For the passed few hours I've been watching the 80s Inspector Gadget. I used to like it, and I still find an appreciation for it. The thing is, I've been hearing Penny's voice and I was thinking I heard it somewhere. I kept thinking she sounded like Elmyra.
I decided to do a quick check on IMDB and whataya know... SON OF A BITCH! IT IS CREE SUMMER!
Cree Summer is the voice actor who is known for her roles as Black girls such as Numbah 5 from Kids Next Door and Foxxy Love from Drawn Together. Though I do respect Cree Summer as a voice actor, I just have an extreme disdain for hearing her voice on nearly every Black girl in animation. That's an exaggeration, but it explains what I mean. I seems that when I turn on the TV and see a black girl in an animation, it winds up being Cree Summer and it's the same type of voice. There were a couple of black characters that didn't portray the 'cool' stereotype that she voiced for, which I was glad for, but it still disturbed me that it's still the same voice.
I know for a fact that she didn't do all Black girls in her career... in fact, the first one I remember for a fact is Elmyra from Tiny Toons. (It's the one I remember her as the most.) And if she did Penny from Inspector Gadget, then that's actually the first time I ever heard her voice, even though I was too young to remember.
I also know of some other "non-black" characters she voiced for, which I am very impressed because she displays a completely different type of character than the usual little girl voice. I believe my favorite would be Luminara from Star Wars.
Hearing Cree Summer for so long made me wonder something. As I held auditions for my character, Denise, nobody auditioned for her. I wonder if people are afraid to voice black girls because everyone feels they must sound a certain way, which is stereotyping in itself. Seriously, I tried hunting down some voice actors, only to get no response. I did get a pretty good voice for Denise in the end, but the beginning was nerve-wrecking, worrying that I would not be able to do Spirit Stars at all without a voice for Denise. If voice actors don't want to do voices for Black girls, then it's no wonder why Cree Summer gets all the roles, since she's obviously willing to do it.
I would very much like to see more people doing Black girl voices, but right now, it's a refreshing feeling that Cree Summer did another non-black character, a well-known one at that.
Note: One of my friends always teases me that if Spirit Stars makes it big, Cree Summer will wind up doing the voice for Denise. I'm always saying, "Man! Don't joke with me! I will f*cking stop production if Cree Summer is casted as Denise!"
No offense, Cree Summer.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
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About Me
- Kyutwo
- This will not be an "optimistic" description, but a realistic one. I'm a complex person, but simple in one way. I think too much; both a strength and a weakness. I always have a thought in my head, usually over-thinking it, which may be what has lead me to depression. I was the geek throughout school; always picked on and few friends. But at the same time it's developed my character. To the friends I have, I'm trustworthy and reliable, good moral character, someone to talk to, someone to have faith in. And it's probably thanks to my lonely life that I have such a morale outlook. So why is some lonely depressed geek nerd person who'd probably be better off dead starting a website with cartoons? I believe that following my goal is the best way to appease myself, while simultaneously fulfilling my dream of making cartoons. Doing what I want to do in life has made me feel much better than what any medication. What I want to do is to bring the 12+ cartoons in my head to life, while sending my message of believing in yourself and you can accomplish anything. In life, I am the underdog, my talents fail compared to most of the world, but that won't stop me from succeeding.
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