Comments on: Color Blind Is the New Racism

by: Thomas

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:09:24 +0000

Couldn’t agree more with Marcos. The problem here is that some people are looking for reasons to side with the easily offended, insofar as I can tell. If you want to look at this trailer SOLELY on the surface & see “white guy shoots loads of black people” then I suppose a black person could be offended, and sure, everyone has the right to be offended, it’s carried with the first amendment. But are they justified for being offended without first taking everything involved into account? That should be the real question here… and I for one, would say no, they are not. I’m a young white male from the midwest, and so are most of my friends, we played eh… the name escapes me, the “cyber-cop” game on Xbox 360 which puts you in control of a black police officer, who right off the bat spends his time killing loads of white folks. Did we care? Not a bit.

You might also be interested to look into Resident Evil 5 again and find that the second character, who’s always with you, in single or cooperative play, is a black female agent.

by: Marcos

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:11:28 +0000

I had to check the date on this article to make sure it wasn’t a joke.

In RE4 you’re fighting cultists that are taken over by parasites. The fact that they’re Spanish is really just incidental. It’s also great how you fail to mention that not only do they attack you first, but they also brutally murder the innocent Spanish cops that are escorting you to the village.

So now things are set in Africa and it’s more of the same. You’re fighting zombies, which was cool before, but now that they aren’t white as the driven snow, you feel guilty. What a load of hypocritical, racist nonsense.

by: Jake

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 04:26:33 +0000

I’m a bit disappointed, Brian. You actually can’t watch the trailer and see how people could perceive racism in the trailer? No one is actually arguing about the game, because no one’s played it yet.

And the quote you choose, almost every part of it is nonsense. The guy is trying to say that if something makes you uncomfortable, therefore it’s art, therefore you should shut the fuck up. Games can be art, sure, but most of them don’t even try. And sometimes offensive is just offensive.

And the 50 Cent argument is a strawman, just weak. You can’t criticize this particular instance of racism unless you criticize all the other ones first? In addition, I wouldn’t be surprised if N’Gai actually had written about the 50 Cent game, but I doubt the commenter even bothered to look.

by: Benjamin Melançon

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:56:47 +0000

And even more frighteningly we have Brian D over here repeating the same points just criticized without a hint of having read the post.

by: Brian D

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:03:38 +0000

Eric, the game isnt even out yet, they are just going crazy over a trailer for it. Because they use cuts that make the game seem scary (its a horro game, find me a horro trailer that doesnt use those angels and cuts) and its set in a locale w/ blacks its racist.

by: Eric

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:48:07 +0000

Was this video game anything like Black Hawk Down?

by: Eric

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:46:19 +0000

Jaaaaaake, quit playin' the race card! Damn leftists. Taking away our right to be racist!

by: Brian D

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:47:33 +0000

Good ol’ Kotaku. I disagree, it isn’t racist at all. It’s a zombie game, plain and simple. The ‘Blacks fading into the shadows’ is called horror movie shots and editing. It sets atmosphere. regardless the idea of zombies comes from The Vodoo/Vodun religious tradition.

I quote a poster from the N’Gai article who gets perturbed that N’Gai doesnt bash 50 cent games for furthering urban gangster stereotypes yet picks a Japanese game where zombies are coming out the hell right now. “If you truly feel that games are art, then you will have the sense to recognize that sometimes art makes you feel uncomfortable. Sometimes art brings up thoughts from within your own life experiance that dont make you feel warm and fuzzy. Being uncomfortable is good, it makes you question yourself and the world. Enjoy the feeling. Now please go stop the next 50 cent from being released. Pleeeease.”

by: Dan

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:54:38 +0000

Games have gotten a lot of shit from journalists recently for being horrible for various reasons, most of which are total crap (look at the Fox News ‘Mass Effect is a porn simulator’ for something that’s just plain wrong). So it’s almost understandable that Kotaku readers would say ‘journalist bad rawr.’

Nowever, N’Gai Croal is pretty much the top game journalist in traditional media. He’s well thought out and damned intelligent. Just like if Fox News says A is true I automatically distrust it, if Croal says it I automatically assume it’s true.

Though I didn’t comment, I read the story and sort of facepalmed. The only defense I can see is that RE5 is being made in Japan, which doesn’t have the same history as we do.

Sigh.