Resident Evil 5’s troublesome racial issues
Black Looks writes about Resident Evil 5 and brings up a very good point:
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.”
She includes a video, and a link to a microscopiq’s take on the issue.
To this, Joystiq becomes a little overly-apologetic for the videogame. While I agree that the game isn’t designed and marketed to children and young adults (it will be rated M), that’s a serious sidestep of the issue at hand. First of all, Resident Evil is hardly an obscure series and kids will play it. It will sell incredibly well simply because it bears the name of one of the pre-eminent zombie-slaying games in the last decade, which means that kids will have access to it. Furthermore, I’m not sure white people hunting down and exterminating black people zombies is an enlightened plotline for any age group.
And pardon me if I find this a little disingenuous:
Although that could simply be because the average video game may only have one random black character (typically a hero or anti-hero), so more than two on the screen at any one time is revolutionary.
Before Capcom breaks its arm patting itself on the back for including so much diversity, I’d like to ask them why the hero couldn’t also be black. Edit: Originally, I had posted that this would have mitigated matters, but as I thought about it more, of course it doesn’t. The problem is that Africa has seen just too much genocide from both whites and blacks to really justify any game where a bunch of Africans are slaughtered en masse (even if they are zombies). That said, Resident Evil’s done a good job of making women and “effeminate men” the protagonists and it hasn’t hurt the series. Why would it be too risky to have a black lead character?
Of course, because she dared point out a fault in a popular series, she was trolled in a big way. If you haven’t eaten, and don’t really want to feel good about the world, go ahead and check out what people wrote about her. Needless to say, the people arguing with her prove the very point she was trying to make.
Update: See also Roy’s awesome post over at No Cookies for Me if you still aren’t getting it.
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:16 am
I understand that maybe some of the comments against the blog were derigatory, but I think you also need to see it from the gamers (e.g. myself) point of view, which is another example of short-sighted radicalisation from limited information.
The thing is, the woman behind the original blog didn’t really make a valid point in the first place. All she saw was a bunch of black zombies (meaning people) being shot by a white person and took that to be racist propoganda that was purely aimed for children to see, which given the historically mature content of the series was not the case. Not only did she investigate the background of the trailer, but she made a typical judgement without any knowledge of the subject matter, saying ‘No, Black guys aren’t allowed to be zombies! They should all be white!’, as if she has the power to dictate how everything should be done.
The follow on blog was equally damning, saying that the few responses that were offensive and bigotted were obviously the voice of the entire gaming community, even going so far as say that all gamers, such as myself, were psycopathic maniacs that would all commit massacres such as Columbine. Personally, as a White gamer with a Black girlfriend, I would have sued her for libel with that kind of remark. They offended far more people, black and white, than that video clip would have offended in itself.
I think they have a lack experience of the internet enough to only have discovered the term known as trolling, those little numpties that merely sit behind their keyboards, safe in the knowledge that the internet’s anonymity protects them from getting their head smashed in, and purely just type insults and offensive comments purely to get a rise out of someone and obtain attention, since they live such pathetic lives it’s the only way they can justify their existence to others. That experience has caused them to end up judging an entire community based on the words and actions of a few mindless individuals, the scum of the earth, the ones most likely to receive a Darwin award, and that has offended a hell of a lot more people than they realise, white or black.
As for your comment about why the lead role should be black…why? Why should the lead role be black? Why should games have to be dictated to follow the politically correct views of minorities just to appeal to every single person in the entire world? And even if the lead role was black, what would that achieve? A small group of people would then say that this is a typical example of showing that all black people do is kill other black people in LA street gang style. Are you stating that it’s okay for white to kill white and black to kill black, and black to kill white, but when it’s white to kill black then oooooooh noooo…To me, that attitude’s more racially prejudiced than anything that RE5 has shown, and at the end of the day, it’s still judging something based on skin colour. That to me is far more disgusting.
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:33 am
I was actually thinking that I should edit my post before you commented — obviously, making the lead character black wouldn’t have mitigated matters much — the problem is that Africa has just seen too much genocide in the last century from both blacks and whites. I think that creating any sort of mass-shooter in Africa was just a bad idea. So you can put away your moral outrage.
However, you’re belief that “some” of the comments against the blog were derogatory is being far too generous. Having scrolled through comment after comment of disgusting racist screed, I can assure you that the explosion of nasty troll comments was absolutely a damning indication of the sort of racism that is still alive in this world — from all corners — and frankly reflects on gamers (e.g. myself) extremely poorly.
The zombies in Resident Evil are made extremely human, which has been a good way to wink and nudge around the fact that you’re just slaughtering people en masse — they’re zombies! That’s fine and dandy, but when you have extremely human black people being set up to slaughter in Africa, you’re going to have to accept that even the “they’re zombies!” card can only take you so far.
Instead of throwing up their hackles and launching a full-on assault, it would have been nice for the gamers to take a minute to say “hey, someone from Africa is a little alarmed at the portrayal and use of Africans in this game. Maybe we should listen to her instead of bending over backwards to tell her she’s wrong.”
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:31 am
We’ve had shooting games based in Africa before though: Black Hawk Down, Soldier of Fortune, Navy Seals to name a few, and they involve shooting africans. Why has this suddent moral outrage about a white man in soldier’s uniform shooting black people suddenly started with Resident Evil 5?
I guess the problem is that Kym’s lack of knowledge about gaming and the gaming community in general has caused this uproar. Kym seems to be one of those people who thinks that video games are for little children and teenagers, which you and I know is not the case. Gaming has evolved since then, but some people, the people behind those blogs, don’t seem to realise it.
Right now, gaming’s in a massive state of moral uncertainty, with lawyers and senators such as Jack Thompson treating video games the same way as uninformed parents treated rock n’ roll, as if they’re the work of Satan, the Manhunt II scandal causing issues among gamers saying that it’s a violation of their right to play what they want to play, and politicians who don’t have a clue about gaming trying to dictate policies on them. It’s no wonder that gamers feel unjustifiably outraged about people telling them how evil gaming is, and this just adds fuel to the fire. So obviously, some of them, especially those with immaturity and undeveloped morality, are just going to jump in say ‘EVIL! EVIL! EVIL!’ to them.
But there are always going to be just people who do this just to jump on the reactionary bandwagon and troll like numpties just to get a reaction. Case in point, the numpty known as 4ChanLOL who shouted racist material, then went on about coming inside dead mother’s skulls and enjoying necrophilia. They’re just idiots who in all honesty should just be ignored, but they seem to be the ones the bloggers focus on.
This is really just the result a reactionary outburst from a lack of knowledge about a subject.
Btw, was the blogger from Africa? I thought she was African-American?
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:42 am
Ivresse: I think you’re mistaking intent for result. They’re not the same. Even if the intent behind the game isn’t racist, that doesn’t mean that the result can’t be. I suspect that Capcom probably didn’t intend for there to be any racist aspects to the game, but you have to take things in context. They made a choice to set the game in an African country, and they made a choice to have the main character be white. That’s not inherently racist, but, given the history of white/black relations, and the history of the African nations, it’s problematic. You can’t just selectively ignore the treatment of blacks at the hands of whites and pretend that there’s not a lot of ugly history there. The game may not intend to reinforce the history of violence against blacks, but that’s one of the effects.
Can you ever show black zombies? Absolutely. I’d suggest that, in a game set in the United States, you should expect to find zombies of a variety of ethnicities. The people who are shouting “But! But! You killed WHITE zombies before!” are missing the point. That pretends that there’s some kind of historic precidence behind black on white violence that there is for white on black violence. There’s not. I would find it problematic if a game maker created a zombie game where a German had to slaughter a bunch of Jewish zombies, too.
As for “Why should the lead role be black?” It’s not about being “politically correct,” an empty and ridiculous charge, quite frankly. It’s about wanting to see a bit of diversity in the gaming world. No specific character “should” be black- the question is why are so few characters black? It’s not like RE has never introduced new characters before… why shouldn’t they introduce a positive black character? How many games can you think of where the main character is black? How many games can you think of where the main character is black and doesn’t conform to stereotypical blackness? Not very damned many.
Nobody is trying to take away your right to play video games- what is happening is people are trying to raise some social awareness about the reality that the games reflect. Games don’t exist in a void, and I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with raising questions and saying “You know, that game has some problematic things happening.” This should be used as an opportunity to raise your awareness and understand some of the different realities that people live in. Instead, a lot of people are being reactionary and becoming offensive. You’re acting like someone has tried to take away your ability to play and enjoy games, when, instead, someone has simply said “Wow, there’s a troubling racial dynamic happening here, and I don’t like it.”
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:51 am
Given the history of European exploitation of the African continent, I’d have to assert that it’s naive to assume that this particular arrangement of white guy killing blacks is the sort of thing that will go over well. No one’s trying to harp on someone’s right to blow zombie brains across the rooms with shotuns.
(I’m pro-zombie-head-explosion myself).
I think it more that they’ve picked a very unfortunate piece of ethnic history to shadow as the backdrop of their main game premise.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:09 am
No, I’m not acting like someone’s taken my ability to play and enjoy games. I live in the UK, we don’t have the same sort of situation as in the US (except for the Church of England/Resistance thing, but that’s been pretty much forgotten about now) My problem is that I’m being stereotyped with the same derogatory classification that the bloggers have made based on the words of a number of idiotic morons, and that’s the problem I have with it. Lets face it, would you like to be told you’re a psychotic who would take pleasure in massacres such as Columbine, simply because you play Video games, which had nothing to do with the massacre in the first place?
No, I don’t think you would…
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:16 am
And gracious did they come to tell her how wrong she is.
But every time racist imagery is brought up in reference to games, those of us pointing it out get a whole lot of commentary to the effect of “You’re really oversensitive about this, it’s only a game, lighten up, you’re being racism against white people.”
No, I don’t think that there’s a lot of deliberate, overt racism in games. So when I point out that the corpses hanging from the trees in Tirisfal Glades in World of Warcraft are really disturbing given the history of lynchings in the U.S., I don’t mean that anyone at Blizzard thought, “Hey, let’s hang some niggers from the trees out there.” It’s the thoughtlessness that’s the problem; no one at Blizzard thought “Hey, this kind of looks like someone got lynched, maybe we should think of some other way to impart a creepy mood to this place.”
The torrent of abuse heaped upon the bloggers at Black Looks is at best a defensive reaction to white privilege being threatened — privilege means never having to be uncomfortable, and when someone makes you uncomfortable, they have to be Dealt With.
For those of y’all who haven’t gotten the word yet, racism is an artifact of power and privilege. People who don’t have power or privilege can be prejudiced, but not racist.
That should go over well. Yeah. Bring the firestorm.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:29 am
My opinion is that it would have been good, and also helpful to the problem in hand, in regards to having a Black protagonist taking on the situation, instead of Chris Redfield, had more to do with race and nationality then history of that area of the world. Perhaps Im being somewhat ignorant, but I think there has been enough conflict around the world in that, while it differs in severity, everywhere would be off limits if that were the case. I do see the point that has been made though, even without the problems this game brings up, its stil a touchy place to base a game that involves large amounts of killing. So no offence intended by that.
Then again, I also stay away from the “dehumanising” aspect of the objections in regards to the large amount of Black people, as I believe Resident Evil has always intended to give its monsters, however “human” in appearance, a certain “otherness”. That is just an accepted aspect of the game, all human “differences” aside. However, that obviously comes from an experience with the game itself, and Im in no way dismissing any objections from people unfamiliar with it. Like its been pointed out, the “They are zombies!” can in no way end the problem this brings up.
For me, definitely the problem lies in the all round “difference” of the protagonist to the “monsters”. Thats why I think it definitely would have been easier for the protagonist to be black and a native to whatever nation this game is set in, or native to that region. (Like the lone American vs. Spanish villagers in RE4, which I can also see why people might have found it objectionable). And I also find that aspect somewhat appealing, because Id say it offers a certain freshness in regards to the Resident Evil protagonists. I mean, its clear they are taking the story out into the world now, where as it used to be just “Raccoon City - America”. So I think they owe it to people to be a little more generous as to what represents humanity in these games now. And I think that includes race and gender, along with other aspects. (Though I suppose, while Im not a citizen of the USA, the current protagonists already are not as diverse as they could have been).
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:33 am
If you think that the UK doesn’t have it’s own problems with racism and bigotry, you’ve got another thing coming. I may be a yanqui, but I’ve heard of the National Front. The rest of the world likes to claim that racism is something uniquely American, but that’s simply not true — we’ve just done a better job of admitting the problem. We’ve still got a lot of issues and ugliness, but I’m betting that the trolls on Black Looks page were not distinctly American. In fact, some of them outright admitted it. And considering the UN Human Rights arm has recently issued reports on rampant racism in Japan, it’s not really appropriate to say “oh, racism is just American, this game was made in Japan so it’s magically immune from racism.”
If you’re upset that you’re being stereotyped, then you need to do something about it. That means going up to the people who are stereotyping you and saying “Hey, it’s unfair that you’re stereotyping me.” It does not mean:
Yeah, I don’t like that she claimed this will lead to another Columbine, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have a point about how race is used in the game. But that’s not what this post is about. This is about the fact that someone had the gall to point out that there were some really troubling portrayals of Africans being slaughtered by a white guy, and how this makes her concerned about racism in videogames, and the response being a bunch of racist hate speech directed at her.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:52 am
Ivresse: I’m not sure how that works. I’m a gamer. I love games. I’m probably the most avid gamer I personally know. Any comment made about gamers applies every bit as much to me as it does to you. Strangely, I’m not out getting upset and insulting about someone criticizing a series I’ve enjoyed in the past. I know that I’m not some psychotic who would take pleasure in the Columbine massacre, so, no, I don’t take personal offense if someone says something like that about gamers. To put things in another perspective: I’m a male feminist. Sometimes, on feminist blogs, I’ll see a comment about “I hate how men do X, Y, or Z”, and it pisses someone off. I recognize that, in regular conversations, we often generalize in ways that aren’t completely fair. If I don’t do X, Y, or Z, I don’t take offense, because I recognize that the comment is really directed at me. If someone starts trying to say “Well, all men do this” and they’re very adamant about that, then I might start to get bothered, but, generally, if a comment doesn’t actually apply to me, I let it go… because it’s not about me.
And maybe you can point out to me where Kym was suggesting that all gamers were psychotic and would kill people. She said that the clip was problematic from a racial perspective, and later clarified that her response about zombies only being white was intended to be tongue in cheek, but that she found the images of violence against blacks by a white man troubling. I saw the block quote in the second article, but not who it was attributed to, and I think that there’s a difference between “Many of these folks” and “All gamers.” Given the comments quoted just before, I think I can forgive her.
The overwhelming majority of the comments in that thread were acting like she was out to take away their toys. The comments were really defensive and aggresive. Maybe you don’t think you were, but there was a lot of anger in the comments there over someone saying that she found it troubling. That’s a common reaction, and the only reason I can think of to get so angry over someone criticizing the game is a concern that the person is out to take away the game.
And, ultimately, if you’re focused on how you feel about the criticisms of some gamers, I maintain that you’re missing out on the really important part of the conversation. You’re missing out on a chance to gain some social awareness and to take part in an interesting conversation about racial dynamics. I think that’s a wasted opportunity, personally. When someone says “X really bothered me from a racial perspective” I think that it’s better to engage the person with why that bothered them and how it could have been made better, rather than to make comments about how that person “is playing the race card” or get offended and shout them down with comments about how “You’re stupid! This game isn’t racist!” Or, even comments about how “I’m not like the people you’re describing!” If you’re getting hung up on those things, I think you’re sort of missing the point, and I think that’s unfortunate, because it’s not people like Kym that are keeping games from progressing in interesting ways, it’s people who reject any attempt to engage about the philosophical, moral, and social implications of games and gaming.
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Knowing now that Resident Evil 5 takes place in Africa and that Chris Redfield is the protagonist, I do wonder why Capcom wouldn’t introduce a new playable character, likely black, to the series when the “zombieness” is becoming a global aspect. It may be all about “story” to bring back Chris from the earlier games to solve a problem, but I’m sure it could be handled just as well to show a native taking up matters into his own hands and to give Chris, if he even showed up, a passive role.
The comments against the blog writer were indeed stating the problem that Kym brought up, trolling or not. It’s disheartening, as Roy said, to see that the vast majority of comments are of the insulting, racist, STFU type rather than of a more serious debating type. I believe that some gamers do not have the will or even the patience to look at games and their possible failures in regards to what message they could be sending as opposed to things like cartoons, movies, and other media.
On Kym’s belief, kudos for her willingness to express it and her problems with RE5 despite the response. I honestly thought that the game (before seeing the video and later news on it) was set in Mexico rather than Africa, but then we’d likely have someone expressing concern at killing Mexicans and Latinos, leading up to comments about illegal immigrants and other bits of racism.
I personally took the news that the game was taking place in Africa and that (likely all of) the zombies would be black in stride, like how RE4 was taking place in a Spanish village. For a moment I believed that Kym may have been making a mountain out of a molehill with the fact that black zombies were the white protagonist’s enemies, before noting that she was African and that the ongoing history of violence in Africa, such as the genocide of Rwanda and Darfur could raise big red flags.
I realize, as has been brought up before, that the “they’re zombies” card can be taken only so far, and how shooting up entire groups of blacks (or any human being) as a form of entertainment can be objectionable even for gamers. I blame a big part of this due to the graphic realism and still-human look of the black zombies. In RE4 the Ganados’ extremely human look rather than the rotted, decaying corpses of all other RE games was somewhat disconcerting. Because this repeats itself with the zombies of RE5, who are black, I can see how this becomes problematic.
On topic of the game, however… I personally will be looking out for this game to be released. I love Resident Evil, and the forms of major combat with tons of enemies that the video highlighted tells me that this game is going to be good. Again, I realize the flaw that can raise objections to the game that Capcom was unaware of (like Moira’s WoW example with the lynched bodies), but I still will be willing to play this sometime on my friend’s system.
August 2nd, 2007 at 3:34 pm
A few years ago there was a zombie film where the zombies started to get intelligent and were lead by a black zombie. But was he really a black zombie, or a zombie? I would definitely say the latter, but maybe that’s just me.
I agree a black lead character would be a good thing, we don’t know if it’s the case. As withso many other gaming controversies, I think the uproar is premature. There might well be black characters who help the main character.
How do you normalize race issues anyway? Should we wait until a generation goes by without racial violence, and then allow ourselves to portray races like in RE5? I think someone has to make a game like RE5 and stand by their vision to start changing things. I don’t see what tiptoeing around the issues will accomplish and I definitely don’t see what pressuring artists to make art that doesn’t offend anyone will accomplish. Capcom should make it very clear that there is no racist intent and be understanding of those who think differently. Then most of us will play the game with both views in mind, find that it’s indeed not inherently racist, and things will perhaps be a little better.
August 2nd, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Wait… why should we ever stop being sensitive to other people’s feelings and experiences? We can have conversations about the racial dynamics of the game without saying that the game is absolute shit. I don’t think that suggesting maybe having a white military guy killing large numbers of blacks- even zombies- is suggesting we tip-toe around race issues. In fact, rather the opposite. I think that it’s a rather blatant call for dialogue- it’s trying to suggest that maybe we shouldn’t be pretending that racial dynamics don’t exist. When we ignore the potential race or sex issues, or when we ignore the ways that portrayals of non-whites effect non-whites, I think we’re trying to tip-toe around the issue. We’re trying to ignore the elephant in the room, I believe the expression goes.
How, exactly, does having a white guy killing large numbers of Africans help start to change things when people seem to patently refuse to engage in dialogue about it?
I’m sure as hell not suggesting that games should never offend anyone. Sometimes people need to be offended. In fact, I’m not even saying that RE5 might not be an awesome game. Maybe it actually does address racial concerns within the game? I have no idea yet. What I’m dismayed by, right now, is the reaction people are having to someone raising concerns.
Here’s the thing: Even if you don’t think that there’s anything wrong with the racial dynamic being depicted, or with the situation… does that make your perspective on the issue more valid than Kym’s? Or is it possible that, coming from a different place than you are, Kym might have a valid perspective, too?
And if you aren’t coming from the same place, is it possible that there’s something to be gained by engaging with Kym about why she sees things the way she does?
If so, then I think you have to agree that a lot of the comments to her post are really out of line.
August 2nd, 2007 at 3:59 pm
The game isn’t about killing black people, its about killing zombies. Same as the 11-something others were. Noone complained about them, as far as I know.
August 2nd, 2007 at 4:20 pm
So there you have it folks — if you don’t complain about a game that doesn’t kill black people, you have no right to complain about a game that does.
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Roy:
I meant that sticking to games that are sure not to provoke anyone would be tiptoeing. I’m not saying the critics should shut up because RE5 is “just a game”. But we want to have games where race doesn’t matter, like Capcom claim to have done here. So do we wait for racial issues to fade away, or do we face them? Facing them in this context could perhaps be to play the game as if the race of the zombies doesn’t matter, but with potential racial issues in mind. The critics could do better to educate gamers of those issues, and perhaps we’d be a teeny bit closer to having games where race doesn’t matter. But I don’t know, I could be naive.
The racist comments are way out of line, yes. It’s no excuse that they’re imple trolling. But alluding RE5 will inspire a new Columbine doesn’t exactly help the critics’ case either.
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:20 pm
As for your comment about why the lead role should be black…why? Why should the lead role be black?
Why should the lead be white? Why is it whites are never required to justify this, but minorities are expected to give reasons why they ought to be included, too?
August 2nd, 2007 at 6:15 pm
She wasn’t saying RE5 would inspire a new Columbine, she was saying that the sort of people who were trolling seemed like the type who would imitate RE5. Big difference. Whether or not you agree with her, don’t misconstrue what she’s saying.
Here’s a hint for you: Racial issues will fade away when people like Black Looks doesn’t have people calling her a “N*gger cotton ho.” Racial issues will fade away when everyone, including the people who have been victims of racism, agree that racial issues have gone away. Not because a bunch of white people declare racism has gone away because they’re feeling defensive about a videogame.
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Mighty Ponygirl:
“Many of these folks seem like the type who would try to reenact scenes from Resident Evil 5. Can you say Columbine?”
Yeah, that’s so completely free of the media-driven prejudice of gamers. ¬_¬
If you’d actually read what I wrote, I didn’t imply that racism has gone away. I’m saying that instead of staying far away from everything that can provoke people, situations like these could be used to make a good point. As it is now, the writer didn’t get a good message across. People would listen more to her if she’d taken the time to know what she was talking about, and if she’d drop the over the top comparisons. She could’ve said that while some people just see zombies, she sees something different and terrifying because of her race, something that we don’t see so easily. Both points of view are valid, but all gamers should at least consider where she’s coming from. She could’ve helped with that very important message, but alienated people who could’ve listened instead.
As it is now, I doubt any more or any less people would be racist because of RE5.
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Hertza — that’s not your call to make.
And frankly, if I were the target of so much violent hate speech as she was, I would be tempted to conflate videogames and Columbine.
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Mighty Ponygirl:
I’m just suggesting what I think would’ve been a more constructive way to approach this, something that gamers would listen to. Now it’s just a rather pointless flamewar, and not just because of racist internet trolls but because of the writer’s own prejudice and ignorance too.
From what I’ve seen, there are quite a lot of gamers who aren’t racist, but who are honestly wondering why someone cares about the color of the zombies now when noone didn’t in RE4. To make them see it from a black person’s perspective could’ve done some good, but I’m afraid many gamers will go defensive and put the writer in the same camp as Jack Thompson. That kind of polarization won’t end racism anytime soon, that’s for sure.
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:11 am
Holy. Crap. I wish I hadn’t read those comments.
I love gaming, and I totally get being protective (even overprotective) of the real flaws and prejudices our favourite games have (this is my first time commenting by the way but I’ve been reading for ages and I love the feminist breakdowns of games!). So I see why people wanted to jump up and say, hey, there’s this other side to things too, it’s not necessarily as bad as this post makes out.
But what I do NOT get is the reaction of RE fans when the comments got totally out of control. Instead of distancing themselves from the racists, they JUSTIFY their slurs. The basic jist of EVERY COMMENT on the second post is, “Well, calling you those names was bad… but you ARE wrong”. What. The. Fuck?
And Hertza, really, the original blogger seemed perfectly constructive in her approach. “Something that gamers would listen to”. Please. Like what? She said she wasn’t that into games, but she didn’t like what she saw. The way was clear for a passionate gamer to enter into a debate. But NOBODY on that thread did so. She just got abuse. And it was because she was an outsider, not only to that gaming community but also because of her race and her sex. Since when is mentioning you’re neither white nor male playing the race/gender card? But as anyone who plays multiplayer knows, letting people know you don’t fit the default is lining yourself up for racist sexist bullshit.
Man, I HATE this side of gaming. Hate it.
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:18 am
“A few years ago there was a zombie film where the zombies started to get intelligent and were lead by a black zombie. But was he really a black zombie, or a zombie? I would definitely say the latter, but maybe that’s just me.”
Hertza, it’s really great that YOU’RE completely over the whole racism thing, but could you just conceive for a minute that your WHITE perspective might not be the only valid one? That your life experience might, in fact, be LESS valid than a black person’s in assessing how potent a force racism remains today?
That’s not saying that everything any black person ever says about racism is right. Just that you ought to give their perspective a bit of respect.
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:49 am
-So there you have it folks — if you don’t complain about a game that doesn’t kill black people, you have no right to complain about a game that does.-
Well, why is it all right to have a game where you kill white people, but not one where you kill people of color in the same circumstances? If the game was about killing black people for being black, then the complains about racism would be valid.
The zombies are black because the game takes place in Africa. The main character is white because the designers wanted to bring back a character from a previous game. I see no racism there.
When you kill a white character in a game, do you think about the fact that he was white? I am assuming that you don’t give his color any though at all, and that’s how it should be. Yet when the character happens to be black, his skin color suddenly becomes an issue. Why? Its not supposed to be about color.
August 3rd, 2007 at 6:39 am
RPGeek — instead of asking facile questions, why don’t you answer Roy’s question?
At what point would it be “okay” to have a game where you were a German killing a bunch of Jews? Even if they were zombies? Just a German, bustin’ into Israel, killing Jewish zombies.
And Hertza — why is it Black Look’s duty to make all this effort to appease people who, from her perspective, are completely over-the-top, unapologetic racists? As Dinogirl (Welcome, btw!) pointed out — what she wrote is not a justification for what they wrote to her, but what they wrote to her really does justify what she wrote about them. It’s not what you want to hear, and it bothers me too that I’m being lumped in with those cobags, but notice how I’m not making apologies for them. If the bloggers at Black Looks want to come to a better understanding that gamers are not a bunch of racist assholes, are they going to reach that opinion by reading the comments on their blog, or checking out Feminist Gamers?
August 3rd, 2007 at 7:54 am
dinogirl:
I’ve just written several comments on how we should take both sides into account here. Did you read them at all, or did you just look for something that provoked you and went with that?
I do respect other perspectives. That’s why I’m sad that the very valid criticism now is drowned out in a shouting match. Racism accusations vs. witch hunts for gamers. The two sides aren’t really that different - both fight against outsides ignorant about their cause, trying to tell them how to do things. It’s an unnecessary conflict.
Mighty Ponygirl:
I wrote above that there’s no excuse for the racist comments, but again you fail to read what I write. Screw the racists. I’m talking about gamers in general, people who will play RE5 without any racist glee. I’ve read a lot of comments by people like that. They fail to realize there are indeed valid perspectives on racism, but I think they, unlike the racist trolls, could be made aware of the racist implications and learn from it. The reason why noone complained about race in RE4 but does it in RE5 could maybe serve as a good example of racism to people who don’t see it. Black Look writers chose uninformed controversy instead.
Here’s another thought — the zombies are zombies because of an evil multinational corporation that the main character is fighting. If shooting black zombies is symbolic of racism, why can’t fighting Umbrella be symbolic of resisting corporate exploitation of Africa?
August 3rd, 2007 at 7:58 am
RPGeek — I was trying to clear out spam comments and I accidentally deleted your comment. Please repost.
Hertza: You keep trying to equate what Black Looks wrote with what people wrote about her, which is blaming the victim. And we are reading your comments. If you’re upset that we aren’t, maybe you should be more articulate when you write things like “Now it’s just a rather pointless flamewar, and not just because of racist internet trolls but because of the writer’s own prejudice and ignorance too.”
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:00 am
Mighty Ponygirl:
Well then I must have missed the constructive efforts made by Black Looks to create understanding among gamers, and also to understand games themselves. Perhaps you could point it out to me? Note that I’m not denying them the right to be upset. I’m just saying it won’t do much good for their cause.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:22 am
Hertza, you are missing the point so badly I worry you might stab yourself.
Black Looks is concerned that a game is saying “hey, it’s fun to slaughter black people!” Even if Kym herself wasn’t black, if that’s the feeling she gets from the game — that it’s promoting something reprehensible, she is under no obligation to reach out to the people who like this game and say “hey… tell me why I’m wrong.”
And everything you are saying still indicates that it’s her fault that people attacked her.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:42 am
Repost: I wouldn’t have a problem with a German character killing Jews in a game, as long as the point of it wouldn’t be a German killing Jews.
If a game would make someone feel uncomfortable, they have the choice of not playing it.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:45 am
My purpose with this post isn’t to convince you that RE5 isn’t racist. It’s a game made by the Japanese, where racism isn’t really an issue. So like any other form of media, it’s open to interpretation, you think it’s racist, fine by me. The purpose of this post is to state my point of view on the issue, and to ask questions so that I can better understand the side of the story of those who believe RE5 to be racist. Yes, there are a lot of rude people out there that said much that are rude and thoughtless, I get that. I hope I don’t come across that way, if I do, I apologies here and now. By the way, I am Asian, so if you want to argue a point, please don’t use the “you’re white (or, you’re not black), you don’t understand” argument, trust me, I grew up with racism all around, I know what it is when I see it.
With all this talk of “why not a black lead” thing and “how many black leads in games do you know?”, well, you don’t have to look too far. You have 2 black male leads in Resident Evil: Outbreak, and Outbreak file 2. One’s a security officer, and the other’s a subway train operator. What about that 50 cent game? Oh, and the Blade game (spawn from the movie, you know, the black half vampire that kicks everyone’s butt?). GTA anyone? How come no one pointed out how totally racist it is to have a stereotypical black gangster that kills, robs, and have shoot outs with the cops?
I understand the history between black and white in America is pretty ugly. (next bit is totally out of curiosity, as these questions have bugged me for a long time) But answer me this, when was the last time you saw a white person enslave a black person in America, Or anywhere else for that matter? Yes, the white did enslave and mistreat the black in the past. But they’ve tried to amend have they not? The black people are free, and have been for a good while now, and the white slave masters are all long gone. So why do the descendants of those that did wrong have to pay for their ancestors’ mistakes? (please do explain this to me, so I can understand why white shooting black = racist, and black shooting white = acceptable).
Personally, I believe that the whole “white shooting black is not the same as black shooting white because of history” argument is not solid enough. Implying and justifying black shooting white is less racist by stating the racial history between black and white is discriminating against the white, for the injustice the white people’s ancestors have once done to the black people’s ancestors. Which means the people making that implication are not treating everyone equally, and are thusly being prejudice, and because this prejudice is against someone of another race and skin color, it is therefore “racist”. “But they started it” doesn’t make it alright, revenge is the fruit of hatred, which is the source of all prejudice. This is my point of view, I don’t claim it to be “THE TRUTH”, it’s just how I see it using my logic.
Final point, instead of having an on going flame war between the people who are finding the video racist, and the gamers defending the game, how can we as a society resolve this problem in a civilized manner? And how can we use this opportunity to increase understanding of the issue of racism without resorting to name calling and more flaming?
p.s. In regards to Kym’s post, I find the post to be understandable despite most of the ignorant comments involved, but the final comment of “Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people.” (I felt) was over the top, I have to say that I don’t fear/hate/or want to destroy Spanish people after I played RE4.
———————————
@ Moira - I quote “People who don’t have power or privilege can be prejudiced, but not racist.”
I’m afraid that I can’t agree with you there, racism is discrimination against someone because of their race or color of their skin. So even people without power or privilege can be racist. And racism shall exist until the day everyone understand that, and start treating everyone else equally (well, this covers pretty much all prejudice).
———————————
@ dinogirl - I quote “Hertza, it’s really great that YOU’RE completely over the whole racism thing, but could you just conceive for a minute that your WHITE perspective might not be the only valid one?”
I hope that you realize that your comment border lines on being racist. How do you know Hertza is white? Besides, from my interpretation of Hertza’s post, it seems like s/he really wants to understand. I know you don’t mean any harm in what you said, but it’s the little things like that which starts massive flame wars on the net. (if Hertza has stated that s/he is white somewhere, I have failed to see it, but if it has been stated, I apologies for this comment)
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:46 am
So… even if the game was set in Israel, and everyone you were killing just “happened” to be a Jew and you were a German, that wouldn’t make the game “about” a German killing Jews.
And you’re right, the person has the choice of not playing a game that makes them feel uncomfortable. It’s too bad they apparantly don’t have the choice of pointing out that a game makes them feel uncomfortable without opening themselves up to attack.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:49 am
I was on another blog yesterday (Blasphemy!) with an article about the dog fighting allegations agains Michael Vick. The first few comments were actually about the case; but it broke right down racial lines and name calling without too much delay. There are people who live for the chance to justify their particular beliefs about a race or religion with any example or material they can find and twist to their own agenda.
To change gears and answer the notion that it’s *only* an uproar when whites are killing blacks; who remembers GTA: San Andreas and the hoopla around its release? A black man killing white cops? Oh now that just wouldn’t do. The internet doth flow with the lava of the trolls extruding the necessity that such “encouragement” not be allowed out there. But now the shoe is on the other foot and the voices switch their position. Curious, is it not?
So when someone you can identify with is the victim it’s not ok, but when you can identify with the aggressor; then it’s fine? That’s the same kind of thinking and double standard that has perpetuated this situation we call racism for so long. The same thinking that made it ok for me to be bombarded with racial slurs for being of mixed race at a predominantly white college; the same thinking that made it alright for the original blogger to take flak for her view and call for a realistic look at this double standard.
So I ask you; would you honestly have the same opinions of this game if it was a black man on a rampage through the English country side knocking off tea-sipping zombies left and right? Would you?
Be honest with yourself, at least.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:50 am
You know what, RPGeek? This?
The zombies are black because the game takes place in Africa. The main character is white because the designers wanted to bring back a character from a previous game. I see no racism there. is bullshit.
The zombies are black because they chose to make the game take place in a particular setting. That was an intentional design element. So, you know what? It’s not above criticism. Whether they intended it to have racial overtones or not doesn’t change how some people experience it. What you’re really suggesting is that we ignore racial concerns because, hey! You’re not a racist! Shutting people up about their experiences and telling them “you’re wrong, that’s not racist!” is crap.
Given the history of racially motivated violence and the government sanctioned persecution of minorities, there’s a huge difference between a white guy killing a bunch of other white guys in a game, and a white guy killing nothing but black guys in a game. You’re asking questions like there’s not difference in history between whites and blacks, and that’s just flat-out dishonest.
HertzaHaeon: I guess you did. Kym’s very first post on the subject was “[RE5] 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 game is marketed to children and young adults.”
That is a message that gamers should have taken as in invitation to engage in dialogue. Instead, they chose to spend over 100 comments calling her names, telling her she was stupid, and hurling racist insults at her. She gave several reasons why she was upset by the game, and rather than engage with her, people tried to shut her down.
And now, here you are… are you attempting to engage in some kind of dialogue to understand where she’s coming from, or are you doing the same thing… trying to shut the conversation down? Have you made any meaningful attempt to understand “Oh, given the really troubled history of racial violence, I can understand how a video game featuring a white military guy slaughtering blacks- even if they’re zombies- might be a little bit upsetting to someone”?
Because what it mostly looks like you’re doing is trying to blame her for some part of what happened on her site, and explain away why race shouldn’t matter.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:53 am
RPGeek: If you honestly wouldn’t see anything remotely problematic with a game where a German character spends the entire game killing Jews, then I think you’re either really insensitive to other people’s experiences or you’re dangerously blind to the suffering of other people and the ways that bigotry can be reinforced, even unintentionally, by pop culture.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:57 am
Caster — you’re not going to last long here.
O RLY?
O RLY?
How about you answer me this: Are you really so ignorant that you think that racism ended with slavery, and that there is no such thing as racism anymore? And for that matter, the mass genocide in Darfur is still happening. And we’re not doing a damn thing to stop it.
See what Moira and Roy wrote above.
Again, hint: It won’t be by responding to people saying “hey, this game has a really troubling premise” by calling them N*gger Cotton Hos.
Maybe because you didn’t grow up in a culture with a pre-existing institution of hatred and fear of the Spanish.
Consider yourself warned–if you try to play the “UR ALL TEH RACISTS” meme again, you will be banned. I’m not having this infantile bullshit on my site.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:58 am
There’s a difference between there not being racist attitudes and practices and denying it so there’s “not an issue”. Simply because a country like Japan chooses to ignore their own actions, practices, and how they portray other ethnic and religious groups in their own media is not the same as fair treatment.
“Enslaved”? No. Treated unfairly and judged negatively based on nothing but the color of their skin? Yes. If you think this is just a rude comment or two now and then someone of an ethnic background must deal with; realize that it’s far more extensive. Applying for a job, applying for a loan, buying a house, buying a car, eating at a good restraunt. All things a lot of people here seem to take for granted. They’ve never been told “No, we don’t serve YOUR kind here” or “Wouldn’t you be happier at the KFC down the street?”
I realize not everyone here may have had that perspective and thus cannot truely appreciate it. Some here have had it much worse.
Caster - You say history doesn’t matter in illustrating the differences? History is where these differences are coming from. It wasn’t mobs of blacks lynching white men across the south as a form of entertainment for decades.
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:06 am
I merely wish to understand the situation better, and was hoping that you would enlighten me and help me share your view, but I see that I am viewed as just another ignorant idiot. I am not saying that everyone here is racist nor ignoring historical facts, I was merely stating thing as I saw (and I did not say that I was not flawed). If you think I have not suffered badly, you are sadly mistaken, I wouldn’t want anyone else to have to be stripped naked, beaten up and left in a dumpster like I once had. But, having said that, I can see that I’m clearly unwelcome here. So I shall leave, best wishes in finding people that truly understands and are willing to do something about it.
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:11 am
I just fail to see how it would be different from an identical game where you would be killing germans instead, for example.
And I don’t think the people were right for flaming Kym. I do think that she is wrong, but there are more civilised means to let her know that without having to be rude.
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:14 am
Caster: Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
RPGeek — I agree with Roy on this one: if you don’t see how a game could be troublesome in that context, then you’re either blind, insensitive, or willfully ignorant.
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:22 am
You fail to see how a game where a German kills Jews is different from a game where a Jew kills Germans? For reals? You don’t think that there’s, oh, I don’t know, maybe some small historical events that might create the sense that maybe when you’ve got a German killing wave after wave of Jewish person that maybe that could be troubling to some people?
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:56 am
“Squirrel, please!”
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:11 am
You people want to know why they responded with racism over at black looks ? The answer is simple . It was because Black Looks was spouting racism.
I’m sorry but if we have to make exeptions every time a race of people on this planet were screwed over then we wouldn’t have any video games or movies . I’m very tired of seeing all the racism directed towards what are called white people by African American people . Not only that but I’m very tired of seeing all the racism directed towards African American people by African American people .
Perhaps you should clean up your act first and people will stop responding to the racism you put forth and we can move on. Everytime I hear a rap song or a young rapper coming up they spout such negative remarks that if a white person was to use them , they’d be labled racist. However its okay for that rapper to say it . Everytime a raper uses the N word or another racial slur they add it to the vocab of the millons of children that buy and listen to their music .
Roy , I don’t agree with your comments in post 41. Not all German’s were Nazi soldiers. What if the game was set in a world where The Jewish set up camps and were killing all the germans. Would that be okay then for a German to kill a Jewish person ?
How about if in 20 years from now the Jewish people actually attacked and killed a massive amount of Germans . Would it now no longer be okay to make a game with a Jewish character mowing down swarms of Germans . Would it be okay then to make a game with Germans killing Jewish people ? Or would we never be able to make a game with Germans and Jewish people in it ?
How does it work exactly in your little world. Because in my world eventualy you have to forgive and move on and if its not something that happened in my life time I don’t let it affect me. You will never hear me complain that a game set in New York city where you killed italians was racist . We all know the crimes agaisnt the Italians back then . Or that a game in which Africans invaded Italy was racist cause of the time back thousands of years ago when they did that such thing and raped out women.
Of course I wouldn’t . So when do the Jewish populace move on and not need special treatment ? how about the African americans ? What another generation ? 2 generations ? 3 ? never ?
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:12 am
Mightyponygirl:
AGAIN I must point out that I’m not saying anyone MUST do anything. I’m saying that the way Kym chose to do this isn’t constructive. It’s justified and she has a point, but it’s badly communicated and as a result fewer people than she deserves are listening. And you’re really not reading what I write if you think I want her to have people prove her wrong. I’d like gamers to see her point just as well as I’d like her to see this from our perspective.
“And everything you are saying still indicates that it’s her fault that people attacked her.”
No. AGAIN there is no excuse for the racist bullshit she’s had to endure. They would’ve attacked her no matter what she said. It is however her choice to make a sensationalistic, uninformed and prejudiced blog post instead of something better. It doesn’t justify any attacks, but I’m not going to pretend she made her valid in point in a good way just because she’s a victim.
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:16 am
Roy:
I have indeed tried to see it from Kym’s perspective, as much as I’m able. Kym on the other hand is openly ignorant about games and gamers. It doesn’t excuse the racism or flames against her, but it’s not really constructive either. Yes, there’s a history of racism that people should know about. There’s also a history of the RE games and games in general that she should know about. You could argue that the game perspective is pointless (”it’s just a game, a toy, mindless entertainment, but it might make you go Columbine on me” and other prejudiced and belittling stereotypes of games), but then you’re not as understanding as you’re demanding other people to be of your own opinion. Unfortunately very few valid or intelligent points have been made from the gaming perspective, but considering the level of debate it’s not surprising.
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:21 am
Hertza: Why do you keep making this her fault? Why do you bend over backwards to point out that she somehow deserved what was said about her, rather than going after those IN YOUR CIRCLE (ie, gamers) who made comments that frankly were not in any way shape or form acceptable no matter what she said? There. Is. No. Excuse.
She is under no obligation to see things from our perspective if we’re openly attacking her.
Period. End of story.
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:24 am
Also, Joe, you will not be posting here anymore. Black Looks was not racist for pointing out that a game where a white person slaughters a bunch of black people was objectionable. Black people who use the N word in an attempt to reclaim it (whether or not you agree with it) do not make it ok for white people to use it against black people because they feel threatened.
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:28 am
Here’s an idea for that german vs. jews game.
Imagine a young german activist who travels to Palestine to help the people against Israeli oppression. The IDF are experimenting with biological weapons at a nearby military base, but something goes horribly wrong and the Palestinian ghetto is suddenly attacked by zombified IDF soldiers.
MP Responds: How about a game where I ban your antisemitic, disingenuous, false-dichotomy, intellectually dishonest ass? Hey! I WIN!
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:46 am
I wasn’t really serious with the IDF zombie game. I just wanted to make a point about the difference that framing things differently makes. I went too far and I apologize for that.
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:21 am
Joe: “You people want to know why they responded with racism over at black looks ? The answer is simple . It was because Black Looks was spouting racism.”
Okay, considering I was accused of this same sort of ‘racism’ by Caster I want to engage with this.
Racism is not limited to slavery, lynching, and concentration camps. Happily, in the western world at least we outlawed these visible manifestations of racism long ago.
But they are only one form of racism - the easiest to see. The prejudice that gave birth to them still exists, it’s just a bit more subtle.
It’s easy for white people to think that racism is over, because overt displays of it are against the law and because they themselves would never dream of taking part in such overt displays. But scratch the surface and the legacy of lynching and hate is plain to see. It still hurts people. We all wish it didn’t. But denying that it does isn’t going to make the problem go away.
It just creates situations like the one at Black Looks, where the visceral hatred that normally bubbles away just under the surface, lashes out to quickly smack a woman who questioned it down.
Acknowledging that race is still an issue IS NOT RACIST. Far more racist to stick your head in sand saying, “I’m all right Jack” and pretending the problems have all gone away.
Oh, and good work MP at dismissing the freaking laughable idea that because this game was made in Japan, it’s somehow removed from racism altogether. Japan, a country that a few years ago ran soft drink ads that equated black people with monkeys.
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:23 am
So because some people use certain words in rap songs, it’s ok for you to use them too? No one’s talking about Carthaginians or ancient civilizations here; we’re talking about *current* *ongoing* issues of discrimination and hatred. (I can’t recall the last time I was over in Italy and heard someone going on and on about that damned Hannibal and his elephants).
I won’t even get in to the whole “European Imperialism” and sacking of the new world bit. Seriously; if you haven’t had to deal with this crap, who are you to tell everyone else it’s nothing and they should just “get over it”? It seems to me people who *aren’t* subjected to this nonsense are quick to point out how unimportant it is or try to relate it to some issue they’ve had that they *think* compares. It doesn’t. It really really doesn’t.
Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but don’t confuse that with a right to dismiss my opinion simply because you’ve never had that card dealt you or think song lyrics somehow levels the playing field.
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:27 am
Just to let everyone know: Joe and RPGeek have been banned–they can start a mutual admiration society as far as I care, and Hertza’s in timeout.
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:39 am
Yes, I was defensive at first, primarily because JoyStiq really should have known better about the series–gamers, right? If anyone’s able to talk about the games in a way that encourages dialogue instead of one-sided finger-pointing, it should have been them.
I would like to point out the initial question was raised by someone who didn’t understand the series, didn’t want to understand the series, and reacted with fear and outrage. Was she right to raise her concerns? ABSOLUTELY. Is the reaction by fans a black mark on the RE fan community? YES. But she didn’t do a lick of research before going off, and her implication WAS that the game was evil and fans were evil. She did NOT deserve the reaction she got–no human does–but yes, the dialogue started off shot in the foot.
Can we pause to look at black characters in RE4? Black STARS member Kenneth Sullivan? First corpse we find. The black character Jim in Outbreak? Quite potentially problematic as a harmful stereotype, even though his redeeming feature is his intelligence and problem-solving ability. Mark and Linda, from the same game? They raise much fewer concerns; Linda is one of the two or three ethical scientists we ever hear of. Hunnigan from RE4? I had no concerns whatsoever. Capcom DOES need to work on including minorities, yes, but from what I know, so far the inclusions we see haven’t been harmful.
The main character is, apparently, Chris from Resident Evil. You know, the guy from the first game who came back in Code: Veronica and is picking up his part again. . . like if they were continuing a story line. Should they introduce a black hero? I’d love it. Does it make sense to have a popular recurrent main character return again? Yes.
Picture with me three spheres inside each other. The first? The perspective with which Japanese people in Japan make the game. The second? American gamers playing that game: we learn its internal logic and we have some eyebrow-raising moments–I have NEVER spoken to an RE fan who didn’t eventually go, “uhhh. . . that scene where Luis dies, isn’t that kinda. . .?”–where WE just don’t get canon. And then the third one is the one from entire outsiders, who suddenly are exposed to elements of canon the fans are supposed to find alarming, and react.
There’s also frustration from the gamers because, you know, Umbrella is supposed to be a global corporation. I would have major problems with a game who went to a foreign country–isn’t 90% of Haiti black?–and reassured me that everyone there will look just like me. I agree that the game trailer raises shades for many people that should be put to rest, but I also think the problem isn’t the game, but the problems in the real world that make these filters we see through persist.
Is slaughtering any zombies at ALL a plotline? No, but the struggle for survival in the face of isolation is, and the way that Umbrella crushes the little people and strips them of humanity is. And that’s where race -doesn’t- and -shouldn’t- matter; the whole tragedy of the series has been the little people and the way the innocent die when evil holds power. ANY little people. And once they’re destroyed and brought back as zombies, that’s where the guy with the gun fighting for his life comes in. (In the immortal words of MC Chris, “ZOMBIES COMING UP THE HILL RIGHT NOW.”)
I do hope the game answers people’s concerns, but given the reaction to the trailer wasn’t as bad as the reaction to the fans, and given the trailer itself was misread in many ways because of the background of the individuals. . . well, I think the far greater problem is on the other side of the monitor.
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:55 am
Sharky: thanks for posting. I was actually pretty surprised at the writeup by Joystiq. They’ve had an excellent track record for avoiding the sort of dismissive writing in the past.
And I hate to keep beating this point, but Kym saw a trailer and saw a game which appeared to be glorifying in killing her race. I don’t really think that she had much of an onus to come to a deeper understanding when she wrote “hey, this is bad.” If nothing else, she runs a blog, probably in her spare time. She doesn’t get paid to write what she does, so she can’t necessarily invest the time to research this stuff. The responsibility was on us gamers to respectfully point out that the RE series isn’t about racial genocide, that they’ve done an excellent job with plot and themes in the past, that her concerns are valid (because they are), but that Capcom might deliver an artistic masterpiece with a surprising social commentary that she’ll appreciate. And we utterly failed in that responsibility. Instead, she was attacked. So now she has absolutely zero reason to reach out and explore what this game might mean other than “kill da n—-rs.”
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:05 pm
That’s very true, and I do regret I was there too late to offer support against the wealth of negativity she got. On the other hand. . . it’s just a basic rule that if you’re going to give not just an opinion but a strong judgement on something, you look into it a little. Her lack of doubt that this was abominable was already a judgement on all the fans, and I have no surprise the worst possible ones reacted in the worst possible way.
The RE fan community? I don’t want EVER them to speak for me. On anything. I read their Caption This! humor. It’s a major black mark, but. . . uh. . . yeah. The ones who speak up the fastest are frequently the ones you have to ban so anyone else can be heard.
But that isn’t Capcom’s fault. It isn’t yours, it isn’t mine, it isn’t the decent fans’; it’s larger than that. It’s a social problem, and like I said: it’s on this side of the screen.
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:30 pm
sharky — this is something that bothers me. Do you honestly think that the people who were on that thread were her “regular readers?” No. Someone found that particular post, put it up on a RE5 fansite (or joystiq), and the trolls came flooding in.
No, she didn’t look into it much, but like I keep saying, can you blame her? If I go to a site where someone is showing a video of a guy shooting a bunch of women, I’m not really going to think “oh wow, I really need to understand the guy’s perspective on this.” I’m going to say “holy shite this is fucked up!” If I had a lot of time and maybe better resources, I might try to figure out what the hell is happening there, but it doesn’t really mitigate the “this is fucked up” part of my reaction.
I agree that it’s a big social problem, and that it’s all on this side of the screen — meaning we all have to work together. It’s ok to get a little defensive when someone says “something you like is racist.” But we have to overcome that initial moment of reaction and calm down and say “OK, let’s talk about this, I don’t think I’m a racist but maybe I could use a better understanding of things. Let me try to fill you in on what I think you’re missing, and if you’ll listen to me honestly, I’ll listen to you honestly.” It’s amazing how well that works. Believe me. We didn’t see anything approaching that.
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:40 pm
No, of course not. But–hm. Let me put it this way: what can RE fandom possibly do differently? Your reaction, the post right before I came in, was to put a sock in it for a few vocal fanboys. Does that help RE fandom? Nah. Does it help the discussion everywhere? Nah. Does it make your blog a little better place? Why yes. :3 But. . . they’re still RE fans, and they’re probably n00bing their way to another discussion ground as I type.
And yes, I would have apologized to her to start with–I’ve answered these blogs in a few places across the ‘net, unless someone else has yoinked my name–but. . . like I started out saying, it’s NOT her fault, but it is, I think, a major reason why this whole dialogue hasn’t been able to get past “we aren’t racist!!!111eleventyone!” Because it started out with upset fans trying to clear ourselves of the worst possible charges. You can’t -get- much more evil than being a group of people out to teach their children to commit genocide.
http://theangryblackwoman.wordpress.com/required-reading/ Some fascinating thoughts there that might help get this discussion out of the bog it’s in–I want to read aloud the “race card” essay to so many people.
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:55 pm
To be honest, the people I put a sock in aren’t so much RE fans (well, I can’t speak for Joe, maybe he is) as just argumentative boys who get upset whenever you challenge their privilege. They appear in any thread where we talk critically about the way that groups are portrayed in videogames. You can look at some other posts on this site and you’ll find that anytime we raise objections to portrayals of race or gender in a videogame, they’re there to defend the status quo and let us know that we’re just being oversensitive.
I don’t expect people to agree with me in order to post comments here, but I expect them to be 1) respectful and 2) intellectually honest. It doesn’t help the discussion anywhere (but here) that I banned them — basically because they are not interested in bettering the discussion. They’re shit-stirring racist trolls, and no amount of rhetorical wizardry is going to change that.
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:56 pm
It’s really sad when people who don’t agree with you resort to calling you names or making stupid threats, especially over this Resident Evil 5 issue. That kind of garbage is what in part keeps driving the racism train in this country. That being said, let me just say that I am a black female, a gamer, and a huge fan of the Resident Evil series. I watched the trailer for Resident Evil 5 and out of all the things that crossed my mind while watching it, racism was the furthest thing from my mind. I was, and still am, chomping at the bit to play the game. I would say this to you and all the people who wrote articles with the same point of view: obviously you have not played and do not know the history of the Resident Evil series and its creators, and as journalists, you and all the others espousing your point of view ought to be ashamed at the low level of effort made to thoroughly investigate the whole Resident Evil series and how this particular game fits into the franchise. You saw a white man killing a bunch of black people and immediately got offended, for no reason in my humble opinion since again it seems you did no real investigative work to back up your position. And I bet you a dollar that the other black gamers out there who are fans of the Resident Evil franchise will say much the same thing. If you really want to fight images of racism, why don’t you move to take down stuff like the McDonald’s billboard I saw one time, with a black woman on it holding bunch of McDonald’s bags in her hand and the quote being, “This is MY type of shopping spree!” Now THAT seems racist to me.
MP Responds Stephanie, you’re a really lazy journalist for not even realizing that this is a reaction blog post. Oh, you’re not a journalist? Neither am I. Also, I call bullshit on your claims. Racism is racism is racism whether it’s a game of kill the black people, an insulting billboard, people being denied housing, or a woman being called a N*gger Cotton Ho when she says “hey, this is fucked up” about a game she perceives as being about killing black people. They’re all part of the same problem and ignoring one facet because you think another facet is more insulting isn’t going to solve jack squat.
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:05 pm
In a response to her article, Kym Plat wrote: Yes… I am more comfortable with the zombies being white. In fact, ALL zombies should be white from this day forth.
…
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:08 pm
… and I’m sure she was being 100% serious when she said it.
People who can’t understand sarcasm shouldn’t be allowed near a keyboard.
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:11 pm
-Precisely.- She spoke up, she got slashdotted. What happened was a bit like what would happen if I posted in my LJ about the incredible amount of homophobic hate speech offered by CounterStrike fans on their servers (this is a major problem on many of them, and yes, actual hate) and how this meant they were all evil and one of them linked the masses to it, and a bit like what happens when Little Abby gets on the internet for the first time and posts earnestly on a gaming forum about how abortionists are murderers. Is it a crying shame that we’re both about to get firestormed? Ayep. Are we sincerely concerned about our causes? Is one of us kind of missing a few things? *nodnod!* Were you already hearing the descending bombs in both those examples? Uh HUNH. It’s less RE fan response and more a rule of internet behavior.
I admit, I had a few moments in the trailer where I felt an edge of worry, but I dismissed them because I knew what I personally was bringing to the table and what I expect the game will give me. So now anyone else who felt that has already expressed themselves in an initial “it’s not racist, it’s just like RE4, you’re overreacting,” and they’re. . . kind of right, even though they’re not looking into the reason behind the concern, and they’ve now closed the door on exploring their own discomfort.
And what also gets me is that now, after the lines are so clearly drawn, so many fans are going to be retreating back into their shells and snapping at people who try to raise it more sanely the next time. It’s way more comfortable in there.
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:38 pm
If you’re trying to post that the racism in the game is all imagined, or that saying the game is racist means that you’re racist, just save your breath, I’m not even letting such stupid comments through.
Since we’ve obviously been posted to some kneejerk fansite, I’ll probably close comments on this thread before much longer.
August 3rd, 2007 at 2:20 pm
…And closed. Fanboy attackbots, you can go elsewhere now.