The next Disney to be adapted in live-action will be the classic among the classics: the famous Snow White! Even before it was shot, its future production is already controversial since actor Peter Dinklage pointed out the hypocrisy of the project.
For several years, Disney is surfing on the adaptation of its old classics in live-action version, a way to resuscitate the soul of these iconic cartoons: think of Cinderella, to jungle book, to Lion King or even to Mulan. The opportunity also for Disney to revisit these original animated films with a progressive sauce, adapting certain plot details or the characters of certain characters, a commendable project in principle.
It is in this perspective that the remake of Snow White, directed by Marc Webb, chose to give the main role to Rachel Zegler, a racialized actress of Colombian origin in the poster of the West Side Story of Spielberg. So far, all seems to be for the best. But actor Peter Dinklage recently reacted to the pitch of the future production and pointed out his hypocrisy.
“This backward fucking story of seven dwarfs living together in a cave”
The highly acclaimed actor for his Tyrion Lannister character in Game Of Thrones and winner of the Emmy Awards and the Golden Globes, denounces the implicit doublespeak carried by the American production : on the one hand, the choice of a racialized actress, on the other, the maintenance of a old-fashioned and stigmatizing vision for people with dwarfism. Guest on the podcast WTF by Marc Maron, Peter Dinklage, very committed to the subject, did not hide her amazement and his displeasure:
I was a little surprised when they were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White. But you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you are doing there. It makes no sense to me.
You’re progressive in a way but you keep doing this backward fucking story of seven dwarfs living together in a cave, what the fuck are you doing? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my platform? I guess I’m not strong enough anymore. All my love and respect to the actresses and all the people who thought they were doing the right thing.
Disney reacts in a press release
If Peter Dinklage’s speech is necessary and legitimate, given the representation of dwarfism in cultural productions, it should be noted thatit intervened before the filming of the film, without any information concerning the treatment of people with dwarfism having visibly leaked.
Faced with the reaction of the actor of Game Of Thrones, and the viralization of it on the Web, the Disney production was however forced to express itself in a press release sent to the media The Wrap. The studio told them:To avoid reinforcing the stereotypes of the original animated film, we adopt a different take on these seven characters and consulted with members of the dwarfism community“. In fact, the studio plans to replace the figures of the dwarves with those of “magical creatures”, without knowing yet precisely if these characters will play the same roles as the old 7 dwarfs, or if they will keep their names or their personality traits. The media The Wrap confirm anyway have seen the casting sheets mentioning these changes, specifying that the production would be looking for voice actors to embody the personality of these creatures.
Read also: Disney: Does the cartoon “Beauty and the Beast” romanticize domestic violence?
“It is important that the main people concerned can express themselves”
Consulted by our colleagues from Actu.fr, Anthony Aube, administrator of the Association of Short People, reacted to the words of Peter Dinklage: “We don’t all live together in a cave like in Snow White! And our dwarfism shouldn’t define us”. The APPT representative confirmed the stigmatizing vision associated with people with dwarfism in the cinema or in the series:
In fiction, in particular, dwarf people are represented as fantastic, magical characters, who do not necessarily have their own humanity.
For him, the militant commitment of Peter Dinklage is particularly valuable for the evolution of the representation of dwarfism : “Tyrion Lannister completely changed the image of the dwarf. In Game Of Thrones, her small size does not come into play, she is not a subject. In the other films for which he shot, his acting is not directed towards his difference. […] The debate must exist, it is important that the main people concerned can thus express themselves, give their opinion, be visible.”
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