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Racist Imagery in Resident Evil 5 Is Not All Fun and Games
PUBLISHED APRIL 29, 2008
Courtesy of Gamersyde
Race is an issue that is never too far from the surface of American society. Video games, though, are not an arena in which we normally expect race to raise the passions of people who otherwise view the hobby as a form of escapism. Enter Resident Evil 5—the next iteration of the revered Resident Evil franchise—which has made a huge splash in the gaming world despite being a year from release. While massive pre-release hype is normal for a game of RE5’s caliber, the particular reason for the hype is anything but standard fare.
Resident Evil 5 first turned heads with a stunning trailer at July 2007’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Santa Monica, California, the video game industry trade show. As usual, the graphics were amazing, causing fanboys and critics to sing the praises of Capcom’s newest entry into the survival horror franchise. Eventually, however, the content of the trailer began to raise questions among those inside and outside the gaming community.
The trailer features Chris Redfield, a white character who is one of the main protagonists of the Resident Evil series, walking through a decrepit and ghostly African town. The black residents are lethargic and creepy, shuffling along without any sign of intelligence. Chris does not interact with them but acts only as an observer. While this image of the shambling, ghostly African might be troubling to some, what came after is even more compromising. The residents soon turn into zombies, a staple of the Resident Evil games, and as always, Chris has to survive their onslaught by killing them.
While the premise of the trailer was virtually identical to past games in the series, the imagery was very different. The footage featured a white man gunning down hordes of menacing, violent, and insatiable African men and women with bloodshot eyes and animal-like teeth. Needless to say, the trailer attracted the attention of many due to this imagery rather than the stunning graphics. Behind the seemingly innocuous concept of zombie killing, people saw historical imagery of the savage black monster that recalls Birth of a Nation and the Antebellum fear of slave uprisings. Many viewers felt Capcom had tapped into the American-European fear of “the other.”
It wasn’t too long before Microscopiq, a blog dedicated to progressive gaming and art, picked up on the troubling imagery in the trailer and published a blog entry titled “Blackface Goes HD? The Case of Resident Evil 5.” Then, Black Looks, an African women’s blog, picked up on the Microscopiq story and decried the trailer for being “problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages” and “the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing.” By the end of the summer, the story found its way to GamePolitics, a gaming culture and politics site.
While the GamePolitics story did not give an opinion on the trailer’s imagery, readers’ comments caused a firestorm of controversy to sweep across the gaming community as racist language and heated discussions on the issue of race in video games proliferated across the blogosphere. From Kotaku to 1up—two of the most prominent gaming Web sites—the gaming world was ablaze with anger, and typical comments used dismissive and racist language to belittle the concern that not only outside observers but also fellow gamers voiced. It became clear that even in the gaming community, race is a divisive issue that brings out the worst in many people.
The issue eventually died away until last month, when N’Gai Croal, one of the most respected games journalists in the industry, raised concerns over the trailer in an interview with MTV’s Multiplayer games blog. Croal, who is African American, said of the trailer, “Given the history, given the not-so-distant post-colonial history, you would say to yourself, why would you uncritically put up those images?” He also addressed a common defense of the trailer: in Resident Evil 4, the player killed Spanish zombies, and Resident Evil 5 isn’t any different—just a change in scene and ethnicity of the enemy. Croal said, “The imagery is not the same. It doesn’t carry the same history, it doesn’t carry the same weight. I don’t know how to explain it more clearly than that.”
While the responses to Croal’s assessment of the trailer have been much the same as the responses from last summer, many other bloggers in the community have gone out of their way to support him. In a way, they have offered an ultimatum to the gaming community: this is a defining moment for games and gamers, a point at which they can determine the course and cultural relevance of the industry. Either they can continue to act as immature and insensitive denizens of the Internet or they can engage in an intelligent, thoughtful discussion of race in games that will push gaming beyond its image as a form of escapism.
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For everyone that is complaining about this game you were okay with killing white people in Resident Evil 0,1,2,3 and killing Spanish people in Resident Evil 4? See I don't see why black people feel they should be treated more special than any other person of a different cultural background.
I was not mad when i played Resident Evil 4 and I'm a Spanish speaking person (from El Salvador)I actually thought it was interesting of Capcom to put in characters who spoke Spanish because before that only English was spoken and it was refreshing to see game set in another country.
My point is that it's just a game and people should not take it to serious and enjoy the game for what it is.
since when did zombies need civil rights? lets not forget people that almost 99% of the zombies before Resident evil 4 were WHITE!!!!!!! there was only like 1 maybe 2 black zombies out of 5 games!!!!
There is a double standard here. Why is it ok for Leon to kill Spanish Zombies, but not for Chris to kill black Zombies? I understand the imagery is not the same, but why? Hypothetically, if the game had the hero as a black guy and it took place in saw Russia or Sweden, I don't know a place where everyone is white.....I wouldn't have a problem with killing White Zombies when I was a Black Hero?
So why is there a double standard? When does this double standard go away? Sure the civil rights movement is only two generations from today's standards and most people in their 60s can remember the civil rights movement? But the audience that plays video games is not the 60 year olds from the civil rights movement era. When does this all just boil down to this journalist guy trying to make a name for himself rather than this actually being an issue. And why does it matter if it offends a small portion of black people? The Grand Theft Auto series is about one of the most offense series in history but it doesn't get as much flack because it mixes up races that you kill. My point here is why should it matter if it offends when there is always going to be someone that it offends? The game is ultimately about a story and the story is that the infection started in Africa. Most people agree that the birth of civilization came from Africa and the middle east. The story says that this virus came from Africa, the birth of human kind. Africa is also the birth place of AIDS. So the story brought us Africa, the fact that the hero is white is only circumstantial, not intentional. The game is made by Japanese. I highly doubt that they intended on offending black people. The imagery angle is just a bunch of crap. The story brought us to Africa, if you don't want to play the game, don't. It's your loss. Stop trying to make everything racist and grow some thicker skin so everything doesn't offend you. I've never played a game, watched a movie, read a book or seen any image that offended me. I may have done one of those things and thought to myself, well that's stupid, but I have never been offended. Offense that is something to actually be offended by is one that is directed at you personally. Even if heard the words, I hate all white people, I'd be like okay, whatever. Or Death to whitey, wouldn't bother me. You know why, because it's ignorance. This game isn't saying death to blacks, it's saying death to Zombie, who were blacks by mere happenstance of environment. Imagery Schmimagery. It's a joke. This guy is merely stirring up controversy for name sake. He doesn't care, he's just a journalist looking for a way to the top. Screw him.
So are you saying that American history doesn't affect people today? Just because something happened in the past doesn't mean it doesn't have any bearing on today, genius. Also, nobody said that the developers were intentionally racist in the creation of the trailer ... do you read? Honestly, with ignorant people like you in the world, I don't know why people like N'Gai or Ismail even try.
Read the article?
i just wanna shoot some zombies
People who think that this game is racist are just fuckin stupid. I guess because GTA4 has black people that you can shoot in the game, the people at Rockstar are also racist. RE4 had mostly whites and spanish people in the game, and i didnt hear anybody complaining. ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL Now im not racist or anything, but seriously, people that think RE5 is racist, should just grow up, and quit being a baby about it. Im sick of these immature baby's whining like little bitches all the time, cause its annoying as fuck.
On a happier note, RE5 looks amazing, and i cannot wait for the game to come out.
BUY THE GAME, ITS GONNA BE SICK
How fucking retarded can you be? GTA 4 is in no way similar to RE5, or at least what Capcom has shown so far. A criminal killing other criminals in a modern, multi-ethnic city representative of New York is NOT THE SAME as one white guy shooting into crowds of black women and men who are portrayed as savage animals. It doesn't matter that they're zombies - it's THE CONTEXT OF THE IMAGERY. It's not that the character is shooting black people - IT'S THE HISTORY OF PREJUDICE AND HATRED THAT THE IMAGE OF A WHITE MAN SHOOTING INTO CROWDS OF SAVAGE BLACK PEOPLE RECALLS. Nobody has ever said that the game should not be released, or that the game was racist, for that matter, or accused the developers of being racist. It's the lack of thought inherent in those images that N'Gai is pointing out - as he said, why would you put up those images uncritically?
You people talk about growing up and getting past racism. How can that possibly be done when you don't think critically or considerately about other people's concerns, history, and culture? We cannot get past racism precisely because of things like RE5 - it remains latent in the back of people's minds, and they are unwilling to even address the possibility of its existence. Grow up people, learn to address the important issues in a mature and intelligent manner, starting here, if you will.
The game is not racist!!1111 This article is SO DUMB! <3 reisndeti evil
hilarious
We must beat the Real Housewives article!
TAKE THAT HOUSEWIVES
Almost all of the replies denying racist imagery in RE5 are barely coherent! Good show, gamers.
Let's be honest, they're less than coherent.
True! I consider myself a gamer, and I love to play games...but we can't keep sticking our heads in the sand in hopes that nobody notices yet another Japanese game with awful caricatures of black people.
Final Fantasy VII anyone?
My GOD, how is this writer so good? He hits every point so well I drip with longing for him. Ismail Muhammad, I lyke you.
OMG me too! :-*
Are you people serious with, "It's just a game"? Gamers need to decide if they want games to be considered art and then they need to accept the typical criticism that comes along with it. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
WAH WAH WAH BIRTH OF A NATION IS JUST A MOOOOVIE
Grow the hell up and deal with the consequences of this stuff.
Mother fucker...........This game is "NOT" Racist.....Dang.....Just cause theres black enemies in the game and ur a white character does not mean its racist........Get over it.......U all are just reisdent evil haters....."IT IS NOT FUCKIN RACIST"......."GET OVER IT".....HATERS!!!!!!!
What on Earth were you doing with those quotes? You sir, are an idiot.
what the hell guys, this is a game.... remember it is only for personal use be that it may be a global hit and millions sold world wide i would not even think of it being a racist game and probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for all the hype about it. The setting is a african ghostly town.... should every1 be white in the game?? c'mon people grow up and stop prolonging this title from coming out.
This should be a turning point in the gaming world, nevermind all the grand theft auto's and military games; let's focus on the game that has white vs. black because that seems to be the only important thing left in the world. We (as gamers) are given an imaginery gun to go out and kill any race, any monster, anything that someone can conceive of as threatening and dangerous. We're able to buy blow jobs, take shots, steal cars, blow up buildings, rip people apart with chainsaws but as soon as the topic comes to the issue of race; we stop the press's and become disgusted by video games. How horrible of CAPCOM to think that they could do that in such a respectable industry.
The imagery is racist. Period. It's intentional. The Japanese developers (who have a history of screwing up with this stuff, check the Adventures of Tom Sawyer by SquareSoft back in the early 90s) are preying on latent racist fears in white people with this game.
Maybe you don't think it's racist. The game is definitely not racist-- there's no type of judgement going on here. But the imagery is racist. It's got a ton of baggage attached to it.
To ignore it is being an idiot.
In that case RE4 was just as racist. "It's the imagery. The Africans are being displayed as no-brainers!". Have you all forgotten the Ganados in RE4? They were all displayed as religious fanatics who were all stuck in the fifteenth century. Now we're talking imagery! So now, when Africans are being displayed as no-brainers due to some kind of virus, oh well God forbid, that's racist! No, it's not the imagery, it's the same as in RE4. And what the heck does N'Gai know about the story when nothing has been disclosed yet? The whole debate is simply pathetic!
Read the article. Yeah, killing Spanish people that functioned fairly normally (play the opening of RE4 again if you don't believe me) until provoked by Leon does not carry the same emotional, physiological, and psychological weight that the African RE5 imagery does.
Why can't people read the article before they start pounding on the exclamation key?
Did you guys even read the article?
“Given the history, given the not-so-distant post-colonial history, you would say to yourself, why would you uncritically put up those images?” He also addressed a common defense of the trailer: in Resident Evil 4, the player killed Spanish zombies, and Resident Evil 5 isn’t any different—just a change in scene and ethnicity of the enemy. Croal said, “The imagery is not the same. It doesn’t carry the same history, it doesn’t carry the same weight. I don’t know how to explain it more clearly than that.”
That pretty much explains it all. A white guy shooting white people is NOT the same thing, not the same imagery. Would you be fine with imagery of a Nazi soldier shooting Jewish zombies? Or a Japanese character shooting Chinese zombies in 1930s China? Think, people.
im pretty sure there are a bunch of war games out there that involve any other group destroying another. the whole thing is violent no matter who is killing who and i dont understand how it is any different than any other war game! do you raise a fuss about games where americans kill vietnamese? no ... then what the heck is your problem?
Resident Evil 5 is not racist its a game!!!!!!! yeah the zombies are black and most people who are sayin RE5 is racist are black but heres the thing they had no problem shooting white zombies in re4 but as such they do with re5 as zombies are black. Other people who are sayin RE5 is racist are sadacts who have no life I personally have had so much hype 4 re5 and now "Sadacts" are trying to ban it which will NOT happen as re5 is not racist SO F**K ALL YOU NAY SAYERS.Resident Evil 5 will be a worthy title 4 game of the year when its released sometime in 2009. so i suggest all you retards stop using you're sad time and get on with you're life Resident Evil 5 is not racist.
OK, what is going on here? "Sadacts"? Please try to use you're correctly as it is a contraction meaning 'you are' and not possessive. Also, you obviously did not read this article and you are giving neither the writer not the parties involved their due when you rant like this.
I am also a fan of the Resident Evil series. As mentioned in the article, in RE4 there was another "white" American killing Spanish "zombies", and I don't recall hearing anyone make claims of racism or prejudice there. In one game of the series you can play as a character named Carlos, and he naturally had to kill white zombies in his tale of survival. I think when people choose to stir up controversy and try to create problems that otherwise wouldn't exist, they only prove themselves to be racist. It's ok for any race to shoot any other race, except for whites shooting blacks? Is that not a racist way of thinking? In one game called Resident Evil Outbreak, you can choose to play as whites, blacks, or even Japanese, and it seemed no one even thought twice about whether or not it was ok for those black characters to shoot whites, or the white to shoot black. These games are not about race, it never was. And even if you wanted so badly to pretend it's about whites wanting to kill blacks, how can you make that stretch when the game designers are Japanese? This whole thing stinks, and my only hope is that it doesn't compromise the creative freedom of the game's development, because if it does the game play, story, nearly every aspect would likely suffer from a forced change from the progress that has already been made.
i am a big big resident evil fan, as i have been waiting for this game for over 3 years now having played every single resident evil which has been released. AS with the first 4 resident evil s there is no problem killing white zombies, but i agree with it being a bit racist as it is a white cop , but still i will be very dissappointed if this game is banned. so yes there will be alot of problems facing one of capcoms biggest releases. because i just want to see how the story carrys on.
I honestly don't know what to say or do in response to this. Part of me fully appreciates what people are saying with regards to the imagery in the latest installment of Resident Evil, yet another part of me simply wants to find out what will happen next in the storyline. This debate is actually spoiling things for me - I've never felt sorry for zombies until now! :P Like I said...I just don't know what to say or do. I'll be disappointed if the game is banned, but at the same time, I'll appreciate why. Nice article Ismail - I didn't get the feeling that I was being talked down to, nor lectured.
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