Is Resident Evil 5 really racist?

[jfrost]

I want to know what you guys think.

I'm inclined to think this is just another media hype against videogames. But I don't know, there might be valid arguments for it.

My impression is that any depictions of black people are becoming taboo, if aren't already. Blacks can't be depicted anywhere at risk that people will find it racist or, at least, stereotypical (and hence racist).

There seems to be some instances of loaded imagery in RE5, but they also appear to be justified by the storyline. I think that people really should tune down their sensibilities or else black people won't be depicted anywhere anymore, but in garbage titles like that 50 Cent game. It's this kind of cultural overprotection that makes individuals see other ethnicities as "different".

What do you say?

[Mozgus]

Black people aren't the ones complaining about this. There was just that one small group that made a comment way back when the first trailer came out, which didn't show much else besides Chris killing black infected, which was somewhat dumb on capcom's part. Ever since then it's just been a bunch of white people whining, who are probably racists themselves.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/user ... t=featured

[PhilExile]

Having not played it, I don't know. Its possible it was unintentionally racist. For instance, the first Gremlins movie is very racist against asians and blacks, depending on how you look at. I doubt that the filmmakers intended this though. Also, if you just look at it as a movie and don't read into it, as I would say 95% of the population does, its harmless.

[philipofmacedon]

No.

[ToKeN]

racist? i don't think so,it seems like that to some people but think about it it's africa mainly black and you won't see much of other races. what there gonna make R.E 5 in africa and everybody is gonna be white,hispanic or asian or whatever?

it's not even worth thinking about it.

[IcKy99]

like mozgus. all my black friends have played this. they dont give a fuck.

IT IS SET IN AFRICA

do you expect it to be full of white people?

[glynnahab]

I was born in a place where racism was not only tolerated, but encouraged. The town is about 63% black, and a select few white families run the local government, businesses, etc. White parents would actually rent out halls for homecomings, proms, and such so that their kids wouldn't have to attend school functions where there would be integration of any kind. I graduated in '99, and as far as I know, things are still segregated back there - just as it has been for the past 350+ years of the town's lifespan. (It's one of the oldest French colonial settlements in the US, and they still maintain their outdated beliefs. You guys remember the Jena 6? Well, it was like that, but worse.)

That said, I don't think RE5 was intentionally racist. Now that I live in a more populated - and, more importantly, civilized - area, I often hear the accusation of racism from people who haven't really seen real racism first-hand. One thing I've noticed is the fact that there are a lot of overly-sensitive, politically-correct white people screaming the R-word without even knowing what the fuck it actually is. The "outrage" over RE5 is just another example of that.

If taken out of context, RE5 could be considered racist. But that's based off of a few screenshots and trailers where a white cop shoots a bunch of black people. Like Mozgus said earlier, bad move on Capcom's part. I really doubt that game developers at Capcom were wearing white sheets over their heads when putting this game together.

[Xonticus]

Well said, and you made a great point. It's sad to see that real world racism still exists in America, not to say that we're better than any other country, just that we put ourselves on such a high pedestal in front of the world and yet we still lurk below the sewers. Being up on that pedestal has also made for many overly-sensitive groups of people (I'm also looking at the UK here). What can we do though? Most attempts to write to and email in trying to dissuade them of their views only adds to their arsenal of out-of-context quotes that they can use against the gaming community.

We need more people like you guys and Jim Sterling of Destructiod.com to help sift through the bull$hit. If you haven't heard of him, i suggest you go over to Destructoid and look through his recent RE5 posts

[Gamerforlife]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/arts/16evil.html

[Hatta]

Resident Evil 4 was racist against Spaniards.