That's kinda my point, Resident Evil 5 is still a month away and already articles are written saying "This is BAD". How about just letting it come out first and see what the reactions are before just telling us what we should be thinking about the game. Let people think for themselves instead of being told this is racist.
Edit:
When the first preview came out for RE5 there was a small uproar.
And then it died out. Years later a half hour demo has been released and has there been a major crusade that this is a racist game? I don't see huge efforts by people opposing the game and spreading the word about it. I just see a few articles stating that "This can be seen as racist so we're gonna spread it as much as possible".
And? No one here has implied the game should be banned. We're simply stating that it deals with a sensitive issue, possibly without a lot of tact, and that there will probably be fallout from that. Including, shockingly enough, people possibly finding the content offensive/objectionable/shocking and choosing not to buy it.
Please, you and I both know that the fallout from this is more outcry at the need to regulate the content of games. There will be people attempting to use hate crime legislation to censor this, and open up a whole can of worms on what can be used to censor game content. If you don't seriously see this coming you're not dealing with reality.
I personally don't see what's wrong with the 'beating in a bag' episode depending on how it's handled. I'm not really up on the plot of RE5, but I was under the impression that the player got dropped into some wartorn shithole and had to fight their way out/beat the bad guy or whatever. In said wartorn shitholes, a bagbeating, while brutal, would not be entirely unexpected. Actually, it's pretty damn tame compared to some of the stuff that went on in Rwanda (or any genocide, for that matter), and nobody needed any zombies to do it then. So, it really comes down to whether or not this is depicted as something that goes on as part of daily life, or if it's meant to be a sign of how badly the rules of society have deteriorated in the area. It's all in the narrative.
However, people in grass skirts throwing spears? Seriously? That's just absurd. This isn't the 20's, and people shouldn't be using such imagery in any art form - game, movie, whatever - if they want to be taken seriously. And yes, it is racist, because it shows that whoever made it didn't do the research and relied instead on stereotypes which were old 100 years ago.
There are, of course, a few hunter-gatherer populations in different parts of africa who do still walk around in loincloths and use stone age tools, but they are constantly threatened by the outside world and subject to some pretty rough persecution. Any game that depicts a white protagonists gunning down !Kung or similar groups is...fucked up, to say the least. I wouldn't even know what to say to that.
Can I change sides and join the crusaders? I just remembered how racist Deejay's depiction in street fighter HD was, and how all the white characters and even the green character kick his ass so easily. Capcom must be stopped.
Later on, there's a cut-scene of a white blonde woman being dragged off, screaming, by black men. When you attempt to rescue her, she's been turned and must be killed. If this has any relevance to the story it's not apparent in the first three chapters, and it plays so blatantly into the old clichés of the dangerous "dark continent" and the primitive lust of its inhabitants that you'd swear the game was written in the 1920s.
What. Bitch got taken off and zombified. CALL DA POLICE WE GOTS A ZOMBIE MOVIE CLICHE.
Also, isn't this wartorn Africa? Zombies are zombies regardless of race and considering that, can we really not depict war-torn Africa as the vile, disgusting, brutal place it is? There are things going on there that would make Marines terrified to go in and do anything. I think it was smart of Capcom to say "fuck you guys" and just make the game in Africa, regardless of the backlash. You know why?
Because video-games ARE, in fact, art and even if it people manage to successfully label it racist I thought America had this free speech thing. Especially with artistic expression? I dunno I'm from Canada.
Also I think it's a pretty big fucking oversight for Capcom to develop this game, pouring millions of dollars into it, knowing American and European markets will be their main buyers, and not fucking think for one second that maybe they should approach this issue with more tact.
Let's take this seriously for a second: how do you suggest they have done it? How would a game set in africa with no black characters look? Or is the entire continent simply a forbidden subject?
I'm waiting for people to point me in the direction of where the game clearly states, "Black people are like this everywhere."
You guys are way too caught up in reading between the lines.
white mans guilt, perhaps?
Big picture question: is this only being dicussed because it is a game? Do the same exact thing in a movie and no one notices.
No, the issue here is that racism and other such associated issues are 'grown up' issues and gamers want to legitimize their medium by having games that are racist or thought provoking. How many times do you have to hear 'hollywood quality writing' or other bollocks before we realize that games are just games, not a higher level of artform such as cinema - and get on with things.
Making Resi 5 out to be racist, or looking upon it with a more powerful level of scrutiny, is their way of heightening the medium for themselves.
You never get to write about politics or racism or issues of society as a games journalist. I know. And you want to. You want to justify yourself. This is their way. And that includes N'Gai who himself is not exempt from such selfish attitudes, whether he knows it or not.
The massive hole in your argument is that something doesn't have to be art to be racist (or be construed as such). I wouldn't call a KKK lynching "art."
That's cause you're intelligent and understand these concepts. I do not think many other people do. I mean, this is just Islam is the Light all over again.
You go looking for racism, you'll probably find it.
Also I think it's a pretty big fucking oversight for Capcom to develop this game, pouring millions of dollars into it, knowing American and European markets will be their main buyers, and not fucking think for one second that maybe they should approach this issue with more tact.
Let's take this seriously for a second: how do you suggest they have done it? How would a game set in africa with no black characters look? Or is the entire continent simply a forbidden subject?
Maybe Capcom thought people were intelligent enough not to get into a great big huff over a video game.
Obviously, Capcom were sorely mistaken if they did. Both Europe and America are far to full of idiots and "victims" to ever this kind of bullshit die.
Also I think it's a pretty big fucking oversight for Capcom to develop this game, pouring millions of dollars into it, knowing American and European markets will be their main buyers, and not fucking think for one second that maybe they should approach this issue with more tact.
Let's take this seriously for a second: how do you suggest they have done it? How would a game set in africa with no black characters look? Or is the entire continent simply a forbidden subject?
This was actually my next point. How could they set a game which has the same style as RE4 (One character against a violent native population) in Africa and it not being considered racist by some?
Also I think it's a pretty big fucking oversight for Capcom to develop this game, pouring millions of dollars into it, knowing American and European markets will be their main buyers, and not fucking think for one second that maybe they should approach this issue with more tact.
Let's take this seriously for a second: how do you suggest they have done it? How would a game set in africa with no black characters look? Or is the entire continent simply a forbidden subject?
You could have the female protagonist not look white, for one, considering she's the only black person in the game who's not an inhuman monster.
The irony involved with getting mad at a horror game for being horrifying makes me laugh.
I agree. It's things like this that makes bitching about control schemes seem almost nice to have.
Limed it up.
Racism is bad, this is not racism. White person kills a black person /= racism.
Edit on the general note of racism, I as a white male, do not feel any pity for africans for what my ancestors may or may not have done 100 years ago.
That's probably because you're not very intelligent.
Because I don't feel bad that someone far, far back in my family might have treated black people poorly?
There's a reason black people in the US are poorer, less well educated, and more prone to a perpetuating cycle of violence and crime.
There's also a reason Africa is a fucking shitstorm.
Both of these things are because of our white ancestors. It's not necessarily our fault, because we weren't alive, but you didn't say "I don't feel responsibility" you said "I don't feel any pity." And that makes you either stupid, ignorant, or just plain someone who doesn't give a shit about other people.
Take your pick.
So, I should feel bad about something I had no control over. I don't treat black people any different from white, hispanic, or asian. Does this make me a bad person, or a stupid one? I doubt it.
Edit to post above: Now Mike, I don't know if you have played the whole game or not, but I don't think from a two level demo you can say that all the black people are inhuman monsters. And as other have said, if the female protagonist is not black enough for you, I think there is another problem.
I also find it absolutely up-roaringly hilarious that people are up-in-arms over RE5 when just weeks ago the "islam is the light!" debacle was both religiously and racially prejudiced from quite a few people.
The irony involved with getting mad at a horror game for being horrifying makes me laugh.
I agree. It's things like this that makes bitching about control schemes seem almost nice to have.
Limed it up.
Racism is bad, this is not racism. White person kills a black person /= racism.
Edit on the general note of racism, I as a white male, do not feel any pity for africans for what my ancestors may or may not have done 100 years ago.
That's probably because you're not very intelligent.
Because I don't feel bad that someone far, far back in my family might have treated black people poorly?
There's a reason black people in the US are poorer, less well educated, and more prone to a perpetuating cycle of violence and crime.
There's also a reason Africa is a fucking shitstorm.
Both of these things are because of our white ancestors. It's not necessarily our fault, because we weren't alive, but you didn't say "I don't feel responsibility" you said "I don't feel any pity." And that makes you either stupid, ignorant, or just plain someone who doesn't give a shit about other people.
Take your pick.
or he could have just made a poor choice of words.
I bet there is a scene where Chris and Sheva end up in the antarctica facility and Sheva says she has a bad feeling about this and then Chris says then maybe you should go back to africa (and warn the prime minister).
Racism is bad, this is not racism. White person kills a black person /= racism.
Edit on the general note of racism, I as a white male, do not feel any pity for africans for what my ancestors may or may not have done 100 years ago.
That's probably because you're not very intelligent.
So wait, people are supposed to feel bad for the wrongs of their ancestors generations back? In that case, anyone here of English blood can go ahead and apologize to me for the enslavement of my ancestors in the 1600s.
Actually... don't worry about it, because it would be completely unreasonable for me to expect anyone to feel bad for something their long-dead ancestors did to my long-dead ancestors hundreds of years before any of us were even born.
Racism is bad, this is not racism. White person kills a black person /= racism.
Edit on the general note of racism, I as a white male, do not feel any pity for africans for what my ancestors may or may not have done 100 years ago.
That's probably because you're not very intelligent.
So wait, people are supposed to feel bad for the wrongs of their ancestors generations back? In that case, anyone here of English blood can go ahead and apologize to me for the enslavement of my ancestors in the 1600s.
Actually... don't worry about it, because it would be completely unreasonable for me to expect anyone to feel bad for something their long-dead ancestors did to my long-dead ancestors hundreds of years before any of us were even born.
You don't have to mean it, but you have to say it if you want to be accepted in today's society.
Also I think it's a pretty big fucking oversight for Capcom to develop this game, pouring millions of dollars into it, knowing American and European markets will be their main buyers, and not fucking think for one second that maybe they should approach this issue with more tact.
Let's take this seriously for a second: how do you suggest they have done it? How would a game set in africa with no black characters look? Or is the entire continent simply a forbidden subject?
You could have the female protagonist not look white, for one, considering she's the only black person in the game who's not an inhuman monster.
Do we know for sure that she's the only friendly black person in the game?
...is the game even out yet? do we have the full picture here?
And? No one here has implied the game should be banned. We're simply stating that it deals with a sensitive issue, possibly without a lot of tact, and that there will probably be fallout from that. Including, shockingly enough, people possibly finding the content offensive/objectionable/shocking and choosing not to buy it.
Please, you and I both know that the fallout from this is more outcry at the need to regulate the content of games. There will be people attempting to use hate crime legislation to censor this, and open up a whole can of worms on what can be used to censor game content. If you don't seriously see this coming you're not dealing with reality.
...and that doesn't make you think it might have been a good idea on Capcom's part to think about how they could have handled this better, if in fact it IS poorly handled? Besides, I'm not saying that won't be some people's reaction. That's ALWAYS some idiot's reaction to content they personally find offensive, in any medium. I'm just asking you not to put words in my mouth, because I'm NOT saying it should be banned even if it IS horribly, horribly racist. Jesus, I'm not even saying it IS racist, and I'd have to read the thread carefully to see if anyone actually has. Most of us are just saying "And Capcom didn't see this coming? Really? There's a pretty clear connection to make here." and I don't think that should be a contentious statement at all.
I'm waiting for people to point me in the direction of where the game clearly states, "Black people are like this everywhere."
You guys are way too caught up in reading between the lines.
white mans guilt, perhaps?
Big picture question: is this only being dicussed because it is a game? Do the same exact thing in a movie and no one notices.
No, the issue here is that racism and other such associated issues are 'grown up' issues and gamers want to legitimize their medium by having games that are racist or thought provoking. How many times do you have to hear 'hollywood quality writing' or other bollocks before we realize that games are just games, not a higher level of artform such as cinema - and get on with things.
Making Resi 5 out to be racist, or looking upon it with a more powerful level of scrutiny, is their way of heightening the medium for themselves.
You never get to write about politics or racism or issues of society as a games journalist. I know. And you want to. You want to justify yourself. This is their way. And that includes N'Gai who himself is not exempt from such selfish attitudes, whether he knows it or not.
The massive hole in your argument is that something doesn't have to be art to be racist (or be construed as such). I wouldn't call a KKK lynching "art."
That's cause you're intelligent and understand these concepts. I do not think many other people do. I mean, this is just Islam is the Light all over again.
You go looking for racism, you'll probably find it.
The problem is that this isn't a leap of logic comparable to someone interpreting baby coos as Islam or seeing Jesus in a plate of spaghetti. Robbed of context, the action in Resident Evil apparently shows images of two white people killing demonic and primitive black people. If you don't know the complex plot of the game (or realize Sheva is black, which I didn't and I'm pretty aware of what was going on in the game), even intelligent people could see this badly.
Racism is bad, this is not racism. White person kills a black person /= racism.
Edit on the general note of racism, I as a white male, do not feel any pity for africans for what my ancestors may or may not have done 100 years ago.
That's probably because you're not very intelligent.
So wait, people are supposed to feel bad for the wrongs of their ancestors generations back? In that case, anyone here of English blood can go ahead and apologize to me for the enslavement of my ancestors in the 1600s.
Actually... don't worry about it, because it would be completely unreasonable for me to expect anyone to feel bad for something their long-dead ancestors did to my long-dead ancestors hundreds of years before any of us were even born.
You don't have to mean it, but you have to say it if you want to be accepted in today's society.
Racism is bad, this is not racism. White person kills a black person /= racism.
Edit on the general note of racism, I as a white male, do not feel any pity for africans for what my ancestors may or may not have done 100 years ago.
That's probably because you're not very intelligent.
So wait, people are supposed to feel bad for the wrongs of their ancestors generations back? In that case, anyone here of English blood can go ahead and apologize to me for the enslavement of my ancestors in the 1600s.
Actually... don't worry about it, because it would be completely unreasonable for me to expect anyone to feel bad for something their long-dead ancestors did to my long-dead ancestors hundreds of years before any of us were even born.
You don't have to mean it, but you have to say it if you want to be accepted in today's society.
I've never said it. I don't care about acceptance. I'm not going to apologize for something I never did. It's like expecting every German to apologize for what the nazis did and that was just decades ago. Do you people really expect that because our ancestors had battles, one group of people should be relegated to kissing the other group's feet in apology? That's just another form of separating people into classes based on their heritage.
Or are we forgetting that a group of Americans also fought vehemently to abolish slavery? Maybe people should consider that. I don't know, man.
Let's take this seriously for a second: how do you suggest they have done it? How would a game set in africa with no black characters look? Or is the entire continent simply a forbidden subject?
Not at all. However, it does need to be handled appropriately.
Hotel Rwanda showed black Africans behaving in extremely brutal ways, and obviously nobody thought that movie was 'racist', because none of the characters - even the Hutu rebels, who were motivated to their atrocities by the lingering aftereffects of colonisation - were depicted as one-dimensional.
However, I don't think depicted Sheva as darker-skinned alone would have solved the potential problems in this game (although I personally would have never thought she was supposed to be black at all). The problem isn't whether or not the protagonist is white or the antagonists are black; the problem is if racist imagery (spearchucking, blonderape) is used. If it is, you've got a problem even if the whole cast was black.
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Also,me being German, I got the whole "omg that is racist! you can't do that!" thing shoved down my throat ever since I was born. I have a racism-radar tuned to detect even the smallest hints of REAL racism, because that's just how I grew up, we have to find racism in EVERYTHING because of the whole "do not repeat the same mistakes!!" shtick our society has. That's why I'm used to just overlook "stereotypes" and "movie racism" because it's just not worth my time getting in a fuzz about it every time.
Like I said earlier, racism formed by an opinion (read: a fictional story) and racism trying to build on real world facts both are racism, but the last one is the one we should concentrate on.
Now I bet me not being a native speaker somehow conveys a different meaning than what I wanted and everyone will jump on me.
Racism is bad, this is not racism. White person kills a black person /= racism.
Edit on the general note of racism, I as a white male, do not feel any pity for africans for what my ancestors may or may not have done 100 years ago.
That's probably because you're not very intelligent.
So wait, people are supposed to feel bad for the wrongs of their ancestors generations back? In that case, anyone here of English blood can go ahead and apologize to me for the enslavement of my ancestors in the 1600s.
Actually... don't worry about it, because it would be completely unreasonable for me to expect anyone to feel bad for something their long-dead ancestors did to my long-dead ancestors hundreds of years before any of us were even born.
You don't have to mean it, but you have to say it if you want to be accepted in today's society.
You do realize how racist that is, right?
Nonsense, my sarcastic support of political correctness applies to all ancestral slave-owners equally.
I'm waiting for people to point me in the direction of where the game clearly states, "Black people are like this everywhere."
You guys are way too caught up in reading between the lines.
white mans guilt, perhaps?
Big picture question: is this only being dicussed because it is a game? Do the same exact thing in a movie and no one notices.
He's got a point. Was there any uproar about BlackHawk Down?.
Yes, there most certainly was.
This i did not realise. And thanks for someone putting the wiki link to it.
Black Hawk Down also actually happened.
"Its racist the way your portraying Africans! What? This actually happened? And its based directly on the accounts of the soldiers who were there? Its still racist, even if its true!"
Also,me being German, I got the whole "omg that is racist! you can't do that!" thing shoved down my throat ever since I was born. I have a racism-radar tuned to detect even the smallest hints of REAL racism, because that's just how I grew up, we have to find racism in EVERYTHING because of the whole "do not repeat the same mistakes!!" shtick our society has. That's why I'm used to just overlook "stereotypes" and "movie racism" because it's just not worth my time getting in a fuzz about it every time.
Like I said earlier, racism formed by an opinion (read: a fictional story) and racism trying to build on real world facts both are racism, but the last one is the one we should concentrate on.
Now I bet me not being a native speaker somehow conveys a different meaning than what I wanted and everyone will jump on me.
You racists!
Bet you don't shake your fist at the heavens and weep everytime a WW2 shooter is released.
I'm waiting for people to point me in the direction of where the game clearly states, "Black people are like this everywhere."
You guys are way too caught up in reading between the lines.
white mans guilt, perhaps?
Big picture question: is this only being dicussed because it is a game? Do the same exact thing in a movie and no one notices.
No, the issue here is that racism and other such associated issues are 'grown up' issues and gamers want to legitimize their medium by having games that are racist or thought provoking. How many times do you have to hear 'hollywood quality writing' or other bollocks before we realize that games are just games, not a higher level of artform such as cinema - and get on with things.
Making Resi 5 out to be racist, or looking upon it with a more powerful level of scrutiny, is their way of heightening the medium for themselves.
You never get to write about politics or racism or issues of society as a games journalist. I know. And you want to. You want to justify yourself. This is their way. And that includes N'Gai who himself is not exempt from such selfish attitudes, whether he knows it or not.
The massive hole in your argument is that something doesn't have to be art to be racist (or be construed as such). I wouldn't call a KKK lynching "art."
That's cause you're intelligent and understand these concepts. I do not think many other people do. I mean, this is just Islam is the Light all over again.
You go looking for racism, you'll probably find it.
The problem is that this isn't a leap of logic comparable to someone interpreting baby coos as Islam or seeing Jesus in a plate of spaghetti. Robbed of context, the action in Resident Evil apparently shows images of two white people killing demonic and primitive black people. If you don't know the complex plot of the game (or realize Sheva is black, which I didn't and I'm pretty aware of what was going on in the game), even intelligent people could see this badly.
In what way would they see this badly? Are white people not allowed to shoot black people ever without it being racist? I dont think thats racist. Is it? I can't keep up with this politically correct madness that people have.
I'm waiting for people to point me in the direction of where the game clearly states, "Black people are like this everywhere."
You guys are way too caught up in reading between the lines.
white mans guilt, perhaps?
Big picture question: is this only being dicussed because it is a game? Do the same exact thing in a movie and no one notices.
No, the issue here is that racism and other such associated issues are 'grown up' issues and gamers want to legitimize their medium by having games that are racist or thought provoking. How many times do you have to hear 'hollywood quality writing' or other bollocks before we realize that games are just games, not a higher level of artform such as cinema - and get on with things.
Making Resi 5 out to be racist, or looking upon it with a more powerful level of scrutiny, is their way of heightening the medium for themselves.
You never get to write about politics or racism or issues of society as a games journalist. I know. And you want to. You want to justify yourself. This is their way. And that includes N'Gai who himself is not exempt from such selfish attitudes, whether he knows it or not.
The massive hole in your argument is that something doesn't have to be art to be racist (or be construed as such). I wouldn't call a KKK lynching "art."
That's cause you're intelligent and understand these concepts. I do not think many other people do. I mean, this is just Islam is the Light all over again.
You go looking for racism, you'll probably find it.
The problem is that this isn't a leap of logic comparable to someone interpreting baby coos as Islam or seeing Jesus in a plate of spaghetti. Robbed of context, the action in Resident Evil apparently shows images of two white people killing demonic and primitive black people. If you don't know the complex plot of the game (or realize Sheva is black, which I didn't and I'm pretty aware of what was going on in the game), even intelligent people could see this badly.
Resident Evil has a complex plot? Granted, I have only finished the fourth one.
I think I'm just too intelligent to see this as anything else as a piece of entertainment that contains stereotypical clichés which I have seen a thousand times during my (still rather short) life.
Also,me being German, I got the whole "omg that is racist! you can't do that!" thing shoved down my throat ever since I was born. I have a racism-radar tuned to detect even the smallest hints of REAL racism, because that's just how I grew up, we have to find racism in EVERYTHING because of the whole "do not repeat the same mistakes!!" shtick our society has. That's why I'm used to just overlook "stereotypes" and "movie racism" because it's just not worth my time getting in a fuzz about it every time.
Like I said earlier, racism formed by an opinion (read: a fictional story) and racism trying to build on real world facts both are racism, but the last one is the one we should concentrate on.
Now I bet me not being a native speaker somehow conveys a different meaning than what I wanted and everyone will jump on me.
You racists!
Bet you don't shake your fist at the heavens and weep everytime a WW2 shooter is released.
Hotel Rwanda showed black Africans behaving in extremely brutal ways, and obviously nobody thought that movie was 'racist', because none of the characters - even the Hutu rebels, who were motivated to their atrocities by the lingering aftereffects of colonisation - were depicted as one-dimensional.
I understand what you are saying, but zombies are pretty much one dimensional.
Racism is bad, this is not racism. White person kills a black person /= racism.
Edit on the general note of racism, I as a white male, do not feel any pity for africans for what my ancestors may or may not have done 100 years ago.
That's probably because you're not very intelligent.
So wait, people are supposed to feel bad for the wrongs of their ancestors generations back? In that case, anyone here of English blood can go ahead and apologize to me for the enslavement of my ancestors in the 1600s.
Actually... don't worry about it, because it would be completely unreasonable for me to expect anyone to feel bad for something their long-dead ancestors did to my long-dead ancestors hundreds of years before any of us were even born.
You don't have to mean it, but you have to say it if you want to be accepted in today's society.
You do realize how racist that is, right?
Nonsense, my sarcastic support of political correctness applies to all ancestral slave-owners equally.
You do realize that not every single white person is descendant from slave owners?
In what way would they see this badly? Are white people not allowed to shoot black people ever without it being racist? I dont think thats racist. Is it? I can't keep up with this politically correct madness that people have.
Maybe by not portraying them in a way that makes me think "here they come, thick as grass and black as thunder".
The best thing to probably be done is just ignore this bullshit in an attempt to let it just die. Have major media companies been picking up on RE5? Or is it just some articles by gaming sites saying "Well this can look racist, let's go and make sure everyone knows this can be racist!" I'm sure there have been a few complaints but articles like that Eurogamer one are just asking this issue to be put for everyone to see, when it probably wouldn't have had people just stopped trying to create controversy.
I'll say it again... the only people talking about this game right now are people looking forward to it. But day one, some soccer mom is going to buy it for her 8-year-old without knowing a thing about it, watch him play it for 30 seconds, and then run screaming to her local news station.
In what way would they see this badly? Are white people not allowed to shoot black people ever without it being racist? I dont think thats racist. Is it? I can't keep up with this politically correct madness that people have.
Maybe by not portraying them in a way that makes me think "here they come, thick as grass and black as thunder".
Okay sorry for making black people black and zombie hordes zombie hordes.
Racism is bad, this is not racism. White person kills a black person /= racism.
Edit on the general note of racism, I as a white male, do not feel any pity for africans for what my ancestors may or may not have done 100 years ago.
That's probably because you're not very intelligent.
So wait, people are supposed to feel bad for the wrongs of their ancestors generations back? In that case, anyone here of English blood can go ahead and apologize to me for the enslavement of my ancestors in the 1600s.
Actually... don't worry about it, because it would be completely unreasonable for me to expect anyone to feel bad for something their long-dead ancestors did to my long-dead ancestors hundreds of years before any of us were even born.
You don't have to mean it, but you have to say it if you want to be accepted in today's society.
You do realize how racist that is, right?
Nonsense, my sarcastic support of political correctness applies to all ancestral slave-owners equally.
You do realize that not every single white person is descendant from slave owners?
By burying your heads in the sand and jerking off to how enlightened you all are because you don't think a videogame can be racist (and they can be so it's honestly baffling that anyone would think that), you're really ignoring the possible implications and the feelings of, like, real people who may or may not be oversensitive.
I'm not saying Capcom is a bunch of racists (but they're Japanese so they probably are!) or that they intentionally made a game denying the humanity of black folks everywhere, but if you actually read the quote in the OP, it's not just "Oh, the zombies are bad so all black people are bad."
Yes, we know Africa really does suffer from violence and destructive social upheaval. No, it's not really the best place to live.
But in the end, the decisions about the depiction of the people that live there are in the hands of the developers. Whatever was intended or was not intended, the responsibility rests with Capcom because they made choices about their depictions of the uninfected. And for most, even the line between the uninfected and the infected will be extremely blurry given how capable of normal behavior they can seem. Even in the demo we see a man giving speeches on a megaphone and riling up a mob as they execute a man (who, not being a bad guy, obviously speaks English and I imagine Japanese in the Japanese version).
You're all really doing a disservice to everyone but Capcom here. It's true we don't have the full game and the full picture, but to instantly write every negative reaction off as "stupid" and "reactionary with no basis in reality" is as stupid as covering your ears and yelling that we can't hear you.
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KlykaDO you have anySPARE BATTERIES?Registered Userregular
Also,me being German, I got the whole "omg that is racist! you can't do that!" thing shoved down my throat ever since I was born. I have a racism-radar tuned to detect even the smallest hints of REAL racism, because that's just how I grew up, we have to find racism in EVERYTHING because of the whole "do not repeat the same mistakes!!" shtick our society has. That's why I'm used to just overlook "stereotypes" and "movie racism" because it's just not worth my time getting in a fuzz about it every time.
Like I said earlier, racism formed by an opinion (read: a fictional story) and racism trying to build on real world facts both are racism, but the last one is the one we should concentrate on.
Now I bet me not being a native speaker somehow conveys a different meaning than what I wanted and everyone will jump on me.
You racists!
Bet you don't shake your fist at the heavens and weep everytime a WW2 shooter is released.
I don't,no.
I grew up my entire life with people,movies,stories,video games telling me that "German's were all Nazis, all bad, all racist and the Allies are the mightiest super heroes who ever graced the earth".
Again, I am intelligent enough to indentify this as fictional stereotypes.
My brother on the other hand? Every time such a game/movie is released,he REALLY shakes his fist at the heavens!
In what way would they see this badly? Are white people not allowed to shoot black people ever without it being racist? I dont think thats racist. Is it? I can't keep up with this politically correct madness that people have.
There is a difference between a white person kill black people and white people killing black people who are depicted in ways similar to that of old racist portrayals of them.
The best thing to probably be done is just ignore this bullshit in an attempt to let it just die. Have major media companies been picking up on RE5? Or is it just some articles by gaming sites saying "Well this can look racist, let's go and make sure everyone knows this can be racist!" I'm sure there have been a few complaints but articles like that Eurogamer one are just asking this issue to be put for everyone to see, when it probably wouldn't have had people just stopped trying to create controversy.
I'll say it again... the only people talking about this game right now are people looking forward to it. But day one, some soccer mom is going to buy it for her 8-year-old without knowing a thing about it, watch him play it for 30 seconds, and then run screaming to her local news station.
Well that woman is an idiot. Who the fuck would buy thier 8 year old a resident evil game.
Hell what shop would sell it to her, knowing it was for a child?
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And then it died out. Years later a half hour demo has been released and has there been a major crusade that this is a racist game? I don't see huge efforts by people opposing the game and spreading the word about it. I just see a few articles stating that "This can be seen as racist so we're gonna spread it as much as possible".
This i did not realise. And thanks for someone putting the wiki link to it.
Please, you and I both know that the fallout from this is more outcry at the need to regulate the content of games. There will be people attempting to use hate crime legislation to censor this, and open up a whole can of worms on what can be used to censor game content. If you don't seriously see this coming you're not dealing with reality.
However, people in grass skirts throwing spears? Seriously? That's just absurd. This isn't the 20's, and people shouldn't be using such imagery in any art form - game, movie, whatever - if they want to be taken seriously. And yes, it is racist, because it shows that whoever made it didn't do the research and relied instead on stereotypes which were old 100 years ago.
There are, of course, a few hunter-gatherer populations in different parts of africa who do still walk around in loincloths and use stone age tools, but they are constantly threatened by the outside world and subject to some pretty rough persecution. Any game that depicts a white protagonists gunning down !Kung or similar groups is...fucked up, to say the least. I wouldn't even know what to say to that.
What. Bitch got taken off and zombified. CALL DA POLICE WE GOTS A ZOMBIE MOVIE CLICHE.
Also, isn't this wartorn Africa? Zombies are zombies regardless of race and considering that, can we really not depict war-torn Africa as the vile, disgusting, brutal place it is? There are things going on there that would make Marines terrified to go in and do anything. I think it was smart of Capcom to say "fuck you guys" and just make the game in Africa, regardless of the backlash. You know why?
Because video-games ARE, in fact, art and even if it people manage to successfully label it racist I thought America had this free speech thing. Especially with artistic expression? I dunno I'm from Canada.
Let's take this seriously for a second: how do you suggest they have done it? How would a game set in africa with no black characters look? Or is the entire continent simply a forbidden subject?
That's cause you're intelligent and understand these concepts. I do not think many other people do. I mean, this is just Islam is the Light all over again.
You go looking for racism, you'll probably find it.
Maybe Capcom thought people were intelligent enough not to get into a great big huff over a video game.
Obviously, Capcom were sorely mistaken if they did. Both Europe and America are far to full of idiots and "victims" to ever this kind of bullshit die.
This was actually my next point. How could they set a game which has the same style as RE4 (One character against a violent native population) in Africa and it not being considered racist by some?
So, I should feel bad about something I had no control over. I don't treat black people any different from white, hispanic, or asian. Does this make me a bad person, or a stupid one? I doubt it.
Edit to post above: Now Mike, I don't know if you have played the whole game or not, but I don't think from a two level demo you can say that all the black people are inhuman monsters. And as other have said, if the female protagonist is not black enough for you, I think there is another problem.
or he could have just made a poor choice of words.
people are really getting bent over this.
So wait, people are supposed to feel bad for the wrongs of their ancestors generations back? In that case, anyone here of English blood can go ahead and apologize to me for the enslavement of my ancestors in the 1600s.
Actually... don't worry about it, because it would be completely unreasonable for me to expect anyone to feel bad for something their long-dead ancestors did to my long-dead ancestors hundreds of years before any of us were even born.
You don't have to mean it, but you have to say it if you want to be accepted in today's society.
Do we know for sure that she's the only friendly black person in the game?
...is the game even out yet? do we have the full picture here?
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Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
...and that doesn't make you think it might have been a good idea on Capcom's part to think about how they could have handled this better, if in fact it IS poorly handled? Besides, I'm not saying that won't be some people's reaction. That's ALWAYS some idiot's reaction to content they personally find offensive, in any medium. I'm just asking you not to put words in my mouth, because I'm NOT saying it should be banned even if it IS horribly, horribly racist. Jesus, I'm not even saying it IS racist, and I'd have to read the thread carefully to see if anyone actually has. Most of us are just saying "And Capcom didn't see this coming? Really? There's a pretty clear connection to make here." and I don't think that should be a contentious statement at all.
The problem is that this isn't a leap of logic comparable to someone interpreting baby coos as Islam or seeing Jesus in a plate of spaghetti. Robbed of context, the action in Resident Evil apparently shows images of two white people killing demonic and primitive black people. If you don't know the complex plot of the game (or realize Sheva is black, which I didn't and I'm pretty aware of what was going on in the game), even intelligent people could see this badly.
You do realize how racist that is, right?
I've never said it. I don't care about acceptance. I'm not going to apologize for something I never did. It's like expecting every German to apologize for what the nazis did and that was just decades ago. Do you people really expect that because our ancestors had battles, one group of people should be relegated to kissing the other group's feet in apology? That's just another form of separating people into classes based on their heritage.
Or are we forgetting that a group of Americans also fought vehemently to abolish slavery? Maybe people should consider that. I don't know, man.
Hotel Rwanda showed black Africans behaving in extremely brutal ways, and obviously nobody thought that movie was 'racist', because none of the characters - even the Hutu rebels, who were motivated to their atrocities by the lingering aftereffects of colonisation - were depicted as one-dimensional.
However, I don't think depicted Sheva as darker-skinned alone would have solved the potential problems in this game (although I personally would have never thought she was supposed to be black at all). The problem isn't whether or not the protagonist is white or the antagonists are black; the problem is if racist imagery (spearchucking, blonderape) is used. If it is, you've got a problem even if the whole cast was black.
Also,me being German, I got the whole "omg that is racist! you can't do that!" thing shoved down my throat ever since I was born. I have a racism-radar tuned to detect even the smallest hints of REAL racism, because that's just how I grew up, we have to find racism in EVERYTHING because of the whole "do not repeat the same mistakes!!" shtick our society has. That's why I'm used to just overlook "stereotypes" and "movie racism" because it's just not worth my time getting in a fuzz about it every time.
Like I said earlier, racism formed by an opinion (read: a fictional story) and racism trying to build on real world facts both are racism, but the last one is the one we should concentrate on.
Now I bet me not being a native speaker somehow conveys a different meaning than what I wanted and everyone will jump on me.
You racists!
Nonsense, my sarcastic support of political correctness applies to all ancestral slave-owners equally.
Black Hawk Down also actually happened.
"Its racist the way your portraying Africans! What? This actually happened? And its based directly on the accounts of the soldiers who were there? Its still racist, even if its true!"
Bet you don't shake your fist at the heavens and weep everytime a WW2 shooter is released.
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
In what way would they see this badly? Are white people not allowed to shoot black people ever without it being racist? I dont think thats racist. Is it? I can't keep up with this politically correct madness that people have.
Resident Evil has a complex plot? Granted, I have only finished the fourth one.
Killing nazi's is ok. Streven Spielberg says so.
I understand what you are saying, but zombies are pretty much one dimensional.
You do realize that not every single white person is descendant from slave owners?
Maybe by not portraying them in a way that makes me think "here they come, thick as grass and black as thunder".
I'll say it again... the only people talking about this game right now are people looking forward to it. But day one, some soccer mom is going to buy it for her 8-year-old without knowing a thing about it, watch him play it for 30 seconds, and then run screaming to her local news station.
Okay sorry for making black people black and zombie hordes zombie hordes.
Somebody alert the news!
I'm not saying Capcom is a bunch of racists (but they're Japanese so they probably are!) or that they intentionally made a game denying the humanity of black folks everywhere, but if you actually read the quote in the OP, it's not just "Oh, the zombies are bad so all black people are bad."
Yes, we know Africa really does suffer from violence and destructive social upheaval. No, it's not really the best place to live.
But in the end, the decisions about the depiction of the people that live there are in the hands of the developers. Whatever was intended or was not intended, the responsibility rests with Capcom because they made choices about their depictions of the uninfected. And for most, even the line between the uninfected and the infected will be extremely blurry given how capable of normal behavior they can seem. Even in the demo we see a man giving speeches on a megaphone and riling up a mob as they execute a man (who, not being a bad guy, obviously speaks English and I imagine Japanese in the Japanese version).
You're all really doing a disservice to everyone but Capcom here. It's true we don't have the full game and the full picture, but to instantly write every negative reaction off as "stupid" and "reactionary with no basis in reality" is as stupid as covering your ears and yelling that we can't hear you.
I don't,no.
I grew up my entire life with people,movies,stories,video games telling me that "German's were all Nazis, all bad, all racist and the Allies are the mightiest super heroes who ever graced the earth".
Again, I am intelligent enough to indentify this as fictional stereotypes.
My brother on the other hand? Every time such a game/movie is released,he REALLY shakes his fist at the heavens!
Well that woman is an idiot. Who the fuck would buy thier 8 year old a resident evil game.
Hell what shop would sell it to her, knowing it was for a child?