I am, quite frankly, sick of the African-American/German/Canadian/British racist debate
Breaking news, RE6 to be set in Toronto in the dead of winter, enemies will be hockey players and lumberjacks suffering from "beaver fever." Capcom feels that locating their new title in Canada will avoid any allegations of racism, because no one gives a shit about Canadians anyways.
As a Canadian, I can say that I've caught the "beaver fever" a couple of times. It's actually not all that uncommon in young men like myself.
This quote chain needs to stop. The man says he doesn't "pity" people in awful, awful situations merely because it's not his fault.
Not that he doesn't feel responsible, but that he does not feel pity. As in, "it's their problem, let them deal with it." MakeMan wasn't planting his flag for reparation payments, just human empathy and social understanding.
Edit: before the thread totally falls into sarcasm, I'd just like to chip in on the side of "imagery is powerful and affects our perceptions, which in turn affect our actions" side. Because, you know, it's true.
So wait, I forgot the part where I said I didn't feel sorry for people in awful situations. Oh, I didn't. I said I didn't feel bad for african because of what my family may or may not have done.
ITT Xtarath doesn't feel bad for what may have occured a long time ago.
Xtarath on
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anoffdayTo be changed whenever Anoffday gets around to it.Registered Userregular
edited February 2009
I'm sorry, but this is completely not racist at all. The game takes place in Africa. Are black people immune to becoming zombies or something? White zombies have been killed in movies and video games for a long time, and no one ever complained. But now that a game about zombies takes place in Africa and the zombies are *gasp* black, it's racist? Whatever.
And the good games show how fucking stupid this is.
Not really, WW2 was a morally necessary war. Hell one of the very few. Sure show the complexity of warfare and ideology, humanise your enemies. But to act as if there aren't some intractable differences in competing ideologies that can only be resolved by war is a tad bit silly.
Faf A) Evo-psych is basically complete bullocks. Pay little attention to it. And just because history hasn't demonstrated an example yet, doesn't mean it won't happen. We're just not a mature enough society yet, but we're getting there. We're pretty much less racist now then at any time in history, who's to say this trend will taper off?
This quote chain needs to stop. The man says he doesn't "pity" people in awful, awful situations merely because it's not his fault.
Not that he doesn't feel responsible, but that he does not feel pity. As in, "it's their problem, let them deal with it." MakeMan wasn't planting his flag for reparation payments, just human empathy and social understanding.
Edit: before the thread totally falls into sarcasm, I'd just like to chip in on the side of "imagery is powerful and affects our perceptions, which in turn affect our actions" side. Because, you know, it's true.
So wait, I forgot the part where I said I didn't feel sorry for people in awful situations. Oh, I didn't. I said I didn't feel bad for african because of what my family may or may not have done.
ITT Xtarath doesn't feel bad for what may have occured a long time ago.
No, see what you said was you don't pity Africans put in bad situations because of the historical fucked-uppedness of their relationship with white people. I'm willing to believe you meant you don't feel responsible for their situation though. That's fair.
It's clear to me everyone is a fricken hypocrite, they're all little Jack Thompsons, the only difference is which topic they choose to be offended by. If it's not one of those they're all for leaving it along, as soon it's one of those that offend them, get out of the way between them and that soapbox because they'll stampede you in their eagerness to race each other there so they can get morally outraged.
I like how recognizing potentially offensive content is immediately equivalent to screaming that it'll brainwash everyone who consumes it and make them start skinning babies. There ARE positions other than the extremes of "No it's not violent/sexist/racist/etc whatsoever you fucking liberal pussy retards" and "It's the spawn of Satan kill it kill it KILL IT WITH GOD'S RIGHTEOUS FIRE!".
I'm sorry, but this is completely not racist at all. The game takes place in Africa. Are black people immune to becoming zombies or something? White zombies have been killed in movies and video games for a long time, and no one ever complained. But now that a game about zombies takes place in Africa and the zombies are *gasp* black, it's racist? Whatever.
I did notice there was a lack of black zombies in the Dawn of the Dead remake.
I'm sorry, but this is completely not racist at all. The game takes place in Africa. Are black people immune to becoming zombies or something? White zombies have been killed in movies and video games for a long time, and no one ever complained. But now that a game about zombies takes place in Africa and the zombies are *gasp* black, it's racist? Whatever.
And then you have the people that think because the female isn't pitch black, she's not actually "black".
There are african-americans I know that are lighter than I am. So now the game is racist because it doesn't portray all africans in it as having the same skin-tone. It's like they just can't win.
I'm sorry, but this is completely not racist at all. The game takes place in Africa. Are black people immune to becoming zombies or something? White zombies have been killed in movies and video games for a long time, and no one ever complained. But now that a game about zombies takes place in Africa and the zombies are *gasp* black, it's racist? Whatever.
I did notice there was a lack of black zombies in the Dawn of the Dead remake.
You mean Night of the Living Dead?
Lanrutcon on
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
edited February 2009
Earlier I saw someone mention Dee Jay from Street Fighter and how his depiction was so 'racist.'
I'm sorry, but this is completely not racist at all. The game takes place in Africa. Are black people immune to becoming zombies or something? White zombies have been killed in movies and video games for a long time, and no one ever complained. But now that a game about zombies takes place in Africa and the zombies are *gasp* black, it's racist? Whatever.
And then you have the people that think because the female isn't pitch black, she's not actually "black".
There are african-americans I know that are lighter than I am. So now the game is racist because it doesn't portray all africans in it as having the same skin-tone. It's like they just can't win.
It's more that the light skinned black woman with more caucasoid looking features is your sidekick while the dark skinned Africans are crazed and like to beat things in sacks with sticks.
Earlier I saw someone mention Dee Jay from Street Fighter and how his depiction was so 'racist.'
Did we somehow forget about Balrog?
(You're probably joking or realize the previous poster was joking..but, just in case)
The previous poster was saying that Dee Jay was racist due to the fact that he was the red-headed stepchild of SF and could be beaten by anybody and happened to be black.
One of the issues here is that it sounds as if this whole thing could have been easily avoided if Capcom was even a little bit competent at storytelling; put in some African characters who are portrayed as fully sympathetic human beings, show early on that the protagonists regret having to kill infected people, and so forth. There are hundreds of little ways to defuse this shitstorm bomb, but from the sound of it, they didn't do so--or at least not early enough in the game to make a difference.
Of course, the media can still make a shitstorm out of anything, but at least there wouldn't be any (even unintentional) wrongdoing on Capcom's part, and at least they could point out to recent violent movies set in Africa (Blood Diamond?) and say look, we didn't do anything worse than them. Are we not allowed to set a game in Africa? Why the double standard?
The trouble is, without taking those little steps to show that Africans are actual human beings--flawed like the rest of us, sometimes violent like the rest of us--Capcom doesn't have a leg to stand on, and their protestations come across as empty because it really does look racist, even if there is no racist intent involved.
OremLK on
My zombie survival life simulator They Don't Sleep is out now on Steam if you want to check it out.
I'm sorry, but this is completely not racist at all. The game takes place in Africa. Are black people immune to becoming zombies or something? White zombies have been killed in movies and video games for a long time, and no one ever complained. But now that a game about zombies takes place in Africa and the zombies are *gasp* black, it's racist? Whatever.
And then you have the people that think because the female isn't pitch black, she's not actually "black".
There are african-americans I know that are lighter than I am. So now the game is racist because it doesn't portray all africans in it as having the same skin-tone. It's like they just can't win.
It's more that the light skinned black woman with more caucasoid looking features is your sidekick while the dark skinned Africans are crazed and like to beat things in sacks with sticks.
It also plays into historical prejudices. The lighter the skin colour the less savage/uncouth etc they've been seen. It's why those of a creamy complexion would be maids or serving in the house. Whereas those of a dark shade of black would be working in the fields. Us colonials started a suprising number of racial wars between various groups in Africa due to this.
I'm sorry, but this is completely not racist at all. The game takes place in Africa. Are black people immune to becoming zombies or something? White zombies have been killed in movies and video games for a long time, and no one ever complained. But now that a game about zombies takes place in Africa and the zombies are *gasp* black, it's racist? Whatever.
And then you have the people that think because the female isn't pitch black, she's not actually "black".
There are african-americans I know that are lighter than I am. So now the game is racist because it doesn't portray all africans in it as having the same skin-tone. It's like they just can't win.
Would you agree that it's racist if it was a conscious artistic decision, made in the hopes that it'd render her more accessible to a primarily white or Japanese audience?
Or even a subconscious decision for those same reasons?
I'm sorry, but this is completely not racist at all. The game takes place in Africa. Are black people immune to becoming zombies or something? White zombies have been killed in movies and video games for a long time, and no one ever complained. But now that a game about zombies takes place in Africa and the zombies are *gasp* black, it's racist? Whatever.
And then you have the people that think because the female isn't pitch black, she's not actually "black".
There are african-americans I know that are lighter than I am. So now the game is racist because it doesn't portray all africans in it as having the same skin-tone. It's like they just can't win.
It's more that the light skinned black woman with more caucasoid looking features is your sidekick while the dark skinned Africans are crazed and like to beat things in sacks with sticks.
This is the same developer that makes every fair-skinned person in any game look Asian. Even if they are Irish-Americans born in the middle of Kansas.
Earlier I saw someone mention Dee Jay from Street Fighter and how his depiction was so 'racist.'
Did we somehow forget about Balrog?
"I GAH PAID!"
urahonky on
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anoffdayTo be changed whenever Anoffday gets around to it.Registered Userregular
edited February 2009
I think the majority of black people don't see anything wrong with this game. But there are some crazy ones, just like there are crazy white people, asians, etc, that look for racism in everyday situations, even when it's not really there. I'm talking about people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. These guys secretly love racism. It's basically their jobs to go around America and try to find helpless african americans who are being treated unfairly. Surprisingly enough, they don't even realize they are being treated unfairly. Thank goodness we have people like Jesse and Al to show us that racism exists pretty much everywhere, every second of the day.
It's basically people like this that refuse to let racism die. They make some crap up, get everyone riled up, and then profit.
I think my personal feeling on this comes down to this.
Is it racist? I don't know. Does it involve racist imagery that can be taken out of context. I guess so, I haven't seen it myself. Does Capcom have a responsibility to handle this better? Maybe.
I think my issue isn't with Capcom or games or even gamers themselves about this. My issue is going to be the news organizations if/when this becomes an issue. I'd rather we, as the gamer demographic, were ready for any backlash and have prepared for it. Perhaps this back and forth is a good way to prep for it, but really, I think that we're losing sight of the real issue: The media and it's reactionary ways.
Hey media - How about you treat the public like adults?
One of the issues here is that it sounds as if this whole thing could have been easily avoided if Capcom was even a little bit competent at storytelling; put in some African characters who are portrayed as fully sympathetic human beings, show early on that the protagonists regret having to kill infected people, and so forth. There are hundreds of little ways to defuse this shitstorm bomb, but from the sound of it, they didn't do so--or at least not early enough in the game to make a difference.
Limed because it's been stated over and over and some people still haven't picked up on it.
I'm sorry, but this is completely not racist at all. The game takes place in Africa. Are black people immune to becoming zombies or something? White zombies have been killed in movies and video games for a long time, and no one ever complained. But now that a game about zombies takes place in Africa and the zombies are *gasp* black, it's racist? Whatever.
And then you have the people that think because the female isn't pitch black, she's not actually "black".
There are african-americans I know that are lighter than I am. So now the game is racist because it doesn't portray all africans in it as having the same skin-tone. It's like they just can't win.
It's more that the light skinned black woman with more caucasoid looking features is your sidekick while the dark skinned Africans are crazed and like to beat things in sacks with sticks.
This is the same developer that makes every fair-skinned person in any game look Asian. Even if they are Irish-Americans born in the middle of Kansas.
Soooooooo
Isn't that some seriously xenophobic (read: racist) shit?
Edit: just to put it out there, I'm not calling RE5 racist quite yet. If it's just a case of "white guy shoots black guys," I'm good. If Sheva comes off as a believably native character, as opposed to a Westernized black-lite sidekick, I'm good.
If the imagery in it mirrors hundreds of years of Eurocentric and racist literature... Well, I'll probably still buy it and enjoy it - but I won't have any illusions about the kind of attitudes and embedded perceptions that fuelled its creators.
I think my personal feeling on this comes down to this.
Is it racist? I don't know. Does it involve racist imagery that can be taken out of context. I guess so, I haven't seen it myself. Does Capcom have a responsibility to handle this better? Maybe.
I think my issue isn't with Capcom or games or even gamers themselves about this. My issue is going to be the news organizations if/when this becomes an issue. I'd rather we, as the gamer demographic, were ready for any backlash and have prepared for it. Perhaps this back and forth is a good way to prep for it, but really, I think that we're losing sight of the real issue: The media and it's reactionary ways.
Hey media - How about you treat the public like adults?
[lurk=ON]
There was backlash over the original Perfect Dark. Plenty of bloody shooters have come before it and since then, and even on the same console, but apparently PD was bloody enough that Nintendo was suddenly peddling it on the streets to 5 year olds, apparently.
One of the issues here is that it sounds as if this whole thing could have been easily avoided if Capcom was even a little bit competent at storytelling; put in some African characters who are portrayed as fully sympathetic human beings, show early on that the protagonists regret having to kill infected people, and so forth. There are hundreds of little ways to defuse this shitstorm bomb, but from the sound of it, they didn't do so--or at least not early enough in the game to make a difference.
Limed because it's been stated over and over and some people still haven't picked up on it.
The RE series has never been known for it's storytelling. I don't think there has ever been an instance in any RE game where a character regretted there actions unless it was against a friend.
I sometimes think the Japanese - or at least their game developers - are so isolated, both culturally and geographically, that they haven't caught on to the fact that racial stereotypes are offensive, inaccurate or potentially harmful. I seem to recall Azrael from Gaijin Smash expounding on this at length.
While RE5 probably isn't particularly egregrious by Japanese standards, I'd say that they didn't see anything wrong with using stereotypical racial imagery in their African game. Which, of course, is part of the whole problem. But the country is notoriously backward in their racial views, and I suppose it was just a matter of time before such an outlook came out in a big-name game like Resident Evil. Hopefully it won't be so absurd that it will detract from the gameplay - I've really been looking forward this game - but people in grass skirts throwing spears...
One of the issues here is that it sounds as if this whole thing could have been easily avoided if Capcom was even a little bit competent at storytelling; put in some African characters who are portrayed as fully sympathetic human beings, show early on that the protagonists regret having to kill infected people, and so forth. There are hundreds of little ways to defuse this shitstorm bomb, but from the sound of it, they didn't do so--or at least not early enough in the game to make a difference.
Limed because it's been stated over and over and some people still haven't picked up on it.
The RE series has never been known for it's storytelling. I don't think there has ever been an instance in any RE game where a character regretted there actions unless it was against a friend.
Yet somehow Capcom seems to take pride in the stories it's created, which is just mind boggling.
So I would also like to see the link that shows that they made Sheva they way they did because of that.
Also, why are we saying that she isn't black enough. Doesn't that imply that there are people out there that aren't black enough? Is there such a thing as too much black? What level of "black" is OK?
I sometimes think the Japanese - or at least their game developers - are so isolated, both culturally and geographically, that they haven't caught on to the fact that racial stereotypes are offensive, inaccurate or potentially harmful. I seem to recall Azrael from Gaijin Smash expounding on this at length.
While RE5 probably isn't particularly egregrious by Japanese standards, I'd say that they didn't see anything wrong with using stereotypical racial imagery in their African game. Which, of course, is part of the whole problem. But the country is notoriously backward in their racial views, and I suppose it was just a matter of time before such an outlook came out in a big-name game like Resident Evil. Hopefully it won't be so absurd that it will detract from the gameplay - I've really been looking forward this game - but people in grass skirts throwing spears...
It's heavily marketed in the west, and I believe here where they get the vast majority of their sales. I find it really unlikely that at no point someone in the company said 'you know this might be a bit troublesome'. And if they didn't, some heads are going to role. I mean someone in marketing must have brought it up right?
So I would also like to see the link that shows that they made Sheva they way they did because of that.
Also, why are we saying that she isn't black enough. Doesn't that imply that there are people out there that aren't black enough? Is there such a thing as too much black? What level of "black" is OK?
One of the issues here is that it sounds as if this whole thing could have been easily avoided if Capcom was even a little bit competent at storytelling; put in some African characters who are portrayed as fully sympathetic human beings, show early on that the protagonists regret having to kill infected people, and so forth. There are hundreds of little ways to defuse this shitstorm bomb, but from the sound of it, they didn't do so--or at least not early enough in the game to make a difference.
Limed because it's been stated over and over and some people still haven't picked up on it.
The RE series has never been known for it's storytelling. I don't think there has ever been an instance in any RE game where a character regretted there actions unless it was against a friend.
Yet somehow Capcom seems to take pride in the stories it's created, which is just mind boggling.
That seems to be a common occurrence with a lot of Japanese writers even if their stories are nonsensical (i.e. MGS).
Pretty much agree with this. I don't like that we excuse them for doing a piss-poor job of handling a delicate issue (if indeed they do) just because it's a video game. The racism issue could be handled better and diffused, so it SHOULD HAVE BEEN because it'd make for a better game and a healthier perception of the industry. And most likely better profits for Capcom.
So I would also like to see the link that shows that they made Sheva they way they did because of that.
Also, why are we saying that she isn't black enough. Doesn't that imply that there are people out there that aren't black enough? Is there such a thing as too much black? What level of "black" is OK?
She could be black as night, it wouldn't change anything about how the one 'civilised' black person is good, and the other "uncivilised" black people aren't. However, adding her as a light skinned, european looking women certainly doesn't alter the amount of imagery that you're seeing though.
I think a lot of people are trying to argue that there's a borderline between "this is racist and bad" and a "this isn't racist". I don't think that's the case. It is pretty clear that Capcom have been quite ignorant though.
So I would also like to see the link that shows that they made Sheva they way they did because of that.
Also, why are we saying that she isn't black enough. Doesn't that imply that there are people out there that aren't black enough? Is there such a thing as too much black? What level of "black" is OK?
Edit: How "black" is Obama? For instance.
Are you really this fucking stupid?
Short answer: No, are you?
Longer answer: I am not the one trying to measure the "blackness" of Sheva and I really find it insulting that people are.
There is a difference between "light-skinned black person" and "person you would have no idea was black if you were not told so". She looks about as 'black' as Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Wow, saw this same thread over in another forum. I'm amazed how things like this get started... Only in post Y2K, does the world have so much free time, it needs to start bringing things like this up... This never existed in the 80s/90s... When Double Dragon came out, I didnt solo out Abobo, I didnt solo out Chin, I beat all ass equally... No one ever complained about that game.
I'm just not seeing the argument here guys? No one complained about the Spanish in RE4, or the whites in RE1-3.
So I would also like to see the link that shows that they made Sheva they way they did because of that.
Also, why are we saying that she isn't black enough. Doesn't that imply that there are people out there that aren't black enough? Is there such a thing as too much black? What level of "black" is OK?
Edit: How "black" is Obama? For instance.
Are you really this fucking stupid?
Short answer: No, are you?
Longer answer: I am not the one trying to measure the "blackness" of Sheva and I really find it insulting that people are.
Please, please, please, learn more about the history of the way black people have been portrayed in fiction.
So I would also like to see the link that shows that they made Sheva they way they did because of that.
Also, why are we saying that she isn't black enough. Doesn't that imply that there are people out there that aren't black enough? Is there such a thing as too much black? What level of "black" is OK?
Edit: How "black" is Obama? For instance.
Are you really this fucking stupid?
Short answer: No, are you?
Longer answer: I am not the one trying to measure the "blackness" of Sheva and I really find it insulting that people are.
You're so close to getting this. It's not a matter of how black she is, but instead why she was designed to be that way.
And here's the part that only a little research will be able to help you understand: there is a why.
Edit: but I am overstepping my own understanding here. For all I know, she could be a well rounded and representative character.
Posts
As a Canadian, I can say that I've caught the "beaver fever" a couple of times. It's actually not all that uncommon in young men like myself.
So wait, I forgot the part where I said I didn't feel sorry for people in awful situations. Oh, I didn't. I said I didn't feel bad for african because of what my family may or may not have done.
ITT Xtarath doesn't feel bad for what may have occured a long time ago.
Not really, WW2 was a morally necessary war. Hell one of the very few. Sure show the complexity of warfare and ideology, humanise your enemies. But to act as if there aren't some intractable differences in competing ideologies that can only be resolved by war is a tad bit silly.
Faf A) Evo-psych is basically complete bullocks. Pay little attention to it. And
No, see what you said was you don't pity Africans put in bad situations because of the historical fucked-uppedness of their relationship with white people. I'm willing to believe you meant you don't feel responsible for their situation though. That's fair.
Pity being the key word, if you missed it.
I like how recognizing potentially offensive content is immediately equivalent to screaming that it'll brainwash everyone who consumes it and make them start skinning babies. There ARE positions other than the extremes of "No it's not violent/sexist/racist/etc whatsoever you fucking liberal pussy retards" and "It's the spawn of Satan kill it kill it KILL IT WITH GOD'S RIGHTEOUS FIRE!".
I did notice there was a lack of black zombies in the Dawn of the Dead remake.
And then you have the people that think because the female isn't pitch black, she's not actually "black".
There are african-americans I know that are lighter than I am. So now the game is racist because it doesn't portray all africans in it as having the same skin-tone. It's like they just can't win.
You mean Night of the Living Dead?
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
Did we somehow forget about Balrog?
It's more that the light skinned black woman with more caucasoid looking features is your sidekick while the dark skinned Africans are crazed and like to beat things in sacks with sticks.
(You're probably joking or realize the previous poster was joking..but, just in case)
The previous poster was saying that Dee Jay was racist due to the fact that he was the red-headed stepchild of SF and could be beaten by anybody and happened to be black.
I'm pretty sure it was a joke.
Of course, the media can still make a shitstorm out of anything, but at least there wouldn't be any (even unintentional) wrongdoing on Capcom's part, and at least they could point out to recent violent movies set in Africa (Blood Diamond?) and say look, we didn't do anything worse than them. Are we not allowed to set a game in Africa? Why the double standard?
The trouble is, without taking those little steps to show that Africans are actual human beings--flawed like the rest of us, sometimes violent like the rest of us--Capcom doesn't have a leg to stand on, and their protestations come across as empty because it really does look racist, even if there is no racist intent involved.
It also plays into historical prejudices. The lighter the skin colour the less savage/uncouth etc they've been seen. It's why those of a creamy complexion would be maids or serving in the house. Whereas those of a dark shade of black would be working in the fields. Us colonials started a suprising number of racial wars between various groups in Africa due to this.
Would you agree that it's racist if it was a conscious artistic decision, made in the hopes that it'd render her more accessible to a primarily white or Japanese audience?
Or even a subconscious decision for those same reasons?
This is the same developer that makes every fair-skinned person in any game look Asian. Even if they are Irish-Americans born in the middle of Kansas.
"I GAH PAID!"
It's basically people like this that refuse to let racism die. They make some crap up, get everyone riled up, and then profit.
Is it racist? I don't know. Does it involve racist imagery that can be taken out of context. I guess so, I haven't seen it myself. Does Capcom have a responsibility to handle this better? Maybe.
I think my issue isn't with Capcom or games or even gamers themselves about this. My issue is going to be the news organizations if/when this becomes an issue. I'd rather we, as the gamer demographic, were ready for any backlash and have prepared for it. Perhaps this back and forth is a good way to prep for it, but really, I think that we're losing sight of the real issue: The media and it's reactionary ways.
Hey media - How about you treat the public like adults?
[lurk=ON]
Limed because it's been stated over and over and some people still haven't picked up on it.
3DS FC: 0817-3759-2788
Soooooooo
Isn't that some seriously xenophobic (read: racist) shit?
Edit: just to put it out there, I'm not calling RE5 racist quite yet. If it's just a case of "white guy shoots black guys," I'm good. If Sheva comes off as a believably native character, as opposed to a Westernized black-lite sidekick, I'm good.
If the imagery in it mirrors hundreds of years of Eurocentric and racist literature... Well, I'll probably still buy it and enjoy it - but I won't have any illusions about the kind of attitudes and embedded perceptions that fuelled its creators.
There was backlash over the original Perfect Dark. Plenty of bloody shooters have come before it and since then, and even on the same console, but apparently PD was bloody enough that Nintendo was suddenly peddling it on the streets to 5 year olds, apparently.
Come on guys, really?
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ButNotTooBlack
So yeah, really.
The RE series has never been known for it's storytelling. I don't think there has ever been an instance in any RE game where a character regretted there actions unless it was against a friend.
While RE5 probably isn't particularly egregrious by Japanese standards, I'd say that they didn't see anything wrong with using stereotypical racial imagery in their African game. Which, of course, is part of the whole problem. But the country is notoriously backward in their racial views, and I suppose it was just a matter of time before such an outlook came out in a big-name game like Resident Evil. Hopefully it won't be so absurd that it will detract from the gameplay - I've really been looking forward this game - but people in grass skirts throwing spears...
Yet somehow Capcom seems to take pride in the stories it's created, which is just mind boggling.
So I would also like to see the link that shows that they made Sheva they way they did because of that.
Also, why are we saying that she isn't black enough. Doesn't that imply that there are people out there that aren't black enough? Is there such a thing as too much black? What level of "black" is OK?
Edit: How "black" is Obama? For instance.
It's heavily marketed in the west, and I believe here where they get the vast majority of their sales. I find it really unlikely that at no point someone in the company said 'you know this might be a bit troublesome'. And if they didn't, some heads are going to role. I mean someone in marketing must have brought it up right?
Are you really this fucking stupid?
That seems to be a common occurrence with a lot of Japanese writers even if their stories are nonsensical (i.e. MGS).
Whenever someone links TVtropes, I lose at least an hour of my spare time.
She could be black as night, it wouldn't change anything about how the one 'civilised' black person is good, and the other "uncivilised" black people aren't. However, adding her as a light skinned, european looking women certainly doesn't alter the amount of imagery that you're seeing though.
I think a lot of people are trying to argue that there's a borderline between "this is racist and bad" and a "this isn't racist". I don't think that's the case. It is pretty clear that Capcom have been quite ignorant though.
Short answer: No, are you?
Longer answer: I am not the one trying to measure the "blackness" of Sheva and I really find it insulting that people are.
I'm just not seeing the argument here guys? No one complained about the Spanish in RE4, or the whites in RE1-3.
-Chris
And here's the part that only a little research will be able to help you understand: there is a why.
Edit: but I am overstepping my own understanding here. For all I know, she could be a well rounded and representative character.