The article http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/03/16/how-my-opinion-about-race-in-resident-evil-5-has-changed/ bothered me a little bit. I wasn't bothered because it's another discussion about how racism is portrayed or how the author felt unnerved with the game's demo.
What bothered me is that her solution to why she felt better about the actual full scale game was that it was somehow less realistic. The game is set in Africa, which means that most of the zombies will be African. The problem seems to be that Africans are black and therefore killing them is a racist motive somehow. The focus seems to overshadow the setting of the game.
Games have specific settings, and gamers get upset if the setting isn't true to the reality, some people get frustrated about the situation. If we're playing a hunting game and it's set in Alaska, most people would roll their eyes if you were suddenly hunting a crocodile. If the game is set in a specific place on the globe, then how much would we expect the vast majority of the inhabitants to be of African descent?
Do we get annoyed because the game is focused on killing the natives, or do we get annoyed if the realities of the game don't link up with what we know of the real Africa? Nobody seems to be offended if the zombies are white and it's set in midwest America. As long as the zombies and enemies are white guys, nobody seems bothered. The minute the nationality changes, we start talking about race and racism.
I totally understand the background for making an argument for racism for a number of cultures and minorities. However, sometimes it's not racially motivated, it's necessary to keep true to the game.
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Agreed. The idea of blacks versus whites is still an issue that is in the forefront (I'm not saying either rightfully or wrongfully) so it acts like a scabbed wound: it should never really be picked at, otherwise it'll just cause problems. This isn't an issue for other supposed "racism" though such as the Spaniards in Resident Evil 4 which is my biggest problem with the whole debate. I guess America's history is the biggest contributing factor to this.
ReplyDeleteMore or less I'm on your page. As a black gamer, I didn't give a crap that you were shooting a bunch of black guys in Africa. The only way there could have been any justification for white zombies was if the game was in South Africa, which I'm pretty sure it wasn't. I'd have been mad to see something like that shattering my disbelief.
ReplyDeleteThis kinda fits the theme of most of the blogs I've read today. I'm not sure why there seems to be a big out cry over RE5 (if there really even was and this guy is just looking for hits on his article).
ReplyDeleteThe game is the 5th in it's series and has traveled all over the world. I think some just need to just chill on this whole issue as it's been beaten a ton of times.