One of the frustrations that I have with the Lord of the Rings movies is that it will be the only Tolkien experience most watchers will ever have. I have always said that I model my personal way of behaving and thinking after dwarves, only to have, on numerous occasions, "but dwarves are racist and intolerant" thrown back at me. To those who believe Elijah Wood is the true Frodo that may be the case, but dwarven culture is much deeper, and their civilization's battle with bigotry much more complex.
I remember reading Lord of The Rings as a kid and immediately gravitating towards dwarves and their mead-soaked rambunctiousness. Dwarves are racially immune to magic, (fueling their distrust of elves) but in my young brain, busy forming the first rebellious thoughts against Christianity, this translated directly to being immune to bullshit. And magic is bullshit. Whether it's Forgotten Realms or D&D, Skyrim or Ferelden, magic is always portrayed as more powerful than it really is. Magic can never simply be cast, it always costs something, meaning that training in the arcane arts for 60 years only to be cut down because you didn't have the proper time mid-battle to dig out the exact 3 pieces of kobold hair you need to cast stoneskin is a wasted life. And you're stupid for pursuing it. Just like Batman, magic is only as powerful as the preparation time allowed, and dwarves seem to generally reject the entire religious-like structure of it all. Praise Moradin.
It is true that your average dwarf mining the tunnels of Mithril Hall is probably a bigot, but what separates dwarves and elves is that dwarven heroes are not. Bruenor, Gimli, Thorin, Durin the 1st, all revered for their accomplishments in battle, and their overcoming of deep-rooted prejudices. Gimli calls Legolas friend, as Bruenor does Drizzt. Dwarves as a people revere those who accomplish great things after steep climbs, and I have taken this fictional fantasy race's admiration of tolerant leaders directly to the real world. J.R.R. Tolkien's writing led me straight to Malcom X's.
Aside from being ultimately resistant to racist and magical bullshit, my favorite fantasy race of stunted people are completely anti gender bullshit too. Women fight, women forge, women even have beards, but what struck me so starkly as a young reader was that dwarves really have no definition of "manly". Sure, you're expected to be able to hold your booze or be consider a fop, but there are gruff dwarven dressmakers who receive as much respect as their work ethic earns. "The only trait or virtue that defines a good father is reliability." Bruenor's parenting will always be a golden example for me and makes me feel a little more comfortable about drinking wine and watching Project Runway every week.
The dwarven experience is not about distrusting elves and slaughtering goblins. It's about looking to your past, nodding at it in respect, and then forging ahead correcting your ancestors' mistakes. Dwarves are consistently passed over in popular medieval culture because their don't have the visual coolness that elves do, but I beg everyone to reconsider. Dwarves use magic practically, not stupidly, respect their women and revere the great leaders who accept everybody. Find me a single prominent elven city that can boast the same.
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