ANGELA AND LILITH PLEASANT’S OVERLOOKED ASIAN HERITAGE By Thee 1sland Simmer A few years ago, I got the bright idea to create a Sims 4 machinima based on iconic characters from across The Sims franchises. Working on this project gave me an opportunity to re-imagine the lore in The Sims 4 since there currently isn’t any related to many beloved Sims families. Once I developed the storylines, it was time for me to:
1) makeover the existing Sims and 2) create the Townie Sims who are not in The Sims 4 but who were featured in previous games.
The Pleasants are one of the starring families in this upcoming machinima (and one of my favorite families in general). The Pleasant twins were already in the game thanks to The Sims 4: Discover University, so I started with their makeovers first. As I sat and thought about each twin’s personality, history, and appearance, I realized that a seemingly major aspect of their identity has been virtually non-existent. The twins are part-Asian.
It is widely-known that Mary-Sue Pleasant was adopted by the Oldies as a toddler and that she is of Asian descent. But that is the only way many of us would know, especially since later iterations of The Sims didn’t make her Asian features very prominent. I’ll admit that I was happy (and a bit surprised) to see that most –but not all – versions of Mary Sue on the gallery acknowledged her Asian ancestry. But that’s where it usually stops. Despite being part-Asian, Lilith and Angela Pleasant are almost never depicted as such. The only real reference to Mary-Sue being Asian in The Sims is a one sentence descriptor, and there is no such descriptor to be found for the twins.
Realistically, being Asian is and should be a major part of their identity. But their Asian heritage is not reflected in any of their clothing, features, or interests. Even The Sims team themselves haven’t incorporated it into the twins’ appearance or background when they added them to Sims 4. When I see gameplay and stories that include one or both Pleasant twins having children, their Asian ancestry is almost never reflected in them.
After I came to this realization, I made it my mission to make sure that Mary Sue and the twins’ Asian heritage is highlighted since they are stars in my show.
SIMS NATION MAGAZINE
74
THE REVOLUTION MIGHT BE TELEVISED
