I take the position that if you have a story to tell and you feel it needs a specific kind of character—and most stories do—you should go ahead and design that character however you see fit in order to suit your story. But you also should be aware that the character design you choose sends signals to people about you and your story, so make sure you can live with the consequences.

Naughty Dog is sending a signal that this story is yet another anti-white, anti-male, ant-beauty DEI story. They’ll get the audience they’re courting, but it may not be as large as they’d like. On some level, I have to thank them for signaling so blatantly that they haven’t changed and that I should continue to root for their collapse.