Fan outcry stems from what many feel is a failure to accurately represent the cultures each character pulls from, including the fact that Mavukia, Kinich, and Ororon — who seem to be inspired by real-life deities like the Maori’s Mahuika — are all white. It continues a trend in Genshin Impact that has seen players begging for proper representation.
Now some of the actors behind Genshin Impact’s faces have begun to chime in. Albedo actor, Khoi Dao, published a statement on X/Twitter calling for change in Genshin Impact.
I like when media have diversity.
Take Black Panther for example… a movie where the lead roles were inevitably going to be dominated by black actors, and they still managed to put white guys in a couple decent-sized roles. The diversity made that movie more accessible to a wider audience.
I once had a coworker who said to me “all white people look the same,” and while I don’t share his sentiment, it’s important that characters are distinguishable to a wide audience. Including a variety of races is like the easiest way to ensure characters are distinguishable.
The only reason in my opinion to appeal to a wider audience is because of money.
Like they can’t make a movie for the nerds of the series, otherwise it would turn regulars off. They can’t make a game too hard, or, as in FF7 Rebirth, they made a character, who is a total asshole in the original, into a loving and caring person and rewrite stuff to fulfill this narrative.
Also, is diversity really this important? I was watching Thor Love and Thunder and despite the movie being genuinely bad (I walked out of the cinema about an hour in) I just didn’t like that the ancient nords have black women in leading positions. It’s just… no.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is not real life. Having Valkyrie assume a leadership position is not to claim that happened in real life. It’s a work of fiction. The MCU can make its own rules.
Love & Thunder had its issues. Representation (over or under) was not one of them.
I don’t have any problems with the Valkyries themselves, just with the black ones because there simply is no explanation as to how they got there. Say they’re a lost unit from Wakanda and ended up there and climbed up the ranks - I take it, and I’ll like it.
You’re right with that last paragraph. That movie was somehow worse than Velocipastor.
The explanation is literally that they’re space aliens. They don’t need to conform to human demographic patterns. Someone getting there from Wakanda raises far more questions than “some aliens aren’t white”
Since when did they change the narrative to be space aliens??
It was always like that? The first scene of the first film depicts Jotunheim as a regular old planet. Asgard looks weird for a “planet”, but people just fly to and from it with spaceships in Ragnarok. The last we see of Loki in the first film, he’s drifting off into the stars, and then the next time we see him is when he invades Earth in the service of a big purple alien from space.
Well, always like that in the MCU. The comics have done all kinds of wild takes.
Wtf do you mean there is no explanation. This is FICTION. Lol.
Its important because natlan is completely based on culture of people of color. Nicaragua i think, and south america. So ofcourse its bad when all the characters are white.
Also why are you annoyed with black women in leading positions in a movie with a dude that has some god hammer and can fly and other weird stuff? You got so triggered by it that you walked out of the cinema? 😑
Nah, I got triggered by the lack of any meaningful conversation, the bad writing, the lame jokes…
The black walkyrie in Norse mythology just feels like a black founding fathers of the US.
Now if they would have some narrative as to how she got there, like she’s wakandan and she just somehow ended up there, that would be a whole(some) other story.
Marvel’s Thor is not Norse mythology, the guy fought aliens alongside a guy in a robot suit.
If you were talking about the first few movies I’d get it, but by the time of Love and Thunder they aren’t even in Asgard anymore.
Black founding father was done in Hamilton to great critical acclaim
What you are saying is just racism. Because you just can’t see past the color of their skin
How exactly is “not seeing past the color of their skin” racism? Please, this is a genuine question.
Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
Your are saying Black actors cannot be cast in roles because their skintone is not “correct” for the role.
So… this means that a black person can be cast for the role of Hitler? And a white person can be cast for Nelson Mandela?
Your argument is literally “I didn’t like it because there was a black person, where I think they don’t belong.” That doesn’t sound racist to you!
No actor/actress should have their pool of potential roles made vanishingly small because of a thing they can’t change, the colour of their skin! And then on top of there being very few roles for people of colour in western pop culture based on your criteria, the very few roles they COULD take are often ALSO given to white actors/actresses in bizarre acts of whitewashing idiocy! It’s infuriating! Talent, passion, skill, training, these should be the kinds of factors involved when choosing who gets cast for what role, not where you fall on the colour wheel! It’s just crazy to me that it’s even a consideration at all and in future people will look back and be incredulous that it ever was!? At least I hope that will be the case, as we are making slow progress in that direction.
How is it whitewashing if it is historically accurate? Would you take Schindler’s List and suddenly make SS Officials black?
Certainly not.
Would you make the founding fathers of the United States and their fellowship black or Asian? No, they were white and it would certainly piss off a lot of black people, considering the history of the US.
Yes, actors should not be limited by what they can’t change, yet one shouldn’t rewrite culture.
Would you make the founding fathers of the United States and their fellowship black or Asian?
…That’s literally the cast of Hamilton. Last I checked, it was fantastically successful.
Please read my comment again. Particluarly from the point “…from the very few roles they COULD take…”. Also, there might be a case for historical accuracy and sensitivity, but sorry, the magic man flying around with his zappy hammer film doesn’t fit this criteria. Also, Hamilton says Hi!
Who’s the rewritten asshole of FF7?
Cid. He’s just way too friendly and upbeat.
I feel like they didn’t really do his arc yet. It sucked because him and Vincent are more or less just hanging around, but I think it’s too early to say whether or not he’s way off base.
The game needed a travel mechanism and Cid fits the bill, he needs to fit the environment too so, it’s not like he’s gonna cuss you out.
I’ve been playng through Genshin recently, and it was pretty jarring rolling up into fantasy India and seeing the majority of people being white. The people from the desert region are a bit darker than everyone else, but the majority of Sumeru natives being pasty just feels weird. If you put Dunyarzad in a different dress, she’d be completely indistinguishable from someone from Monstadt or Inazuma.
