Even More Controversy!!

[wiggum]

I don't think this has been posted before. This was posted in a blog called Black Looks:

Resident Evil 5
on July 31, 2007
Category: Racism, Africa
The new Resident Evil video game depicts a white man in what appears to be Africa killing Black people. The Black people are supposed to be zombies and the white man’s job is to destroy them and save humanity. “I have a job to do and I’m gonna see it through.”

This is problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people.

I took a quick look through the posts on the blog and it seemed pretty fair and balanced to me. I'm not going to comment on this yet. Check out the origional post here

EDIT: This is not my opinion, it was pointed out to me and I though I should share it with the rest of the community

[DanielC]

...that's nonsens to me.
They're not depicting the black people as savages, it's the location that makes the black people a majority. You're saying there should a load of caucasians in senegal (or whatever country it's located) ?
There's a difference between real racism and realism.
What about those american movies where the black guys always die?

[seba_boi]

Hahaha... Oh, Capcom... *wipes tear*


Oh, he was being serious?... Well, I guess you can't expect only the white people in Africa to turn into zombies, eh?... It's a bold move by Capcom to move the setting from Racoon City to Africa, but then again, this "controversy" was to be expected...

[Micaiah Nelson]

Fine points, yeah there in Africa, majority of them are black. But when your playing the game all youll be thinking is that your a white man killing blacks I dont see how black people would enjoy this.
The contravesial point is when I can say, Hey finally a game that the klan could enjoy.(bringing up what I saw on a documentry about the klan making a game where they go into *the hood* as a man dressed in white and kill all the black poeple.) HUh... Wait a second.. Hmm.... Hey whats the difference.

God damn canadian keyboard. The settings are wierd.

[Shamagim]

that trailer looks AWESOME!!, all tho to close to RE 4, I was kinda hoping for the usual zombies ( the rotting ones), but I guess for the sake of story line, the virus did developed to that point.


OH, and about the controversy...I've only been in USA for 7 months, but this "political correctness" this is the most moronic thing I've encountered in my so far short life. Is almost like people just decided to self seclude themselves in a cloud of contradiction and stupidity.

[Duq]

Its an entirely different premise then your Klan example. For most people it will be nothing else then a guy that works for some organization killing zombies(or whatever they are in RE5) in Africa. Africa is an continent that has been avoided way to much already in games, it has awesome flora and fauna, and its about time we get to visit that area in quality games.

Also, there are enough pedophiles jerking off to children's cartoons, or drawing perverted porn out of it. Should we just kill off all the Saturday morning toons because of a few sicko's?

[Magic Man]

Oh man, this being racist?

Give me a fucking break.

[Ellingsworth]

This game looks amazing, I will be very sad if it gets canceled. Well, at least I will have Fable 2, Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect.

[purplerose]

I'm black and I'm stuck in the middle on this. It hurts given the numerous number of black Africans being killed in genocides, but now black South Africans are being turned into zombies to make it seem "okay." On the other side, how else are you going to predict a zombie outbreak in South Afirca? I would have preferred the white guy (white South African?) to not be in military regalia. Just changing that would help lessen the blow of hundreds of years of oppression on black Americans and the continued oppression of black Africans in general. We could hope for a delightful political twist at the end, but that would be wishful thinking.

However Micaiah Nelson makes an excellent point. If you change the setting to the U.S., would you feel so passionately positive about the game?

Nazi/concentration camp Jews, Americans/Native Americans (trail of tears period), conquistadors/middle america indians

All of those could be made into a game where the first of the pair is fighting off the latter in zombie form... does that make it any better to justify the game just because of the setting and/or period causes for the difference in numbers??

For people who's ancestors have not been through constant oppression and continued oppression, it may be something hard to think about but it is definitely something to think about.

[Brendan N]

In order to identify racism you need to be a little racist yourself ... you need to make a clear distinction between groups of people with different skin colour.

The only reason she sees it as a white guy killing black people is because she chooses to see it that way, and not just guy killing zombies... the big downside to this overzealous anti-racist crusade is that, like race laws, it only serves to perpetuate the idea of racism. shame on her for doing this to other people...

EDIT: purplerose - that is most definitely not South Africa, and that guy is most definitely not South African. If they're suppose to be, then Capcom has really fucked up their researg. Looks more like Senegal or another more equatorial country.

[JAG.]

racism in games? nonsense. the kids that play these and the future generations will have forgotten all about racism soon. instead they'll just kill everyone equally.. even zombies - JAG

[tomwaits4noman]

I can see both points of view, you can put subtext into everything, some people may play the game if it is released purely to feed their racial desires other to feed a blood lust. does this mean that that percentage of people will act out those desires for real? maybe 1 out of 100 maybe less but the point is that if the game is banned then they will find some other medium to fuel and justify their desires, I mean some one could use mein kempt (sp?) just as easily as an excuse. Now if they show a stereotypical view of african people in huts in the jungle I can understand how that might case offence.
What if the main character was black would that case contraversy.

I can understand how people would object given the history of racial tension in Africa.

MY problem with computer games is that they often simplify context not showing cause and effect of violence or the actions of the player. Most people can use moral judgement but not everyone has the same moral standards. Prehaps they need content ratings and maybe a 21+ rating for certain games. don't know if that is the answer, I am anti censorship on a whole so I don't know.

[purplerose]

EDIT: purplerose - that is most definitely not South Africa, and that guy is most definitely not South African. If they're suppose to be, then Capcom has really fucked up their researg. Looks more like Senegal or another more equatorial country.

Either way, they are still killing black Africans.

What if the main character was black would that case contraversy.

Nah, then they'll condemn it for being like Grand Theft Auto

[Crush]

If you change the setting to the U.S., would you feel so passionately positive about the game?

Well it is a resident evil game and the others have been awesome...

I've never played through them properly but the old ones on the ps1 are classics, and the latest one, resi4, won numerous game of the year awards

To say that people just like this because it's a white guy killing blacks in africa is rediculous

[purplerose]

Well it is a resident evil game and the others have been awesome...

Just referring to what was already mentioned about a klansman or a skinhead killing blacks (in this case in zombie form) in the U.S.

[kingshaj]

I’m disappointed by the fact that fellow artists would write this issue off so quickly, in defense of the premise of a video game.

at the very best it is totally socially irresponsible. and in very poor taste. ..disgusting. especially considering that the countries most of us come from have a military presence an forces deployed in Africa

Its not cool

[wiggum]

This is clearly just an error in Judgement by Capcom, I doubt they meant to offend anyone with this game. A large part of this controversy stems from the mistaken belief that M rated games are directly marked at kids, and that simply isn't true.
Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.

[Silvertone]

Yeah, that whole black hawk down incident was just a racist incident now wasn't it. How's this, from now on in movies, games, tv, animation, we can only show whites against whites, blacks against blacks, arabs against arabs, asians against asians etc. Then nobody on the planet will ever be offended again.



By the way, here is the awesome trailer in HD!!

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/22800.html

[Micaiah Nelson]

Yes racism and stereotypes in games, Tv, Movies, Music. Its now a thing, but its how you play it. Last GTa showed exactly how gangs are with each other (when big smoke was talking to those S.A.s) happens all the time with those gang in LA. In movies their was a BIG contraversy with a middle eastern film with U.S. Politics cause the film depicted U.S terrorist and cruelty to Middle East. Politics were so patriotic and were against the movie just like other countries when you here on the news they banned it in there country because it depicts something wrong or hurts the culture. Telivision were racism is now popular (speaking of Carlos Mencia Dave Chappele). Dave Chappelle was able to grasb the idea that everybody is racist in some way and its okay to laugh at ourselves but be understanding of each other then the reason why Mencia is not so popular between races because hes the everybodies racist so lets bash them all using racial slurs as meterial. Oh and cartoon I watch some of the black character and you think that the N word is gonna come out their mouths any second now (Disney know how to play racism well) And every cartoon of the latin persuasion they have to have wrestling mask on. Music is a popular one cause its a big point for culture. You see in music that its set trends and what not some not as positive as others but anyways. Snoop came out with a song called Vato which is a racial slur and had a latino rapper name B-Real featured on the song. B-Real doesnt speak for all the latins so it doesnèt make it okay. Nor I speak for all the black people. *I usually dont pick sides on threads I only say something so people could grasp the idea of what I am getting at.* White people a most cultrually sencitive people. If its not in the text book or a tv special they not gonna know about it. Not saying for all white people.

If I were to go into a library and ask for a book onblack history it would be different if I would ask for a book on White history. wouldnt be so up lifting.

that comment right there could of made you made laugh, cry, whatever, but you have to be able to grasb the idea of where its comming from. If you say that racism in games is bullshit without an actuall aguement that someone is not gonna get offended by this than Wtf.

I gatta run so If it didnèt make sence to you ill correct it latter
Canadian toothpaste is so damn strong.

[Bhrazz]

here is a quick solution about that problem: Make the game Black and white. No color, so ppl will stop whining about white or black killing each others.

The main problem with all this is because, even if the DevTeam never tought about racism, people who will play it can be influenced by this.

And my only complains about that game is: Stop using 3d'sk photo texture when they are 5 years old and everybody have it.

[Carnifex]

game looks awesome,althought the typical white-male-future-soldier is kindof boring.
as for the racism,it's about as racial as the depiction of the russian-like people in the last one. i don't see the big deal really.

[Jason Rainville]

So it was alright when we killed eastern europeans in the last game right? No blacks in there, so the demonization of eastern europeans is perfectly fine, whereas killing black zombies is obviously racism. Lets forget about the obvious racial stereotyping (saints row, anyone?) in other games that's far more close to reality than killing zombies, and IMHO is a little more damaging.

Double-standard bullshit makes me want to cry.

[wiggum]

Double-standard bullshit makes me want to cry.

I'm right there with ya. Although I think that the last game was based in Spain, and there were a few hispanics who got upset about it because it portrayed them as terrorists.
The fact of the matter is that this kind of sensationalism over a simple misunderstanding can really fuck up society. I'm from Detroit, and it is this kind of crap that has led to my home town being in such bad shape. If people could just chill the fuck out we would be a much better society for it.
BTW, Rhineville, that's a cool new avatar.

[kingshaj]

all of the previous examples aren’t quite analogous

Better comparisons are:
Video games that depict US military operations against Islamic Arab nations.
Entertainment films depicting the fall of the worl trade 2 towers...

Although these are clearly realistic an sound premises...they are more than offensive...its not about hurting some culture's feelings....its about the responsibility of our culture,...to hold itself to the same standards we hold ourselves..an' have some class, as we shoot these folks in the real world (although non-zombified)


i know its a fine line,,,,,,but dayum have some sense

[Jason Rainville]

all of the previous examples aren’t quite analogous

Better comparisons are:
Video games that depict US military operations against Islamic Arab nations.
Entertainment films depicting the fall of the worl trade 2 towers...

The thing is, to be stereotypical and offensive they'd have to be in the majority. There are so far 2 movies in total about 9/11 (which, for hollywood, actually shows a large amount of restraint) and military shooters set today with antagonistic muslims are in the miniority. I've never actually played a video game where I've been up against islamic extremists.

What I see as a more valid issue (which is still rediculous) is germans becoming offended because damn near all the ww2 games out there (of which there are MANY) antagonize germans and never show their point of view. It still shows how the stereotype of evil german racists is how we'd like to think of ALL the brave young men fighting for their homeland who happened to be german. This could be an issue because that's exactly what happens, again and again and again.

It's not an issue though, I haven't read any articles about germans being outraged over the portrayal of their fathers and grandfathers as monsters in many if not all ww2 games. Toss in one game about a guy killing black zombies though, and all of a sudden its a racial issue.

The civil rights movement was one of the most enlightened and progressive things to happen in north american society, but if black activists keep pouncing on harmless 'issues' like this then their cause is going to lose its credibility really, really fast.

[purplerose]

but if black activists keep pouncing on harmless 'issues' like this then their cause is going to lose its credibility really, really fast.

If we don't speak up for ourselves, we'll slip slowly back to the days of Jim Crow laws. In my black neighborhood, our gas prices are higher than surrounding white neighborhoods. It takes years for them to fix pothole littered streets in black neighborhoods where I'm from, whereas it takes at the most a month to fix a pothole in a white neighborhood. Our transportation system was going to the dogs in Atlanta. Now that whites are moving back they're trying to fix everything up. When black children are kidnapped or go missing, it's immediately seen as a runaway and rarely reported on, but when a white child is kidnapped or goes missing, it's reported on every hour on the hour. Police report faster in white neighborhoods than in a black neighborhoods.

I'm from the south, Georgia, and I face this everyday.

If you're not faced with this much adversity in real life every single day of your life, you won't understand how something seemingly "trivial" can be taken to heart.

Adding to what I said earlier, they thought about the game, but I'm not sure they actually took the time to think about the game.

[wiggum]

There are many real issues facing minorities in America. I will never understand why stuff like this and the attempted compliment of Barack Obama will be latched onto while real issues like the negative effects of Gangster rap and the god awful condition of many of the nation's inner city school systems remain on the back burner.
I can understand why this would upset many people, but making such a big deal out of such little issues doesn't help their cause. All this does is seriously endager our free speech.

[Justin.]

I've lived in the South since I was 4, various places in Florida, and from what I have seen, driving through "ghettos" (if I was jewish I think I'd have a problem with the use of this term) they are taken care of no different. Roads become repaved, shrubs and trees planted, buildings repainted, sidewalks resurfaced, and trees trimmed. In fact I think the rednecks are taken care of worse than the other minorities. You go down a backroad maybe 3 miles from the highway, if that much, and the roads are deteriorating at the sides, aside from potholes, no reflectors and practically invisible, if even existant median-lines, the roads are not even level so you are on a slope while driving. The nicest places in my area are around the major roads, that's it. No matter what neighborhood, if it's a somewhat important road, than it's nice. Although, you can not deny that the quality of a neighborhood oft depends on the occupant's responsibilities. There is a latino/black neighborhood surrounding my highschool, but the houses are (aside from some patchy lookin cars) well maintained. The grass is cut, the fences are weed free for the most part. The whole area is nice. Then there is a "white" road I drive on often to get on the highway faster. Trucks with large suspension, farms, dirt driveways... the road is a wreck, the houses look like crap, the grass isn't cut, the fences are all rusty.

As someone said before, I think you are seeing what you want to see.

I have no problem with the game as I see realism, not racism.

[seba_boi]

Anybody else took into consideration that this game is made by a Japanese company?... So should we start blaming the Japanese of being racist now?... Only in America would anybody give a big hoot about this issue.... This is just a game in another setting for the Asian gamers... Kinda weird Capcom didn't take this into consideration though when they would think of eventually importing the game Stateside...

[Micaiah Nelson]

I leave to go to Niagrafalls and the thread turn to shit.

Rhinevile is crazy to think that if he doesnt read it no one in Germany doesnt care. You get every german paper out there. You think a kid in germany is talking about this game in class with his buddies. How many games of one race is being attack by one white man do we need before I get offended. And your comments are fucking crazy saying that the civil right movement shouldnt take act of this. Do I have to post a picture of one scene of the game Stop and think for one second even if you agree or not even if your not racist. You think that black people are easily offencive. SO If you white and buy the game and all black people dont cause they think it offencive. You be playing the game I made a joke about in the first post I made.