

contradicting my last sentence in the previous paragraph, but please note

that I am making a distinction between " cause " and " blame. " By " cause " , I

mean that entertainment media " unconsciously " or " non-deliberately "

degrades dwarfs, whereas " blame " means a conscious, deliberate attempt).

So again, I ask, who is to blame? Society? That might seem like the

logical answer, but how do you point the finger at (or give the finger to)

society? Who do you yell at? Who do you sue? You can't point, yell at, or

sue society.

So the right answer is that no-one is to blame because there is no-one TO

blame. But it is natural human tendency to want to blame something or

somebody for bad stuff that happens to them, so some of us blame the Nacho

Man, some of us blame New Line Cinema, some of us blame society. Whatever.

The real question, and the ONLY one we should be asking ourselves, is

this: Is there a solution to this problem?

I believe there is, and I believe that the key to the solution is in all

of our hands -- and the real power is in the hands of lee, Verne,

Danny, Nacho Man, and all the dwarfs who work in entertainment.

I'm sure everyone has heard of SAG, the Screen Actor's Guild. Imagine an

organization through which entertainment companies would have to negotiate

to hire dwarf talent. Call it the Dwarf Actor's Guild. It could even be

affiliated with SAG, perhaps a subgroup of SAG.

By forming a Union of dwarf actors and entertainers, the following

benefits might be obtainable:

- a public, unified voice for dwarfs and dwarf entertainment is created.

Formal press statements regarding relevant issues are released, with

the potential to influence public opinion regarding the issues.

- establish pay structures under which dwarf entertainers work. Raise the

scale. If dwarf talent is hard to find, then found talent should be

well paid.

- establish standards by which entertainment roles can be measured.

Educate the entertainment industry. Bargain for serious roles in

addition to the traditional roles they offer dwarfs.

- the Union could serve as an agent for dwarf entertainers, giving the

entertainment industry an established resource to which they can go when

they seek dwarf talent, and dwarf talent a place to go when they are

seeking work.

- Union representatives could participate in SAG, have a voice in SAG. If

non-dwarf entertainers become sympathetic to the cause, it would

provide additional backing and leverage for dwarf entertainers.

- Attempt to remedy an intolerable situation by boycotting or striking, if

the situation is unresolvable through negotiation/compromise. Solicit

public support from SAG or other organizations with influence in the

entertainment industry.

One significant truth in America is that the media controls America's

attitudes about things more than any other segment of society. If we as

dwarfs want to change society's attitudes toward us, we need to become a

steady, vocal participant in the media. We need realistic exposure and

positive representation in order to offset the negative stereotypes. Those

of us best positioned to do this are already in the media -- dwarf

entertainers. Those of us who are not in the entertainment media can

assist in the organization, administration, and policy development for a

dwarf actor's guild.

Now, here is the clincher. From the Feed Magazine article " Size Matters "

by Elsa son: " In 1957, Barty, a famous actor and little person,

took on Hollywood as an insider. He founded the Little People of America

(LPA) as an actor's guild for dwarfs fed up with personifying extremes of

either cuteness or malevolence. " (Read this excellent article at

http://www.feedmag.com/deepread/dr261.shtml)

I confess that I always thought Barty started LPA as a social organization

for all Little People, not as an actor's guild. But if Ms. son is

correct, then we are facing the same issues Barty faced 43 years

ago! So Barty deserves first credit for recognizing the need for a

dwarf actor's guild. But somehow this goal has fallen by the wayside... or

maybe not. Maybe thanks to Barty things ARE much better than they were.

But it's obvious that despite whatever progress we have made, most of us

still feel that change is needed.

So rather than point fingers at each other, or society, or the movie

industry, maybe we should actually DO something, like form a union.

But hey, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

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Bradford, Portland, OR dbradfor@...

http://www.teleport.com/~dbradfor +1 503 203 1043

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