OK, we all know zombies gotta die. And I loved Resident Evil 4. So why do these early images from the next installment of the Resident Evil franchise make me so queasy?
After all, in RE4, you spend the game shooting equally out-of-their-mind Spaniards. But, then, the Spanish haven’t been so egregiously misrepresented as blacks through the ages, have they? Not even close.
From Birth of a Nation to Black Hawk Down, black folk are apparently responsible for some of the most mindless and evil activities you got. Rape, murder, satanic voodoo. With bulging eyes, simian super strength, and a room temperature IQ, we’ve been portrayed as savages beyond redemption. So, when we see images like these, it doesn’t just resonate with the long lived zombie genre, it also triggers memories of so many awful stereotypes — and what those stereotypes have been used to justify past and present. Put down the crazed negroes before they take the white women! And so on…
But perhaps the most troubling part is that these scenes seem to be set in Africa; the “dark continent.” With all the positive steps being taken of late to raise awareness of the good things happening in Africa as well as the urgent need in some parts of the continent, we really can’t afford this kind of step back. We need to find ways to humanize Africans, not dehumanize them.
George Romero’s genre-defining 1968 film Night of the Living Dead is often read as a black empowerment tale. It’s ironic, then, that 40 years later, the preeminent zombie franchise appears poised to give us just the opposite. If LocoRoco’s Mojas were a kind of high tech blackface, Resident Evil 5 takes blackface into the HD era. It’s horror alright, just not the kind Capcom intended.
Find more history of black characters in games at The First 11 Black Videogame Stars. And the full trailer for RE5 at Gamersyde.
Follow-up post Race in Games: Culture, Context, and Controversy
Update:
Thanks to those who have posted thoughtful responses. My main concern here is really for the perception of black countries. Over the years, many of them have been portrayed as uncivilized and recently a good deal has been done to change that thinking (particularly in Africa). But there’s still a lot more work to do.
I do understand the characters presented in the trailer are zombies. Still, I find the proximity of those zombies to old school long lived black stereotypes alarming. And that’s what my post is about.
So, perhaps the deeper question is: How are black countries and those who live in them portrayed in games now? How have they been portrayed in the popular media and movies? Is it on par with other peoples and places in the world? If so, maybe it is time for a game like this. If not, then how do we respond?
Note to commenters: I will delete your comment for name calling or generally being obnoxious. I will not delete your comment for disagreeing with me.
Resident Evil 1 - white people are zombies
Resident Evil 2 - white people are zombies
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - white people are zombies
Resident Evil Code: Veronica - white people are zombies
Resident Evil Survivor - white people are zombies
Resident Evil Gaiden - white people are zombies
Resident Evil: Survivor 2 Code: Veronica - white people are zombies
Resident Evil Zero - white people are zombies
Resident Evil: Dead Aim - white people are zombies
Resident Evil Outbreak - white people are zombies
Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 - white people are zombies
Resident Evil 4 - white people are zombies
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles - white people are zombies
Resident Evil 5 - ZOMG AFRICANS?! RACISM
Please, I’m sure the majority of ALL people won’t give a flying crap.
Folks, please give the post a closer reading. I’m trying to wrestle with precisely the issue you mention — why prior RE games weren’t as upsetting as this one. I’m aware that the previous games featured a more diverse set of zombies.
‘But perhaps the most troubling part is that these scenes seem to be set in Africa;’
Yeah, I do find that the scenes would be better shot in Antartica. Superior contrast.
Come on now they are zombies, if I was being as blindfolded as you i’d call you out for racism, since your saying zombies should only be white?
Then again, a delay of a few decades should be enough for Africa to sort out its problems?
Please.
Alex, I agree it’s a difficult issue. The point, though, is that there are still a lot of disturbing images of black people floating around so some sensitivity is required. And that sensitivity is particularly important because we’re finally starting to see a change in the popular perception of Africa.
I’m sorry, but where exactly are you going with this?
Are you saying that it’s alright for white people and spanish people (which can potentially be classified as latin people, since they were historically conquered by moors and have darker skin than white europeans) and suchlike to be given the flesh-eating zombie/mutant treatment, but because blacks have historically been victimised due to the colour of their skin, it is now not okay to give black people the same kind of position, and thus they deserve to be elevated higher than said whites and spaniards?
I’m sorry, but not only does this classify you as racist towards whites and latins (and possibly towards the Japanese as they make the game and not white people), but this type of politically correct BS is what has caused the world to become far more unstable and dangerous than what the naive pc-minded numpties originally set it out to be. For pity’s sake, you’re doing far more harm than good with these kind of comments, and I hope that the potential backlash that you’re about to receive here makes you realise that you’ve taken things too far to the extreme and have completely destroyed any kind of equality you were originally hoping to obtain.
Why is it that people of color are so super-sensitized to any depiction of their race in any form of media, yet there are absolutely no hackles raised among people of non-white people when Caucasian characters are routinely obliterated in film, television, video games, etc… It’s ridiculous. Racism exists, yes…but many minorities (black people in particular) have learned to find it EVERYWHERE THEY LOOK. They need to get over it. This is a video game set in a country predominantly populated by black people. Does it make sense to have a bunch of white zombies as enemies, in the heart of Africa? No. People getting up in arms over crap like this is just laughable.
Jason, this Africa merely looks like our Africa.
This Africa is set in a world that is falling apart from zombie attacks everywhere. The developers probably chose Africa because its a change of scenery. Personally, I loved RE4 more than the others because it brought a fresh land to kill zombies in. I’m sure you loved it too.
Also, they’re zombies. They just happen to be black. Because its set in Africa.
Hi Holy Hell I say!
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Just because games are now in HD and we are afforded the opportunity of UBER realism doesn’t mean we are now spreading racism.
Black people are soooooooo sensitive (Yes I am Black) about how we are portrayed. Because of eons of misrepresentation, fine. But guess what? That doesn’t really happen any more, cuz when it does, we raise all high holy hell and something happens. People don’t like to look at themselves and see the ugly. Many filmakers are now deciding to show the UGLY, Hotel Rowanda, Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland, Black Hawk Down, Shaka ZULU!!!
The white man doesn’t have to go and hunt down “Africans” they do it to themselves and laugh over greed. Blacks love to say, “My Brother” but the second you don’t give him what he wants he’ll stab you in the back for someone else. Racism that.
This game aint no different than any of the others. It’s a game about someone’s right to live when there are things trying to kill them. “Oh my god these virus infected blood thirsty beings have black skin, I can’t shoot them because I’ll be labeled a racist, lemme just get eaten and wished i was in the previous game and they were white.”
And what about the prevalent stereotype that, when faced with various forms of adversity, African Americans are too hasty to identify racism as the source of their problems? Perhaps you, as an African American blogger, have a responsibility not to perpetuate that particular stereotype.
I’m of African descent myself - West Indian-Canadian to be specific - and I’m very disappointed that after one brief gameplay trailer, some African Americans are crying foul. The Black Looks article, in particular, seemed to be coming from a perspective of complete ignorance, given its remarks about the game being marketed to children.
In your case, you at least claim to have played Resident Evil 4, but you argue that the difference between that game and what we’ve seen of Resident Evil 5 is that there are no Spaniards-as-savages stereotypes, which, unfortunately, cannot also be said for Africans.
Fair enough, but I think we need to be less hasty to racialize everything so immediately, and with so little context.
The supposedly racist connotations of the trailer didn’t even occur to me, and that’s the way it should be. I’m sure they didn’t occur to the game’s Japanese developers, and when the game is released and an explanation provided as to why the villagers are acting the way they are t-virus/parasitic mind control, etc., it shouldn’t occur to any reasonable player of the game, either.
Jumping the gun and crying “racist!” does precisely the opposite, as far as I’m concerned.
Black people in Africa?! That’s so racist!
What’s wrong with a game being set in Africa?
They aren’t really black or white once they’ve been zombified, i’m sure there are a lot of positive things going on in africa these days and hopefully Capcom will be able to allude to these in their game. (Your making assumptions about how they might portray black zombies so im guessing about Story and additional characters )
I don’t think I’m alone when i say as a gamer and a UK citizen I don’t often think about Africa that much but surely something that sheds some more light on a modern Africa can only be a good thing?
To be honest not much is known about the game at this point so until it comes out or we all get some more concrete information about this release i think its all a bit alarmist to be calling anyone a Racist.
Man, do I agree with you (black myself).
But, hell, I still want to kill some zombies.
What if they just re skinned the game so that all the enemies were white, and the main character was black? That way they can sell two different versions. One for Black people and one for everybody else.
I see that as the perfect compromise.
Should we avoid setting works of fiction in areas that are predominately black if those works of fiction have anything besides positive black characters? Doesn’t the rainbow/Disney treatment create it’s own, equally inappropriate, stereotypes?
Your argument that the fact that the black people in the Resident Evil title are infected zombies is a reinforcement of negative stereotypes is probably a bit too early in my opinion. My guess from having played many Resident Evil games is that Chris will encounter someone in Africa that has avoided infection and that we will feel empathy for the civilization that was lost due to the biohazard. What is monstrous and scary about the T-virus is seeing normal people become killing monsters. If the stereotype is that we are just making monsters more monstrous, then it wouldn’t be as scary.
Look, Jason, I realize that you aren’t using the same take on this issue as some others are. (Those other people are blatant racists; but I wouldn’t say that about you)
However, I honestly and sincerely believe that you really need to go *back* and re-examine precisely what you’re saying.
“..why prior RE games weren’t as upsetting as this one.”
Because the cause of your uneasiness really *isn’t* this game. It’s inside you. This is just growing pains. While although I can sympathize with your not wanting to see black people killed like this, you need to realize that it really is impossible to achieve equality so long as you want to see unequal treatment. That is, the only way equality can *ever* be achieved is if people, everyone, starts behaving as though everyone IS equal, and hoping that others will follow suit.
So I’ll kill zombies.
And I’ll have fun doing it.
And I won’t care what they look like.
And others will do the same. And we’ll ignore those people who may actually get pleasure from the fact that they’re black. And we’ll ignore those people who object solely because they’re black.
Eventually, in time, treating everybody like they’re the same has a much better chance at making people *feel* the same than, say, insisting that they be indefinitely treated differently. Surely you can see that it can’t possibly *ever* end, so long as there are *any* sides insisting that we MUST focus on race, and MUST treat people differently based on that race? Regardless having the best possible intentions, it still propagates the belief that we’re different. It still propagates the belief that different rules for different folks is appropriate.
Not going to resort to swearing now, but to the person who said Loco Roco isnt racist…
I’m undecided, but really now, know your history and you’ll spot something quite suspect about it…
And cheers Jason for the considered response, my initial post was a bit goading but I was trying to get a point across. Its just I think theres never going to be a ’sweet spot’ to set a game in africa. And I really do think the general public are ready to kill black zombies. Because they are zombies, not humans. I reckon people can identify the difference in their head. No-one is really going to believe the T-Virus has spread to africa - in real life.
H& machine, I don’t think your really black.
Enjoy your pasty white skin.
Thanks to those who have posted thoughtful responses. My main concern here is really for the perception of Africa. Over the years, it has been portrayed as uncivilized and recently a good deal has been done to change that thinking. But there’s still a lot more work to do.
I do understand the characters presented in the trailer are zombies. Still, I find the proximity of those zombies to old school African stereotypes alarming. And that’s what my post is about.
So, perhaps the deeper question is: how is Africa and how are Africans portrayed in games now? How have they been portrayed in the popular media and movies? Is it on par with other peoples and places in the world? If so, maybe it is time for a game like this. If not, then how do we respond?
Jason, did you ever think that the typical black stereotype is that of a zombie? A mindless, mass of muscle that only exists to eat and kill?
Also, I think Who’s YOUR CADDEY does way more damage to the black community then this game ever will.
Barring Stormfronts inevitable hack of the PC version of the game.
This is all I have to say:
http://brainsandcornbread.ytmnd.com/
Well there have been tonnes of films about Africa (Last King Of Scotland being one that springs to mind) Games on the other hand have largely left it well alone.
Films typically play up the violence that happens on the African Continent between real people as opposed to zombies, nobody thinks this is wrong.
People watching these kinda films are much more likely to take away negative impressions as gamers have to concentrate on game play mechanics (shooting collecting survival), whereas you cinema audience has its full concentration on the content.
I’m spanish, so I speak spanish.
Perdona pero los hispano - latinoamericanos han sido y son denigrados en una gran parte del mundo, quizás no tanto como la gente de color, pero si lo han sido, sino estudia un poco más.
Lo importante del racismo es no querer encontrar diferencias donde no las hay, que un juego se ambienta en españa, los protagonistas son españoles, que se ambienta en africa, son africanos, y en china son chinos.
Lo que si serÃa discriminación es que se ambientase en africa y sus personajes fuesen hispanos, blancos, chinos o japoneses…
El racismo radica en la discriminación q hacen las personas con razón a lo que ven, y estoy seguro que en el mundo de los videojuegos (pues esto es un videojuego, no una crÃtica, un documental, …, es decir, es ciencia a ficción) muy poca gente ha observado ese aspecto, yo sin ir más lejos vi el video y me parecio bien, no vi discriminación de ningún tipo, y eso que de discriminación se, pues ademas de ser hispano soy gay y en africa por esto me matarÃan…
A ver si reflexionamos antes lo que escribimos, porque el alarmismo y absurdo al que está llegando la sociedad raya la esquizofrenia
I can’t tell if you are oblivious to the actual conflicts in Africa.
H& machine, I’m not oblivious to the conflicts in Africa but I think a lot of people are oblivious to the good things that happen there. That’s my concern. It seems we’re at a critical point for Africa’s world image, so there might be better times for RE5 to appear.
To be clear: I’m not calling for any kind of ban on the game. But I would like to use it as a thought exercise. Where do we stand on presenting Africa in games?
Jason, what in that trailer is bringing up black sterotypes. It looks exactly like Resident Evil 4. Same animations, same running style, same camera movement, same everything.
So whens it’s about Spaniards it’s okay, when it’s black people it digging up bad steroetypes.
First of all, we agree that game with zombies isn’t the best place to portray africa in a realistic setting. I’m pretty sure everyone knows this.
Second, We look at what Africa really is. I’ve been to Nigeria. It’s not a good place. Its the definition of a 3rd world country. I’m going on a limb here and saying the rest of the continent isn’t much better.
Third, If we are going to portray Africa in games, we have to let them do it. We can’t cry racism or insensitivity at everything. Africa is a nice place, and I don’t expect Disney movies there.
Obo, good point. I think H& machine hit on something when he put it this way: “did you ever think that the typical black stereotype is that of a zombie? A mindless, mass of muscle that only exists to eat and kill?”
You’re right that it looks somewhat like RE4 but in a different country with different skin color. And I think that it’s good that a big game franchise is taking a look at Africa.
But I also wonder what impact this view of Africa will have to people who might already have a fairly negative impression of the place (conflict, famine, and genocide seem to be most of what we hear about in the news). We see a more positive view of other places in the world in the media and games so there’s something pushing back in people’s heads when RE4 is set in Spain, for example. I fear there is less to counteract negative views of Africa.
I understand you pov H& machine
But there is a problem with your pov, that these are not black people, they are zombies. It doesn’t matter what colour they are, all zombies need to die. They don’t represent any stereotype, as a zombie is and just is.
Then you touch base with movies and how they portrayed Africa, Hotel Rawanda, Blood Diamonds, Last King of Scotland. I think they don’t make people think Africa is a waste land filled with killers. Those movies touch the human element that exsist in times of hardship and chaos. They need to be made in order to give a better understanding on how life can people for other people. If you don’t know history, than you are bound to repeat it.
You are just being a sensitive bitch!
Opps I mean Jason.
We’ve already killed white people, black people and spaniards in RE series so why the hell is it racist now if we do already killed black people 11 years ago?
I’m going to try real hard not to be upset at the attention everyone who mentions racism, in regards to this game, is getting. I’ve been around long enough to know that NOTHING in the whole world sparks opinions/anger/heated debate like a good rascism discussion. I play videogames, since the Atari 2600, I’m black, and I’m in my mid-30’s.
I despise the Madden games, I wasn’t a fan of Grand Theft Auto, and Scarface and the Godfather are not classics in my mind. In case you are wondering what they have to do with anything… they’re typically the games/movies blacks gravitate towards. I say this because whenever one of our celebrities is asked this question, one of those entertainment titles are mentioned. Except Terrance Howard. A videogame reporter asked him if he played videogames, and he said “no”. He said something to the fact that he had other things to do. Someone to look up to, if you ask me.
Did you ever notice that during any episode of cribs (on Mtv), that the first DVD a rapper or sports star pulls out of their collection is either Scarface, or Godfather? Not ‘Do the Right Thing’ or ‘He Got Game’… they pull out movies about white people killing each other, and glorifying criminal behavior.
Back to the point at hand… how is it that you folks look past the entire first half of the trailer, to the point when the zombies start attacking the white protagonist? You ignore the dialog that will mean absolutely nothing to anyone that didn’t play at least one of the games dealing with the main storyline. Because you don’t know what he’s talking about, you spin it into a racist tirade and support it with the acts of violence that follow. There’s a backstory here. The trailer is meant to entice Resident Evil fans to want the game. It’s not for you.
You ignored the scene with the crowd and the podium. The hanging body (thank God it was upside down), and their outrage. As a gamer, that has played the previous RE’s, I can speculate that the body was a zombie… and the crowd is asking the official next to it what are they doing to help them. You ignored the scene where the protagonist walked into the house, and interupted two men (one black) from putting something into anothers mouth. Obviously monstrous because of what happens next. The fact that this is all taking place in Africa helps me see how far the evil corporation, from the game, reaches.
This attention by obvious non-gamers is disturbing. There’s really only one reason you folks are so upset at this trailer… the black folks look too real. They have realistic skin texture and tone, the hair looks like my hair. Their body movements are believable. Gone are the days when being represented as black was taking one of the white models, and making the skin brown.
You titled your piece “Blackface goes HD”… and I take offense to THAT. Mainly, because the first picture you see on this page, is a very African looking man (of which I have no problem), being taken over by a monster… and it’s not attractive. You associate Capcoms skill at trying to accurately render a people, into a barbaric practice of whites donning black grease paint, with thick white lips. How very tabloid of you.
The entire fiasco is almost like the ‘beautiful blacks’ trying to tell the world “we don’t look like that”, from behind straigtened hair, and blue contact lenses.
Jason,
Thanks for your well reasoned post. As a Black man, the RE5 trailer had the opposite effect on me. I am excited that mainsteam entertainment media outlets are beginning to place people of African decent in prominent roles in movies and games. It is much better than being ignored. Of course one hopes that the emotional and intellectual range of these characters will span the entire spectrum, but I consider this game to be progress. We shall see in the end results.
Erik, apologize if you found the title offensive. I realize the term is sensitive and perhaps I overreached in trying to shed light on an issue that I think is important.
I didn’t mean to imply that a dark skinned man is by defnition “blackface” but rather the bugged out eyes and dumb expression. That representation seemed a bit close to stereotype to me.
Your analysis of the trailer is interesting. If the hanging body was indeed a zombie then that adds a good twist to what we’ve seen. I hope Capcom is headed that direction because I can imagine it possibly leading to a place where the game humanizes Africans instead of dehumanizing them. That would be wonderful.
First off, let me say that I went from Kotaku.com to Blacklooks.org then to here. Your blog is posted on a link on the front page of Black Looks which is why you are receiving a less than warm reception considering the racist attitude that Ms. Kim Platt potrayed in her comments following her article. Second, while I sincerely appreciate and accept your view and concern I think it’s worth noting there has been no confirmation that this game takes place in Africa. It very well could take place in South America, or in Haiti (which with proper zombie research would make sense). So before people cry wolf or foul perhaps it’s important to gather up the facts of this situation. Now it doesn’t take the most sagacious person to know that this game is not made by Americans. It is infact as I’m sure you know made in Japan. Capcom is very well known very being a racially sensitive developer as has been seen in their Mega-man franchise. Since the game is still in development can you really say that even if this game takes place in Africa that it is depicting Africa in a negative light? Or are you upset because it depicts Black Africans in a negative light? Wouldn’t it be entirely possible that once this game is released you might find that it empowers Africa? My friend, the glass does not always have to be half-empty. You have focused your concern on the negative impacts of this game and not even for a second taken the time to consider any positive nor at any point do you mention anything positive. Don’t live in fear. The first thing I personally thought when I saw this trailer was “Oh man this game looks great! It’s such a change from the previous locations I can’t wait!”. It wasn’t until I watched it several times did I even begin to think to myself about the racial complaints people would have. Now that I’ve witnessed them, I confess myself very saddened. In a way. I see this game as an oppurtunity to inform a younger adult generation of the trials and strife that the people in Africa live through. I don’t see it as hate or negative. It’s reality, and reality isn’t always a mellifluous stream of roses.
You’re cherry picking your examples. Did you know Black Hawk Down is based on a true story? Did you know that there are hundreds of thousands of games, books, and video games featuring prominent white villains on all scales of intelligence and deviousness? Political correctness has gone insane on a mind-staggering level.
Popular black culture is the only thing now perpetuating a negative view of black people. Blame misogynistic, violent, and racist rappers for modern “misrepresentation” of blacks. They are what is holding down black communities and encouraging impressionable youth to hate.
Also, to say that black have been unfairly stereotyped any more than whites, blacks, Spaniards, or any other nationality is biased, unfair, and ignorant. That statement is ridiculous.
The game is set in a predominantly black area of the world, and, if it is indeed Africa, those people look African to me. Sorry. Would it have been more appropriate to lighten their skin, or change their characteristics? You just don’t like their physical features? I’m confused here?
You used as your example still frames of people in intense situations, screaming in apparent pain or horror, and engaged in combat. Surely you don’t think that those expressions are meant to represent how the typical black male walks around. Way to take things out of context.
I’m afraid I’m ranting here, so let me just say that this is silly.
hoos30, thanks for the thoughts. I mentioned the consideration of Africa in one of my replies as well. And that’s important even if we don’t start out in the best place.
And the question here, I suppose is: is this the best place? Considering it’s a trailer, there’s only so much to go on and Erik made some good points about a more positive direction it could possibly be heading. It’s possible. But it’s also possible that Capcom might be heading down a disturbing road. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
Honestly, I just wanted to open up the discussion. We’re having it now and I’m glad to see it.
wait, so … what?
Shooting white and spanish zombies is fine, but when they want to shoot blacks in africa that’s somehow offlimits?
who’s the real racist here? =/
Let’s go over a few points here…
1. Resident Evil 0-Code Veronica (which all together was about 6 or 7 games, if you count the survivor series) were about a virus that turn people into zombies. The virus was originally based on the Ebola Virus, which came from Africa. So, now the game is going it would seem to where everything started…Africa. Hence black people.
2. The previous games have all had white main characters killing other white zombies (although you can’t really tell most of there races as they’re so decomposed). Resident Evil 4 was set in spain, and you did nothing but kill Spaniards who acted the same exact way as the creatures in the Resident Evil 5 video act. So it’s alright to show the Spanish as zombies, but not black people? Are you racist against the Spanish?
3. The game is not even made by white people, it’s made in Japan, by the Japanese.
4. The plot of the game is that you have to stop a viral infection. So are you saying that the main character should not go to Africa to try and put down the infestation of these parasites and help the non-infected black people? Are you saying we should let the black people in this universe all die becasue you might have to kill a few black zombies? Maybe you’re the racist here.
I recall in RE4 (the one in Spain)that Luis Sera is a 28-year-old Spaniard who befriends Leon (protagonist) early in the game. There is no doubt in my mind that one of the lead roles in RE5 will be a local to the setting. This character, much like Luis, will probably revel major plot points to the story. This is just a theory, but I think it wouldn’t surprise many gamers familiar to the franchise if this occurs.
Jason, you seem to have this thought that Africa is this great place where, quite frankly, no bad shit goes down. There is good things and bad things happening in every country and continent around the world. Yes Africa has an AIDS epidemic and big crisis like Darfur and the genocides that are taking place. Babies, GOD DAMN 3 YEAR OLD BABIES that are being raped by “soldiers”.
Yes Jason, bad shit does happen in Africa.
Now onto RE5. Resident Evil is a franchise game series that has been around for over a decade now, with just about all the games being created by the Japanese company, Capcom.
The previous games all had predominantly white zombies (RE0-Code Veronica). Then came RE4, which had spaniards or latin inhabitants as zombies.
Now comes RE5, with black African zombies.
Why should you feel “queasy” shooting black zombies, but have no problem shooting white or Latin zombies?
What makes black zombies so special that they can’t be shot at with the same disregard that you would shoot white/latin zombies in the other games? A human being is a human being, no matter what color you are.
I mean, are you gonna sit there and tell me if a black person broke into your home, you would not pull out your 9mm and pop him in the head without even thinking twice? I know I would, and I am black.
A good person is a good person, a bad person is a bad person. A black zombie has every right to be shot at just like a white zombie or any other color zombie would.
Black people have to really stop their shit with being so sensitive to issues that have no foundation of racism present.
Just figured I’d point out that the assumptions about what will comprise the majority of the game have been made based on what, five minutes of footage? Out of what will minimum be a twenty-hour long game. Please tell me you at least noticed all those screens and video came from the exact same area in the game as well?
For all you know, you’re going through ONE small village to get into a facility beneath, where you’ll be able to kill plenty of white people, Asians, Mexicans, and what have you, but god forbid any more black people. Which would also of course mean (In my hypothetical situation) that a Black person wouldn’t be portrayed as part of the intelligent team that orchestrated such a biological weapon, but of course, we can’t kill them, so their out.
I don’t think putting down spaniards helps out the issue here. Killing Zombies in Africa (besides I think the game is based in Haiti) is no different them killing them in a mansion, or in a town. Beside how exactly were we supposed to know that the original zombies were white anyways? Their skin was pale, gray and decaying. You can’t call racism here. Besides you’re trying to make it out to be against the so called “White man”. The makers and producers are Japanese
How are blacks portrayed? quite often as knee-jerk, oversensitive racists such as yourself. This is not intended to be name calling, but as an adult white male I can attest that I NEVER hear or see real racism amongst any of my friends or acquaintances. The only place racism ever seems to come up is when black people call white people racist for something that is so clearly NOT racist. I could sit here and type all day about the different double standards we have in our society. Black people are constantly heard complaining about being put down and how they need to feel empowered and proud; but if a white person said that he’d be called a racist. Black comedians make fun of white people more than rappers “sing” about killing each other, but if a white comedian ever did bits making fun of the way black people talk or act, he’d be dubbed a racist.
Point is, racism will continue to exist as long as black people insist it exists, if for no other reason than a lot of us white people only feel racist towards blacks when we’re regularly being falsely accused of racism. It’s called a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it’s time you stopped encouraging it.
whats the big deal. no one said nothing about 50 cent killing white people. and they wernt zombies.
I’m not an avid video game player, and perhaps this makes my perspective a bit different. Honestly I do find the images alone disturbing because it stirs up whatever racial stereotyping you’ve got embedded deep down, which EVERYONE does have even if they don’t admit to it. It’s just a fact of life that everyone has preconceptions, and many of them border on racism and sexism. And many of those preconceptions come from imagery we see, read, hear about people. Picture this, you’re walking down a dark alley with no one else around. How would you react if you see a black man come coming towards you in the other direction. What if the man was white? What if he’s asian? What if it’s a woman? I don’t believe you if you tell me that your reactions (if not overtly, then at least internally such as a raised heart rate) would not be different depending on who it is. And I suspect that more people would have heightened awareness and raised blood pressures if that person were a black man rather than a white man or an asian woman, and it’s in large part to all the negative imagery we’ve seen of black men.
I think you are all fooling yourselves if you think that (1) we can ignore the negative perceptions people have of African Americans just because slavery ended here over a century ago - remember that the civil rights era was just 50 years ago, and (2) you can separate a zombie from what it looks like (”they’re zombies, not black people”). Isn’t realistic graphics one of the major reasons video games have been so successful? If you don’t care what the zombies look like, then they shoulda just made them stick figures and saved millions of dollars.
To Bladestorm, you’ve got a point - “it really is impossible to achieve equality so long as you want to see unequal treatment”. But, there’s a time for that, and I don’t personally believe that the time is now. It will be many years before we can really get rid of initiatives like affirmative action and expect to see equalization throughout - how many blacks, women, or minorities do you see at the top in companies? I’m an educator at an engineering school which if you all don’t know is a highly male dominated field, and you know what, my undergraduate classes average 95% white males. I’m lucky if there’s one black student or woman out of every class of 25, and that’s WITH affirmative action!
To DaveDaGamer, you said “Because of eons of misrepresentation, fine. But guess what? That doesn’t really happen any more, cuz when it does, we raise all high holy hell and something happens.” - YOU ARE LIVING IN A DREAM. And you’ve got issues when you say: “Blacks love to say, “My Brother†but the second you don’t give him what he wants he’ll stab you in the back for someone else. Racism that.” - wtf is that? IMO, you lost all credibility.
Admittedly, portraying spaniards as zombies may also be playing into some latin stereotypes, and you can’t make a final judgement until the game’s out. But, I think Jason’s got a point to think about - “what impact this view of Africa will have to people who might already have a fairly negative impression of the place”. Perhaps you all should really think about what your preconceived stereotypes are and where they came from.
so black people are zombies.
i am confused
Well you focus on this update how you were concerned about the portrayal of Africa and its people, but the original post had you painting the game as a racist tool to “teach them young” (despite being rated M) to destroy blacks.
This would probably be why you’ve created so much negative feedback. Also a responder up top, Julian, made a a good point if anything you’re perpetuating such racism and prejudice. No one intended to take it in that direction and no one did, until you created this ridiculous over-analytical blog. You knew you were wrong in the original blog about the destroying black comments, so you try to cover your tail by creating this one, and your heartfelt concern about Africa and its denizens.
You’ll better yourself and the ideas you stand for if you go out and achieve goals and prove your worth, instead of perpetuating concerns where they don’t exist.
Have you actually watched the trailer? Do you notice that at the beginning, he’s not killing any black people? That’s because he’s not killing black people. He’s killing zombies. And being in Africa, in a particular area where many black people live, it’s not surprising that those zombies are black.
And these stereotypes you discribe? “With bulging eyes, simian super strength, and a room temperature IQ, we’ve been portrayed as savages beyond redemption.” That sounds like a zombie to me, regardless of the color of the skin. God, your article is the most offensive part of this whole thing. You’ve stared a nice shit storm.
I think the real issue for the game, isn’t just that the zombies are black, as some of the commenter’s are saying, (there were a few black zombies in previous RE games), but that it is a white man killing them, a white man who isn’t even in his own country no less. It is impossible to deny the imagery of imperialism, and therefore racism inherent with this concept of this game. If the main character was a black person from the same country as the zombies, the game would send a much better message. Of course there is still the possibility of this happening, but for now all the images we have are of a white man killing stereotypical “savage” black people.
I would wait to see the context of the level in the game. The gameplay shown looks to be from one locale. If you did play the last one im sure you know it is a Huge sprawling game ranging from levels in villages, to castles to underground labs on bond villain islands.
Plus if it is all caused by umbrella corporation, the behind the scenes bad guys behind the other games, then you could argue it all comes down to the big business keeping people down. The zombies are the unfortunates etc. I dunno. I just feel with so little info on the game, its too quick to judge.
Equality among races, well I think that if we’re going to be equal and all, it’s about damned time that everyone gets treated the same, and this means stop with the over sensitivity to anything ‘black’. Its fine to kill white people in games and movies, kill to many black people though and you’re racist. Its fine to make fun of white people, make fun of black people though and you’re racist. Its fine for a black man/woman to prefers dating other black people; if a white guy/girl prefers dating white people then they must be racist.
Yeah the Zombies are black and yes it looks a lot like Africa. I didn’t see anything in that trailer that made me think for a second that’s how black people really are. I mean most if not all people have met black people in day to day life, and I doubt very much if it was a common occurrence for them to be throwing things at you, speaking in a tongue you couldn’t understand, or whatever else this trailer is supposed to make you think.
More over, I’m tired of everyone’s damned whining about how they are portrayed in media, the Venezuelan government is all pissy right now cause of Mercenaries 2, like people will play Mercs2 and thing “Hey, it’s all way and blowing things up in Venezuela.” and honestly, if there are people stupid enough to base their opinions on real world people from games and movies, to hell with them, they’re idiots and if it isn’t one thing that swayed their simple little minds it’d be another.
There is just so much stuff that makes it impossible for me to care when people have a cause that may mean something, this isn’t about RE5 here or anything else, it’s to do with the fact that yes there are some valid issues and concerns, but far too many black people and other races use white people as a scapegoat for all their problems. Take the guy from greys anatomy that got kicked off for insulting that gay dude, when they finally decided to axe him he turned around and said it was because he was black, and that all the whites were afraid of a strong tall black man, like it had nothing to do with calling some guy a faggot on set.
It’s stuff like that, pathetic usage of race, that just generally leaves me with apathy for any and all of other races problems.
This falls into that, making a big deal about a damned game, a game that is played primarily among those who are 18-35 (or something close to that). Ages that are well past any point where they are going to have any chance of being influenced by a game.
Stop crying wolf I guess, as a race, just give it a rest. When there are real issues and real points I just do not care because I’m tired of hearing how us whites are holding black people back from everything. Jobs, Homes, Acting apparently… Pretty much anything that they don’t have.
This is propagated by the black people I know, from the black people on TV, from the black people online. I don’t think its racism or generalization if the majority really does do it, even if it isn’t a fun thing to admit.
Not everything that has black people involved or in it has to be about racism for god’s sake.
Can’t be bothered reading all the comments apart from Jasons, but the whole topic of discussion is laughable.
“I’m trying to wrestle with precisely the issue you mention — why prior RE games weren’t as upsetting as this one. I’m aware that the previous games featured a more diverse set of zombies.”
And why is it more upsetting than the other series ? Is it because you are not killing White Europeans like you did in RE4 ? or white americans in the other Predecessors.
The fact that you believe black people have been misrepresented more than white people is plain ignorant. All races have been portrayed in media as rapists, murders, criminals at some point in time. To want the media to exclude one race from such activities is the real racism here.
You have changed your opinion that this is for the cause of debate on how africa and africans are portrayed in games, However your initial blog post and the research you have done into games is no where near enough to be making your proposed claims.
The only racism here is coming from people like you who differentiate the difference between white and black people. The thought of racism never came into my mind until I saw this thread, and as a work of FICTION, it has no influence on my opinion on africa or africans. The fact that you consider this sort of genre acceptable in every other country and race except africa and africans is the racist issue here.
Bit thanks for keeping racism alive Jason.
Do we REALLY know the game is to be set in Africa? No.
Do we really know(if there is an Africa level) that will be the only place you get to go to? No.
Do we know if those will be the only enemies? No.
Do we know if Jar Jar Binks is going to make an appearance? No.
Conclusion: Wait for the game to come out, then make your accusations about racism.
C’mon dude the zombies have always been white and now 1 game in the series has black zombies and everybody bitches and moans … C’mon go play Grand Theft Auto 4 because in that game you can kill white people with a black man. For the love of god, grow up.
oh and the mission in Resident Evil games have not been to destroy all the zombies … is it. For example in Resident Evil 4, Leon S. Kennedy had to save the presidents daughter and nothing else.
has this article not been taken down yet?
Add-On: (sorry about double post)
Do we know if Re5 is in a Black Country? No.
Do we know if there will be a black playable character other than Chris? No.
Capcom doesn’t care about black people
i think that Resident Evil 5 is worse than hitler. If i ever play this game i will put my foot through the screen
and send capcom the bill!!!!
There is no white man shooting black people. There is no color to this at all, there is the living versus the dead (or infected in this case). You see this has nothing to do with race, but has everything to do with setting. From a game company’s standpoint you have to note that 0-3 took place in the USA in the fictional Midwestern town of Raccoon City, an all-American affair. The (technically) 4th game, Code Veronica, took place in Europe just off the coast somewhere. The 6th game, Resident Evil 4, took place in and around Spain (more or less). The pattern here is that since the third installment of the series the franchise has moved around from locale to locale infusing a new and interesting development in the overall plot by inserting reactions by different cultures. Logically, to keep people from getting bored with it, they need to keep expanding their thinking about what areas and cultures to include. Honestly, how could setting part of the story in Africa be construed as racist?
You’ll note that from the AI behavior of the full RE5 trailer the infected, mechanically speaking, are no different than the mobs of bloodthirsty infected from RE4. They come at you in groups throwing sharp objects and armed with whatever makeshift weapons can be found throughout their village/city/what have you. RE4 was a complete shift in game play from the older titles in the series, and given that it was wildly popular for that and various other reasons Capcom would want to capitalize on that. Keeping in line with the sort of rustic themes and lo-tech approaches of a more rural people, as well as to not dwell too long on the European setting, Africa was a solid choice for the location. Huh? There are indigenous people there that are of a dark complexion? Perfect, then they shall be used as locals in the game. Before the argument is made that there are white people in Africa as well, I will go ahead and acknowledge that fact, but as a counterpoint we have not been given any true indication they do not appear in the game as zombies or infected.
I think the bottom line is to take the game into exotic settings that thrusts the average gamer out of their comfy surroundings and immerses them more into the survival horror feeling of the game itself. The world and its people should not be kept censored for fear of racism, putting dividers between people is just as bad. It’s a game that seeks to entertain, not teach hate, not kill black people, and definitely not lead the way in racist propaganda. This should be a non-issue.
I respectfully voice my opinion (like the majority of opinion) think your argument is incorrect.
As a Chinese guy (Taiwan woot woot), I would not be offended if Resident Evil 6 took place in China, and had Chinese zombies getting gunned down by white dudes and the token, hyper sexed out asian dragon lady stereotype of the Resident Evil series, Ada Wong. I would however, be offended if the zombies went “ching chang chong” and were offensive stereotypical caricatures.
In RE5’s case, I don’t see anything offensive or stereotypical. Looking at daily news images from Liberia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Congo, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Somalia, Angola, Cameroon, Niger, Guinea, Togo, and many many many others, there has been a pretty consistent theme of
-Poverty
-Dirt, sand, and dust.
If the descriptions of zombies are too close (in your opinion) to racist black stereotypes, that’s a unfortunate coincidence. Did these zombies have swollen gigantic lips, steal watermellons, and act like ‘tards? NO.
So i’m not offended, and refuse to believe any rational black people (not all black people are from africa, hence “african-american” is a fallacious term) would be offended as well
First off, it’s just a trailer so far. We have absolutely no idea of the storyline behind RE5.
Secondly, look at RE4 and its storyline (there are spoilers here). The game was set in Spain and featured Leon from RE2 gunning down countless zombie-like Spaniards. Yet, at the end of the game, you find out that the village, which was depicted as absolutely horrid, was subjugated against its will, and, through a montage of still images, you find that it returns to its idyllic state at the end. Who’s to say that the same won’t happen to the African village in RE5?
Third, I’m tremendously tired of people crying racism every single time a black person (might be) portrayed in a negative light. Take the children’s book, Nappy Hair, from a few years back. Parents raised a misinformed furor over the title, without realizing that the book was about a child celebrating her African-American heritage.
Another thing, RE4 was set in Spain, and ::gasp:: Spanish people were killed. Now, as a Spanish person was I offended? No. I thought it was rather cool that an RE game was actually set in a foreign country for once. But no one raised over a furor over that setting. Why? Is it okay for me to die because my people weren’t enslaved or endured racism?
Now, as for your update, that is a more thoughtful premise. In order to address racism, I think we need to speak about issues like that, rather than immediately drawing conclusions about something that hasn’t even been released yet. I say leave the game as it is, and, after its released, host some sort of discussion about the portrayal of African countries in today’s media. Its just too bad that most people won’t actually be focused on things that can actually end racism, but rather crying out, “He’s killing black people!”
I’m not sure where you’re going with the perception of black countries thing here. I watch alot of educational channels on t.v. (discovery, discovery science, travel, etc..) and the reality is that black countries range from being primative and practically third world to something like our cities in the U.S. I don’t see the Africans being portrayed as being savages or anything along those lines in the trailer at all. I’m not sure which trailer you watched, but there’s even a part where Chris (the white guy) is just walking along side of them in a market setting with no shooting or violence going on.
I’m surprised you didn’t find RE 4 disturbing… all the spaniards are portrayed as if they never bathe or wash their clothes.
We can’t really judge what Capcom may be attempting to portray here by trailer’s from a game that probably won’t be out until late 2008. These trailers were not released for the general public, they were released for the hardcore RE fans that need as much info on this game as they possibly can. It’s not about color with us, it’s about seeing one of our favorite characters fighting off some other crazy attempt by Umbrella to make the ultimate biological weapon (or some other crazy company like Umbrella).
If you’re trying to springboard into a general conversation about how Africa is portrayed in games, it’s admirable, but I think this is the wrong game to do it with.
Is RE-5 supposed to be in Africa, because my sources(always wanted to say that) state that it is supposed to be in a desert area and the story is to be similar to Black Hawk Down? However, if all info is true then this leaves Egypt and the Sahara. Both of the areas have other people then blacks. ALL areas blacks are in have other people in them than blacks. Besides it takes a lot more than the racial majority of a country to make it what it is. America is a fine example. Even if the country does look crappy, what if it is not the local population’s fault? What if there was a raid on the area by a bunch of white people and they are rebuilding their town? And there is always the idea that the location majority of the game may not even be in Africa(IF it is in Africa, MGS2 is an example of this(I.E. there were two locations in the game).
Final Statement:
STOP BEING SO WORRIED AND WAIT FOR THE GAME TO COME OUT TO MAKE ALLEGATIONS ABOUT HOW(if there is one in the game) BLACK DOMINATE COUNTRIES ARE PORTRAYED IN RE5
I’m sorry, but I really have to disagree with you as a whole. In the game series, Resident Evil, zombies start out as a virus that is contained in a mansion. Then it turns into an outbreak in a city. As the game series went on, zombies became an epidemic, now with resident evil 4 and 5, they’re making it into a pandemic. If anything, having black zombies in this game is equality more than anything else. The game is taking on a global scale, and to have all white zombies in Africa would be far more unjust.
Additionally, I think you give the media far, far, FAR too much credit. If anyone gets a bad concept of black people because of a video game, they’ve got to be pretty stupid to start, and anyone that stupid is going to cling on to things much louder than a game, things like biased news or political propaganda. In my experience, most of that people who play resident evil are smarter than the average. This is because the game isn’t easy, in fact, it can be down right brutal if you don’t think fast.
If you really want to look at a problem though, turn to the music industry. Black zombies won’t phase anyone. If anything, your reaction to the zombies being black proves you harbor latent racist feelings. Let me explain, I saw the trailer and honestly, I thought nothing of there being black zombies, in fact, I didn’t have it truly dawn on me until I read the stink about it. I just thought more zombies want to eat my brains and I’m going to kill them.
For you to immediately have issues with their skin color says you’re in some way racist, most likely against the white majority. This isn’t the same kind of racism as white against black racism was though. This is more a showing of you having a perception that white people still are heavily and actively racist against blacks. I can tell you, of the white people I know, probably only 1-3% of them act differently around blacks who aren’t dressed “ghetto.” In the other hand, many blacks who dress “ghetto” claim that white people are trying to keep them down for some reason or another. I’m not saying you’re like the “ghetto” youth, but your are thinknig along the same vein in some ways.
My honest belief is that white racism is overplayed and only as prevalent as it is now (and thats not too much) because it gets talked about all the time by blacks and the media. If I get told that I hate something for long enough, eventually I’m going to start to act differently around it. That is more the source of modern racism than anything else.
If Capcom makes a big deal in the game about black zombies, I won’t play it because I think that would be twisted, but if they just accept it at face value, I’ll probably love the game.
Ok. i believe that this game is gona force many children to kill anyone and everyone they come into contact this game should get pulled. we all know that this is going to be rated M but children will still be able to buy it with the money their parents give them. for the love of god the game depicts a man killing people! this is so profound. (honestly people once you stop making race a big deal, it becomes less of a deal) Dear lord this man shouldnt be killing human beings. this is just soo wrong i have never seen this before in a game. why doesn’t capcom see that this is showing the children or anyone that plays these barberic games how to kill people. good god i am soo happy that the majority of video games don’t depict (killing, stealing, drug usage, violence, or blood)
Seriously Jason, get a clue. If you want to have black people and Africa treated equally as every other race and continent you have to accept equal treatment. If groups were to shy away from the bad stories coming out of africa simply because it may impact poorly on the African image, that itself would be unfair.
That said, to claim having RE5 set in africa is “too soon” and will impact negatively on people’s views of the real world place. Please suggest, and provide a rational explanation as to when RE5 would be OK to be made and set in Africa. 10 years from now? 20 years from now? A century? There’s no “when” that will be good enough for people who think like you. Stop acting as the perpetual victim, and accept your place as equals on the world stage, which includes all the bad with all the good.
Clearly they need to make this main character who was white in previous games black all of a sudden, and make all the Africans white. Then it will be fine.
The author asks:
“How are black countries and those who live in them portrayed in games now? How have they been portrayed in the popular media and movies? Is it on par with other peoples and places in the world? If so, maybe it is time for a game like this. If not, then how do we respond?”
Of course Africa and Africans are portrayed differently then other peoples and places because it is a different place and they are different people. Africa is portrayed in many movies as being very poor. I’ve lived in Africa…I would say that some, very few to be honest, places are beautiful and wealth is abundant…but in most places Africa is crazy poor. I would not say that this is a fault of the people that live there. I would attribute the problems in Africa to the terribly corrupt governments in Africa. It would blow your mind as to how corrupt these governments are. The $40 a month you send to the starving child in Africa is actually going to whatever leader rules his country. He may see a nickel of that $40…if he is very fortunate. I would say that the trailer in RE5 portrayed Africa (just the country, not the individuals) very accurately. As for the individuals…yes they may look a little odd…but they are supposed to be zombies and this is a video game…white people look silly in video games very often. It is not real life folks. Black people may look more silly just because most programmers are unfamiliar with doing models for black people (most Capcom games do not have black people.) I think this will be an amazing game. I think the people that it is geared towards (not children…if you think this is geared toward children you are ignorant…the average age of gamers is 30) will know that the idea was not to have a white guy killing blacks. People need to grow up and quit playing the race card. I’m sick of it.
I think the whole racism thing gets pretty old.
Yes, we shouldn’t forget the past, but we should also learn from it. Thus, we shouldn’t give a fork (or spoon, or whatever) about the color of anybodys skin and NOT get all upset when we see “our race” (although technically there’s just *one* “race”, namely humans) or rather our color getting shot in form of a zombie.
Black people can be the good guys (ie. Blade) or bad guys (ie. Simon Phoenix). Sometimes they’re even the same actor.
So what’s wrong with black zombies? At least it’s something new, and killing zombies is generally done to protect the still living people of the area the zombies are in. Thus you’re probably out to actually protect black people.
My name is David, I’m white as snow, and I know a lot of people of different ethnicities. I never gave a Zig about where anybody or their parents came from, and never cared much about the whole thing about being careful not to sound racist, because, frankly - that MAKES you racist.
Kym Platt’s blogpost is irresponsible, and any further attempts to slander this game, based on what, 30 seconds of footage, is ridiculous.
In all previous games, people of every color are turned into “savages” after getting infected by the T Virus. The games however got stale, always taking place in USA cities or various Euro castle-eque areas.
Kym Platt is sensationalizing this entire thing, then posts about how some “gamers” called her the N word. Of course she doesn’t mention that 90% of the replies on her post were well thought out, and for all she knows, the problem posts were made by fellow blacks trying to incite anti gamer hate for some reason.
Wow, racism is it?
First of all, how else do you want to represent Africa? I mean, switch on the news and you only hear of civil war, international war, famine and death about Africa nowadays and while it isn’t true for the entire continent, generally that’s what you hear.
How can one “humanize” Africa when it clearly isn’t without creating a very fictional fake world? And Resident Evil isn’t set in a parrel universe, but ours… To see racism is to be racist, and unfortunately this article (and some others) just prove this is still far too rampant.
This isn’t coming from a white guy either, so don’t make it seem as if I’m being racist because then, well I’m racist against myself. All I want is entertainement and realism (so not portraying Africa as something it isn’t, like an oasis of technology, modernization, engineering, etc.) and RE is doing that so far.
If you’re unhappy, I think you should try to make a video game showing Africa the way you want it, maybe then you’ll realize why so few people even bother.
I think i would shoot anything that tried to kill me if i had a gun =\
Wow, how you see racism in this is beyond me, lets all put white people into a game portrayed in AFRICA! It’s just idiotic to even assume the “White man” is even making this game, it’s all Japanese people making it so your argument fails.
Come to think of it, why weren’t there black zombies in the first few RE games? There certainly are black people living all over the US, including the midwest. Maybe all the black people were smart enough to get out BEFORE all hell broke loose.
Kidding aside, you can’t generally help what offends you, or what causes ‘uneasiness’ in this case. And I see nothing wrong with expressing that uneasiness, even in Kym Platt’s case. The trailer in question IS designed to provoke emotion, first and foremost. I don’t think that emotion was intended to be based on racial tensions, but I can easily see how it can come out that way, depending on the background of the person viewing it.
I’m white, male, and a big fan of the RE games by the way. Honestly, I watched the trailer before the controversy and didn’t get it until seeing the blog posts expressing that outrage. I’ll still probably buy this game the day it comes out, but its also good to see it from a different perspective, like in this blog, Kym Platt’s comments, and others.
I respect your post, in that it seems like an intelligent, informed and balanced appraisal of the situation. (The same can’t be said of the dreadful Black Looks blog post which has linked to you.)
However, I completely disagree with your conclusions. I would hope that the strength of negative reaction to your (and others’) expression of these views would reassure you. What you perceive in the game (and in particular, what you fear will be perceived by and imprint upon others) is clearly not being perceived by everyone else. Hence, you should have nothing to worry about. I didn’t see any black stereotypes, I simply saw zombies, as it seems did everyone else.
I also think you let down those you say you represent, by denying them the right to be represented in works that are culturally relevant to a large number of people. If this is the response to something clearly explained as zombies/etc, then my expectation that game developers will just steer a wide berth in the future. These people will lose a forum in which their real, present issues can be presented, publicised and discussed, and they will be ultimately impoverished.
Wow. So the game is set in Africa, yet you seem to expect that there be no blacks in the game. IT IS SET IN AFRICA. Of course the zombies will be black… in the words of the infallible Eric Cartman: “My Mom says there’s a lot of black people in Africa.”
Get a life man. I for one am excited that the setting will be in 3rd world Africa. It will be e break from the NYC/LA/SF urban setting we are all so used to in games. RE4 was great. RE5 will be better. No it will not set Black people back 2000 years. Many blacks have done that to themselves.
Oh come on!!!!!!! In the very 1st REs the zombies are WHITE. DID ANYONE GIVE A SHIT???? I DONT THINK SO. CAPCOM, the company that makes the game is a JAPANESE company. Come on!!!!!!! GROW UP!!
What’s more offensive? A game where you happen to shoot black zombies (out of a long series of games where you shoot white zombies), or a blogger who plays into every bad stereotype about blacks?
This article is just plain stupid (The Bell Curve), race-card whining (Handout monkeys, welfare leeches), and indicates you believe that The White Man can hurt you with his video games (slave/victim mentality).
Disgraceful article, which you should delete from your web site.
Jason: “Still, I find the proximity of those zombies to old school African stereotypes alarming. And that’s what my post is about.”
Maybe that’s the point. Maybe the whole idea is to raise awareness of the problems that still exist even though, as you correctly say, things are getting better. Perhaps it’s a statement that in parts of Africa there are still people who act in a bloodthirsty, zombie-esque way towards their own “other.”
Interestingly, it’s a statement that’s very similar to Dawn of the Dead’s commentary on American consumerism.
The zombie represents a fear of people’s natural tendency towards conformity and the mob mentality. When you want to comment on consumerism in America and how it’s destroying traditional values you put your zombies - the worst part of our desire to socialize - in a mall and have them slowly and methodically consume the final “free thinkers.” When you want to comment on the violence that still engulfs large parts of Africa, turns neighbor against neighbor and can result in violent, angry mobs you put your zombies in an African village.
Again with racist this, racist that. STOP IT ALREADY!!! Resident Evil 1 - 3 had mainly all white zombies and you had to kill them to survive. Resident Evil 4 is set in a Spanish village with Spanish people getting killed because they are zombies. Umm…did you hear any Spanish people complain…NO! They actually have logic, unlike you. Resident Evil 5 is set in an African village…so there will be African zombies! What did you expect, white zombies in an African village? I think not. Plus the complaining that even before they are zombies…they look like the undead. Well, lets see. There are some villages still with poor living conditions and starving Africans, so yeah…they would look like zombies. What do I see on TV when those commercials about donating money to help unfortunate African children in other countries? I see kids and adults alike that look like zombies because of their health. Stop spewin your racist B.S. You give the good African people out there a bad reputation because they also have logic and know it’s just a game and nothing wrong with it!
…You do know that this game is being made by the Japanese?… Their intent was to tell a story, this is not a case of white supremacy or racism.
At the end of the day it you the poster of this article and the people that posted the article before that are being racist. You are assuming that by releasing this game to us the white people, then it will encourage us to hate black people, now if that isnt being racist then what the hell is.
Its a freaking game, the country isnt being portrayed in anyway, nethier are the blacks. This is a game with a lot of backstory that has been allaround the world (america, spain, antartica) and as soon as the main character lands himself in a country where black people are featured its considered racist. He is hunting down a freaking crazy dude to save the black and white communitys.
It is you and your stupid articles and protests that fuel racism. You are doing nothing to help anybody.
“We need to find ways to humanize Africans, not dehumanize them.” This is a game regarding zombies, zombies do not have feelings or thoughts. You sir are trying to push any kind of racial or black stereotype that you can into that trailer to complain about it.
I love how you all, including the original article poster quickly brushes aside the point that every other game has featured you killing white people. What does that say about you then?
It is you and the apparent people that are campainging for blacks that are the racists. Its you that give people bad names.
Remove this filth from your site, and mabye try responding to a few of these comments because this is a absoloute discrace
OH LAWDY NOT BLACK ZOMBIES HOW RACIST!!! Get a life if the game was set in another obscure european country you’d probably cry racism because there was no black zombies.
Chocolate Rain
Some stay dry and others feel the pain
Chocolate Rain
A baby born will die before the sin
Chocolate Rain
The school books say it can’t be here again
Chocolate Rain
The prisons make you wonder where it went
Chocolate Rain
Build a tent and say the world is dry
Chocolate Rain
Zoom the camera out and see the lie
Chocolate Rain
Forecast to be falling yesterday
Chocolate Rain
Only in the past is what they say
Chocolate Rain
Raised your neighborhood insurance rates
Chocolate Rain
Makes us happy ‘livin in a gate
Chocolate Rain
Made me cross the street the other day
Chocolate Rain
Made you turn your head the other way
you know the rest.
Resident Evil 1 —————–> White Zombies
Resident Evil 2 —————–> White Zombies
Resident Evil 3 —————–> White Zombies
Resident Evil Code: Veronica —-> White Zombies
Resident Evil Survivor ———-> White Zombies
Resident Evil Gaiden ————> White Zombies
RE: Survivor 2 Code: Veronica —> White Zombies
RE: Zero ————————> White Zombies
RE: Dead Aim ——————–> White Zombies
RE: Outbreak ——————–> White Zombies
RE: Outbreak File #2 ————> White Zombies
Resident Evil 4 —————–> White Zombies
RE: The Umbrella Chronicles —–> White Zombies
Resident Evil 5 —————–> BLACK Zombies? RACISM!!!
Resident Evil 4, which I am currently playing on >>> Wii
I won’t claim to understand how this effects Black people. I am not Black, and while I can empathize, any racism I have ever experienced against me has likely been minor and short-lived.
However, I will say this: When is the right time? Historically many races or ethnicities have been scapegoated or osterasized at some point or another.
The question isn’t whether or not a White person killing Black people in an african village is racist, the question is, does the setting and the context make sense.
An African village filled with Black people makes sense. So as far as I’m