Spider-Man: Miles Morales is sure to be a win for representation, with beloved Afro-Latino character Miles Morales taking the drivers seat of a AAA release. With the early footage we've seen Insomniac has committed to authenticity in depicting the diverse youth culture of New York. In what snippets we've seen, it's lifelike in a way few games manage to me.
But for anyone who's actually familiar with modern day new york there's something...missing.
Miles does not sound anywhere close to a young person in NYC in the current year. This can be understandable to a degree in his more child-friendly outings, but in the context of a AAA game aimed at an older audience, there's an opportunity here that's being missed.
Miles Morales should be the first Spider-Man that says nigga and he should say it with his chest. It is, quite frankly, immersion breaking for an african american teenager born and raised in NY to not say nigga.
He should be saying nigga in cutscenes. He should be saying nigga in combat. He should be saying no cap and deadass. He should be like what the fuck is you talking about when Peter is on his bullshit.
Why stop there. Let Rhodey say nigga. Let T'challa say nigga. Luke Cage ALREADY says nigga. Have a sidequest about Ganke saying nigga and getting side eyed.
Real talk it bothers me that representation in in these types of properties sidesteps the dialect. I understand that white creatives feel iffy about slang and AAVE, but that's all the more reason to have black creatives involved instead. Especially in properties like Spider-Man that are meant to represent the average person.
Let's get some authenticity in our representation, what do you say era?
But for anyone who's actually familiar with modern day new york there's something...missing.
Miles does not sound anywhere close to a young person in NYC in the current year. This can be understandable to a degree in his more child-friendly outings, but in the context of a AAA game aimed at an older audience, there's an opportunity here that's being missed.
Miles Morales should be the first Spider-Man that says nigga and he should say it with his chest. It is, quite frankly, immersion breaking for an african american teenager born and raised in NY to not say nigga.
He should be saying nigga in cutscenes. He should be saying nigga in combat. He should be saying no cap and deadass. He should be like what the fuck is you talking about when Peter is on his bullshit.
Why stop there. Let Rhodey say nigga. Let T'challa say nigga. Luke Cage ALREADY says nigga. Have a sidequest about Ganke saying nigga and getting side eyed.
Real talk it bothers me that representation in in these types of properties sidesteps the dialect. I understand that white creatives feel iffy about slang and AAVE, but that's all the more reason to have black creatives involved instead. Especially in properties like Spider-Man that are meant to represent the average person.
Let's get some authenticity in our representation, what do you say era?
