This is a trick, they are going to give these gang members real money that they would have to pay taxes on, and when they don't pay it, they will get them off the streets for it.
Rockstar Uses Actual Gang Members for GTA V Voice Acting
- Thread starter Cognimancer
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I don't really have a problem with this. Is it a risky move? Yes. Can I see why people may be upset? Yes. Is it possible that the performances we get would be worse than with a trained actor? Yes. Does it really matter to me? No, not really. I can't really say why, just when I hear this story I don't get upset at it or start to curse Rockstar for doing such a thing. It's not something that makes me go "See, THIS is why Rockstar is the true driving force behind this industry!" it honestly just gets a neutral reaction from me (aside maybe from the "Neat" that comes with any news I guess)
If they're not used to voice acting, I can't see this turning out well. I don't care if they're actually acting and just saying what they usually say, that hardly ever works in a scripted environment.
I find it fascinating that the vast majority of these comments so merrily rebuke Rockstar for providing legitimate, albeit temporary employment to a segment of the population rife with poverty, affording them resume building work experience and exposure to potential careers outside of the realm of sanitation or fast food retail, for shame.
This is especially puzzling when their are plenty of valid complaints that could be leveled at Rockstar. For one, why make 'certified gang member' a prerequisite for employment? Gangs rarely invent their own speech patterns, those patterns are merely indicative of the areas from which they draw their membership. Why not go straight to the source and hire a handful of young men from whichever area they're trying to emulate. Perhaps some of those men are affiliated with an active gang, a great many of them aren't, their speech patterns and vernacular wont vary a great deal. In fact, let's recall for a moment that Rockstar is hardly some beneficent entity reaching out to the impoverished, and that their main concern is "authenticity." If that's the case, using reformed prisoners (depending on length of sentence) would not yield the desired effect. Prisons contain their own pressure cooked microcultures, and while gang sub-cultures naturally glean from prison culture, the two do not directly equate.
Of course, perhaps looking too deeply into Rockstar's search for 'authenticity' makes folk uncomfortable. Perhaps people are starting to realize that taking the very worse of blaxploitation and mexploitation, grinding them into a fine powder, sifting it together with a liberal sprinkling of italian mob cliches and snorting them off the thighs of a ten dollar hooker who's got kids to feed is perhaps just a little fucked up.
But no, that would imply the maturation of the consumer base, and that can go fuck all kinds of duck.
This is especially puzzling when their are plenty of valid complaints that could be leveled at Rockstar. For one, why make 'certified gang member' a prerequisite for employment? Gangs rarely invent their own speech patterns, those patterns are merely indicative of the areas from which they draw their membership. Why not go straight to the source and hire a handful of young men from whichever area they're trying to emulate. Perhaps some of those men are affiliated with an active gang, a great many of them aren't, their speech patterns and vernacular wont vary a great deal. In fact, let's recall for a moment that Rockstar is hardly some beneficent entity reaching out to the impoverished, and that their main concern is "authenticity." If that's the case, using reformed prisoners (depending on length of sentence) would not yield the desired effect. Prisons contain their own pressure cooked microcultures, and while gang sub-cultures naturally glean from prison culture, the two do not directly equate.
Of course, perhaps looking too deeply into Rockstar's search for 'authenticity' makes folk uncomfortable. Perhaps people are starting to realize that taking the very worse of blaxploitation and mexploitation, grinding them into a fine powder, sifting it together with a liberal sprinkling of italian mob cliches and snorting them off the thighs of a ten dollar hooker who's got kids to feed is perhaps just a little fucked up.
But no, that would imply the maturation of the consumer base, and that can go fuck all kinds of duck.
I'm having a hard time deciding what to think about this.
For one there is the quality of the voice acting. Just because someone is good at a job doesn't mean he's fit to be an actor playing a character having that job.
There's giving gang members a job. Well, they'll have some legal work which means that at least for a time they'll have something else to do than dealing drugs or fighting rival gangs for a time. What will happen to the money is a legitimate question though. Will it be invested in gang activities?
Oh well, if this game ever hits PC I might pick it up and a game really needs a controversy such as this in order to sell enough to meet standards.
For one there is the quality of the voice acting. Just because someone is good at a job doesn't mean he's fit to be an actor playing a character having that job.
There's giving gang members a job. Well, they'll have some legal work which means that at least for a time they'll have something else to do than dealing drugs or fighting rival gangs for a time. What will happen to the money is a legitimate question though. Will it be invested in gang activities?
Oh well, if this game ever hits PC I might pick it up and a game really needs a controversy such as this in order to sell enough to meet standards.
Good. Give them some honest, easy money for a change, and maybe they can one day get themselves out of the whole gang business with their new skill, like one of the freaking main characters in the game.
Those of you saying that they shouldn't be employed...what other way are they supposed to reform themselves if no one will hire them because "Hurr funding gang activity"?
Those of you saying that they shouldn't be employed...what other way are they supposed to reform themselves if no one will hire them because "Hurr funding gang activity"?
Sigh. Great. So Rockstar continues to support the fall of Western Civilization. Why does this not surprise me.
I'm with you I don't see why everybody's hating you all sound like you grew up in gated communities.chadachada123 said:
Maybe they can go a week without making crack and just peacefully smoke blunts with their crew or whatever they'll do.
Many people turn to this life because of unemployment so even a short job is great.
Plus I'd rather it be like "Fuck you I'll spray you, bust, whatever"-real g than "Oh ya boy ya imma pull my gat now urrgh im so g"-guy that's never seen the hood
Would you rather those gang members be out on the streets and earning their income illegally then? Even if they're going back out there to do that, I think it's damn great that for a short while they earned their pay by working legally.alphamalet said:
Seriously, just because someone has committed a crime in the past it shouldn't exclude them from being able to earn a living in a respectable manner. This might be exactly what some of those members needed to convince them they can still go and find legitimate employment because generally, people often turn to crime as a last option.
Not every person that does bad things is a bad person, they're usually just desperate. Grow up and pull your head out of the sand. The world isn't all black and white.
Oh and about the charity comment, I've been employed since the age of 14 and 9 months and live fairly well and not a damn cent of mine has gone to charity.
I was a bit iffy about this but I never thought of it like that. Makes a lot of sense, like several successful jails do to make criminals normal citizens again.GoaThief said:
Hope they can deliver lines though.
This is nothing new. The entertainment industry has consulted criminals numerous times for insight and authenticity in films and TV. Are we only allowed to call upon criminals when we're trying to make documentaries about how sad their lives are? Does being a criminal make you an awful person? IMHO, that depends on the crime and the intent.
Anyway, I hope they spend enough time recording so that they have plenty of dialogue to keep the NPC criminals from sounding like NPCs. It's one thing to go for authentic phrases from real criminals but if a handful of computer-generated thugs are all spouting that same recorded phrase it quickly loses whatever piece of authenticity you were aiming for.
Anyway, I hope they spend enough time recording so that they have plenty of dialogue to keep the NPC criminals from sounding like NPCs. It's one thing to go for authentic phrases from real criminals but if a handful of computer-generated thugs are all spouting that same recorded phrase it quickly loses whatever piece of authenticity you were aiming for.
There's... there's something I need to ask. Is it legal to hire criminals? As in WANTED criminals? Those who are at large, still on the street, doing criminal things?
They mentioned one got out of jail a few days before, I'm all for giving that guy a job but... taking someone directly from the street? Not knowing, or even being fully aware of that this person was involved in violent crime recently? Is that really something that is ok? Harboring a fugitive and everything?
Of course, I hope rockstar knows what it's doing, I really do. Giving former criminals a chance to go legit is a wonderful thing to do, but I hope they are not going to protect these people if they commit a crime while the voice acting is still being done.
They mentioned one got out of jail a few days before, I'm all for giving that guy a job but... taking someone directly from the street? Not knowing, or even being fully aware of that this person was involved in violent crime recently? Is that really something that is ok? Harboring a fugitive and everything?
Of course, I hope rockstar knows what it's doing, I really do. Giving former criminals a chance to go legit is a wonderful thing to do, but I hope they are not going to protect these people if they commit a crime while the voice acting is still being done.
Funny thing? Being in a gang doesn't mean you can deliver a line of dialogue.
This seems like a pretty shallow and flimsy play at "authenticity". I doubt the leads were chosen for their criminal backgrounds; why pretend that some minor characters' experiences necessarily make them better for their parts? For research, maybe- if you want to continue to pretend that your game where you can stay in a city after stealing millions of dollars and killing hundreds of people without being hunted down like a dog is somehow a realistic glimpse of criminal life.
But sneering about actors doing what actors do- that is, pretending to people they're not- just seems like a cheap shot as part of a rather cynical PR move.
This seems like a pretty shallow and flimsy play at "authenticity". I doubt the leads were chosen for their criminal backgrounds; why pretend that some minor characters' experiences necessarily make them better for their parts? For research, maybe- if you want to continue to pretend that your game where you can stay in a city after stealing millions of dollars and killing hundreds of people without being hunted down like a dog is somehow a realistic glimpse of criminal life.
But sneering about actors doing what actors do- that is, pretending to people they're not- just seems like a cheap shot as part of a rather cynical PR move.
And why is that, exactly? Rockstar is providing a legitimate way of making some money to people who could desperately use it for the sake of making a better product? Yes, burn them at the fuckin' stake.Desert Punk said:
Why is everyone reacting so badly to this? Are you so elitist as to think that offering a job to someone who has made mistakes in the past is some kind of taboo?
I think it's a great idea, personally I'm going to relish it when someone in-game calls me a "biotch" cause' I'll know it came from the lips of a genuine baller.
Trejo had cleaned his life up BEFORE he became an actor. He had spent over a decade in prison, had just began to go to college, beat alcoholism and drug addiction years before he starred in a movie. I don't think it's fair to Trejo to claim that being in movies turned his life around. He turned it around himself, by choice.GoaThief said:
sagacious said:
Depending on what gang you're in the only way out is death. These aren't just people who committed a crime, they're people who decided at a young age to join a group of people who make crime a way of life. What you're sympathizing with is regular former cons but gang members are a totally different thing. It sucks but that's just the way it is.
