New Pittsburgh Courier: The computer-animated series Spy Kids: Mission Critical is hits Netflix on Friday. The ten episodes will follow attendees at Spy Kids Academy, which is a top secret school for kid agents. The kids have to save the world against an evil force known as S.W.A.M.P. (Sinister Wrongdoers Against Mankind’s Preservation) and their leader, Golden Brain. The series including one Black male character, known as PSI, but the actor who is voicing the character, Travis Turner, is white .
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Well, that article got right to the point. I think it’s outrageous not that a white man is voicing the part of a black character, but that he is trying to justify it by using poverty and association with black people as a free pass. The fact that he can reason that experiencing poverty is synonymous with the black lifestyle is really ridiculous. I don’t feel entirely certain in my numbers, but I know that a good amount of the black population are above the poverty line and would laugh and be outraged at this guy’s associations. Also, I’m wondering what Snoop Dogg thinks about this because from what I understand about Snoop is that he’s not about all these white people trying to associate and assimilate into black culture. Not to diverge from the main point, but I also think it’s ridiculous no one is commenting on the age difference in voice acting, either.
I completely agree with Kim. This is one of the things that I thought we were past. I think the question to ask is why did the studio choose to go with a white actor? Why didn’t he turn it down? On a certain level by trying to defend his position, he is reinforcing his white privilege and unaware of the damage he is doing. This whole situation reminds me of the examples in American culture in which the producer wants the appearance of blackness, without actually giving the job to a person of color. In this situation it seems as though the show wants the appearance of diversity without actually making the effort to a black actor. This whole situation is just wrong. Even though this story highlights a lot of the current problems in Hollywood, it probably won’t get much coverage. But it’s important to consider the implications of this story.
As if there were not already a serious lack of roles for black actors in film and television, here we are again with another instance of a white actor playing a black role. I really cannot wrap my head around why it is so difficult to just find a black voice actor and completely avoid the now racist underpinnings of a kid’s show. Hearing the actor try to justify playing a black animated character on TMZ was grating to say in the least. Referring to black people he could potentially offend with this show as the “urban community” that he “relates to” because he watched Chris Rock as a kid immediately puts him in the same boat as the I-have-one-black-friend-so-I’m-not-racist white guy Chad. It almost makes the situation worse that he’s trying to justify himself at all, and by ranting about how he has blackness all figured out in this video Travis is just digging himself into his own increasingly racist grave.
Just like the others have said this article did not mess around and got right to the point. I think it is ridiculous that they had cast a white man to voice the role of a black character. It is 2018 and more studio executives need to realize this is not ok. They seem to do what they want and as soon as people start to give them problems they retract the actor and offer an apology. Why not skip all of that and hire the right actor for the job? Another crazy thing about this article was the actors self-denfeess. He said that he grew up in motels and has an urban background. He was saying that all black people live in motels. This is extremely wrong and should have never been said. This actor looks and speaks like a true idiot. At what point will Hollywood realize that this is not ok?
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