No, I agree. It feels a little scummy.And I the only person who thinks looking up voice actors and then speculating about their race is fucking weird and creepy?
No? Totally normal and reasonable? I apologize, I'll see myself out.
No, I agree. It feels a little scummy.And I the only person who thinks looking up voice actors and then speculating about their race is fucking weird and creepy?
No? Totally normal and reasonable? I apologize, I'll see myself out.
One thing I´d like to add because I work in the field.
When casting VO artists you usually write a small briefing and send it out to agencies.
They will get back to you with audio files of VO talent that they think fits your brief - pictures are not involved.
So unless your briefing contains a paragraph about how the VO artist is supposed to look (you don´t do that) you will get VO snippets that don´t regard skin color or ethnicity.
You usually see the talent that you booked for the first time in the studio.
EDIT: So again, I´d call it a missed opportunity.
One thing I´d like to add because I work in the field.
When casting VO artists you usually write a small briefing and send it out to agencies.
They will get back to you with audio files of VO talent that they think fits your brief - pictures are not involved.
So unless your briefing contains a paragraph about how the VO artist is supposed to look (you don´t do that) you will get VO snippets that don´t regard skin color or ethnicity.
You usually see the talent that you booked for the first time in the studio.
EDIT: So again, I´d call it a missed opportunity.
And I the only person who thinks looking up voice actors and then speculating about their race is fucking weird and creepy?
No? Totally normal and reasonable? I apologize, I'll see myself out.
Research has definitively found that you can't tell race or colour by voice. This is nothing like Hollywood (and I fully agree with you about Hollywood's egregious history in this regard).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.
I feel people who make this argument intentionally ignore the fact that black voice actors and actresses don't have the same opportunities as their white cohorts.Would it be problematic if a white character would be voiced by a black person?
I don't see why this would be any problem at all.
And I the only person who thinks looking up voice actors and then speculating about their race is fucking weird and creepy?
Honestly, not entirely, but my issue was more of Lifeline not being voiced by someone of African descent.
Research has definitively found that you can't tell race or colour by voice. This is nothing like Hollywood (and I fully agree with you about Hollywood's egregious history in this regard).
Surely the fact a person of any colour can play a person of any part in a game or cartoon is a huge positive?
Is Lifeline african?
Her name is Indian/Nepalese etc..
Ajay Che is Lifeline name
FC4 main protagonist is Ajay Ghale and he's nepalese.
Completely agree. What is up with this thread.And I the only person who thinks looking up voice actors and then speculating about their race is fucking weird and creepy?
No? Totally normal and reasonable? I apologize, I'll see myself out.
I hear you, that's the one single counter-point I could see against what I said.It would be a positive if it was a level playing field. But when white VAs just get massively more opportunities than minorities do, and minority roles go to white people...it can be alot better in that regard.
In theory voice acting should be a level playing field for any minority. But it isn't.
I feel people who make this argument intentionally ignore the fact that black voice actors and actresses don't have the same opportunities as their white cohorts.
The argument, if you'd cared to look for it in this thread, is that black and other minority VAs are underrepresented in the industry, so when the roles perhaps most suited to a particular minority demographic (such as when one calling for a particular regional dialect and accent) are taken by white or American actors, it does harm in a way that doesn't happen when the reverse takes place.Would it be problematic if a white character would be voiced by a black person?
I don't see why this would be any problem at all.
Is there no scope to ask for specific ethnicity when you send the request?
I'm honestly not surprised that there is an almost "colourblind" casting model but the fact that we still end up with mostly white voice actors is indicative of an underlying problem.
Would it be problematic if a white character would be voiced by a black person?
I don't see why this would be any problem at all.
Would it be problematic if a white character would be voiced by a black person?
I don't see why this would be any problem at all.
I hear you, that's the one single counter-point I could see against what I said.
But do we have the receipts? Do we know white VAs get more opportunities? I mean it's probably an inherent fact of structural racism, but some numbers would be good to hammer it home.
As GLAM pointed out, in many cases you don't even see the artist until they're in the studio. You probably see their name and that's it.
That's fair enough but like another poster posted pointed out in this thread, the fact this "colorblind" model still has us ending up with mostly white voice actors in games is kind of emblematic of a major systemic issue in the industry.We had a professional voice actor come in to the thread saying that they typically don't even get to see what a person looks like until well after booking the person for their voice.
Deliberately asking for people of certain skin colour in a job application for something like that where the ability to do the job has no bearing whatsoever on the person's race seems like an easy way to get yourself a discrimination lawsuit.
I don't know if I'm just being stupid and/or blind but to me she looks like she's of dual ethnic heritage rather than white?
Is it a problem that Kratos is voiced by an African American?
No. Of course not.
So this isn't either.
I knew it! I told my friends and they just laughed.Bloodhound is non-binary, confirmed by respawn.
https://dotesports.com/apex-legends/news/apex-legends-bloodhound-gibraltar-lgbtq
colorblind is where it's atOne thing I´d like to add because I work in the field.
When casting VO artists you usually write a small briefing and send it out to agencies.
They will get back to you with audio files of VO talent that they think fits your brief - pictures are not involved.
So unless your briefing contains a paragraph about how the VO artist is supposed to look (you don´t do that) you will get VO snippets that don´t regard skin color or ethnicity.
You usually see the talent that you booked for the first time in the studio.
EDIT: So again, I´d call it a missed opportunity.
Nadine was cast before it it was even decided she was a black character.I'm not saying that talent should not be the most important requirement, but couldn't they selected a talented black women voice actor to voice her? Especially in a single player game with a rich story.
Overwatch does this for the very few lines that each character has in an MP game.
Sure, but when you ask for VO talent to voice a black Jamaican character the agency will just look for Jamaican accents in their database.
You can´t hear skin color - for a VO talent agency it´s not relevant. Again - missed opportunity.
Somewhere in the background you can hear Trump asking why there is no white history month.
I feel people who make this argument intentionally ignore the fact that black voice actors and actresses don't have the same opportunities as their white cohorts.
So what's equal to you? And I'm asking this in good faith, not jabbing at you or anything. According to the census if you include mixed race black Americans, they constitute about 18% of the population. So should 18% of VAs be black? And until then is it okay for black VAs to voice non-black characters because they're underrepresented but whites by your approximation are over represented and therefor "problematic" when voicing any character that's not white? I'm just curious what numbers and percents this industry needs to be at for you to say things are equal.That's fair enough but like another poster posted pointed out in this thread, the fact this "colorblind" model still has us ending up with mostly white voice actors in games is kind of emblematic of a major systemic issue in the industry.
No, you're not alone. I have no idea what any of the voice actors in any of the games I've played look like -- other than David Hayter -- and I think it's strange that anyone would look them up to check to see if they're the right race or not.And I the only person who thinks looking up voice actors and then speculating about their race is fucking weird and creepy?