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TruthGamer96's avatar
5 years ago

"Whitewashing" in the Actor Career

Not sure if I'm using the term correctly, but something that annoys me is when I have ethnic Sims who are actors, and they get their hair and makeup done for a role, it becomes obvious certain roles were intended for Caucasian actors. Dying black hair blond/light brown, smoothing out curls, etc. I know it might be hard to program the game to recognize the difference, and I'm not trying to be "woke" here, but it makes me feel...icky. Has anyone else noticed this? Is it just in my game?

25 Replies

  • "TruthGamer96;c-17776462" wrote:
    >I mean im black with curly hair but often straighten it. My sister died her hair blonde once, I guess we "whitewashed" ourselves? I personally didnt feel icky about it.

    I think its a reach lol, its just playing a role.


    And that's cool. For me, it's just kind of annoying because it's not like my Sims chose to dye or straighten their hair, they had to for a role--which yeah, actors do, but it shouldn't be because they're adhering to the standards of another ethnicity, if that makes sense? In the end, it's just one little thing I noticed in an otherwise very inclusive game. If it doesn't bother other folks, then great.

    I understand what your saying. However, some people do get offended and we all have things that offend us, annoy or bother us.

    I rarely have my sims in the actor career. I usually have custom jobs they do. I haven't paid attention to the roles they got since it's been a while since I had an actor in a household I was playing.

    To me, whitewashing is when you have a character who is in a book a minority or the script who is supposed to be a minority and the casting agents decided no I'll cast white people instead of using minorities to play the roles which were intended for minorities. Hunger Games is a good example wherein the book she's Native American but white in the movies. It's like how some fans (for Flash Comics) threw a fit when Kid Flash Wally West a red-headed white guy was turned into an African American kid. The African American kid didn't have the same personality that the red-headed Wally had and other things that some fans felt were not Wally at all. I think it's about cannon that bothers some people while others are actually racist. Or how they used David Carradine in Kung Fu to play a have Chines Man but he wasn't even part Chinese at all and when Bruce Lee auditioned for the role they told him he was "too Chinese looking" for the role.

    AsTruthGamer96 put it actors have all sorts of roles the play and sometimes they have to change their look by curling their hair, straightening their hair, dying their hair and so much more for the role they are playing. It's not to fit a societal norm or adhering to the standards of other ethnicities but the role they are playing.

    I don't know if I agree if it's a kind of whitewashing at all or if's just something needed for a role the actor sim is playing. I think I would need more information. If you feel it's whitewashing then for you it is.
  • Amj1995's avatar
    Amj1995
    Seasoned Ace
    5 years ago
    I noticed it when they keep giving my sim the middle age balding hairstyle and he has dreads lol. So I skip the hair part in the hair and makeup. Yeah he does not get the goal.
  • EgonVM's avatar
    EgonVM
    Seasoned Ace
    5 years ago
    One way to avoid the penalty without having to get make-over is by getting the "Established Name" perk available to 3 star celebrities.
  • "Amj1995;c-17785444" wrote:
    I noticed it when they keep giving my sim the middle age balding hairstyle and he has dreads lol. So I skip the hair part in the hair and makeup. Yeah he does not get the goal.


    That's a powerful skull cap!
  • Amj1995's avatar
    Amj1995
    Seasoned Ace
    5 years ago
    "EgonVM;c-17785466" wrote:
    One way to avoid the penalty without having to get make-over is by getting the "Established Name" perk available to 3 star celebrities.


    @EgonVM - Thank you for info, my sim just reached 3 star celeb and I was able to get the perk. :smiley:

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