Many players have responded to concerns about the lack of people of color in The Witcher 3 by saying it's because the world is based on Slavic mythology.
Because Slavic people are predominantly white, it therefore is in keeping with nods to that mythology to only feature white people in the game's world. Just as you would feature Indian people if you were making a game based on Indian mythology, so you would do the same for Slavic.
But this misses a crucial point: Things are not equal. We are not in a medium that features predominantly Indian men, Chinese women, or focuses on stories from Africa. We're part of an industry that frequently tells the stories of white people and stars white people.
That's why whitewashing — casting a white actor to play a character of color — is not the same as race-bending — casting a black actor to play a white character.
""Historically accurate" is a common defense for awful actions in fiction"
As Anjali Patel highlights: "Whitewashing takes over the limited space people of color have to exist in the entertainment industry as complex, multifaceted individuals, and then shuts them out completely.
On the other hand, says Patel, "Racebending ... counters that, in a way. It demands a space for people of color to exist in franchises where they are severely underrepresented."
Thus, wanting more people of color in stories that focus on mythology for a predominantly white culture doesn't work the other way. Wanting white people in spaces dedicated to people of color ignores that stories of white people already dominate this and other creative industries.
It's "what about me?" when everything is already about you.
Further, the defense of excluding people of color from a fantasy game is nonsensical. We are talking about being comfortable with the inclusion of wraiths and magic, but not the mere existence of people of color. Accuracy and realism flew out the window with the harpies.
"Historically accurate" is another common defense for many awful actions in fiction, and it also doesn't make sense when you're not talking about actual events or even the planet Earth. We see this ridiculous excuse used to defend Game of Thrones' most recent high-profile use of sexual assault, even though it took place in a world where magic exists and during a scene that originally focused on another character.
