Resident Evil 5 - racist or not?

[buster_broon]

Yes, and RE5 could train people to kill zombies. Not just any zombies - black zombies.

just hope the African village isnt in Niger, jesus wept that will open alot of hurt

[Dogg Thang]

Was there a zombie outbreak in Niger? I didn't hear.

[dataDave]

Do they really look like zombies though? Admitedly when you have massive alien insects popping out of people's heads things get a bit suss, however on the surface you can't deny that you spend the first 45mins in the game blasting down scores of hungry civs who don't like white man.

Those scenes of people being hanged upside down and then stoned to death are quite savage for a Resi game IMO.

['Press Start']

Also is it still racist if the lead character was black? Still American, but a black American, is that OK?

I think it would still get hassle because of ethnic cleansing going on there between muslims and non muslims.

['Press Start']

Do they really look like zombies though?

I was thinking the same. Up until Res evil 4 they looked like zombies no mistake. In 4 you had to get into the game a little to see anything other then angry villagers.

I suspect this Res evil will be the same and their lies the main problem, they do not look like zombies to the average punter, they looked like vexed villagers who want white man out!

Someone mentioned Res evil 5 is not set on a slave boat. True but Mass genocide was a by product of slavery when weaker slaves were killed off and the strongest ones bred. The mass Genocide/selective breeding (worse then the Jews as it took place over centuries) is what history tends to shy away from, concentrating more on the boat trip, cotton fields and how slaves were treated in western countries. They forgets to tell us about how slaves were treated in there homeland.

Whites went into the villages to gather and round up slaves, this are why some places in Africa even today call white people white devil. Because if you saw a white man it meant you?re going on a long cruise or you?re probably going to die.

Res evil 4 didn't have that prob because you could not link it to any point in history. This is why the symbolic images of Resident Evil 5 could be close to the bone.

[ItsThere]

[QUOTE='Press Start To Begin';1172155]
Because if you saw a white man it meant you?re going on a long cruise.
QUOTE]

The Love Boat: With Men. Thank you South Park.
Interesting points in your main post though, contexual reference obviously seems paramount here. The question is - how can the situation, Zombies kill people (no matter their skin colour, remembering that Carlos was of Spanish descent in RE4) and it is FICTIONAL.

[Brats]

Well I don't want to make your point for you, Blair, but it seemed you were pointing out the difference location can make, which can also involve culture, social standing and much more rather than taking the "well, they're all black folk, aren't they?" approach.

The point I was making is that the exact location is academic based on what we know. We know it's a third world environment where the population is black. Whether it is set in Africa or another country like Haiti which has a population that came from Africa is completely academic. We know it's not in Peckham, so there's no point in debating that. So your point about it might not even be in Africa is.....well pointless.

Not much I reckon. The general "do-gooder public" know nothing about games and couldn't really care less about them. Hence kids playing GTA et al. because as far as the parents are concerned, games are for kids.

The public do concern themselves with the negative aspects of games. It's why the Daily Mail puts 'Ban this sick filth' on the front page because they know it sells papers.

Anyway, I'm off for the weekend now. I'll leave you with a synopsis of the facts:

Capcom have released a trailer for RE5 which appears to be set in Africa or a similar country and features black zombies, a white hero and possibly black non-zombie enemies.

Some non-videogame commenters have come to the conclusion that the game is racist.

Some journalists have commented on the trailer without actually stating that the game is racist.

Many gamers have defended the trailer saying it is not racist.

Some gamers have stated that there is no way the game can be racist at all. It is simply a change in setting which has no extra connotations.

Some gamers have responded by saying the issue is more complex than that and the game could be racist or possibly insensitive because of other cultural and historical factors that go beyond the setting of the game. However we believe we need to see more before any judgment (whether one way of the other) can be made.

[Grim Reaper]

Haiti would make sense as a location, being popularly considered the "home" of the zombie phenomena. See Wade Davis's academic (albeit disputed) theories for the origin of zombie folklore summarised here.

As to the existence of this thread, I wonder if those who suggest that this matter be debated realise that they may be perpetuating the very thing they claim to oppose by forcing people to see other people's colour. I have little trouble getting along with people who happen to be black, white, asian..., those who believe in Christianity, Islam, Hinduism... and those who happen to like football, golf, video games, etc. but always find myself struggling to relate to those who define themselves as "black people", "white people", "Christians", "Moslems", "football supporters", "[hardcore] gamers" etc. Those who insist on letting their genetics, beliefs and tastes dictate, rather than merely inform their behaviour practically demand that they be treated as a separate category. It is harder to treat all people equally while we are forced to recognise a distinction, especially in contexts where any possible distinction is not relevant. I don't see why we should encourage this kind of definition and labelling, often carried out by people assigning categories that do not describe themselves.

I would like to view this game as hero(es) vs zombies, but in this day and age that does not appear to be allowed. My original impression that this game may perhaps relate back to the origins of zombie folklore, being a "return to its roots" has been corrupted. Congratulations on moving race back to the top of the agenda so that, once again, we can all make sure that we consider it before other inconsequential factors, like who individual people really are.

Jim

[Dogg Thang]

This is not groundbreaking stuff here.

Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters -

Look similar? In Zombie Flesh Eaters 2, the zombies were almost all asian if I remember correctly. Though I think it was supposed to be set somewhere in South America...

[Ady]

People read what they want to read into things.

The only real absoulte in this entire debate.

[williamssp]

This whole discussion reminds me of the South Park Episode "Cartman's silly hate crime"

To quote the judge

"I am making an example of you, to send a message out to people everywhere: that if you want to hurt another human being, you'd better make damn sure they're the same color as you are!"

[Leon Retro]

This whole discussion reminds me of the South Park Episode "Cartman's silly hate crime"

To quote the judge

"I am making an example of you, to send a message out to people everywhere: that if you want to hurt another human being, you'd better make damn sure they're the same color as you are!"

I think in today's world, that would need to be changed to:

""I am making an example of you, to send a message out to people everywhere: that if you want to hurt another human being, you'd better make damn sure they're not black!"

I'm simply highlighting how *one-sided* .. the whole racism debate is. Of course people can give reasons why this is the case, but the fact is that white people aren't part of society's drive for *social equality* anymore, the whole thing is a mess.

It's this unfairness that gives fuel to debates like this one, and why Capcom may be in for a world of grief from anti-racism groups.

The warped sense of equality created and demanded by anti-racism groups, has just reversed things against white-people, and created a society that is still largely lacking equality.

I don't know how the situation can be solved? ... When groups are biased and have bitter agendas, they only create deeper problems.

I hope Capcom stand-up to any flack they receive.

[buster_broon]

showed my missus the trailer this morning and asked her what first came to mind

she stated how real it looked - like watching a movie

i mentioned about the 'debate' on various forums about racism and she was gobsmacked at how people could come to that conclusion

oh well different strokes for different folks

[dataDave]

showed my missus the trailer this morning and asked her what first came to mind

she stated how real it looked - like watching a movie

i mentioned about the 'debate' on various forums about racism and she was gobsmacked at how people could come to that conclusion

oh well different strokes for different folks

So it's not just us then? Fruity.