This past December moviegoers flocked to their local movie theaters for the final installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King. This fantasy epic seems to appeal to the hole family with magical creatures and action packed battles scenes. But there is a darker side to the world of JRR Tolkien. The North American Association of Little People (NAALP) has filed suit against Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema contending that the trilogy promotes intolerance and abuse of little people. NAALP attorney Will Lialot said "The abuse can be seen throughout the trilogy. You see little people, these hobbits being tossed around by the big folk. In several scenes we even see them being hit or run down simply because they're small. It's all very disturbing."
Several little people involved in the suit claim that since that 2001 release of The Fellowship of the Ring they cant walk down the street or go into a store without being harassed. "The worst thing happened last Halloween when I was in a shop looking for a costume to wear to the company Halloween party that evening." Says little person Ben Wonged. "The shop owner kept insisting that I buy a hobbit costume, so I finally agreed to try it on. When I came out of the dressing room the shop owner had dressed himself up as Gandalf the wizard and began beating me on the head with a staff yelling "Fool of a Took." I was so embarrassed I ran out of the store forgetting that I still had the costume on. When I got home I phoned the police. When they finally arrived they arrested me for shoplifting. I had to spend the entire night in jail dressed as a hobbit and I missed the company party. The night went from bad to worse around midnight when a drunk man dressed as Boromir was brought in for attempting to rob a jewelry store. The jailer thought it would be funny to put him in with me. He spent the hole night carrying me around the jail, pretending we were climbing a mountain and even acted out the characters death scene from the movie."
Little person Sue Daily admits that at first the attention was faltering but it soon became a nightmare. "One time I was at a restaurant and the waiter, a plump, pimply faced boy with glasses, greasy hair and no upper body strength kept staring at me. I finally asked him what he wanted and he picked me up and tried to toss me across the room. Like I said he had had no upper body strength so I ended up upside-down about a foot away from the table. My dress was up over my head and the entire restaurant could see my privets. The waiter said something about a "hobbit hole" before the manager came out. The waiter however was not fired and restaurant refused to apologize. Nothing like this ever happened before that movie came out."
"It's not simply a movie," says Lialot. "It's in our culture now. These movie makers have been careless. They do anything to bring in the money with no consideration to those they hurt. For everyone else The Lord of the Rings may be an epic adventure but for the tiny victims of this film, it's a horrific example of discrimination.
When asked to comment a spokes person for New Line stated that "This lawsuit is ridiculous. It's just a big attempt by small people to get attention. If it were up to me they would all be slaves. Mwa-ha-ha." That spokes person was later fired. New Line has declined to comment since that incident only saying that they hope this matter will be resolved "shortly."