Is it problematic that Lifeline (Apex Legends) is Voiced by a White Woman?

[Newt]

Personally I find it a bit problematic that when people of color are represented in media and video games, they find white actors or actresses to voice them. I know we had a similar discussion about the Simpsons character Apu a while back, and it seems like this trend isn't going away any time soon. I find it a bit disheartening that dev's don't look past the mainstream talent to fill in the roles for their minority characters. I know Apex legends has been touted as a game that promotes diversity, but this always left a bitter taste in my mouth. What are your thoughts on this ERA?

Here's the voice lines in question:

 

[reminio]

No

 

[Rassilon]

Maybe

 

[Deleted member 5129]

No

 

[Chivalry]

Perhaps.

 

[Deleted member 1041]

Yes IMO. It's a job that could've been given to a black women(Overwatch/Blizzard do a good job of pairing their characters with appropriate VAs). Lifelines voice is good but...yeah.

 

[oRuin]

Honestly, no.

 

[Piscus]

Probably not.

 

[chalkitdown]

No. Voice actors are cast for their voice.

 

[Cliff Steele]

Lol no. The voice work is pretty good so why should it be a problem?

 

[Artorias]

Would have been nice to have a person of color.

 

[zon]

No.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Not really.

 

[Elven_Star]

No, but trying to turn everything into an issue is indeed problematic.

 

[Roygbiv95]

Worth getting upset over? No. Something to poke fun at? Sure.

 

[Bedameister]

No

 

[DarKaoZ]

No, I mean Kratos is not voiced by a bearded white guy, the character and the voice actor doesn't have to match 100%. As long as they represent the character and their ethnicity with respect, it should be fine.

 

[Jamiaro]

No. It propably works both ways in some cases?

 

[Oreoleo]

It doesn't have to be. Buuut it's a bad look and things like this shouldn't still be happening.

 

[GhettoGamer]

Yes

 

[Skel]

Absolutely not.

 

[Deleted member 1041]

No. Voice actors are cast for their voice.

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this is the same excuse used when john wayne was cast as genghis khan. "He's a good actor". It kept hollywood white for a very long time and honestly it should be unacceptable for VA.

 

[CrazyAndy]

No.

Is it problematic that Bart Simpson is voiced by a woman?

 

[TheBrokenMan]

A lot of the male characters in The Simpsons are voiced by a woman. :/ Honestly 0 reason for this to be a problem.

 

[Artorias]

No, I mean Kratos is not voiced by a bearded white guy, the character and the voice actor doesn't have to match 100%. As long as they represent the character and their ethnicity with respect, it should be fine.

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Kratos is not white.

 

[Rodjer]

No.

 

[Arsene no Kiseki]

Not really. Its been done in entertainment frequently over the years.

Sure it'd be nice to have actual VA's that match the characters but if the chosen voice does a good job most people are okay with it.

 

[Danielsan]

No. Unless the entire cast is voiced by Caucasians. Otherwise, whoever fit the role best should get the job. I also didn't have any issue with Laura Baily voicing Nadine in Uncharted. Or Christopher Judge voicing Kratos. They were perfect for the roles.

 

[Violet1370]

Nope.

 

[SuperBlank]

Nah

 

[Dr Pears]

No. Nadine from Uncharted 4/LL is voiced by Laura Bailey and was pretty good.

 

[Pokemon Master Tim]

In this instance, no. I can't honestly say that Apex Legends looks like the type of game where they really put an emphasis on story. It looks like they just needed someone to do some lines and accepted the first person that could do a decent job.

 

[vestan]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of it at all. I get that the race of a voice actor shouldn't matter but simply put, black voice actors don't exactly have the same opportunities to voice these characters compared to their white counterparts. I think in the case of Nadine, it's fine that Laura Bailey is voicing her considering they brought her on before they even determined Nadine was gonna be black, but if Respawn knew Lifeline was going to be a black woman but still decided to bring on a white voice actress then eh, really not a fan of the decision but what can you do?

It's rare that you see a black woman voicing fictional white woman but you seem to get a lot of cases of white women voicing fictional black women. I'm just saying that if I was in any position of power, I'd go through the lengths to find a talented black woman to voice a black character as I feel in some cases, they can really inject their own experiences of being a black woman into the character. Case in point - Anika Noni Rose voicing Tiana from Princess & The Frog. She's basically synonymous with Tiana because she was given that influence to help write the character and dictate the direction.

 

[Acu]

It's a french accent.
Many french people are pocs. Or have their roots on french-colonised countries like Senegal.

That it would have 100% more fidelity if the VA were actually poc? Well, maybe but, honestly, as long as the representation is well handled (aka: not stereotyped) it should not matter that much.

 

[Ginta]

It doesn't have to be. Buuut it's a bad look and things like this shouldn't still be happening.

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Why shouldn't it?

Are dubs voiced by people of the same ethnicity they voice? Where do I get my hoards of korean/japanese VA for my drama series?

 

[not_smiff]

Yes. Very rarely do you see the opposite. It's a reason.

 

[BionicDreamer]

Nope.

 

[duckroll]

Problematic isn't the best way to approach this question. Would it be better to have proper representation of gender and ethnicity in voice roles? Sure. Is there ill intent and any direct negative impact in this casting? Probably not.

 

[Deleted member 1041]

Yes. Very rarely do you see the opposite. It's a reason.

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Yeah. I saw someone bring up the simpsons and women voicing men and it's like...there's a huge difference between females voicing men and a white person voicing a minority.

 

[CaptainKashup]

I usually don't think it's problematic but this time, I kind of get why it can be.
She's putting such an heavy african accent, it's kind of weird. A lot of people like to mock this accent, that's probably why it's weird to me.

 

[Deleted member 8118]

Yes IMO. It's a job that could've been given to a black women(Overwatch/Blizzard do a good job of pairing their characters with appropriate VAs). Lifelines voice is good but...yeah.

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.

 

[a Question]

It was asked before and it is okay

 

[Iztok]

If you want it to be, there's something there.

It's inherently illogical, however, to require considering outward appearances when casting for VOICE.

 

[Kwigo]

As long as the VA doesn't make a parody of black women, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[_zoipi]

No, you're overthinking ans steretching it.

 

[Deleted member 47092]

In this case yes, because the accent is absolutely atrocious: SEEN!

 

[Deleted member 1041]

It was asked before and it is okay

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..........It's definitely not ok.

 

[NinjaScooter]

It can be. And I certainly wouldn't just handwave it away like so many are doing in this thread, but it's up to you to decide if it is and why and explain it, not just identifying it.

 

[PunishedOkabe]

If there was a poll on this thread, it would be overwhelmingly no

 

[Artorias]

It can be. And I certainly wouldn't just handwave it away like so many are doing in this thread, but it's up to you to decide if it is and why and explain it, not just identifying it.

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I kind of expected the handwaving on gaming side.