This was inevitable:
This is problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young... fearing, hating, and destroying Black people.
While the criticism is fair, I believe it to be an inaccurate presumption by someone who doesn't seem to understand that M-rated videogames are not marketed toward children, and that the storylines in videogames often have a depth to them that cannot be shown in a 2 minute trailer.
I could break it all down for you, but Mike Fahey over at
Kotaku.com says it best:
On the other hand, zombie stories originated in the Afro-Caribbean Vodoun belief system, so for a series that relies on zombies as its main antagonists, exploring the voodoo origins of zombie mythology seems only natural, and in order to do that you are going to end up exploring villages that just don't happen to have many Caucasians in them.
If the game does anything it bolsters the hatred of black zombies already present in the well-established hatred of zombies in general. It teaches us that no matter what color they are on the outside, flesh-hungry reanimated dead people are really fundamentally the same, and should probably be avoided at all costs. When the zombie apocalypse comes, I'd like to think that mankind will band together regardless of race or nationality in the name of preserving the future of humanity and the safety of our precious brainmeats.
My only question is whether Capcom is intentionally walking the racism line. The company's history would not suggest such a thing, but they could be taking a cue from the successes of Rockstar's controversial 'Grand Theft Auto' titles, which have often been accused of having racist elements. I truly hope this is not the case, and I, again, do not believe it to be.
For Fahey's entire editorial, go here:
Black Looks on RE5 racism
To view the trailer that's causing the stir,
look below the fold.
Continue Article ↓
Comments (6)
1. Daniel Jones says... | October 5, 2007 1:52 AM
As a long time player of the Resident Evil series i've never found them 2 be racist and it's the same with Resident Evil 5 if any one has played Resident Evil Outbreak you will know that you have the choice to play as more than one black charecter killing white Zombies and being white i found this not to be racist all that i thought was it's just a game and the same goes for Resident Evil 5 it's just a game and when i have the money to buy a Ps3 i will be buying Resident Evil 5 and i'll be playing it for a long time
2. Aldrich Angeles Yao says... | October 15, 2007 5:29 AM
So what if the enemies are black people it doesn't mean anything it's just a coinsidence.Daniel Jones man I agree with you resident evil 4 is one of my fav. game on ps2 so I'm going to buy ps3 and I'm gonna play RE5
3. john finch says... | March 16, 2008 6:03 AM
oh thats right.. play the race card. i think is time you woke up and stoped being so predictable! so are you saying no white people got killed re5.
what about grand theft auto.. a black man goes round kiliing and thats ok i suppose.
anyway its a game.
4. syed hussaini says... | June 14, 2008 12:17 AM
the game is very good and the graphics designer have done a good job send me more residentevil chapters and the game details when ever new series arrives i give this game as 10 stars
5. Jeremy Warner says... | February 12, 2009 9:58 AM
Well all i have to say is that this little ruckus everyone is making over a damn game about it being racist or not just need to fucking grow up. its a fucking game. its not real life. If it was real life then yes i would have a problem with it cause even though i am white i have back family and they don't see it as racism. not at all. they think it would be a fun game to play. but seriously this racism bullshit needs to stop and stop right now. grow some fucking balls. damn.
6. CJB2222 says... | March 14, 2009 9:41 PM
Stop being stupid.....Black people always pull out the racist card when it is not needed. Anyways black people should drop the racist card anyway , there is a HALF black president now so you guys need to cut that sh#t out! No one says B.E.T. is racist ( an all black television network) You don't see a W.E.T. do you...That would be racist huh? Whats the difference?