Resident Evil 5 trailer stirs criticism over race portrayal

Zombification chooses no race. - Image 1 

Here’s something novel we found through GamePolitics. It seems that the E3 game trailer for Capcom‘s Resident Evil 5 (PS3, Xbox 360) has managed to raise a big fuss over at Black Looks, a blog devoted to African women. In the blog entry, the author finds the portrayal of black people in the trailer as racist, especially given the scenario of a white man (Chris Redfield) shooting at them.

The post states,

The new Resident Evil video game depicts a white man in what appears to be Africa killing Black people. The Black people are supposed to be zombies and the white manÂ’s job is to destroy them and save humanity….

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 youngÂ… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people.

Of course, there might be some problems with this complaint. For one thing, since the setting is in Africa, it stands to reason that most of the people in area affected by a viral zombie outbreak would be black. Furthermore, previous Resident Evil games had the protagonists shooting at Americans or Spanish folk, depending on the game’s setting, so there shouldn’t be an issue of race here: zombification chooses no race. Lastly, a game like this isn’t supposed to be meant for “children and young adults;” it’s meant for mature audiences.

In any case, why not view the video again for yourself and come to your own conclusions?

The video comes after the jump!

Here’s something novel we found through GamePolitics. It seems that the E3 game trailer for Capcom‘s Resident Evil 5 (PS3, Xbox 360) has managed to raise a big fuss over at Black Looks, a blog devoted to African women. In the blog entry, the author finds the portrayal of black people in the trailer as racist, especially given the scenario of a white man (Chris Redfield) shooting at them.

The post states,

The new Resident Evil video game depicts a white man in what appears to be Africa killing Black people. The Black people are supposed to be zombies and the white manÂ’s job is to destroy them and save humanity….

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 youngÂ… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people.

Of course, there might be some problems with this complaint. For one thing, since the setting is in Africa, it stands to reason that most of the people in area affected by a viral zombie outbreak would be black. Furthermore, previous Resident Evil games had the protagonists shooting at Americans or Spanish folk, depending on the game’s setting, so there shouldn’t be an issue of race here: zombification chooses no race. Lastly, a game like this isn’t supposed to be meant for “children and young adults;” it’s meant for mature audiences.

In any case, why not view the video again for yourself and come to your own conclusions? Watch it below.

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