"The Simpsons" To Stop Having White Voice Actors Play Non-white Characters
As a wave of white actors announced their decisions to stop voicing non-white characters amidst the ongoing George Floyd protests, The Simpsons announced that it will be following suit and will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters.
The Simpsons have been at the center of this issue for several years, particularly after Hari Kondabolu's documentary The Problem With Apu, which discussed Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, who for decades was voiced by Hank Azaria. The conversation surrounding The Problem With Apu led Azaria to step aside. from the role earlier this year.
Other actors who have stepped away from their non-white characters include Jenny Slate, Kristen Bell, and Mike Henry, who voiced Cleveland Brown on Family Guy and The Cleveland Show.
The move was met with a mix of emotions, but few seemed genuinely happy about it; Kondabalou appeared to feel it was too little, too late, particularly considering the perceived shot The Simpsons took at him and his documentary in 2018.
Many figured a better move would be to finally cancel The Simpsons since many consider it to be well past its prime.
There were also many complaints which argued that by taking the logic presented by the decision to its absurd end, no one could voice anyone on The Simpsons because the white characters are yellow.
There is no news yet on who will be taking over the vacated roles on The Simpsons and other animated series which have recently seen their voice actors step away fromt heir characters.
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Lizzardtong
i wanna say what's on my mind, but all i manage to muster is a sarcastic quip.
"if only black folks should speak black folks in cartoons, they might as well only let old people play old-people, we don't wanna be ageist, right? and while we are at it, only people in a wheelchair should speak characters in a wheelchair, we don't wanna be ableist either, right?"
it's fucking voice-acting, what the speaker looks like should be the least of our problems, the only important part is bringing the character they represent to life.
JungleEvil
Ironic that a show that stresses identity politics, didn’t cast a single Indian-American voice actor to voice the only Indian-American family in the show.
Grace Rolek
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
Crispin Freeman
Do not identify as Indian-American
JungleEvil
And don’t forget everyone’s favorite voice actress; Tara Strong voiced this little guy
So when do the SJW start cannibalizing themselves for self-righteousness points
hentieman
They now identify as Indian-American, problem solved!
Sai
I personally find this to be very pointless and more hurtful to any cause.
KoimanZX
This improves the material conditions of the under-privileged how? Outside a few non-Whites having more work, this is utterly vacuous.
Postnihilist
Maybe the Simpsons should just stop. Everything.
Jimhemmo
This… this is stupid.
Now, I can understand the desire of characters being voiced by their respective ethnical/cultural representatives, if one strives to get the accent right.
But if the accent's no concern, then why the hell should it matter what ethicity the voice actor is? Their looks won't be affecting the characters one bit! Shouldn't the biggest question mark by then be if the voice and performance fits the character? After all, people are more than their skin color, nay?
Fearful Harmony
And how exactly does this solve racism?
gendy
More non-white voice actors will be able to receive money for their work, I assume. Voice acting is a cutthroat and low-paying career.
QuasiMadman
I don't think I'm quite gullible enough to believe that's what's actually going to happen
gendy
So what do you think will happen? At least bring an alternative.
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Iso
ThatOtherGuy80
Personal grevievance on the lack of diversity in voice acting aside, this is mainly how I feel about this:
D-sceane
Ideally, it would be preferable that people of the same race be the voice of said characters. The thing is, when I really think about it, I think back to when anime or animation, in general, was an alternate means of telling a story without needing the suspension of disbelief that the actor does not look like the western-inspired character or in some cases an adaptation of a western authored book.