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Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
Then the first kid will say "Because we're in Haiti; in the last one we were in Spain and all the zombies were Spanish."
I'm sorry, but jokingly offensive wins over calmly informative in the Most Likely Reaction By Random Idiot Child category.
Like I've already posted, I don't think RE5 will bring back the KKK but it will have a bad effect on racism, even if it's to a very small degree.
The fact that you admit it would be jokingly offensive implies that the speaker doesn't believe what he's saying, and if he's talking to a friend then the friend knows it, too. Friends make jokes that - if uttered in the wrong company - would be horribly misconstrued regardless of the speaker's age.
But you know what? That doesn't stop me from calling my best friend a fudge-packing butt pirate and it doesn't stop him from lisping at me and laughing when I critically fail at home repair / general handiness sorts of activities.
Another good friend and I call each other "stupid mick" and "stupid kraut" respectively. I don't hate the Irish, but for some reason when it's just the two of us I'm a kraut and he's a mick. It's funny to us, but it certainly doesn't mean that we judge other people based on these traits, and frankly it's offensive to me that you think people are so soft-brained that they'll let their world views be dictated by a video game that they will have had to misinterpret to arrive at those views in the first place.
RE5's player character doesn't hate black people (as far as I know - I don't think he's ever actually said one way or the other); he hates zombies.
Apotheos, as I pointed twice before, no, I'm not saying that Haiti should be taboo, or even that RE5 should be forbidden or anything like that. I just believe that producers and writers should be careful when selecting their settings, and pick somthing that's adequate to the type of work they're crafting. A country that needs armed UN forces to avoid becoming a bloodshed is not a trivial matter.
Its much much much much much too early to conclude it is being treated trivially.
And Life is Beautiful is a prominent movie that has a concentration camp in it, I hear.
Yeah, that's right. It's not a matter of what you do, but how you do it.
Battling racism by creating it where it doesn't exist is obviously the best solution. I'm pretty sure people all over the world could live together in harmony as long as we're super careful not to offend anyone ever. Hightened sensitivity in these matters is the best course of action. It's not like we could just accept that some people are idiots, and move on towards equality. That would be retarded.
Also, I'm boycotting Pac-Man because it's racist against ghosts.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
Do we know if it's set in Haiti yet? Last I heard it was set in an unnamed location?
It is important to concede that racist people will be enjoying this game racistly, no doubt.
Oh, of course, but that doesn't mean we should make efforts to never give any racist person a chance to racistly enjoy a game.
Also, I noted that when Chris walks in the trailer and talks to himself, he's travelling in a very normal-looking village. Why didn't people realise that there were two kinds of black people in this vid: Normal villagers, and half-crazed bloodlusty guys, which means the aggressivity of the enemies isn't actually born out of a racist misconception of people?
Haiti has a tremendous aesthetic that is both realistic and incredibly alien to the average gamer. It is a great setting from a design point of view. I don't think the suffering in that area of the world makes it verboten as a narrative device: what, its less racist to pretend the place doesn't exist and not ever talk about it? Fuck that.
How long before the "This is racist" people realize thats basically the same bed as Jack Thompson (video game violence leads to real violence and should be taken seriously)?
Honestly, people need to realize that strife exists in the world. It's not tasteless to use a place like Haiti as a setting. It's, as apotheos says, "alien" and rather pretty.
If there was internal strife in New Zealand, would it be wrong to use New Zealand as a setting for a book, game, short story, poem, whatever? No. It would be fine.
It's not tasteless to choose Haiti as a setting.
First of all, no one else seems to think I'm a fuckwit or whatever. You have been really rude and unnecessarily, at that.
Secondly, sure, Haiti is an interesting setting, agreed. It's also a valid setting, too, but not for anything. It would be really tasteless if SNL or Die Hard started making silly jokes about it. I sincerely feel that RE, for all its gaming awesomeness, falls into the "full frontal entertainment" category. It's NOT art. It never was, and it never wanted to be.
Well, that's your opinion. I think it falls under the umbrella of art.
Apotheos, as I pointed twice before, no, I'm not saying that Haiti should be taboo, or even that RE5 should be forbidden or anything like that. I just believe that producers and writers should be careful when selecting their settings, and pick somthing that's adequate to the type of work they're crafting. A country that needs armed UN forces to avoid becoming a bloodshed is not a trivial matter.
I think that writers should pick whatever settings they damn well please and give zero thought to being careful.
For instance, while we've seen more than on WW2 comedy movie, I can't recall any that made fun of concentration camps. We've also played dozens of WW2 games, but not a single one featured the camps. You don't have "Hit the Twin Towers" missions on MS Flight Simulator... And why's that? because it would be terribly tasteless.
You don't have "hit the <anything>" missions in MS Flight Simulator because that's not the kind of game it is. And I live in New York and worked right behind the World Trade Center. I thought people removing the World Trade Center from their movies - like The Matrix, I think? - and The Spider-Man game was more tasteless than if it had been left in. But I didn't really care; it was their choice.
RE is a great game series, but in terms of content, it ranks little above Dead Rising, less the humor. It's a great silly franchise about killing zombies that pretends to be serious. The TV series ER made lots of episodes about Darfur, and it was ok because they respected the subject matter and tried to make people aware to the tragedy. Hemingway made a great book based on his experiences in the bloody Spanish Civil War. RE shares none of those characteristics.
Sure, Capcom CAN make games about killing zombified civilian Haitians while the real life haitians are going through a lot of trouble. I'm not saying it's racist or anything like that. I just FEEL it was an unfortunate choice, and that I BELIEVE that Capcom should have picked another place or another time. Am I allowed to, or do I have to ask permission? It's not like thay CANNOT make a zombie game in Siberia or in Fictionland, and it's not like they have some great and precious ARTISTIC vision that depends on the Haitian setting to come to fruition. 99% of them gamers couldn't care less.
Your tone here, in this post, is completely different from your tone earlier in the thread. And your points are still pretty stupid.
No, they're not.
Yeah, they are. They are also offensive to me, a writer. Nobody's going to put imaginary shackles on my right to choose whatever setting and topic I want.
Here's how the adult world works, Stormwatcher: A writer/developer/artist writes/makes/paints you a story/game/picture of any setting and topic and tries to get it published. It either makes it to the marketplace or doesn't, depending on whether or not a publisher thinks it worth being on the market. Consumers then have the right to ignore it.
I fully support the right of any author to create any story on any topic in any setting, even if that is Gnomeschwitz and you play as a Dwarven Hitler.
People need to stop feeding into bigotry with their own misguided crusades - which are actually bigoted in on of themselves. People need to stop getting so fucking "offended" by things.
Oversensitivity is what leads to a lot of the problems we have. Your points are a mockery of real anti-racist or even anti-tasteless campaigns, which are censorship and oversensitivity at their worst.
It's a story. The setting doesn't mean that Capcom have a burning hatred for Haitians and feel no sympathy for what's going on there. It means that their fictional Umbrella Corporation somehow unleashed fictional zombie virus in their fictional version of Haiti in their fictional version of our world. Turns out their fiction character can save us all from the fictional zombies.
Ugh, this all just reminds me how we've done very little to eliminate racism. We just swept the issue under the rug so everyone would forget about it. Now we're all about political correctness, which is just making racism even harder to fight.
It does make you wonder, did the one game set in Haiti have to be about swarms of black zombies attacking a white guy with a shotgun? Well, I guess it's unreasonable to expect something like Barbie: Haitian Paradise.
The fact that you admit it would be jokingly offensive implies that the speaker doesn't believe what he's saying, and if he's talking to a friend then the friend knows it, too. Friends make jokes that - if uttered in the wrong company - would be horribly misconstrued regardless of the speaker's age.
Man, did you have friends as a kid? Jokingly offensive is what constructs the world for teenagers.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's like calling a movie that takes place in Africa racist because there are Africans in it. Which is even more silly.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's really not. Maybe it would if the main activity of the main character was killing blacks for the full hour and a half.
The fundamental issue here is how blacks are portrayed, not that they're portrayed at all. There's a lot of wilful misinterpretation running around here.
I don't remember who said that quote, but I quite liked it. It was something more or less like this:
"You have the right to be offended by something. Hell, you have the right to always be offended. The one right you don't have is to never be offended."
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's really not. Maybe it would if the main activity of the main character was killing blacks for the full hour and a half.
The fundamental issue here is how blacks are portrayed, not that they're portrayed at all. There's a lot of wilful misinterpretation running around here.
How are they portrayed? They were living in a small village with rudimentary tools. It felt pretty accurate to me. For people who live in Haiti. It doesn't have to do with BLACKS. Because they, like whites, asians, indians, live in every country of the world. Which means you've got poor black people, rich black people, intelligent black people, stupid black people, just like... gasp... if they were like any other human being?!?!
How racist of us to look beyond the color of the skin and enjoy this game for that it is. Zombie/Parasite hunt.
It does make you wonder, did the one game set in Haiti have to be about swarms of black zombies attacking a white guy with a shotgun? Well, I guess it's unreasonable to expect something like Barbie: Haitian Paradise.
Well, you can look at it that way, or you can look at is as 'this is the only developer with the balls to make a game in a place like Haiti.' Political Correctness, believe it or not, is present in video games. There are only a few select groups who make games specifically to offend people, and Capcom is not one of them.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's really not. Maybe it would if the main activity of the main character was killing blacks for the full hour and a half.
The fundamental issue here is how blacks are portrayed, not that they're portrayed at all. There's a lot of wilful misinterpretation running around here.
THEY ARE PORTRAYED AS ZOMBIES
I'll agree that there is "a lot of willful misinterpretation running around here." But not by the people you are fingering with that comment.
It does make you wonder, did the one game set in Haiti have to be about swarms of black zombies attacking a white guy with a shotgun? Well, I guess it's unreasonable to expect something like Barbie: Haitian Paradise.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's really not. Maybe it would if the main activity of the main character was killing blacks for the full hour and a half.
The fundamental issue here is how blacks are portrayed, not that they're portrayed at all. There's a lot of wilful misinterpretation running around here.
No, the issue here is how ZOMBIES who happen to be Black are portrayed. I'm almost positive that the emphasis is "ZOMBIES eat brain" not "Black people eat brain".
Are you trying to say Black people can't be zombies? Racist.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's like calling a movie that takes place in Africa racist because there are Africans in it. Which is even more silly.
Er, you're simplifying here. The issue that people are raising is that the videos portray a heroic white man in Africa shooting a load of black peasant villagers armed with knives and sticks desperately trying to take him down and kill him. If you can't spot the overtones of that a mile off and at least maybe, possibly understand why when some peoples first view of the game is this they have concerns about it, then I don't know what to say.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's really not. Maybe it would if the main activity of the main character was killing blacks for the full hour and a half.
The fundamental issue here is how blacks are portrayed, not that they're portrayed at all. There's a lot of wilful misinterpretation running around here.
Haiti is a place. On Earth. People with dark skin happen to live there. No one complained when it was set in Europe, when a bunch of European people died. It should be no different here, because the people of Haiti and the people of Europe shouldn't be treated any differently. We're all human, folks. Hard to believe, I know.
The fact that you admit it would be jokingly offensive implies that the speaker doesn't believe what he's saying, and if he's talking to a friend then the friend knows it, too. Friends make jokes that - if uttered in the wrong company - would be horribly misconstrued regardless of the speaker's age.
Man, did you have friends as a kid? Jokingly offensive is what constructs the world for teenagers.
I'm not sure I understand your question. What is it that you think I don't get?
The first thing I thought when I saw the trailer was, "Way to go, Japan. Now America is going to see a political shitstorm about games the likes of which have never been seen."
I felt uncomfortable watching the trailer, and not just because it was a terrible trailer. One white guy shot 100 black people and they didn't look like zombies.
They didn't all look like zombies to me in RE4 either. More like blood-thirsty villagers.
Yeah, I know, but it was just two different shades of caucasian trying to kill each other. It didn't have as big of an impact. America and South Africa's history just makes white on black violence seem worse than any other type of violence. At least the european on hispanic violence in American history revolved around a war.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's like calling a movie that takes place in Africa racist because there are Africans in it. Which is even more silly.
Er, you're simplifying here. The issue that people are raising is that the videos portray a heroic white man in Africa shooting a load of black peasant villagers armed with knives and sticks desperately trying to take him down and kill him. If you can't spot the overtones of that a mile off and at least maybe, possibly understand why when some peoples first view of the game is this they have concerns about it, then I don't know what to say.
It's not a bunch of black villagers. It's a bunch of zombies that used to be black villagers.
He's killing zombies. Who tried to kill him first. It's not racism. It's survival.
The fact that you admit it would be jokingly offensive implies that the speaker doesn't believe what he's saying, and if he's talking to a friend then the friend knows it, too. Friends make jokes that - if uttered in the wrong company - would be horribly misconstrued regardless of the speaker's age.
Man, did you have friends as a kid? Jokingly offensive is what constructs the world for teenagers.
I'm not sure I understand your question. What is it that you think I don't get?
You don't get that they do take it seriously. At least the stupid ones. I have to admit those were the only kind of friends I had.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's really not. Maybe it would if the main activity of the main character was killing blacks for the full hour and a half.
The fundamental issue here is how blacks are portrayed, not that they're portrayed at all. There's a lot of wilful misinterpretation running around here.
Haiti is a place. On Earth. People with dark skin happen to live there. No one complained when it was set in Europe, when a bunch of European people died. It should be no different here, because the people of Haiti and the people of Europe shouldn't be treated any differently. We're all human, folks. Hard to believe, I know.
Because Europeans don't have a sterotype of being savages.
Because Europeans don't have a sterotype of being savages.
I've heard stereotypes of black people being thieves, or criminal, but savages? That'd run at you with axes even if you got a gun? No. Maybe far back in the past, but not now.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's like calling a movie that takes place in Africa racist because there are Africans in it. Which is even more silly.
Er, you're simplifying here. The issue that people are raising is that the videos portray a heroic white man in Africa shooting a load of black peasant villagers armed with knives and sticks desperately trying to take him down and kill him. If you can't spot the overtones of that a mile off and at least maybe, possibly understand why when some peoples first view of the game is this they have concerns about it, then I don't know what to say.
It's not a bunch of black villagers. It's a bunch of zombies that used to be black villagers.
He's killing zombies. Who tried to kill him first. It's not racism. It's survival.
Yea, but the trailer doesn't explain that to those who just don't know what RE is. This is the ONLY reason I think people are calling it racist. There's no excuse for ignorance, but that's why I think there's a stir.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's really not. Maybe it would if the main activity of the main character was killing blacks for the full hour and a half.
The fundamental issue here is how blacks are portrayed, not that they're portrayed at all. There's a lot of wilful misinterpretation running around here.
THEY ARE PORTRAYED AS ZOMBIES
I'll agree that there is "a lot of willful misinterpretation running around here." But not by the people you are fingering with that comment.
Yeah, I know they're portrayed as zombies. It's Resident Evil. Fuck, man, way to misunderstand my point.
Which is, no, people are not upset about a game with black characters in it. People are upset about a game where you spend most of your time shooting black zombies. But a lot of guys here are wilfully misinterpreting it as the former, because it sounds a lot more of a stupid complaint, so it's easier to defend against, instead of dealing with the real issue.
I'm interested and excited to see RE5, but fuck, you guys have to stop misrepresenting the original complaint, even if it was retarded.
The fact that you admit it would be jokingly offensive implies that the speaker doesn't believe what he's saying, and if he's talking to a friend then the friend knows it, too. Friends make jokes that - if uttered in the wrong company - would be horribly misconstrued regardless of the speaker's age.
Man, did you have friends as a kid? Jokingly offensive is what constructs the world for teenagers.
I'm not sure I understand your question. What is it that you think I don't get?
You don't get that they do take it seriously. At least the stupid ones. I have to admit those were the only kind of friends I had.
They certainly weren't the only sort of friends I had. I'm sorry that your friends were sheep-esque enough to have their racial views colored by video games and remarks obviously meant as jokes.
I assure you. Not all children are that dumb. Those that are need more parenting. Not protection from freedom of speech and storytelling.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's really not. Maybe it would if the main activity of the main character was killing blacks for the full hour and a half.
The fundamental issue here is how blacks are portrayed, not that they're portrayed at all. There's a lot of wilful misinterpretation running around here.
Haiti is a place. On Earth. People with dark skin happen to live there. No one complained when it was set in Europe, when a bunch of European people died. It should be no different here, because the people of Haiti and the people of Europe shouldn't be treated any differently. We're all human, folks. Hard to believe, I know.
Because Europeans don't have a sterotype of being savages.
And Americans don't have the stereotype of being fat. We all have problems, all of us. Pretending that these issues don't exist is making things more difficult. We have to realize these problems, and get over this whole sensitivity issue. I should be able to make fun of a black friend just like I make fun of my white friends without some fool running around spouting, "Racism! Racism!"
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's like calling a movie that takes place in Africa racist because there are Africans in it. Which is even more silly.
Er, you're simplifying here. The issue that people are raising is that the videos portray a heroic white man in Africa shooting a load of black peasant villagers armed with knives and sticks desperately trying to take him down and kill him. If you can't spot the overtones of that a mile off and at least maybe, possibly understand why when some peoples first view of the game is this they have concerns about it, then I don't know what to say.
It's not a bunch of black villagers. It's a bunch of zombies that used to be black villagers.
He's killing zombies. Who tried to kill him first. It's not racism. It's survival.
Yea, but the trailer doesn't explain that to those who just don't know what RE is. This is the ONLY reason I think people are calling it racist. There's no excuse for ignorance, but that's why I think there's a stir.
But you just said it right there - there's no excuse for ignorance. That's why I'm rather angry about all this. People are letting ignorance excuse misinterpretation of the trailer. THAT is the problem. IGNORANCE is the problem. NOT the trailer.
Do you see why I'm up in arms about saying this is "tasteless"?
How is saying "it's different because it's BLACK zombies" any less racist than saying "It's different because he's a BLACK doctor"? Holy fuck, they're FUCKING ZOMBIES. That guy is a FUCKING DOCTOR.
Being a zombie takes precedence over your race.
It's overly sesitive politically correct bullshit like this that is driving people apart. If everyone is afraid of offending everyone else, no one will ever say or do anything ever. We will never make any progress, and we will segregate ourselves with our own fear.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's like calling a movie that takes place in Africa racist because there are Africans in it. Which is even more silly.
Er, you're simplifying here. The issue that people are raising is that the videos portray a heroic white man in Africa shooting a load of black peasant villagers armed with knives and sticks desperately trying to take him down and kill him. If you can't spot the overtones of that a mile off and at least maybe, possibly understand why when some peoples first view of the game is this they have concerns about it, then I don't know what to say.
It's not a bunch of black villagers. It's a bunch of zombies that used to be black villagers.
He's killing zombies. Who tried to kill him first. It's not racism. It's survival.
Yea, but the trailer doesn't explain that to those who just don't know what RE is. This is the ONLY reason I think people are calling it racist. There's no excuse for ignorance, but that's why I think there's a stir.
Can you honestly see somebody watching that trailer and not realizing that there's something wrong with the black folks? One is bleeding out his eyes. And they're all taking on a guy with a gun when the best weapon they've got is a rake. And they're bleeding profusely and look diseased. These aren't normal, healthy people. Even if you don't immediately jump to "zombie", you immediately jump to "Ewwwww" and creepy and scary. Exactly the sorts of things you're supposed to get from RE.
Well, I don't think we need to go to extremes to avoid it, just need to be wary of the blatantly tasteless.
I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
No, it's like calling a movie that takes place in Africa racist because there are Africans in it. Which is even more silly.
Er, you're simplifying here. The issue that people are raising is that the videos portray a heroic white man in Africa shooting a load of black peasant villagers armed with knives and sticks desperately trying to take him down and kill him. If you can't spot the overtones of that a mile off and at least maybe, possibly understand why when some peoples first view of the game is this they have concerns about it, then I don't know what to say.
It's not a bunch of black villagers. It's a bunch of zombies that used to be black villagers.
He's killing zombies. Who tried to kill him first. It's not racism. It's survival.
Yea, but the trailer doesn't explain that to those who just don't know what RE is. This is the ONLY reason I think people are calling it racist. There's no excuse for ignorance, but that's why I think there's a stir.
But you just said it right there - there's no excuse for ignorance. That's why I'm rather angry about all this. People are letting ignorance excuse misinterpretation of the trailer. THAT is the problem. IGNORANCE is the problem. NOT the trailer.
Do you see why I'm up in arms about saying this is "tasteless"?
I'm in the same boat of saying the game isn't racist, but I'm just trying to point out why people are saying it is. You know as soon as some higher up gets a hold of something this big they're going to run with it and skew it to their opinion as much as possible. This, like said before, is just videogames getting a bad rap because of misrepresentation.
I don't think the game is racist. In fact, I hope someone interviews one of these people and ask them "what is Resident Evil?" and then just watch them stumble over their own words.
Sad thing is, even after they found out what RE is, they'll still call it racist.
How is saying "it's different because it's BLACK zombies" any less racist than
THANK YOU
If anything or anyone is racist, it's not RE5, it's anyone who can't see past beyond skin color and think that this is racist because of the color of the characters. If the zombies were white, would it be ok? Or if the hero was black? Yes? This is racism.
I'm in the same boat of saying the game isn't racist, but I'm just trying to point out why people are saying it is. You know as soon as some higher up gets a hold of something this big they're going to run with it and skew it to their opinion as much as possible. This, like said before, is just videogames getting a bad rap because of misrepresentation.
I think that most of us here see why people are saying it's racist, Kewop. We understand them, we just disagree with them and we also explain why we think that these people shouldn't be the ones to cater to.
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I agree. But I don't think this is blatantly tasteless. At least not yet.
On a slightly different note, the game is set in Haiti. Do people expect a bunch of white zombies? Or, more importantly, should anyone care? It's like calling a movie about Africa racist because there are Africans in it.
The fact that you admit it would be jokingly offensive implies that the speaker doesn't believe what he's saying, and if he's talking to a friend then the friend knows it, too. Friends make jokes that - if uttered in the wrong company - would be horribly misconstrued regardless of the speaker's age.
But you know what? That doesn't stop me from calling my best friend a fudge-packing butt pirate and it doesn't stop him from lisping at me and laughing when I critically fail at home repair / general handiness sorts of activities.
Another good friend and I call each other "stupid mick" and "stupid kraut" respectively. I don't hate the Irish, but for some reason when it's just the two of us I'm a kraut and he's a mick. It's funny to us, but it certainly doesn't mean that we judge other people based on these traits, and frankly it's offensive to me that you think people are so soft-brained that they'll let their world views be dictated by a video game that they will have had to misinterpret to arrive at those views in the first place.
RE5's player character doesn't hate black people (as far as I know - I don't think he's ever actually said one way or the other); he hates zombies.
Yeah, that's right. It's not a matter of what you do, but how you do it.
Also, I'm boycotting Pac-Man because it's racist against ghosts.
Do we know if it's set in Haiti yet? Last I heard it was set in an unnamed location?
Oh, of course, but that doesn't mean we should make efforts to never give any racist person a chance to racistly enjoy a game.
Also, I noted that when Chris walks in the trailer and talks to himself, he's travelling in a very normal-looking village. Why didn't people realise that there were two kinds of black people in this vid: Normal villagers, and half-crazed bloodlusty guys, which means the aggressivity of the enemies isn't actually born out of a racist misconception of people?
Yeah, they are. They are also offensive to me, a writer. Nobody's going to put imaginary shackles on my right to choose whatever setting and topic I want.
Here's how the adult world works, Stormwatcher: A writer/developer/artist writes/makes/paints you a story/game/picture of any setting and topic and tries to get it published. It either makes it to the marketplace or doesn't, depending on whether or not a publisher thinks it worth being on the market. Consumers then have the right to ignore it.
I fully support the right of any author to create any story on any topic in any setting, even if that is Gnomeschwitz and you play as a Dwarven Hitler.
People need to stop feeding into bigotry with their own misguided crusades - which are actually bigoted in on of themselves. People need to stop getting so fucking "offended" by things.
Oversensitivity is what leads to a lot of the problems we have. Your points are a mockery of real anti-racist or even anti-tasteless campaigns, which are censorship and oversensitivity at their worst.
Yes, they are.
It's a story. The setting doesn't mean that Capcom have a burning hatred for Haitians and feel no sympathy for what's going on there. It means that their fictional Umbrella Corporation somehow unleashed fictional zombie virus in their fictional version of Haiti in their fictional version of our world. Turns out their fiction character can save us all from the fictional zombies.
It's a story. In a video game. And it's not real.
Man, did you have friends as a kid? Jokingly offensive is what constructs the world for teenagers.
No, it's like calling a movie that takes place in Africa racist because there are Africans in it. Which is even more silly.
No, it's really not. Maybe it would if the main activity of the main character was killing blacks for the full hour and a half.
The fundamental issue here is how blacks are portrayed, not that they're portrayed at all. There's a lot of wilful misinterpretation running around here.
"You have the right to be offended by something. Hell, you have the right to always be offended. The one right you don't have is to never be offended."
How are they portrayed? They were living in a small village with rudimentary tools. It felt pretty accurate to me. For people who live in Haiti. It doesn't have to do with BLACKS. Because they, like whites, asians, indians, live in every country of the world. Which means you've got poor black people, rich black people, intelligent black people, stupid black people, just like... gasp... if they were like any other human being?!?!
How racist of us to look beyond the color of the skin and enjoy this game for that it is. Zombie/Parasite hunt.
Well, you can look at it that way, or you can look at is as 'this is the only developer with the balls to make a game in a place like Haiti.' Political Correctness, believe it or not, is present in video games. There are only a few select groups who make games specifically to offend people, and Capcom is not one of them.
THEY ARE PORTRAYED AS ZOMBIES
I'll agree that there is "a lot of willful misinterpretation running around here." But not by the people you are fingering with that comment.
Here's a game set in Haiti that isn't about shotgunning folks.
No, the issue here is how ZOMBIES who happen to be Black are portrayed. I'm almost positive that the emphasis is "ZOMBIES eat brain" not "Black people eat brain".
Are you trying to say Black people can't be zombies? Racist.
Er, you're simplifying here. The issue that people are raising is that the videos portray a heroic white man in Africa shooting a load of black peasant villagers armed with knives and sticks desperately trying to take him down and kill him. If you can't spot the overtones of that a mile off and at least maybe, possibly understand why when some peoples first view of the game is this they have concerns about it, then I don't know what to say.
Haiti is a place. On Earth. People with dark skin happen to live there. No one complained when it was set in Europe, when a bunch of European people died. It should be no different here, because the people of Haiti and the people of Europe shouldn't be treated any differently. We're all human, folks. Hard to believe, I know.
I'm not sure I understand your question. What is it that you think I don't get?
I had that. I really did. I was just about to post.
Maybe just "FIRST?*link*".
Asshole.
Yeah, I know, but it was just two different shades of caucasian trying to kill each other. It didn't have as big of an impact. America and South Africa's history just makes white on black violence seem worse than any other type of violence. At least the european on hispanic violence in American history revolved around a war.
It's not a bunch of black villagers. It's a bunch of zombies that used to be black villagers.
He's killing zombies. Who tried to kill him first. It's not racism. It's survival.
Absolutely. Because the issue isn't racism. It never is. It's political correctness.
Because Europeans don't have a sterotype of being savages.
Exactly. And this is why the people yelling "Racism" are the problem here, and not the others.
I've heard stereotypes of black people being thieves, or criminal, but savages? That'd run at you with axes even if you got a gun? No. Maybe far back in the past, but not now.
Yea, but the trailer doesn't explain that to those who just don't know what RE is. This is the ONLY reason I think people are calling it racist. There's no excuse for ignorance, but that's why I think there's a stir.
Yeah, I know they're portrayed as zombies. It's Resident Evil. Fuck, man, way to misunderstand my point.
Which is, no, people are not upset about a game with black characters in it. People are upset about a game where you spend most of your time shooting black zombies. But a lot of guys here are wilfully misinterpreting it as the former, because it sounds a lot more of a stupid complaint, so it's easier to defend against, instead of dealing with the real issue.
I'm interested and excited to see RE5, but fuck, you guys have to stop misrepresenting the original complaint, even if it was retarded.
They certainly weren't the only sort of friends I had. I'm sorry that your friends were sheep-esque enough to have their racial views colored by video games and remarks obviously meant as jokes.
I assure you. Not all children are that dumb. Those that are need more parenting. Not protection from freedom of speech and storytelling.
And Americans don't have the stereotype of being fat. We all have problems, all of us. Pretending that these issues don't exist is making things more difficult. We have to realize these problems, and get over this whole sensitivity issue. I should be able to make fun of a black friend just like I make fun of my white friends without some fool running around spouting, "Racism! Racism!"
but but... they're zombies!
But you just said it right there - there's no excuse for ignorance. That's why I'm rather angry about all this. People are letting ignorance excuse misinterpretation of the trailer. THAT is the problem. IGNORANCE is the problem. NOT the trailer.
Do you see why I'm up in arms about saying this is "tasteless"?
Are you kidding? I'd play the shit out of this
How is saying "it's different because it's BLACK zombies" any less racist than saying "It's different because he's a BLACK doctor"? Holy fuck, they're FUCKING ZOMBIES. That guy is a FUCKING DOCTOR.
Being a zombie takes precedence over your race.
It's overly sesitive politically correct bullshit like this that is driving people apart. If everyone is afraid of offending everyone else, no one will ever say or do anything ever. We will never make any progress, and we will segregate ourselves with our own fear.
Can you honestly see somebody watching that trailer and not realizing that there's something wrong with the black folks? One is bleeding out his eyes. And they're all taking on a guy with a gun when the best weapon they've got is a rake. And they're bleeding profusely and look diseased. These aren't normal, healthy people. Even if you don't immediately jump to "zombie", you immediately jump to "Ewwwww" and creepy and scary. Exactly the sorts of things you're supposed to get from RE.
I'm in the same boat of saying the game isn't racist, but I'm just trying to point out why people are saying it is. You know as soon as some higher up gets a hold of something this big they're going to run with it and skew it to their opinion as much as possible. This, like said before, is just videogames getting a bad rap because of misrepresentation.
I don't think the game is racist. In fact, I hope someone interviews one of these people and ask them "what is Resident Evil?" and then just watch them stumble over their own words.
Sad thing is, even after they found out what RE is, they'll still call it racist.
THANK YOU
If anything or anyone is racist, it's not RE5, it's anyone who can't see past beyond skin color and think that this is racist because of the color of the characters. If the zombies were white, would it be ok? Or if the hero was black? Yes?
This is racism.
I think that most of us here see why people are saying it's racist, Kewop. We understand them, we just disagree with them and we also explain why we think that these people shouldn't be the ones to cater to.