Topic: Racial Stereotypes: Racist, or Not Racist? (Read 6492 times)

Brentai · « **Reply #20 on:** June 27, 2011, 05:07:20 PM »

I don't think it's really about being stereotypical towards black people as it is about African people. The theme here isn't about rowdy white Americans shooting up spics and darkies so much as it's about rowdy white Americans shooting up ass-backward aborigines. It's something that was well established in RE4 and it seemed to work out pretty good so Capcom clearly was trying to stick with that. Unfortunately Africa is one of the few regions of the world where encountering such people is believable if not necessarily true so OFF WE GO TO VOODOO SWAHILI VILLE YEE HAW

But yeah, saying Horrible African Stereotypes = Horrible Universal Black Stereotypes doesn't jive with me and honestly feels like an uncomfortable bit of projection. Hell, the one token Afro-Whatever American in the game is presented with mostly positive traits, even if in this case those happen to include "isn't particularly black". RE historically never did TOO bad of a job throwing in a few minorities into the NPC mix as if they were just regular-ass people who happened to be different colored. They tend to be eaten with alarming regularity, true, but most of RE's surviving cast is made up of douchebags, so... call it a wash.

tl;dr my opinion is that it's racist in broad strokes but really only targeted at the inhabitants of a particular region, not everybody in the world with dark skin.

Brentai · « **Reply #21 on:** June 27, 2011, 05:08:16 PM »

YES I KNOW IT'S JIBE nobody I know says jibe.

François · « **Reply #22 on:** June 27, 2011, 05:26:37 PM »

There's another positive African dude in there. What's his name, the soldier guy. Josh I think. Doesn't he make it out?

Saturn · « **Reply #23 on:** June 27, 2011, 06:28:51 PM »

Quote from: François on June 27, 2011, 05:26:37 PM

There's another positive African dude in there. What's his name, the soldier guy. Josh I think. Doesn't he make it out?

yeah Josh made it out

the black helicopter pilot didn't

because resident evil hates helicopter pilots

Classic · « **Reply #24 on:** June 27, 2011, 06:34:41 PM »

Quote from: TA on June 27, 2011, 02:13:31 PM

even before they're zombies

Honestly, it's the white NPC who looks most frightening to me in that picture.

EDIT:

It's that horrible dust bowl abuse of their skin that gets me in all the pictures.

Brentai · « **Reply #25 on:** June 27, 2011, 07:50:33 PM »

Quote from: Saturn on June 27, 2011, 06:28:51 PM

because resident evil hates helicopter pilots

I don't think a single helicopter pilot has EVER survived a zombie holocaust. Like, somewhere in the zombie manual there's a picture of a helicopter with the cockpit circled and "THIS IS THE BEST FUCKING SHIT" in zomblish next to it. Meanwhile the ALPA guide has a single page on zombie invasions that just says "Get the hell away from helicopters."

R.J. MacReady doesn't count, those were fucking aliens, shut up.

Norondor · « **Reply #26 on:** June 27, 2011, 10:18:59 PM »

Quote from: Saturn on June 27, 2011, 06:28:51 PM

Quote from: François on June 27, 2011, 05:26:37 PM
There's another positive African dude in there. What's his name, the soldier guy. Josh I think. Doesn't he make it out?

yeah Josh made it out

the black helicopter pilot didn't

because resident evil hates helicopter pilots

dude it's not just RE, haven't you ever seen Bubblegum Crisis

Mongrel · « **Reply #27 on:** June 27, 2011, 10:37:41 PM »

Hell, I think it's a Hollywood staple too.

Ted Belmont · « **Reply #28 on:** June 28, 2011, 04:16:52 AM »

Terminator II T1000 Commandeers A Helicopter

Norondor · « **Reply #29 on:** June 28, 2011, 05:15:04 AM »

anyway that's all off-topic, the point is that if you think tribesmen with spears in ooga booga masks and grass skirts aren't racist, you're a fucking racist

it's understandable, though not acceptable, if you're in a country with like 90% racial homogeneity, but if you're in america, then probably you wear overalls with nothing under them

Niku · « **Reply #30 on:** June 28, 2011, 05:24:03 AM »

y mean my breeze britches?

Beat Bandit · « **Reply #31 on:** June 28, 2011, 06:41:26 AM »

Quote from: Norondor on June 28, 2011, 05:15:04 AM

anyway that's all off-topic, the point is that if you think tribesmen with spears in ooga booga masks and grass skirts aren't racist, you're a fucking racist

That's the same kind of argument you get from people complaining that American movies from the fifties are sexist (read: a bad one). A long, long time ago in a magical land that your parents came from women didn't have the same rights as men, and in Africa the people generally considered to be the closest to the theme of Resident Evil look like the fucking people you see in RE5.

jsnlxndrlv · « **Reply #32 on:** June 28, 2011, 09:54:11 AM »

It doesn't matter whether the designs Capcom used are literally the clothes and symbols worn by Zulu warriors in a 2003 National Geographic documentary or just made-up amalgamations of "African styles". What matters is that these designs are being employed to garb a fictitious culture that's housing a nefarious cult with mindless and monstrous characteristics, which is then largely exterminated by Chris Redfield and his "ethnic" ladyfriend in a game put out by a Japanese company.

sei · « **Reply #33 on:** June 28, 2011, 11:03:10 AM »

If the designs aren't that far off from what we realistically associate with Vodun, or whatever inspired this, I still see no issue.

I guess we could have RE6 more PC by including "a nefarious cult with mindless and monstrous characteristics" of white people by basing it off of Scientology or the Mormon church. I imagine the latter would be too close to home, for Americans, and the prior would be blocked by industry practitioners.

We can't do Russia again, because it's played out. We can't do North Korea, because people would call that racist as well.

But, wait! Perhaps there's still hope:

Büge · « **Reply #34 on:** June 28, 2011, 11:50:04 AM »

Quote from: sei on June 28, 2011, 11:03:10 AM

I guess we could have RE6 more PC by including "a nefarious cult with mindless and monstrous characteristics" of white people by basing it off of Scientology or the Mormon church.

Only if your character gets an unlockable Guy Fawkes mask.

Saturn · « **Reply #35 on:** June 28, 2011, 12:36:45 PM »

Quote from: sei on June 28, 2011, 11:03:10 AM

If the designs aren't that far off from what we realistically associate with Vodun, or whatever inspired this, I still see no issue.

I guess we could have RE6 more PC by including "a nefarious cult with mindless and monstrous characteristics" of white people

so RE4 then?

anyway i dont think RE5 is racist except for the sections where the enemies are all warpainted up lunatics (sheva's tribal outfit was also pushing it)

Norondor · « **Reply #36 on:** June 28, 2011, 01:02:07 PM »

pushing it is not the word

the jungle bunny outfit was straight-up uncomfortable

Ziiro · « **Reply #37 on:** June 28, 2011, 01:30:38 PM »

I don't know how to respond to this thread or participate without fear of sounding like a racist. Does that make me a racist?

God of Gambling · « **Reply #38 on:** June 28, 2011, 01:52:44 PM »

Pssst...

I'm pretty sure old white dude that oppresses people is a stereotype.

Also the fact that the white main character is A COP. White cops?!? Fuck man, not every white person is a cop that goes around beating up black people! So goddamn racist Capcom. As a white man I am offended!

Also fuck your racism arguments. You can't even figure out a goddamn moralistic standpoint that makes sense besides, "IT'S WROOOOONNNNGGGGG!!!!!", with a hefty helping of. "do I need to tell you? DO I EVEN!?!?!" [OH CHRIST, I AM SCARED]

But then again, peeps can't even figure out that Freedom of Speech means sometimes, someone's gonna get butthurt over something someone said.

That's why I love freedom, because people stop making laws to protect people from their own feelings.

sei · « **Reply #39 on:** June 28, 2011, 01:57:29 PM »

By the logic in this thread, Wolfenstein is bad because (a) some Germans were Nazis and (b) Germans were (negatively) stereotyped as Nazis.

(If "German" doesn't qualify as a race, due to all crackers look same, s/racist/negatively discriminatory/.)

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Author Topic: Racial Stereotypes: Racist, or Not Racist? (Read 6492 times)