Isms in VG

[mypallyowndu]

So as some of you know I'm a total Melvin when it comes to things like race and gender in the chat. That is, I freely ban people who make idiotic remarks. Anyway, 4PP talked about the moral obligation that VG developers have to society with respect to the content in their games. The guys concluded, basically, that they don't have a responsibility for the content in their games.

I disagree.

But I'll let nocookiesforme.blogspot.com/ do the talking for me (sorry don't know how to post links more elegantly). This guy talks about race and gender issues BUT he also talks about video games. Here are his thoughts on Dead Rising nocookiesforme.blogspot.com/2008/04/video-game-review-dead-rising.html

Check out the website. Also, if you have any thoughts on the role of race or gender in VG, holla back.

[school]

One thing I would like to touch on is the RE5 trailer. It has been brought up again after this article multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/10/newsweeks-ngai-croal-on-the-resident-evil-5-trailer-this-imagery-has-a-history/

I'll say, when I saw this on G4 watching the live E3 coverage, I didn't think anything of it. But after re-watching it I can see where people come from. The mood is indeed eerie and the people appear to be dehumanized (or at least 'separated' from the protagonist), but I really don't think this means it has racial undertones. To me it makes me feel like there is something going on, something wrong, say a calm before the storm. Which is pretty much a rip straight from classic horror. Looking back though, something that did irk me was the depiction of the person hanging, which I didn't catch on the first watch. (Really only shown for a second) The trailer just does a bad job of really showing the setting or giving reason for the story. Of course it is just a minute long first look, but you would think they would stay away from an image like that not having the chance to say 'Hey, this is why this is happening'.

[mypallyowndu]

Yeah I think you're right school. I didn't even catch the hanging until you mentioned it which actually makes the trailer very problematic. Images of a black man being hanged are, I think, undoubtedly offensive given the United States' history of tolerating lynchings.

But more troubling has been how defensive many gamers became once the media began criticizing the trailer. Read the comments here:
www.blacklooks.org/2007/07/resident_evil_5.html

Instead of trying to understand why some people might be offended by the trailer, some gamers simply dismissed the feelings of many black people as invalid. I don't have the racial demographics of gamers but, given socioeconomic patterns, I'd be shocked if most aren't white. I think it's even more imperative for white gamers to use this as an opportunity to examine their own privilege and how it affects non-white gamers. For example the very fact that programs like this exist should give white gamers pause:
www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=1228

[ca36gtp]

Racism will always exist as long as those who supposedly champion equality continue to view everything within the scope of racism.

In my opinion, the people who flipped out at the RE5 trailer are the racists, while those who said "What?" are not.

If the first thing you noticed upon viewing that trailer was that the bad guys were black, then congrats! You're a racist!

[Vindicator]

I'm 1/2 South African and the first thing I noticed was that they were black. Am I a racist then?

rac·ism - a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.

I didn't think so. I was just observant.

[ca36gtp]

Why do you need to observe what race someone is? Shouldn't it not matter?

To me, it's just as racist to try to protect a racial minority to assuage your own cultural guilt by doing things like screaming about fabricated offenses ("you can't make zombies black, but white's ok" "you can't hang a black person in a movie, but the white chick in Scream was ok") or organizing methods of "helping" a particular minority by routes such as affirmative action or racially-based outreach programs.

Isn't it racist to believe that one racial group needs to be coddled more than another?

[shruikan]

From my personal stand point, I have relatives that are from nearly every race, be it through blood or marriage. I have been raised around people of many colors and nationalities that I consider my family. One major thing I think is the cause of most racism in this day and age is your up bringing, if your parents/friends are consistently being biased towards other races it will most likely have an effect on you. Another major issue is the way the media portrays it, a lot of people depend on the media to know whats the new thing or whats in and not in. The way the media seems to portray people is that if you're not doing this or that you aren't a normal/good person. The thing the media seems to be at its worst is when it comes to criminals and drug association with other races other than whites, I'm not saying there has never been a drug addicted criminal that was white in a movie but there sure are a lot less than say a hispanic or african american.

One more thing I wanted to touch on was how the effects of 9/11 and the war in iraq has been on american citizens of the middle eastern decent. I'm half egyptian and half white(irish,german,french etc etc.) and ever since these events took place i've been criticized for what I am by people who are just ignorant or biased. I've just started to view the way humans act compared to the way animals act, you never will see a wolf live peacefully with a lamb or a lion not being harassed by a hyena.

Love all, be loved by all.

[arcuscloud]

Apr 20, 2008 8:05:15 GMT -5 ca36gtp said:

you can't hang a black person in a movie, but the white chick in Scream was ok

The former is historically loaded, where the latter isn't. To use that image without any kind of sensitivity to the weight it carries is a misjudgement, to put it mildly. I don't think anyone believes the creators did this with intent, but it does highlight a blindness to racism that is pervasive amongst us, as white people, where our privilege prevents us from seeing the subtle ways in which it works.

[ca36gtp]

Isn't it the eventual goal, though, to be able to do things without having to even once consider what someone's race is?

This is the problem I have with the anti-racism attitude in western nations. It is, in fact, extremely racist because it infers that every single thing that we do must first be judged in the Court of Race.

[roy]

I'm not sure that's either:
a. "the eventual goal".
b. an attainable goal.

I think that the goal is something more akin to respect. The reality is that racism exists and it's a problem, and it has a huge impact on the ways that people are treated, and I'm not sure that we do anyone a service when/if we try to pretend otherwise. As arcuscloud points out, some things have historic connotations that change depending on the race/ethnicity of the people involved. If I go outside tomorrow and find that someone has burned a cross in my yard, I'm going to be upset, but probably mostly confused. If someone burns a cross on my black neighbor's yard, I suspect that he's going to have a much stronger reaction, because of the history of cross burning in the United States. There's a history there that changes the meaning or interpretation depending on whom the victim is.

And I think that the problem with something like RE5 isn't just that people were disturbed by the trailer- a lot of people, myself included, are troubled by it, but are withholding judgement until we've had a chance to play it. The bigger problem, for me, was the out-of-hand dismissal of concerns. The ways that some circles of the gaming community immediately lashed out against criticism and refused to even consider what was being said.

The image of a white man in military garb shooting and killing legions of dehumanized blacks is a pretty loaded image in ways that the same guy shooting whites isn't, because of the history of racism, both in the United States, and on the African continent.

You don't have to think that Capcom are a bunch of racist jerks to think that the trailer, as presented, is troubling, or that it reflects some pretty nasty racist imagry. It may not have even been intentional.

[Nick]

We are definitely going to readdress the issue one the game is released but I think the fact that the game was developed by the Japanese is something that is being completely overlooked. If this game were developed in the west, I think these arguments would be much more valid. I think people look at the trailer and see a white character shooting blacks and they jump to conclusions. Second, I personally believe that the first step towards eliminating racism is stop even acknowledging that it exists anymore. The problem with racism is and has always been unequal treatment. By raising hell about a trailer like this and freaking out everytime this kind of thing is depicted, we are basically implying that different races should be treated differently. So as always, I will say that I have absolutely no problem with the games choice of setting and did not have any problem with the in which the trailer was presented. The way that these people were depicted early in the trailer was intended to create a sense of something being not quite right or creating a feeling of dread as though this is just the "calm before the storm". Thats all I am going to say about this until the game is released.

[arcuscloud]

Well, I guess you can choose to ignore the huge elephant in the room, but it won't necessarily go away. It'd be easy for someone like me to pretend it doesn't exist, but then I'm not on the blunt end of racism on a daily basis.

[roy]

Exactly, arcuscloud. Pretending that racism doesn't exist is easy if you're not the target.

Pointing out how something reinforces racist stereotypes and/or saying that something is problematic doesn't create racism. Saying "well, this was developed in Japan" isn't an excuse for the general reaction. It may explain why the developers were less aware of certain aspects of racism, but it doesn't excuse the people- many of whom were American- who reacted violently at the mere suggestion that "Hey, that trailer is disturbing, and here's why."

The first step towards ending racism is being willing to engage with and listen to people who say that something is or might be racist. If it's really not racist, engaging in dialogue costs you nothing and might actually help your critics see where you're coming from. And if it is racist, it gives you the opportunity to correct the situation. Ignoring or even insulting and deriding your critics makes you look childish if they're wrong, and like a huge jerk if they're right.

But, that's just my opinion.

[ca36gtp]

The problem with racism is and has always been unequal treatment. By raising hell about a trailer like this and freaking out everytime this kind of thing is depicted, we are basically implying that different races should be treated differently.

Exactly.

Unfortunately, it seems like the vast majority opinion is to continue embracing the knee-jerk reactions and disingenuous sympathy that make progression virtually impossible.

Then again, I can hardly expect much more from the world majority that also believes that complimenting a co-worker is sexual harassment and expressing concerns about immigration is inherently racist.

[roy]

Apr 23, 2008 16:14:22 GMT -5 ca36gtp said:

Unfortunately, it seems like the vast majority opinion is to continue embracing the knee-jerk reactions and disingenuous sympathy that make progression virtually impossible.

We must have very different understandings of what, exactly, constitutes a knee-jerk reaction. Seeing the trailer and saying "I'm going to hold final judgement until I've played it, but my first impression is troubling" doesn't seem very knee-jerk to me.