So for the past month or so I have been writing almost non-stop about the whole Genshin Impact Voice Actor Strike/Work Refusal. In the past week a lot has happened in regards to this so this post is going to be long.
Paperbag Boy’s Interview
For those who don’t know Paperbag Boy is a vtuber that reacts to videos and other things. He’s been one of many who has covered the Genshin Impact Voice Actor Strike/Work Refusal since the beginning and someone that I enjoy watching.
At any rate, he recently somehow got an interview with Corina Boettger, the VA of Paimon in Genshin Impact. I don’t know how he was lucky to get the interview, but he did. During it he was cordial. Which can be surprising given at the fact at how much he does negatively about Corina, which to be fair, given the things that Corina has said in regards to youtubers and fans in general, is kind of justified. I mean most of the VA’s who have done nothing but attack fans, and even fellow VA’s for “crossing a picket line” over a “strike” that’s not even official according to SAG-AFTRA’s own website.
Now the thing is while he does give Corina a lot of credit and fluff questions which might surprise some people. However, as anyone who has experience with journalism or has taken journalism classes will tell you, that’s just being a good interviewer. You’re supposed to make people feel comfortable by asking them some fluffy pieces. A good example of this would be Chris Van Vilet.
For the subscribers that aren’t into wrestling, Chris Van Vilet or CVV or just Chris interviews a lot of wrestlers. He asks some fluff questions and then asks some hard hitting questions. He has a good energy about him and has a good all around nature. Though he recent got into trouble for interviewing Kane. That’s a different thing altogether.
But for anyone wanting to interview someone that is basically how you do it. Now I would have personally corrected Corina during the interview and asked more questions in regards to her claiming that Mihoyo/Hoyoverse hadn’t paid her. But he still did a good job and Corina at least acted professionally for the moment during the interview. I wish she and her cohorts always acted professionally on bluesky but that’s a point for another day.
Though that being said, Paperbag Boy has gotten a lot of people criticizing him and Corina going back and trying to attack him for the interview because of what she said in the interview. Because of course she is. Though the main takeaway from the interview is that Corina is according to her stepping down from her role of Paimon claiming that she made Mihoyo an ultimatum stating for them to sign the internim agreement that SAG-AFTRA had or she would step down. Though I think it’s more likely that she just got sacked by Mihoyo even though she herself as been working since day 1 during the strike/work refusal as she is Ficore or Financial Core. Basically she’s allowed to work on non-union stuff but won’t get the union benefits and according to SAG-AFTRA’s own rules is considered a scab.
The Strike/Work Refusal Gets Worse
And then a few days after the interview it seems that there was another meeting between SAG-AFTRA and the voice actors who are apart of it going over the Last Best And Final Offer between them and the Video Game Studios that are apart of the main strike which…Mihoyo is not apart of that.
That being said a lot of voice actors have called for an end to the strike and wanting to get back to work. There are others that want it to continue and what the voice actors to suck it up. Which is ironic because it’s the voice actors that don’t have many voice acting roles that want it to continue even though it pretty much hurts their bottom line, whereas the ones with a lot of acting roles want it to end so people can work and not lose their homes.
And as I stated before, having to rely on Uber for money or Doordash or anything is not a sustainable option. I’m saying this as someone who quit their job to freelance and be a writer, it’s not a good idea in this economy. I have been looking for a stable contract or even a stable job for the past three months now, and I haven’t found anything. I’ve found onesy twosy jobs that didn’t pay a lot. I’m keeping myself afloat by investing, playing mobile games for money, and testing websites and even got another loan. (Because that’s what I do when I’m hitting a rock. That’s what I do out of desperation just to stay alive.)
Having people out of work for a long time is not a feasible option and shouldn’t be considered as such. People rely on those jobs for rent, for health care, etc. So keeping them out of work is kind of fucked up especially for those who don’t meet SAG-AFTRA’s requirements to get healthcare. Some are going homeless, some can’t make rent, some can’t afford food. Like, the best course of action is to end the strike for everyone. Especially when again, the economy is fucking scary. Personally I think that instead of attacking the fans, they should be lobbying the government to have AI protections and writing to their senators and congressmen, and also calling them. That way the country as a whole has the same protections that China does.
Who knows what is going on in the horizon, I just know right now that I’m tired. This wouldn’t have happened if SAG-AFTRA didn’t sign the deal with the AI company at the end of the Writer’s Strike. But time will tell if it’s going to be resolved.
What do you think about the whole SAG-AFTRA stike? Let me know in the comments below. Want to support the blog? Either buy me a coffee or become a paid subscriber. Like this post? Then subscribe to keep up with the latest posts.