Friday, August 3, 2007

Get your racial agenda out of my video games!

I usually avoid topics like race, creed, and sex when it comes to “equal rights.” In my mind, the easiest way to fix the issue is to well, ignore people’s race, creed, and sex. I guess those things never really mattered to me. And I avoid the topics because I find them ridiculous in most facets. Where some people see racism and horrendous acts similar to lynching, I see an event, one not even necessarily real. Such is the case with the Resident Evil 5 trailer.

Before I get to the main topic, let me first give you a brief synopsis of the games story. Someone has found a parasite that infects a host, and as it grows, it makes the host more and more susceptible to the commands of someone who has a thing, I am not sure of the details, that part is never really explained. Something to do with the human equivalent of a dog whistle, I think. Anyway, this makes the host have many zombie-like characteristics, but they are not undead, so they are not technically zombies. I have grown fond of calling them as such. “Not Zombies.”

Anyway, the latest in the series has a character from a previous game, Chris Redfield(or some shit) coming into a town in Africa and fighting these not zombies. The game looks much like it will play very similarly to RE4. Anyway, back to the point.

http://tinyurl.com/2apanx

Some overly sensitive nut job has officially taken the crown for overly sensitive nut job Queen. She has taken serious issue with “the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing.” Whoa now. See, this is a direct quote from her page. I just want to point out something that may or may not have any bearing on my point before I get to the real meat of this post. Notice that “Black” is capitalized, while “white” is not. Just thought I’d throw that out there.

See, she has no idea that this is the fifth main installment of Resident Evil. There have been close to a dozen games so far, and this is the first time the zombies have been black. The rest of the time, the zombies have been white, (save for the Spaniards in the beginning of RE4). I’d say blacks are getting off pretty easy if anything.

But that’s the problem, isn’t it? We have to talk about who is what color. I mean, it stands to reason that if the game is set in Africa, the people there would be black. Or does the author simply want us to ignore Africa and black people all together? Is that what people need to do to get rid of racism? Because that, my dear readers, is not only offensive to myself and people like me who don’t fear or hate people because of their skin color, it is also fucking retarded.

These stupid posts are the reason for racism. I feel that needs clarification. The reason that stupid racist crap exists in our nation, a nation which wholly endorses people of mixed races (or gives those who are not white an advantage, depending on whose side your on), is that we are so afraid of being considered racist, that we try and block out all knowledge of other people. And not necessarily in the way that I discussed earlier, but in a way that is foul. Sidestepping the race entirely, pretending they do not exist. So, with that fear instilled in people, whenever they see race, it’s immediately wrong. It’s ignorance, plain and simple.

The reason we have people like this, is quite simple. Other people, probably their parents or other authority figures, instilled this idea that anytime a black person is portrayed as evil, it’s racism. She can’t even begin to grasp that maybe, just maybe, the 300 Japanese people working on this game don’t give a shit about who the zombies are. That this wasn’t on purpose to hurt the black community. It seems to be beyond her comprehension.

Another of her quotes really gets me angry. “..the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people.” Really? Fucking really? First, young people huh? A game rated M, the equivalent of “R” in movies, is targeted towards youth? Suppose the rating system didn’t even exist. Does she think that a game about blowing the heads off zombies with a 9mm is for kids? Like 8 year olds?

And again, it’s only logical that a game that takes place in Africa would have black people in it. I don’t really think that the player will think of this as “destroying” (not killing mind you, destroying) black people. I would even doubt that their color will be brought up in the game at all. The player will only be concerned with one thing; Killing those Goddamned not zombies. We (as gamers) aren’t going to be thinking “Oh shit! A nigger! Shoot it! Shoot it!” We will, however, be thinking “Oh fuck, not zombies are after me! Run the fuck away and then fire. Shit…I’m out of ammo. Shit. Shit. Shit.” I’m almost certain the idea that they are black won’t even cross our minds. We will be too busy having fun.

We, as a nation, spend too much time on this shit. Why do we even need to worry about it? Thinking about skin color only further separates us as people. Acting like you are the poor and impoverished only further places you in that group. Not to mention that people who hear you, will be more likely to believe that it’s true. Making your statement a self- fulfilling prophecy. Grow some balls, and realize that sometimes, the bad guy will be black. And don’t take it personally. They aren’t evil because they are black, they are evil because they are not quite zombies, and they happen to be black. It’s almost racist that it’s taken this long for the villains to be black.

Worrying about who we will offend is seriously only going to make racism worse. This takes away from actually racial issues in the world. Ones that are important, ones that actually have an affect on you. Actual hate, and fear, and destruction. You are cheapening these events when you pull some bullshit like this and want to scream “foul!” The more we look around and point, and say “Hey look! There’s racism over there!” the more there will be. Unless we just act like black people are just that, people, we will always be aware of the differences. And isn’t that what racism is anyway? Pointing out that you are different than me?

Now, I’m not saying that from this point onwards, all zombies or villains should be black, or anything like that, but I am saying that it’s not an issue if they are black on occasion. I mean, I never complained about white guys being killed before. Why is it suddenly a race thing? I could just as easily bitch and moan about every other game that’s even been made where the bad guy is white. Fuck, I could say that as a human, I am offended that humans are portrayed as bad.

Oh, and the biggest, most important reason this is not racism; It’s a video game. It’s just for fun.

I think that’s enough Whiskey Tango Foxtrot for today. Until Monday!


with your strict machine...


17 comments:

Anonymous said...

i think the point is...is this is insensitive...

its like having a german soldier in israel, killing off israelite non-zombies. its just sort of racist for you not to recogonize this.

Anonymous said...

I think you're completely off track "anonymous". How is this insensitive? Have there been many white on black-not-zombie killing sprees taking place in Africa? I haven't heard of any... Would the situation be ok if a black man killed off lots of white-not-zombies? Why would that be ok?

Violence against people in a real world is never ok, and video games do cross lines sometimes, but this is not-zombies... in a game. They aren't making some statement that apartheid was a great thing, or that people should emulate this in the real world.. They are simply placing you in the middle of a town, and setting zombies upon you.. Doesn't matter what color they are..

You statement about germans killing not-zombie-israelites seems short sighted too... That wouldn't be ok, but israelites killing not-zombie-germans would somehow be better? Why? The german people are not nazis, determined to slaughter the jewish peoples...

Everyone can go back in history and find a time when one group dominated (through violence) another group of people. This is simply the way the world is, and it seems short sighted to condemn people who make video games for trying to come up with some new locales to base the action. There were many periods of time from 2000-1000BC when the nubians, from south of Egypt, came in and conquered and enslaved egyptians... This was black (nubian) enslavement and killing of a brown people (egyptians), with many northern tribes (peoples from syria and libya (white)) also being killed and enslaved. So no video game violence against anyone I say... But I digress...

The black-not-zombies aren't attacking because the person is white, just as the white man isn't attacking the black-not-zombies because they're black... THEY'RE FUCKING not-ZOMBIES... I'd hope we can all come to the agreement that zombies and not-zombies must be killed regardless of race, creed, or any other category we use to create differences between people. If you'd like to see a film discuss race and zombification, just watch the original "Night of the Living Dead". Those are real zombies anyway...

Great original post btw...

Anonymous said...

i think your example of the egyptians was thousands of years ago. i think examples of white soldiers killing africans is much more recent.

In South Africa apartheid has just recently been removed, I have South African friends, who are the same age as me, in their early 20s, who are still dealing with the effects.

i dont understand why you have no feelings or emphathy for people dealing with these problems. all you can think about is having fun with your new zombie game, instead of thinking about the parents, brothers, and sisters who were killed in the same way you are about to re-enact in the new game.

i really would like to believe that you are not so horrid as this.

Anonymous said...

Maybe, Anonymous & Friends, its because you try to see all of these connections everywhere you go instead of taking the game for what it is.

Re-read the actual article and think about it again - its just a bunch of (most likely Japanese) developers who came together and created the game. Why is it so important for them to sit down and try to review every aspect of the game to make sure that it doesn't 'offend' anyone? You could find a million things to complain about or you can just realize that you have the choice of simply not playing the game and that is it. Its a whole other issue if the game involved the scenes of apartheid specifically -- but a whole other issue where a SKIN COLOR and GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION is mutated to be an act of racism.

Seriously, judging from such 'logic' I am very offended that you are using BLACK letters to write on WHITE background in this comment section -- it makes it seem so RACIST that it HAS to be BLACK on WHITE as if blacks are superior.

I really would like to believe that you are not so horrid as this.

Anonymous said...

Can't we all just get over it already???? It is just a game, the japanese company that is making it doesn't care what color the zombies are as has been stated above. Great comments by Dr Jerome and Sam!

Anonymous said...

LOL. I can't believe people are more sympathetic of game supporters then they are of people who suffered from apartheid! If racism isn't alive and well I don't know what is.

Anonymous said...

I think anonymous is crazy this game is not FUCKING RACIST!!! (and you can tell I mean it by the way I use angry capital letters!!! and use unnesessary curse words to prove my point in a civilized manner!) I mean this is just a game!!! ALL WE WANNA DO IS HAVE
FUN!!!
Dr. Jerome was so right! Theres nothing wrong with killing black people for entertainment. All were trying to do is have fun. I've killed plenty of white people in games and just because I wanna kill some black savages doesnt mean that I'm racist! I mean just because Aparthied ended like in the 90s and people are still suffering continually from the murder, hatred, and predjuce does not mean I should have to give up MY Entertainment!!! I mean all I care about is if I'M HAVING FUN!

People are so race SENSITIVE!! They should just get over it! Because I don't wanna have to actually look within myself and admit that maybe what I'm doing for entertainment is actually hurtful and wrong. All I wanna do is have fun and think about myself!

That is exactly why I support the even newer Resident Evil Game their in the process of making in Japan called " Bomb the Twin Towers!" Its awesome!!! In the game You MUST be a MUSLIM with tan skin you go to place that looks like America and kill off "non zombies" who look like American citizens. This game is totally cool and anyone offened is FUCKING RETARDED! I mean it was made in Japan and the Japanese have no idea whats going on in the world.

Besides 9/11 happened like 6 years ago...

I'm not racist!

Stratovarius said...

battleangel,

Your attempt at sarcasm, while amusing, is unnecessary.

The problem with your observation is simple. You are assuming that I, or anyone else who plays this game, is indeed wanting to kill black people. If I am indifferent, and do not kill because of race, am I racist?

And if you think I am, how so? I would have to be concise of the fact that I am killing these people because they are black, not because they are not zombies. You are the one who is pointing out skin color. If it offends you, then do not play it. But do not try to push a sick, twisted and malevolent label on me, or anyone else who plays the game.

Also, just a question. By your logic, anytime anyone who is black dies at the hands of someone who is white, that is racist, no?

Anonymous said...

i think battleangel is just commenting on everyone's severe reactions to other ppl's opinion. i think the fact that people get so upset and swear and write long posts about how they are not racist, sort of points to the fact that they probably doubt themselves.

if someone made the 9/11 game that she described, everyone would get upset. i think most of the world are generally insensitive and unaware about what is happening in Africa. i think everyone who is defending the game seem very ignorant and insensitive or just plain racist. but they say the worst racist is the one who is oblivious.

Navi said...

Sorry, I'm a little backlogged on reading your blog, Adam. <3

Seriously, It never even occurred to me that there was any kind of race issue involved here. When I first saw the trailer, (and my boss at work showed it to me, and actually said that he thought it was set in Haiti or a tropical locale like that, so I didn't know it was even supposed to be in Africa until now) the only thing I thought was 'Oh wow, this is really different from most other Survival Horror games where you're in a house/mall/other generic modern location.' I thought it was really god damned creative to take the normal situation of killing zombies (or not-zombies, as it's come to be) and put it in a new environment that's never really been done before. It did not once cross my mind that it was a white guy killing a bunch of black people.

I guess that makes me a racist?

Anonymous said...

Please guys. Anonymous you're bringing race somewhere it has no place. Nobody is being racist towards black people. It's the setting of the game. And the last game was in spain with hispanics. And before that it was in america with white people. How come people there never complained??? As people have said countless times they are not killed because they're black but because they want to kill you. Say a guy who happened to be black had sex with your wife and you punched him a few times and got angry. Now would this be because he was black?

Anonymous said...

The race issue with this game has been around for a while. The initial comments made by a reporter were essentially your classic media reaction. Someone who has never played the series or any videogames for that matter basing their assumptions on an out of context trailer.

Surely if you only create media which shows a world full of equally mixed individuals then you're only spreading propaganda. My school used to take promotional photographs which always included bazaar proportions of race. A group of five students would have one white kid, one black kid, a mixed race kid, a Chinese kid and then another minority student. It was offensive that they felt they should stage some strange picture of racial equality. It was nothing but a lie and thus far more offensive then just showing a bunch of white kids or any other race.
There have been several Zombie movie set in Africa and the message is usually the same. If you suppress people then you create a dangerous situation. The imagery that so many people keep calling "racist" because it displays "black people looking creepy" has always struck me a different way. I instantly saw the same scenes of famine and desperation I've seen all over the media and regrettably face to face.
If any symbolism was going to be read into it then surely it would be that oppression has caused these problems. That by segregation and neglect a community has been changed into a monstrous horror.
The use of the German Israeli argument is incredibly offensive. It shows a complete lack of understanding of A) History and B) The current political situation.

The main point is simple. Imagine if a film or videogame was in the same setting but included all races running around. It would be offensive because it would belittle the real life situation.
It seems strange to me that people assume its simply a racist game rather than a game making a comment on racism. It's like saying the 1980 film Virus is racist because the Zombies in that were black.

Anonymous said...

The race issue with this game has been around for a while. The initial comments made by a reporter were essentially your classic media reaction. Someone who has never played the series or any videogames for that matter basing their assumptions on an out of context trailer.

Surely if you only create media which shows a world full of equally mixed individuals then you're only spreading propaganda. My school used to take promotional photographs which always included bazaar proportions of race. A group of five students would have one white kid, one black kid, a mixed race kid, a Chinese kid and then another minority student. It was offensive that they felt they should stage some strange picture of racial equality. It was nothing but a lie and thus far more offensive then just showing a bunch of white kids or any other race.
There have been several Zombie movie set in Africa and the message is usually the same. If you suppress people then you create a dangerous situation. The imagery that so many people keep calling "racist" because it displays "black people looking creepy" has always struck me a different way. I instantly saw the same scenes of famine and desperation I've seen all over the media and regrettably face to face.
If any symbolism was going to be read into it then surely it would be that oppression has caused these problems. That by segregation and neglect a community has been changed into a monstrous horror.
The use of the German Israeli argument is incredibly offensive. It shows a complete lack of understanding of A) History and B) The current political situation.

The main point is simple. Imagine if a film or videogame was in the same setting but included all races running around. It would be offensive because it would belittle the real life situation.
It seems strange to me that people assume its simply a racist game rather than a game making a comment on racism. It's like saying the 1980 film Virus is racist because the Zombies in that were black.

Anonymous said...

Just a quick point by a Spaniard born and living in Spain (Europe). Most Spaniards are Caucasian white, not Hispanic like in Mexico or other parts of Central and South America. There are not so many blonde people like in Scandinavia, but we are definitely Caucasian.

The ganados have a neutral Mexican accent, which is funny for people living in Spain, but I digress..

Nice article, by the way.

Chris said...

Two thoughts...

One, As a white guy, you would want "white" un-capitalized, because it implies a lack of agenda. See the contextual different between "You know, that white social organization", and "You know, that White social organization"

Two, it's not just this person's ill-informed post, it's the interplay between her post and your reaction to it. Just as she provided a springboard for your defensive post, your post will be a springboard for other reactionaries.

Instead, when something comes really far out of left field, it's best to ignore it or to mock it, thereby rejecting the premise of their silly statement. By responding to a statement, you imply that you accept most of the premises of who you reply to.

Anonymous said...

soooo fucking racist, bunch of jap a-holes!

Anonymous said...

I can somehow understand their outrage. They are pissed off over how the trailers depicts the black people as savages (ignoring the fact that they are infected, of course). So, as far as the trailer is concerned, they do have a fraction of point. But, crossing the line and passing the final verdict on the whole game is just unfair and stupid at the same time. I can clearly see from her statement that she made it at the heat of moment and she even goes as far as to accuse Capcom of instilling racism in children and young teen. I can't imagine a kid, even a young teen, who will pass over Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros Brawl and pick this particular game up and even progress into it. For God's sake, what are ESRB rating for? If a child got a hold of it, It will be the parents' responsibility so, stop bitching.

About the article, it is a fine piece of writing. I salute the writer.