Dwarfism

Dwarfism is a condition in which a person, animal or plant is much below the ordinary size of the species. When applied to people, it implies not just extreme shortness, but a degree of disproportion. Dwarfism is now rarely used as a medical term and is sometimes (but not always) considered impolite or pejorative. Today, the term little person tends to be preferred. According to the Little People of America the human definition of this term is stated as such "a medical or genetic condition that usually results in an adult height of 4'10" or shorter, among both men and women, although in some cases a person with a dwarfing condition may be slightly taller than that."

Dwarfism and extreme shortness in popular culture and the arts

Dwarfism is such an obvious difference that it attracts the curiosity, humor, and imagination of most other people. "Normal" people of most cultures have paid just to look at dwarfs or to keep them around for amusement (e.g., dwarf tossing). In many times and places this may be the most attractive employment option available, as was the case for some jesters of medieval Europe.

Related Topics:
Dwarf tossing - Jester

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When depicted in art, literature, or movies, dwarfs are rarely depicted as "regular people who are very short" but often as a species apart. Novelists, artists, and moviemakers attach special moral or aesthetic significance to the "apartness" or the misshapenness.

Related Topics:
Novelist - Artist - Moviemaker

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Artistic representations of dwarfism can be found on Greek vases and other ancient artifacts. Many European paintings (especially Spanish) of the 16th-19th centuries depict dwarfs by themselves or with others.

Related Topics:
Greek - Europe - Spanish - 16th - 19th

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Several novels have treated dwarfism as a major theme, not necessarily realistically:

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• The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel) by Günter Grass
• Stones of the River by Ursula Hegi
• The Dwarf by Pär Lagerkvist
• A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Leslie Fiedler's ' (1979) is considered an intelligent and sensitive exploration of the cultural significance and artistic treatments of differentness. Other readers may feel that he valued physically unusual people for their differentness, not for their personhood, when he laments medical treatment for reducing the number of picturesquely different people around.

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Several twentieth century movies have addressed the topic or made much use of dwarfs:

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• Freaks (1932)
• The Terror of Tiny Town (1938)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)
• Even Dwarfs Started Small (Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen) (1970)
• The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel) (1979)
• Time Bandits (1981)
• Willow (1988)
• Simon Birch (1998)
• The Station Agent (2003)

The 1960s television series The Wild Wild West featured a dwarf, Michael Dunn, as the recurring character Dr. Miguelito Loveless, the brilliant but insane arch-enemy of Secret Service agents James West and Artemus Ward.

Related Topics:
1960s - Television - The Wild Wild West - Michael Dunn - Recurring character - Secret Service

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In addition, the actor and stunt man Verne Troyer has become famous playing the character "Mini-Me" in the two most recent Austin Powers movies, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002).

Related Topics:
Actor - Stunt man - Verne Troyer - Mini-Me - Austin Powers - Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me - 1999 - Austin Powers in Goldmember - 2002

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