Forging a Fantasy - A (Short) Examination of the Origin of Dwarfs in Popular Fiction

watched all three of your videos and all three are absolute bangers

who else here from cole?

This video is so good honestly I feel more educated on dwarfs. Keep up the good work!!

Excellent breakdown! And good on you for touching on the more 'problematic' elements of Tolkien's works. It can be intimidating to say anything remotely 'negative' online about such a beloved figure and his creations, but it's so important to talk about. Came in due to the algorithm recommending the Fear and Hunger vid, loving these other vids as well! =)

I like this video very much. It is a nice history of the legendary dwarfs. In ''Lord of the Rings'' my favorite character is Gimli, of course. I have read that many cultures have dwarf-like figures as miners. There is a reasonable argument for that theory. The smaller the man, the smaller the tunnel of the mine. I am also a huge fan of Warcraft and their dwarfs. The dwarfs in that game are about 150 cm in height. I am 166 cm tall, which is pretty short for a man from Serbia. Still, I am proud of my ''dwarven'' height. I don't drink any alcohol, but I like to sing and dance. Dwarfs Forever! <3

Awesome video, albeit I wish it covered the dwarves of Glorantha, the Mostali. Truly unique take on them from a TTRPG! Also, as for the Dwemer, they were originally much more conventional fantasy dwarves in the first 2 TES games. Things were changed in Morrowind (thanks to devs other than Todd, IIRC) where they became a sub-race of elves to spice things up.

I’ve always found myself most interested in learning about the Dwarves.

we need more historical fantasy race like this! great video man~

An excellent essay, though I have a criticism. I'll try to be brief. Whilst I understand you qualified the essay as 'short' I do think you made a critical omission with regards to how dwarves have grown in the collective consciousness and that is in reference to how the iconography of the Tolkein dwarf has evolved to become rooted as much in reality as in fantasy which I personally believe is a massive contributor to why they are so omnipresent in modern pulp fantasy. The characterisation of these dwarves, intentionally or otherwise, shares copious similarities with working class stereotypes and their enmity with elves (who are comparatively upper class in their characterisation) helps to make these two races extremely relatable to people from any walk of life. These pop-culture Dwarves are surly, loud, crude, blunt, short, hairy, and very physical. Their diets are simple and hearty, their alcohol is enjoyed for its strength. Similarly the way dwarven culture and values generally lean masculine in nature (in more ways than just the jokes about women with beards) can also be argued to have evolved from an unconscious intrusion of working class archetypes and tropes (and the same obviously in reverse for the more feminine elves drawing from the more effete upper classes and magnifying the natural differences and even opposition between the two races in popular culture.) These traits shared with stereotypical working classes across the globe (even if common depictions of Dwarves are European in nature) and I believe they mapped very naturally onto the existing traits of the dwarves of European fantasy to create the hybrid of relatably real and fantastically bizarre that characterise the pop-culture dwarf. I firmly believe a huge contributing factor to the disappearance over time of certain historical Dwarven traits is how the pop-culture archetype drawn from the working classes is such a relatable and evocative force that its traits have out-competed many historical traits to create a sort of... forgive my cringeness... apex Dwarf. Moreover, this process of refinement which you alluded to in your outro has created the shared image of the Dwarf which fantasy fans have slowly brought into being via consensus and which is now so clear in its conception that deviations from the formula are quickly identifiable and it's a process I have seen occurring with multiple fantasy symbols over time outside of any specific creators' lore. There has come to exist a sort of crowdsourced platonic ideal for Dwarves but also of Elves and various other races, classes, and monsters (amongst other categories) and these symbols exist and are referenced frequently in media without any set world or lore such as Baalbuddy's comics. To surmise my criticism is that in describing the Dwarves the parallel with real-world stereotypes ought to not be omitted and that when discussing any symbol of fantasy in modernity the shared conception of the symbol outside of specific lore ought to be addressed as readily as their representation in prominent fiction. With that all said I'd like to reiterate I think you've done an amazing job on the essay and I'm eager to see more.

incredible!!! what an amazing work you did!

Love your content you deserve more love

Really cool video!!

Brilliant work! 🍻

I learned so much I loved the part about Gandalf

Very well made video with some interesting info o:

Great job dude, can't wait to see what you put out next!

Very interesting :)

beautiful!!

Love this but was sad that Terry Pratchett wasn't mentioned.... His dwarves were Tolkieneque and yet something new as well

amazing work!