BLACK, WHITE, OR YELLOW...?

Copyright relevant owner

The world falls deeper and deeper into 'PC' madness with the announcement by the producers of The SIMPSONS that they will no longer use white actors to voice black characters.  What complete and utter tosh.  Am I a racist?  No, I simply believe that regardless of the colour of the character (I thought they were all yellow on the show anyway), it shouldn't matter what colour the 'voice actor' is - not just on The Simpsons, but on any animated show.  

So, for example, if a black actor voiced BRUCE WAYNE/BATMAN, I wouldn't mind at all as long as he had the right voice for the part.  It's acting, right?  If actors only played roles that were restricted to a reflection of themselves, it wouldn't be much of a stretch, would it?  Does this mean that should The HUNCHBACK Of NOTRE DAME ever be remade (and if so, the word 'hunchback' would probably be substituted by 'bellringer'), only repulsive, hunchbacked actors (and those two impediments don't automatically go hand-in-hand) would be considered for the role?

And what about NANCY CARTWRIGHT - a woman who not only voices the boy called BART, but also around another five male characters on the show?  Hey, Nancy, you're denying work from male actors, so how about a little consistency from the show's makers?  These days, if a man was voicing a female cartoon character, there'd probably be a right ol' stushie over it from female actors, claiming they were being denied the opportunity of work.

Also, as most of the show's characters are yellow, should white actors - or any actor who isn't yellow - even be working on it?  Yes, it is a daft question, but I ask it simply to highlight the absurdity of such a notion.  If a white actor can voice a yellow character, then why not a black one?  When it comes to cartoons, shouldn't the suitability of the voice be the only thing that counts, irrespective of race, creed, colour or sex?  When is sanity - or even common sense - going to be restored to our ever-increasingly insane world?

So, Crivs - any thoughts on the matter one way or the other?  Give it laldy in the comments section.     

Posted in: Cartoons