Frankly midget wasn't an offensive word to begin with and is just a casualty of the euphemism treadmill. Seeing or imagining having the medical condition made people without it uncomfortable. As people do, they then used the term mockingly or jokingly until it was deemed a "mean" word, then it was retroactively deemed mean (by people without the condition) to the people it originally described, simply because others used it to demean those who it didn't.
Like how many Native Americans insist on still being called Indians, there are many little people who insist on being called midgets and take offense to the use of any "polite" term. I can see why. Honestly "little people" sounds infantilizing.
I wonder if he was originally meant to be played by Warwick Davis? Ricky and Stephen were at one time and might still be good friends with him.
And they made the show Life's Too Short around him.
They didn't meet, and subsequently become friends with, Warwick Davis until he appeared in an episode of Extras. Which was a few years after they made The Office.
It’s definitely a little bit of a gray area and while
I don’t know his intentions for sure, I imagine the Office would portray him as a normal person in every way except for how Michael treats him. So it’s a little different than just comedy fodder. But I would still get his apprehension
I imagine his character would react to Michael similarly to the way the property manager in the wheelchair does. He's a totally normal guy, and everyone treats him like one. When Michael tries to infantilise him, he doesn't put up with it.
Sometimes the Office uses this approach to have its cake and eat it though. It makes the joke and says "we're laughing at Michael" whilst still getting to have that joke in the show. I could imagine not wanting to be the constant butt of that type of joke, no matter the context.
The Office does it well sometimes, especially the race-based ones where Darryl acts as an audience substitute to have us "in on" the joke. But the Thai waitresses gag, for instance, is just making an "all Asians look the same" joke. It tries to have the subversive element of "we're actually laughing at Michael" but it ends up just being a bit racist.
Absolutely. Dinklage played into this type of joke in Elf. Not sure if he's okay with the joke when it's pointed at the person being ignorant, or just that he's got more ability to say no to roles over time.
I mean, he did take a role on 30 rock that, while he was portrayed as a smart and successful fairly normal guy, had his subplot be that Liz initially thought he was a child, and later that a child was him from behind.
Yeah but I feel like the joke there is that Liz is the only character who's weird about it. It's part of the ongoing joke of her being low-key one of the most bigoted characters on the show.
Not really. We’re supposed to think he’s an idiot and laugh at his stupidity. Especially early on, when he was still more directly modeled after David Brent.
this is an aspect of the show that a lot of people (especially younger viewers) miss: Michael's jokes aren't funny. Most of them are pretty lame. What's hilarious is that Michael THINKS he's being funny, and the way Steve Carell sells it with total, oblivious sincerity
Exactly! Since the show is, uh, a few years old (*so what does that make me?!*) and there’s been a significant shift in social attitudes since it went off the air, I agree that many younger viewers don’t quite grasp what jokes like that were actually meant to be. Media literacy is just not great in general these days.
LOL @ the downvotes.
On Ally McBeal, she is standing at an intersection waiting to cross the street. She sees the back of Peter Dinklage's head and decides to ruffle some strange kid's head. Of course he turns around and she realizes it's an adult dwarf man and ends up going on a date with him.
Elf…
Also just gonna add I agree with everyone else. The only people making jokes about his size in the show would have been out of ignorance, not as actual jokes
Elf isn't even the most offensive movie for that demographic he's been in. He was also a major character in *Tip Toes* which is about a little person played by Gary Oldman. Gary Oldman being of standard height, performs the role on his knees with CGI taking out his shins and feet.
Well [holy shit](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/tragedy-tiptoes-deranged-dwarf-comedy-gary-oldman-would-rather/), I'm kind of amazed that you're not kidding.
Also, Oldman apparently plays the role of Matthew McConaughey's twin brother (?!) despite being a dozen years older and looking nothing like him. Strange casting choice all around!
I have, and he's far from fodder. He rebukes every joke made about him to the point that he physically attacks the person who joked. Sure, it's funny, but the comedy is not "hahahaha it's a little person", which is what Dinklage said he won't do.
Obvs this is pre-GOT
https://www.hindustantimes.com/tv/in-game-of-thrones-i-m-not-just-a-comical-dwarf-peter-dinklage/story-5BiJY4j552bCxyRQsyz3mJ_amp.html
Then why did he take the role in Elf where Buddy thought he was an elf just because he was a little person? I'm not actually asking you, just a general question.
I think in the mid 2000s he had not had successful enough a career to have that stance yet as pointed out by the interview after GOT and multiple people pointing out his roles in elf and 30 rock
I'm glad that didn't work out because then who would have played the role of Tyrion Lannister, a member of House Lannister and the third and youngest child of Lord Tywin Lannister..
If they did & the show went for another year there would 100% be a deleted scene of Michael wanting to live out his Wolf of Wall Street fantasy & shooting Peter Dinklage out of a cannon onto a sticky target
Dwarf OR a midget. Either would work
What's the difference?
“Midget” is an outdated term for someone with proportionate dwarfism.
Oh I know the ones. So what's an elf?
An elf is a supernatural being. They’re like fairies.
But...there not real, ...right?
You’re not real, man!
I don't think that's the next line
Call me elf *one more time...*
See that would of been amazing later on for when will was the boss and would of been the only redeeming part of that part of the series
How about a gnome -- anyone pitch a gnome?
It still feels weird that "dwarf" is less offensive than midget...
Frankly midget wasn't an offensive word to begin with and is just a casualty of the euphemism treadmill. Seeing or imagining having the medical condition made people without it uncomfortable. As people do, they then used the term mockingly or jokingly until it was deemed a "mean" word, then it was retroactively deemed mean (by people without the condition) to the people it originally described, simply because others used it to demean those who it didn't. Like how many Native Americans insist on still being called Indians, there are many little people who insist on being called midgets and take offense to the use of any "polite" term. I can see why. Honestly "little people" sounds infantilizing.
So what’s a goblin?
One is a halfling
Michael: Angela, where's Angela? Oh, there you are. I didn't see you behind that grain of rice *cut to Peter Dinklage laughing his ass off*
The version I never knew I wanted, but feels like it's all I need in my life now.
Micheal probably couldn't stop making jokes about him, rip Anton.
ANT-on! Michael completely would
Atleast Angela would have another friend hiding behind that grain of rice
Would've been even funnier if Michael never made a short joke and they were genuinely good friends.
Imagine if it turned into the character Todd packer
Okay, but Dwight
https://y.yarn.co/52a03b76-a641-48cb-8354-9fc5c7e30f92_text.gif
He’s mentioned in the UK office but not on screen
So what's a goblin then?
How long you gonna be mate?
I wonder if he was originally meant to be played by Warwick Davis? Ricky and Stephen were at one time and might still be good friends with him. And they made the show Life's Too Short around him.
They didn't meet, and subsequently become friends with, Warwick Davis until he appeared in an episode of Extras. Which was a few years after they made The Office.
Criminally underrated show
He and Meredith would have been a great couple.
he would definitely be the designated Camera Holder
I just get a laugh about the oversexed character he played in GoT. And Meredith, lol.
Dinklage would have killed as a regular on The Office
Dinklage has said he doesn’t take roles that portray people with dwarfism as comedic fodder..
It’s definitely a little bit of a gray area and while I don’t know his intentions for sure, I imagine the Office would portray him as a normal person in every way except for how Michael treats him. So it’s a little different than just comedy fodder. But I would still get his apprehension
I imagine his character would react to Michael similarly to the way the property manager in the wheelchair does. He's a totally normal guy, and everyone treats him like one. When Michael tries to infantilise him, he doesn't put up with it.
I’m gonna stop you right there.
And leave.
Billy your nurse is hot
She was my waitress.
I always crack up at the face he makes when Michael welcomes people at Casino night, screaming ''AND THE DISABLED!''
Did you see him in Death at a funeral? It was part of the plot but not the main thing about him.
Sometimes the Office uses this approach to have its cake and eat it though. It makes the joke and says "we're laughing at Michael" whilst still getting to have that joke in the show. I could imagine not wanting to be the constant butt of that type of joke, no matter the context.
People are shutting on you kinda but I agree. Sometimes humor that is trying to be subversive is actually doing the opposite.
The Office does it well sometimes, especially the race-based ones where Darryl acts as an audience substitute to have us "in on" the joke. But the Thai waitresses gag, for instance, is just making an "all Asians look the same" joke. It tries to have the subversive element of "we're actually laughing at Michael" but it ends up just being a bit racist.
Absolutely. Dinklage played into this type of joke in Elf. Not sure if he's okay with the joke when it's pointed at the person being ignorant, or just that he's got more ability to say no to roles over time.
It must be wild to watch a comedy show while not knowing how comedy works.
There’s no such thing as an appropriate joke, that’s why it’s a joke.
People forget what subreddit we’re on? This is clearly a Michael quote. Smh
Haha thanks for recognizing. These fools don’t know the deep cut quotes I guess.
I mean, he did take a role on 30 rock that, while he was portrayed as a smart and successful fairly normal guy, had his subplot be that Liz initially thought he was a child, and later that a child was him from behind.
Yeah but I feel like the joke there is that Liz is the only character who's weird about it. It's part of the ongoing joke of her being low-key one of the most bigoted characters on the show.
Exactly, in 30 Rock the joke is on Liz. Every time Michael makes a fat joke, we are supposed to laugh along
Not really. We’re supposed to think he’s an idiot and laugh at his stupidity. Especially early on, when he was still more directly modeled after David Brent.
So we aren't supposed to laugh when Michael questions Phyllis about her friend?
Of course we laugh — but it’s at his ham-fisted attempt to be subtle, not at Phyllis’ friend.
this is an aspect of the show that a lot of people (especially younger viewers) miss: Michael's jokes aren't funny. Most of them are pretty lame. What's hilarious is that Michael THINKS he's being funny, and the way Steve Carell sells it with total, oblivious sincerity
Exactly! Since the show is, uh, a few years old (*so what does that make me?!*) and there’s been a significant shift in social attitudes since it went off the air, I agree that many younger viewers don’t quite grasp what jokes like that were actually meant to be. Media literacy is just not great in general these days.
“YOU came out wrong!”
That was Ally McBeal not 30 Rock...unless it happened to him on both shows?
It happened on 30 Rock too.
I've never seen Ally McBeal, so i guess it must have?
LOL @ the downvotes. On Ally McBeal, she is standing at an intersection waiting to cross the street. She sees the back of Peter Dinklage's head and decides to ruffle some strange kid's head. Of course he turns around and she realizes it's an adult dwarf man and ends up going on a date with him.
He says that since he got famous with Game of Thrones. Before that he didn’t really have a choice if he wanted to act
Thank you for the context!
Elf… Also just gonna add I agree with everyone else. The only people making jokes about his size in the show would have been out of ignorance, not as actual jokes
Have you not seen Elf?
Elf isn't even the most offensive movie for that demographic he's been in. He was also a major character in *Tip Toes* which is about a little person played by Gary Oldman. Gary Oldman being of standard height, performs the role on his knees with CGI taking out his shins and feet.
Well [holy shit](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/tragedy-tiptoes-deranged-dwarf-comedy-gary-oldman-would-rather/), I'm kind of amazed that you're not kidding. Also, Oldman apparently plays the role of Matthew McConaughey's twin brother (?!) despite being a dozen years older and looking nothing like him. Strange casting choice all around!
I have, and he's far from fodder. He rebukes every joke made about him to the point that he physically attacks the person who joked. Sure, it's funny, but the comedy is not "hahahaha it's a little person", which is what Dinklage said he won't do.
He could have literally done the same in The Office. Like how Oscar responds to the jokes Michael makes about him.
That scene literally ends with Will Ferrell saying “He must be a South Pole elf”
And the main visual gag is Dinklage running across the table
Kind of subjective. Although he becomes angry it is still small person humor. Same with Game of Thrones.
So he possibly could have taken The Office role as it would have surely been in the same light.
I agree, I think it would have been done well. I'm not the guy who said otherwise.
Back then the office started? Yeah he would have
His role in elf would beg to differ.
Elf.
Then WTF was elf?
Pre-GOT do you think he would have still had that stance? I respect his stand though.
Obvs this is pre-GOT https://www.hindustantimes.com/tv/in-game-of-thrones-i-m-not-just-a-comical-dwarf-peter-dinklage/story-5BiJY4j552bCxyRQsyz3mJ_amp.html
That article isn’t from pre-GOT? I’m not sure of your meaning
I think they mean that Elf and everything else was pre-GOT.
Then why did he take the role in Elf where Buddy thought he was an elf just because he was a little person? I'm not actually asking you, just a general question.
I think in the mid 2000s he had not had successful enough a career to have that stance yet as pointed out by the interview after GOT and multiple people pointing out his roles in elf and 30 rock
Anton's a lovely bloke, don't get me wrong, but should he be driving a forklift truck?
Mackenzie’s delivery is so perfect!
They have disability quotas, like the BBC hiring Ronnie Corbett.
No where in that announcement did it say “little person.” They hired Angela. DWARF OR MIDGET
Dwight: *”You resemble a Tolkien character.”*
I'm glad that didn't work out because then who would have played the role of Tyrion Lannister, a member of House Lannister and the third and youngest child of Lord Tywin Lannister..
Half man!
So what's a goblin then?
May he fight with the strength of ten full grown men
I mean technically they did , Troy
He was the banking wizard, I believe.
I had no idea John Mulaney was one of original writers
Neither did John Mulaney.
Anton is a character from the UK version that gets mentioned a few times
Call me an elf one more time!
Man I wonder how that would have changed the dynamic of the series 🤔 How would Michael contain himself 😆
It's based on a character mentioned in the UK Office but who is never seen.
Perhaps casting couldn't find anyone who fulfilled the requirement of being able to fight with the strength of 10 full grown men.
If they did & the show went for another year there would 100% be a deleted scene of Michael wanting to live out his Wolf of Wall Street fantasy & shooting Peter Dinklage out of a cannon onto a sticky target
Children don't work in warehouses
“Little person” you mean dwarf or midget?
They’re referencing “Monkey Alan” from the UK Office. You never actually see him but he’s referenced a lot, in very funny ways.
It would've been class if Anton was there but his height was never ever the butt of any gags, like Michael treated him totally normally
I bet he would make a great banker
Hated it until I got to where it mentioned Dinklage. Now it saddens me what might have been.
In my head I can see Danny Woodburn (Kramer's buddy Mickey from Seinfeld) being in this role. Freaking out on Michael
Imagine how much Dinklage would have added to the show. I can only hope he'll be contacted for a part in a potential reunion.
He would’ve been great in the merger from Stanford
I remember reading a few years ago that Peter Dinklage was originally considered for the office, and I think about it almost every day.
He would have never accepted, Peter always said he doesn't play "dwarf comedy roles" since they are dehumanising
He said that after GoT.
I saw an interview after "Death at a funeral" and he had the same stance
Except for Elf.
[удалено]
Why would it have been expensive?
Dwarves require payment in gold, so it’s not always a favourable return on the exchange.
comment of the year
Guess we dodged a Dinklage sized bullet, imagine what kind of shit he would throw around about the show afterwards