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[Ricky_R]

It's the most recent example of this issue

There's your problem right there. There was no issue with ND's casting process and there's still isn't. The issue was made by members here with no facts whatsoever.

This thread is presented as if ND was part of the problem. They aren't. It was made abundantly clear in the last thread that got locked.

Anyway, I'm positive more devs will be sensitive about this issue sooner rather than later.

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

There's your problem right there. There was no issue with ND's casting process and there's still isn't. The issue was made by members here with no facts whatsoever.

This thread is presented as if ND was part of the problem. They aren't. It was made abundantly clear in the last thread that got locked.

Anyway, I'm positive more devs will be sensitive about this issue sooner rather than later.

Sigh.
Yes it is. The circumstances may be different but it is still very much a part of this problem.
But I guess we are never going on this.

 

[walltowall]

To be fair, reading the OP is hard work

Not sure how my comment shows that I did not read the OP....

They cast the voice actress first, without knowing what the character would end up looking like. All they knew was that she was South African, the artist then came up with the rendition of Nadine as black and they did not want to change it because they fell in love with that design.

The idea that both character design and casting were siloed is one thing. But, it's still Druckmann's choice for both, so when those two things converged he made the choice, for what ever reason, no to recast the actress.
The decision is obviously well within his right as a creator to do as he, and his team see fit, but that does not mean that the question can't be asked, how hard did they look or did they even look once Nadine was finalized.

 

[Ricky_R]

Sigh.
Yes it is. The circumstances may be different but it is still very much a part of this problem.
But I guess we are never going on this.

You can sigh all you want. It ain't a part of the problem unless you want to make it one. Their casting process was completely fine, as it has been explained by Neil and Laura, and they are coming off a game that shows a great display of diversity.

Can they make some adjustments to be even more sensitive about the issue without actually compromising their creative process unreasonably? Of course, and I'm sure they will, but they are certainly not part of the problem. Sorry.

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

You can sigh all you want. It ain't a part of the problem unless you want to make it one. Their casting process was completely fine, as it has been explained by Neil and Laura, and they are coming off a game that shows a great display of diversity.

Can they make some adjustments to be even more sensitive about the issue without actually compromising their creative process unreasonably? Of course, and I'm sure they will, but they are certainly not part of the problem. Sorry.

I knew I was going to be right but it's still disappointing.

 

[Ricky_R]

I knew I was going to be right but it's still disappointing.

Whatever the hell that means.

 

[Dick Jones]

Not sure how my comment shows that I did not read the OP....




The idea that both character design and casting were siloed is one thing.But, it's still Druckmann's choice for both, so when those two things converged he made the choice, for what ever reason, no to recast the actress.
The decision is obviously well within his right as a creator to do as he, and his team see fit, but that does not mean that the question can't be asked, how hard did they look or did they even look once Nadine was finalized.

Recasting a voice actor because they do not match the skin tone of the character is blatantly racist and Laura Bailey would be well within her right to sue Naughty Dog for racial discrimination. Her voice needs to sound South African not black. Black is not a dialect.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

Recasting a voice actor because they do not match the skin tone of the character is blatantly racist and Laura Bailey would be well within her right to sue Naughty Dog for racial discrimination. Her voice needs to sound South African not black. Black is not a dialect.

This right here.

 

[Pandy]

Then why not make a comment that's constructive instead of what you wrote.


Which makes it even crazier that a racist stereotype stayed in.
Wonder what the voice director asked her...

I never saw anything 'racist' in that character. Would definitely have been a different story if she'd been the only minority character in the game, which is why I get annoyed that she's usually the only one mentioned. I haven't played the game in a while but IIRC there are at least two other black female named characters, a factory manager and a senile old lady, and I'd guess a bunch of extras as well.

You're right to highlight the voice director, because ultimately if they aren't happy with the performance then it's up to them to ask for a re-take, or whatever. A possible issue is multi-voicing, as Amanda Strawn also voiced two other characters, so the voice director would likely have been keen to make them all sound distinct from one another.

 

[IncognitoPanda]

Ashley Williams from Mass Effect.

Bastion does it, pretty sure Keith David also did once.

Was about to say that it's not unprecedented that black VAs voice white characters. Just than no one thinks of that as an attack against white people.

The fear of being racist is ridicolous.

 

[Keihart]

Tropical thunder put it best.

" I am a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude"

And when it comes to voice acting i think is even more ridiculous to get upset about this kind of situations. There is people with all kind of accents faking other accents, wich is kind of the point of voice acting.

There is an episode on Master of None about this same situation but for actors.

 

[B-Genius]

It's completely obvious that you don't actually care or mature enough to hear these important issues so why come in this thread to write this nonsense?

Again to you too, read the fucking thread. Pretty much no one is arguing that white people should never get black roles. This is just a symptom of a larger issue that DOES need some addressing. Minorities being shafted out of work due to systematic racism/issues where white people are preferred no matter what the situation is hardly a "trivial thing", don't be daft.

Just wanted to pop back in and apologise for my flippancy. It resulted in a ban (I think my second one in about 8 years of GAF patronage), which didn't feel good.

The thread may have moved on, but for the record, I don't consider the larger issue trivial, and should have been more careful with my words. I'm sure I wasn't the only one called out or banned, but I'm humbled due to it, so thanks.

 

[Dick Jones]

Just wanted to pop back in and apologise for my flippancy. It resulted in a ban (I think my second one in about 8 years of GAF patronage), which didn't feel good.

The thread may have moved on, but for the record, I don't consider the larger issue trivial, and should have been more careful with my words. I'm sure I wasn't the only one called out or banned, but I'm humbled due to it, so thanks.

It takes a big person to apologise, sometimes we write things without thinking the correct words to write or realising that the tone could be taken a different way. We know you didn't mean to trivialise prejudices that people face because of their skin colour. Massive respect for apologising.

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

Just wanted to pop back in and apologise for my flippancy. It resulted in a ban (I think my second one in about 8 years of GAF patronage), which didn't feel good.

The thread may have moved on, but for the record, I don't consider the larger issue trivial, and should have been more careful with my words. I'm sure I wasn't the only one called out or banned, but I'm humbled due to it, so thanks.

I appreciate you coming back and saying this.