Voicing Political or Other VOs that conflict with your values

[Robert Jadah]

Well of course, Joe J; it's the only one that makes any sense.
Were Mr. Bergen to intone Porky and be part of a national ad campaign that read "Me and the gang support the wholesale springtime slaughter of pup seals in Canada 'cuz they grow up to eat all the cod and poop in the ocean...th-th-th-that's all folks", there'd be an understandable hue and cry.
And Mr. Bergen would be out many, many dollars.
But if he (as Bob Bergen), JS, myself, Joe J, Allen, Lynn, Bill, or Connie were paid $2,500 to say the same thing, who the heck would know who it was?
Or much care?

It's the name in the tag line that would take all the flack.
(Although those pup seals DO grow up to eat all the cod and poop in the water, you know....)

Opiningly Yours,

[DBHavens]

I think it's always easier to turn down work when you've lots of other work (read: rolling in it) to take its place. I would love to be in the position, for example, to turn down poorly written copy, silly copy, boring copy, tasteless copy -- you get the picture.

[chucktaylor]

Getting ready for the day requires looking in the mirror, so I stand by my original decision. It's a personal decision and one you have to live with...if that means passing on a job that doesn't jive with my beliefs, you're damn skippy I'm gonna pass on it before I compromise my integrity. I can ALWAYS find another gig, but once you compromise your integrity, IMHO, you've changed who you are at the core.

ct

btw Not all of us are waiters!

[DBHavens]

I have an interesting internal mechanism that helps me decide if I should voice a project -- if I can read it without a) laughing hysterically or b) throwing up.

[AlanSimmons]

JS makes a good point with the analogy about being a waiter/waitress. But that's the great thing about VO - you don't have to serve every Tom, Dick, and David Duke that comes in. I will admit that I'm not currently in a position of relying solely on VO to pay the bills. And I'm honest enough to admit that if I were doing this full time and the difference between making rent or not was doing a questionable VO, I might have to think about it. I think I would still stick to my guns; at least I hope I would. We can't really predict what we'd do in a given situation. We find out when it comes along...

[jsgilbert]

I suppose the old restaurant addage "no shirt, no shoes, no service." might apply. My life has filters in it, such as my agents. I don't get auditions forthings that are generally objectionable to me. No auditions, no gigs. But, it would seem some of you must be wearing way too many pheremones or perhaps the question for some is still hypothetical.

At what point does one draw the line? I'm not reading for that product becuase it contains trans fatty acids or I'm not doing adutions for the Wall Street Journal, because their readership isn't comprised of primarily liberal vegetarians.

I should also mention that the question here is partially "go against beliefs" and as a result of some of my work, I have actually had some of my beliefs change.

Live and learn.


In the meantime, I still encourage all of you to send over the work you don't want to do to me. I'm waiting.

[Bob Bergen]

Originally Posted by DBHavens

I think it's always easier to turn down work when you've lots of other work (read: rolling in it) to take its place. I would love to be in the position, for example, to turn down poorly written copy, silly copy, boring copy, tasteless copy -- you get the picture.

The only thing we own is our integrity. No amount of work or income warrants sacrificing who you are and what you stand for. There will always be another gig. And turning down a gig because of poorly written copy or even bad copy has nothing to do with morals.

I was a tour guide at Universal making close to minimum wage when I made the decision that my ideals didn't have a price tag.

But everyone has to do what's right for them.

[DBHavens]

I agree completely, Bob -- I was being tongue-in-cheek. It's all the more admirable to turn down work when there's little of it coming in. My point is that it's nice to be in a position to be able to turn down work when it doesn't hurt so much financially.

[Lee Gordon]

I chimed in with a definite "Maybe." If the candidate or issue is someone or something I have strong feelings about, I would pass on the job. However, if I'm a Democrat and the Republican candidate for dog catcher in the next county wants to pay me to to voice his spot, I'll be right over -- as long as he pays me up front.
One year I did three political spots -- one Democrat, one Republican and one Independent.
It doesn't have to be political spots either. Whenever I see an audition for one of those auto-dialer things that makes unsolicited phone calls trying to sell mortgage refinancing or aluminum siding, I delete it immediately, no matter what it pays. I hate getting those calls and won't be a party to them.

[DBHavens]

Oh, yes, Lee -- I delete those with lightning speed as well!

I think it's like with most moral issues -- there's a vast grey area between the black and white "yes and no" here. Is it ever okay to lie to spare feelings -- to steal bread to save your child from starving -- and so on. Motivations count. The abhorrent nature (to you) of the project also counts.