So, you guys have seen the new RE5 trailer, yeah? It's an extension of what they showed at E3.
Looks like pretty boy Redfield's been hittin' the 'roids, huh? Judging by the gameplay shots, it also looks like they retained a lot of what was awesome about RE4. Like, they took RE4, made it next-gen, and set it in my neighborhood.
If you enjoyed killing scary Latinos in RE4, you'll love killing scary blacks in RE5! --Sorry, there's no tactful way to point it out. Personally, I'm not really the PC type (who, me?), but does anyone else think that someone more culturally sensitive than I is gonna raise a fuss that this is two games in a row where the enemies were hordes of violent racial minorities with ethnically exaggerated features and despicably ramshackle living conditions?
Thursday, July 26, 2007
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24 comments:
Violent racial minorities? In RE4 you was up against Europeans not exactly a minority in Europe. The only thing somewhat annoying about that game was playing a US cop on European soil.
In RE5 you're up against Africans. A Zombie game set in Africa does make sense since they got that black witchcraft going on in some parts and the word zombie originated over there.
Yeah, Razors, but you're missing the point. What I'm sayin' is-- that's clear to me, but I'm sure someone else is gonna complain about it.
Anyone who bitches should be sat down in front of the game, hell even just that trailer, and STFU. I know we're in the midst of sequelitis and what not, but damn I want to play RE 5, MGS 4, and SH 5 right MEOW!
I didn't think you was the one complaining. If someone will complain about it he/she says basically that its only ok to shoot white, English speaking zombies. Of course there will be blacks in a game plays in Africa or should it be forbidden to have Africa as a setting?
But yeah, I would not be surprised if someone complains about it. At the same time there enough shooters where you have to wipe out Arabians and I never heard one complained about that.
this is just what the zombies want us to do, argue about their race! that makes it easier to conquer, divide, and eat our brains! zombies don't have a race... i didn't go calling them "black zombies" did i? no. people, we must stand united!
all kidding aside, yes, this game is going to cause some controversy, but i hope it's healthy controversy and that maybe it'll help the industry mature a little more.
Whenever something like this comes up, I always think of what Old Man Murray said about Solider of Fortune:
"Soldier of Fortune is a game that recreates the thrill of murdering people for money, and does it in demented forensic detail. Your troubling subtext - that some of the people are not white - is kind of overshadowed by the text, that all of the people you're slaughtering are people. In other words, although it goes against the secret messages composed by your own tireless, misfiring synapses, killing everyone you meet is, in fact, as bad as killing just blacks."
God, I miss that site.
The only controversy that it should raise is if the game mirrors tribal warfare too closely, but unfortunately few people in America are aware of the real problems in Africa to see the connection. I'm not saying there should be any controversy, but a healthy debate could be formed. What are the odds than any sort of noise will be either healthy or progressive? 100 to 1?
I'll complain about it.
This video did annoy me when I first saw it, but like usual I shrugged and thought 'again'. So since you asked I guess I could delve deeper.
I get tired of these obvious subtexts. It's a muscle ripped white American against the dirty black hordes. People will love it. The idea of setting it in New Orleans probably didn't occur to them, it might have done pretty well.
Visuals contain meaning no matter the story surrounding their context. Advertising lives off it.
Then there is Americans going out to other countries and doing their dirty work (surely they couldn't do it themselves?). Because that's what Americans should be doing right? Saving the world? Telling us that American's are supposed to save the world from being un-American. Which is sinister in itself, but it's really just a pretext to justify various more sinister government actions.
Of course clearly this America that people are constantly being 'un' isn't Black.
It's just yet another layer of the crap that makes up a "fair and balanced" society.
Games are full of these subtexts obvious and not so obvious. So is advertising and daily life in general. For me I believe recognizing them is important and maybe saying something about it occasionally wont hurt.
All we can hope for is that commentary and discussion will be useful and serve the medium. I'm sure none of you missed, either, MGS4 being set in an occupied desert warzone where you can pick sides to support or not. As long as discussion's growth-oriented and not the usual 2D crap.
Absolutely, we've had way too much 2D speak.
Leigh, the second I saw this trailer I knew I could count on you for a post that mentions race :). All I can say is OMG. I'm not making judgment calls about racism, I'm just saying: there's some intense analysis that needs to go on here. We've got black zombies and a white zombie killer. That means serious implications about otherness and the paranormal as a substitute for our own everyday anxieties. Now I'm going to run back to my own site before your commentators throw rocks at me. Expect to see more on this topic from me soon!
I can't imagine that Capcom wasn't aware that a West African setting could ruffle a few feathers, but simply from a financial standpoint it's a proven market strategy. I really do hope that they utilize it for constructive socio-political commentary however. I mean, that's what the zombie genre is all about anyway! And the RE series has always held underlying themes of corporate injustice; it really doesn't seem like a huge stretch.
Though I did find some of the character modeling of the local people to be uncomfortably... simian. Oh, I feel the white guilt a-comin'...
Here's what I find to be most exciting about the teaser: it really looks like the zombie outbreak is occurring during civil unrest. Not only is that a viable commentary to make, but I've always thought that it was a characteristic of the zombie genre that is often lacking in it's game incarnations. There have always been the token crazy living (way too often portrayed in clown outfits), but rarely are there situations where you have deal with hoards of people that you really *shouldn't* kill. Because, you know, they're still alive, and you're a big three-squares-a-day white dude with guns trying his best not to look racist...
And boy-o-boy, I love the shots in the teaser where Redfield looks like he's picking single zombies off from a huge crowd of people. Undead sniping: what fun! I can't wait to see if they actually incorporate it into the game.
I have high hopes for a thrilling future of not being able to sleep soundly for weeks. And the resurgence of white guilt that's sure to come with it.
Noah-- "uncomfortably simian" is exactly it. You know, my father is black, but I'm "culturally white," if that makes any sense; I don't identify with "the African-American community" at all, even though I live in a predominantly low-income black neighborhood, with Hispanics as the second. I feel I'm a minority here. I see the worst of those cultures in my daily life. There're unique positive and negative attributes to all cultural and ethnic groups, and I think it's just not rational to pretend that's not so. But there are also high sensitivities for certain ones in certain contexts, and I see certain negative features exaggerated here, and I got the same sense of discomfort that Noah had-- even as much as I really, truly don't go in for PC stuff.
I think this wouldn't have a danger of becoming an issue if all of Resident Evil's other major characters were not so all-American White. Chris Redfield looks like he's sorta morphed into a Captain America stereotype. I mean, Ada Wong is vaguely Asian, and there was short-lived Luis Sera, but that's it. And Wesker looks outright Aryan.
Like I said, I tend to agree with those who say that a story taking place in Africa is going to have black zombies; that's factual, not offensive, and the potential voodoo angle is cool (and wouldn't make sense with blonde whites). They could rectify this pretty easily by adding some non-stereotype heroes of different ethnic backgrounds- as much as I hate the idea of any type of character's appearance, style or attributes being determined by fear of offending people.
Eloquent as ever Leigh. And from a Blewish girl no less! ^_^
(look, i stole your iconography!)
Thanks Noah-- and steal away, as part of my mission is to plaster all the faces of the world with anime-inspired vacant cheer ^___^!
I don't want to be a stickler about this but if you look on a map Spain is located in Europe making Spaniards Europeans not Latinos. I just think if you are going to talk about the implications of game, especially those revolving racism perhaps you should get the facts straight. I know you mean well, but calling Spaniards Latinos makes my skin crawl because of the history of imperialism, but what do I know, I'm only a minority.
That's a good point, lagui-- however, when American gamers see a signature complexion and hear Spanish language, the distinction becomes a technicality.
The issue is that the enemies of RE4 were all part of the same ethnic and cultural group, and it occurs again in RE5 -- thus it almost doesn't matter what group it is. I like what Bonnie says: "That means serious implications about otherness and the paranormal as a substitute for our own everyday anxieties."
Man, this trailer's really unsettling. I myself am also generally pretty impenetrable regarding the un-PC (provided assholes don't make it a point to preface some horrific statement with "this is going to catch some grief from the PC police" or anything similarly knuckleheaded), but the imagery in this trailer is too much for me to hold much hope for this one.
In the first place, there's the only good guy coincidentally being the only white guy. There's definitely something there regarding how black people are rendered, as well - and I can't get out of my head that Capcom is a Japanese company - where Japan is a country who to this day believes and projects stereotypes about black people that they learned from America in the 1890's.
One thing which strikes me as a bit less easily recognized but all the more shocking is the imagery of Redfield - a law enforcement officer - firing into the crowd of black zombies. I mean, yes, they're zombies, but if you've ever seen footage/film of civil unrest in Africa (especially the Soweto Riots in South Africa), it's pretty unsettling to try and watch from Redfield's perspective.
Hi Jon,
Thanks for chiming in. I'm relieved to see that I'm not the only one vaguely unsettled-- and I'm not sure if it's because I'm afraid of the negative backlash that might be brought on by others' knee-jerk reactions, or because despite being an "anti-PC" type myself, I'm actually being made uncomfortable.
I think it's just the juxtaposition of too many elements at once, the ones you mention. Tensions are very high between the black community and the police here in New York right now, and I can't help but be reminded when I see this.
I also think there might be something to what some others here have said about it being so deliberate as to resemble a publicity stunt, to drum up controversy around the game. Look how interested people-- myself included-- got in Manhunt 2 when it was judged unfit for human consumption? And yet there's nothing concrete here that could be deemed as decidedly unacceptable, just a titillating amount of controversy. Who knows.
Could it also be that we're all really overreacting to a trailer of all things? I understand the need for serious discussion about certain games, but I think this debate is going too deep. I would suggest a more moderate approach until the game is released, and then opinions should be formed once the game is played in full. Yes, the trailer depicts certain events that might seem uncomfortable, but we have no way of knowing what context they are taking place in. It's not a matter of Chris firing indiscriminately into a group of innocent people; he's shooting at plagas controlled people who want to kill him. If that is Alexia at the end, then Umbrella or Wesker has more than a hand in RE 5's events.
What people infer from the game is not necessarily what Capcom intends. As scared as you might be Capcom is making a blanket statement on race relations in the West, don't make the same mistake by making a blanket statement on Japanese culture.
Finally, let's face facts: this is not a Take-Two release, therefore it is highly unlikely it will come under much fire. Still, a moderate approach for now is best, I think.
It's the trailer that bothers me, I've no idea what the game will be like, but it is a trailer for the game.
This trailer was released by capcom's marketing. I doubt they don't know what the images remind people of. Either way their intentions are irrelevant. eg. People I've met that are sexist definitely don't think they are.
I don't think anybody is over reacting. People are just talking about the imagery of a trailer, that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. It certainly beats swallowing wholesale everything that the hype machines throw at us.
It could be worse, right? There could be little kid zombies with flies all over them and distended stomachs. There could be emaciated zombies who infect Chris with AIDS. There could be wise tribal elder zombies who feed Chris meals with insects and animal bones in them but he's too polite to decline because he really wants to get the "real African Zombie experience".
So we've got our zombies with machetes. We'll make do.
At least there isn't genocide to muddle up the gameplay.
People are complete overreacting. Has anyone here heard of a game called "GTA San Andreas". In this game you play a stereotypical black person (Compared to the Stereotypical American Chris in RE5) who shoots stereotypical innocent white people who aren't even zombies!
I think RE4 and RE5 help give us an idea of the chaos going on not just in America regarding the Umbrella Corporation, but across the globe as well.
Finally, it would be difficult to introduce a new character because many people would feel uncomfortable introducing a new major protagonist this late in the series.
Alright, you why I think they picked Africa? Africa is full of developing countries. If you think about it developing countries are perfect for zombie outbreaks, little police, little military, crowded and poor gun control. Black people happen to live there, so they are the zombies. In the other resident evil games you have killed no black zombies that I can remember. In pretty much every modern combat game you kill Arabs and only Arabs and nobody decides bitch about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the protagonist is white. Most people who are from developed countries are. I am sick of people looking for reasons to jump at people and call them racist so they can sue them.
To be honest I think it's racist that someone pointed out that all the zombies are black.
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