Yahoo games discusses Resident Evil 5 and racism

[A-J]

Ever since the first Resident Evil 5 trailer, there have been numerous racism claims against it by several outlets. Yahoo games discusses the issue in a video package looking at some of the key points from both sides. The video also contains a lot of game footage, nothing new how ever.

Resident Evil 5 and Racism thanks to Jill's Boob.

[riderkid]

i think the racism is due to the african placement, i remember there were screams of racism for RE4s spanish peasents too.

[Archelon]

The dumbest thing about all this is that games like Uncharted and Far Cry 2 are infinitely more racist than RE5, and yet they don't get a second glance. Heck, in Uncharted, all you fight are ethnic minorities. At least the enemies in RE5 are not acting under their own free will and aren't even human anymore, for that matter. Sheesh.

[Sephiroth]

I am getting tired of this racism it's getting out of hand ok I can understand there are some pepole out there who think RE5 is racist but there are alot of moran's out there who just say any game were your killing a black person is racist and they are the kind of pepole who just want to have there face on the TV and have nothing else to do but complane and here's a cupple of video's on pepoles thought on RE5 if they think it's racist or not:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxYo3eh2uHU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgjdGVoFhwY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwKhT7Ftwuc&feature=related

Does anyone on this site thinks Re5 is racist or not I doint think RE5 is racist I caint see any thing on any of the trailer that could make it a racist game.

[Spera01]

I agree with ya Sephiroth, I'm also getting tired of all these morons calling the game racist. So what, the game takes place in freaking Africa for Christ sake, what do you expect to fight, hordes of white villagers? Common, and who cares really what ethnic background they have, either way, they still need to be gunned down to survive since they are no longer human anymore. That's like saying if there ever was a zombie apocalypse or some shit, you can't shoot the black zombies cause that would be racist!

[Umon Daisuke]

You fight off white mercenaries during the second half in Ucharted too, so unless a game depicts an ethnic stereotype, I wouldn't call it racist. If a game is in a remote island, Europe, or Africa, there aren't going to be many whites there.

Some minor good points were made initially about the matter, but it's more than clear now that it's just barking at this point.

I don't recall an outcry from Spaniards (neither south Americans for that matter) about RE4.

[beasley23803]

Why do I always have to remind people to post my news...??
I did post another new Sheva Alomaer Interview where she talks a little about Jill.

[Bertha]

Not to sound racist, but usually if there are black enemies in a game, someone is going to cry foul. By the same token, if the game were to take place in Africa but there were no men and women of darker skin, again...people would be bitching about that. Just like they said: You can't please everyone.

On a more personal note to back that up: I know an African American that voted for Obama and was excited he won. Then two days later, she was saying he wasn't "black enough". I just rolled my eyes and went on my business.

[beasley23803]

Trust me, No black people thinks this game is racist.

[Jill's Boob]

Honestly, the cries of racism are ridiculous. Racism is unfortunately still an issue in today's society, and I can seem some validity in the "imagery" of a white man (Chris Redfield) slaying black villagers. IF you take everything out of context and ignore all story elements.

This hack, N'Gai Croal, supposedly a journalist, spins a story that simply claims this game is nothing more than a lone white man using weapons to kill black Africans. He didn't evaluate the history of RE, the plot of RE5, or anything in great detail before crying "racism!" That's what makes me angry.

The Yahoo video did a good job of bringing up the fact that you kill nothing but Spaniards in RE4, yet there was no uproar.

I know there have been many threads in the past, on this site, that have discussed the racism issue. It has been discussed at great length by all of us - obvious fans of the series. But I think even an RE novice, who saw the first "official" RE5 trailer last summer, didn't think the premise was racist.

Regardless, I don't think the "racism" issue will ever go away. I expect it to be brought up again and again, especially as the game is close to release. And it may still carry over upon release.

N'Gai Croal should maybe write about the real atrocities faced by impoverished villagers in the bad parts of Africa - hunger, disease, violence, etc. Surely they have bigger concerns than how they're represented in a video game, a piece of fiction. But N'Gai Croal is too busy writing articles about video games and other media in his cushy office, after his (most likely) minority-scholarship funded education at Stanford. He knows the word "racism," and knows it is a terrible issue, but there are far greater horrors in this world...war, genocide, global warming, hunger, etc.

Then again, how often does a hack journalist - who spends his days playing games & messing with tech, in the interest of "journalism" - get to cry foul on something in order to get his 15 minutes of fame?

[beasley23803]

But N'Gai Croal is too busy writing articles about video games and other media in his cushy office, after his (most likely) minority-scholarship funded education at Stanford.

Wow, now this is an example of racial stereotyping.

[Jill's Boob]

Wow, now this is an example of racial stereotyping.

How? N'Gai Croal is a black man, who works as a video game/media journalist at Newsweek. He studied at Stanford - an expensive, selective school. Surely scholarships helped pay his tuition...most students attending there can hardly pay the ridiculous tuition 100%.

How am I racial stereotyping? Please substantiate your statement.

What you meant to say is that my statement is an example of "irony."

[beasley23803]

How? N'Gai Croal is a black man, who works as a video game/media journalist at Newsweek. He studied at Stanford - an expensive, selective school. Surely scholarships helped pay his tuition...most students attending there can hardly pay the ridiculous tuition 100%.

How am I racial stereotyping? Please substantiate your statement.

You make note that he's a black man who went to Stanford so he MUST have had scholarships to pay his way. And not just any scholarships, you mention Minority funded scholarships. As if he can't earn scolarships other than those targeted towards minorities.

All you had to say was that he's a guy who went to Stanford. You didn't have to include his Race, his "minority funded scholarships" or anything else that was irrelevant when concerning his education.

[revil5]

OOOOHHH GGoodd!! Are they still with this racism crap?!

[Rombie]

beasley's right Boob - You're reverse profiling him, basically stating he has no right to comment because his background isn't considered to be "atypical" of a normal race stereotype. Good one.

My issue with it is he's been crowing on about this since the first trailer came out, and while he has some valid comment it's old news now and they're the same comments he's been making from the start. Capcom has responded already, clearly indicated it's not one race, and this won't change anything more - the game is coming.