This is overdue but I feel compelled to set the record straight. Lately, there's been a lot of discussion as to the racist undertones (or lack thereof) in Resident Evil 5. More often than not, the responses I've read have asked the question in a manner that presupposes the situation as a black or white dilemma. Responses to the question "is RE5 racist" generally fall into one of the two following categories: Yes, it is a racist game because there are African zombies being killed by a musclebound white man, or no, zombies are zombies and race doesn't enter into the equation. An infected is an infected.
N'Gai Croal, a respected African American video game journalist, found the trailer to be somewhat racist and stated the following:
The point isn’t that you can’t have black zombies. There was a lot of imagery in that trailer that dovetailed with classic racist imagery. What was not funny, but sort of interesting, was that there were so many gamers who could not at all see it. Like literally couldn’t see it. So how could you have a conversation with people who don’t understand what you’re talking about and think that you’re sort of seeing race where nothing exists?
On the other side of the discussion was Seth Schiesel of the New York Times who stated the following:
. . . Resident Evil 5 is not a racist game. For at least a year some black journalists have been wringing their hands about whether the game, the latest in the seminal survival-horror series, inflames racist stereotypes because it is set in Africa. The answer is no.
Prior to playing the game, I agreed with Schiesel. Now, I realize that the situation is more complicated than that. This doesn't mean, however, that I agree with Croal.
When I was in college I took a class with a man named Joseph Mwantuali who, to this day, I consider to be one of the greatest professors of all time. Mwantuali was an African man educated in France that taught French in the United States. Prof. Mwantuali taught a class I loved called "Afican Cinema." We studied Sembene Ousmene and a multitude of other African directors.
What struck me about Mwantuali was the simple approach he had to teaching complex matters. One the first day of class he showed us a film that included a lot of African tribal warriors, villagers, lions and a whole lot of other imagery that I had associated with Africa. After the film he later asked who among us thought that the film was an accurate representation of Africa. All the students in the class raised their hands. He then told us that what we had seen was an unfortunately popular American director's take on Africa.
I was mortified and embarrassed. I had allowed my preconceived notions to cloud my judgment and I had them thrust back into my face in the most polite of fashions. My faculty of reason, the tool I use every time I take in new information, had failed me. I decided to do my best to be vigilant so as not to fall victim to that sort of trap again.
The rest of the year we spent a lot of time watching films by African directors, such as Sembene Ousmene. Films like Xala, Guelwaar and Fat Kine forced me to examine my preconceived notions and showed me just how wrong I was about African culture.
After playing RE5 for upwards of 5 hours, I've come to realize that I was unknowingly and unintentionally racist in much the same way I was on my first day of class. There was no malice in my actions or thoughts (at least not in a deliberate sense), but I was still guilty of not questioning what I saw. I was guilty of letting Capcom, a company that is mainly comprised of non-Africans, perpetuate preconceived notions of African culture and aesthetics. And that right there, that's a problem.
Playing RE5, all the images were what I expected. I don't mean that I knew what was going to happen but I felt oddly comfortable with what I was seeing insofar as I easily envisioned all of it. No one will argue that parts of Africa are horribly poverty ridden and destitute, but the problem lies in how it met every preconception I had of the country. Disgustingly enough, my expectations were further confirmed when I saw the the dictator screaming into his megaphone in a foreign language with aviator glasses. It's embarrassing to admit, but yeah, he looked exactly like what I imagined a dictator in Africa to look like.
That doesn't mean that N'Gai is correct either. Being overly cautious about setting a game in Africa is racist in a way, too. Refusing to acknowledge a location or people because of historical issues is, in my opinion, racist. It's important to stay respectful and true and show the good and the bad- even if the game is fantasy. Why show both good and bad if the game is fantastic? It's not a fantastic world- it's bloody Africa and the setting is as much a star in the RE5 franchise as the characters. Everything in the game is realistically represented (save for the zombies) so let's acknowledge some of the profound issues in Africa.
RE5 is not a fair representation of a country or people which, like it or not, play a starring role in the game. The game perpetuates stereotypical representations which in certain situations boarder on racist. The refusal to show a cityscape raises a flag and shows just how outdated an stereotypical the game is.
And you know what else? I still have some white liberal guilt that makes me cringe every time I pop a tribesman in the head with a pistol while he is just equipped with a wooden spear and wooden shield. I just do. And that won't go away over night.
A lot of people will say, "well if RE5 is so racist why is Sheeva one of the main characters?" I would answer, "because Capcom knew they were going to get attacked by smart people for making a racist game, you idiot!" Sheeva is a transparent attempt at gender and racial equality. She's hot so that she can distract you from the fact that she doesn't provide an iota of cultural relevance in a game where she is lighter skinned than most of the people she is helping the the burly white man kill.
She is beautifully animated though.
Anyways, that's my rant on Racism on RE5. Will I play the game? Of course- it's a fun game. But I will be weary of everything I see and I'm going to make myself do further research into the REAL Africa in the best form available-
Far Cry 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment