So ever since I got my Ps3 I have been feverishly reading about upcoming new games, I now have an online game rental service, and I can't wait until GTA:IV comes out this Tuesday! I am officially a PS3 Fanboy... yet after seeing a trailer for this one game, I took a step back.
Resident Evil 5 is an upcoming game about, well killing zombies, and we all know how much I HATE Zombies. Yet what disturbed me even more when watching the trailer was the Zombies were Africans!
Ok Ok, sure I am all for racial diversity in gaming. I mean the only black main character I can think of is CJ from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and he was a "Nigger Calling Gangster from the Hood!" Now we have a game where a white man is in Africa hunting and killing down massive African Zombies. I mean really? Isn't that just a little tasteless and insensitive?
So what do you guys think? Can we get past our "past" and just see this as a game of just killing "zombies" or does the the color of there skin bother you enough to not even play the game?
14 comments:
I found this quote from an article called:
"Only White People Can Be Zombies"
by Torrence Davis (who is by the way black)
HE SAYS:
"So now it’s racist to portray blacks as zombies in video games. After all these years of us trying to be treated as equals, we are going 3 steps back and playing the racist card because Capcom wants to have it’s next zombie game in Africa. I just don’t get it. The way I look at it, whites, blacks, asians, indians and latinos can all be zombies. If they all end up in a game I’m playing, you can bet I’m gonna mow them all down. Isn’t that the point of video games in the first place? Aren’t we playing to entertain ourselves and escape reality?"
Source: http://www.thebitbag.com/2008/04/25/only-white-people-can-be-zombies/
What do you guys think about his comment?
Wow was that my cousin who wrote that? I think we have to let the past be the past, learn and grow. I think most of us use the past as an excuse for the present. What we should feel insulted about is grand theft auto (all of them). That fucking game makes it seem cool to commit a crime. I say kill the afican zombie's!
Um...nah, it's definitely a little play on racism in there. I know it's our past, but it's a sensitive subject. I think the generations after me won't mind a much. The generations before me...well, thas a different story.
Wow that's an interesting question. I can see why you wre a bit taken back. On the one hand, I assume the game is advertising itself as being based in Africa....but it does seem disconcerting seeing a white character killing off black characters, even if they are zombies.
But in teh grand scheme of things, I don't see it as racial. Hell there's a lot of games where you're killing off the same generic white characters. So I figure this one is just using the same generic black ones.
You know what? It's a fake game and I think people are looking into it too much.
Not all Africans are black, they have many that are white. If the game is true to it's integrity then you should still see some white ones in there. Besides, I get more upset over the Africans in real life killing each other than in this game.
Hunny, I just put my PS3 on layaway and when this game comes out, I am gonna be wearin' those zombies out. Now, I have to points I'd like to present. First, I think that it provides an interesting setting for the game to be in Africa. I mean when is the last time you've seen that? Of course you have America, Russia, Japan, etc etc, but never Africa. Second, let's put ourselves in the white man's shoes. If I was the white man, well hell, If I was ANY man, I wouldn't give a damn what color the zombie was. A zombie is a zombie, and in order for me not to be destroyed, I must destroy them. Sorry. Can I even say that?
Interesting. Things like this continue to desensitize us against violence, especially against people of color. Verdicts like the Bell trial also enforce the idea that our lives are worthless and not worth any protection by the so called law/judicial system. The last GTA was mostly "hood" based, you think it was coincidence at that point they had a xx rated sex scene? Thats how a lot of people see us, killing, carjacking, lazy sex obsessed.
Wouldn't have made more sense to have the main character Black African?
oh please.. zombies are the UNDEAD !!!
historical fact: zombification was a process that came from VOODOO... and it wasn't whitey who invented voodoo or zombies. NOW WAS IT ?
bulletproof soul is on point - right now there is a genocide going on in zimbabwe as Mugabe tries to cling to power.. why not protest some real killing ??
umm..that senario is questionable..lol..damn..it is 9generally) historically accurate but I'm not sure if it's apart of history we want to bring up again...good luck with you new system...
Me personally, why can't people just see the game for what it is, a game? OK, sure they could of mixed up the zombies just a bit, but they didn't so get over it! Write a letter to the game manufacturer and tell them to release an update to make more diverse zombies! Gotta love the PS# game updates!!!
Why couldn't the guy killing the zombies be African (or any other nationality)? Why couldn't it be a woman character as well?
What if they made a game about Hitler (if they haven't already). What kind of response would it generate?
I see nothing wrong with it (aside from being desensitized to violence).
I'm pretty racially conscious, but I don't really see anything wrong with it. I mean, they're zombies, it's a video game, who cares? I think American pop culture has bigger racial fish to fry.
But, umm, yeah...I'm not big on gaming, but I love the GTA series. I don't have a PS3, but I am making a trip to the New Jersey area in a few weeks....hint, hint. LOL.
I just have to say that I'm disturbed by this. I have to agree with Mr. If it is going to be based in Africa, why isn't the solution/saviour black. Or if you are going to have white people in Africa, because they do exist, then why aren't they among the zombies? I don't mind the game being based in Africa but what I do mind is that (at least from what I've seen) all of the zombies appear black with the ONLY white as hero. It is almost like the damn Tarzan mentality again. It is like they are saying Africans are nothing but a bunch of lost and dumb individuals who need the white man's help to solve their problems.
I think that the new generations have become too placent with blatant racism. The older generations have become too tired. And others yell the race card in inappropriate situations. Which has made the furtherment of true equality stagnant.
It just a GAME!...and, a good one at that.
The Resident Evil series take place in various locations...depending on where the Umbrella Corp does its experiments. LOL!...Im such a geek!
Anyway, its just a fresh location to have game play.
;-)
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