I as a man of color played resident evil 4 set in Spain. Which included gunning down hundreds of spaniards.Where was your critic then.

Posted by: k. bodden at July 31, 2007 9:01 AM

A white man should never be seen, at least in popular culture mediums, shooting hordes of indiscriminate blacks because they have actually done it before.

Posted by: dwalker at July 31, 2007 2:27 PM

As a person of latin descent, I didn't give pause to shooting up the gerudos in RE4. Seriously, the game is frank about the villagers equally being the victims of an evil corporation and its executives.

Besides, it's horror- OF COURSE it mirrors and magnifies our topical fears. Otherwise, it wouldn't be more than suspenseful, would it?

Posted by: MikeD at July 31, 2007 4:13 PM

If Chris Redfield was black, would Africa still be an appropriate setting for Resident Evil 5? I understand why RE5 would set off alarms; there have been several instances of racial stereotyping in video games over the years, but the best way to counter such stereotypes is to get more people of color to design and develop games.

Posted by: r.o.g.h.a at July 31, 2007 4:42 PM

I think the graphics are great and if you can get over yourself and see that it's just a video game. Another in a long storyboard of a series. So just relax and enjoy the ride.

Posted by: edh at July 31, 2007 5:27 PM

I think this is the bigger issue, and one that's going to become a serious problem for video games going forth: Many of these games, including RE5, are being made in ethnically homogenous Japan, where concepts of race are hugely different from those in America. On some level, I think Japanese developers simply don't understand how potentially flammable these kinds of scenarios could become, let alone some of the even more blatant stereotyping often found in Japanese games (think Barrett's penchant for Ebonics in FF7, just for starters.) Not that Western developers don't toy with racial stereotyping as well (GTA: San Andreas), but the frequency and seeming obliviousness of racial caricature in Japanese-developed games could become a truly messy situation.

Been watching my brother play Odin Sphere, getting very jealous. Love your work, Ms. Ruberg.

Posted by: ddb4 at July 31, 2007 7:54 PM

Listen each group of people have the innate right to determine how they are viewed in whatever media form. If Spanish speaking people of European descent didn't make a fuss about a white guy of European descent gunning down a town full of their people then that is on them.

I think that Resident Evil 5 is indication of what happens when there are few black people in the game industry and in the decision making process. The fact that no one from the developmental stage to now even thought that having a white male run around shooting black Africans zombie or not might have some problematic connotations especially if they plan to heavily market and sell the game in the US shows an utter lack of sensitivity and complete naivete to not even ask the question and have a discussion.

Oh, and playing the 'what if' game and switching around races is a moot point because the racial history and dynamic between races are not the same.

Posted by: GO14 at August 1, 2007 8:42 AM

There have been 11 Resident Evil games of you shooting primarily white zombies, 12 if you count RE4 which I’m sure the author; would since they were obviously Spaniards in Europe (which I’m sure they’d label hispanic in their ignorance.)

In the end, it’s a videogame series about virus outbreaks turning people into monsters. Africa would be a logical choice of setting for a story in this series. In Africa there are Africans. And yes, in the game the main character is Caucasian…because Chris Redfield was one of the main characters of the first Resident Evil game and has not been seen since Resident Evil: Code Veronica (released in 2000).

I would go so far as to saying that the author of this blog entry should make a formal apology for BEING racist. It is racism when one makes baseless alarmist claims of racism where none exists. When someone does this, they simply make clear their own ignorance.

To make the implication (which this blog apparently is) that a Caucasian individual should never be shown defending himself against Africans because of a different skin color, is rather bigoted and short sighted in of itself, in my opinion. It is just as racist to say a group should be exclusively excluded due to the color of their skin, and does no service to anyone.

Posted by: sky at August 1, 2007 10:27 AM

This article misses the mark by so much it should be pulled.

A flagging journalist trying to improve their career?

Posted by: Russ at August 1, 2007 10:29 AM

I genuinely feel that a combination of misinformation, 'gun jumping' and hysteria will make this out to be a much larger problem than it ACTUALLY is.

I am black, I was born in Ethiopia and moved to Canada when I was 3 years old. My entire life I have never been the target of racism, at least to my knowledge. This is for two reasons I think.

1. Many tip toe around me as if pretending my skin is -not- darker than theirs will prevent my yelling indignation.

2. I just am -not- offended as easily as many people are. I don't jump the gun and assume advertisements, movies or yes, video games are out to get me and portray my 'race' (I hate calling it that) negatively.

About this trailer - if you played Re4, you would notice a very similar setting. You start off in a rural town in Spain, where people are dingy and dirty looking with an eerie spooky feeling (much like the beginning of this trailer) you ASSUME that they are not 'Zombies' (well they actually aren't, they are not undead, they are infected with a virus and have a sort of mind control effect on them) but in reality, they are infected from the start, and it is only when they learn about your presence and desire to -thwart- them do they start attacking you. It could just as easily (or considering the past cases, be more likely) that this is the exact same situation here. And odds are, you're going to have some 'black' help bringing down these 'zombies'!

If anything, this game may even bring to light the state of Africa, it may bring more awareness to all the problems that are currently running rampant in my 'motherland' and awareness is never a bad thing.

The thing that really gets to me is all these people being ridiculously defensive -for- me and my 'people'. You are part of the problem. I cannot believe that people do not realize that they are widening the gap between Africans and the rest of the world when they try ever so hard to 'respect our differences' like in this situation. I WANT an RE game in Africa; it's unique, it's ballsy and it's refreshing. People getting offended over this are IMMEDIATELY noticing the fact that these people are black and IMMEDIATELY assuming that black people should be exempt from all sorts of negative representations (such as the T virus). Stop it. Please, everyone who is trying to protect the black image... stop it. You are doing a lot more harm than help, and what we really need is supreme and complete equality - and that means letting black people be T-Virus infected crazed monsters too.

Posted by: Annon at August 1, 2007 10:32 AM

Your blog has failed.
Where were you in past RE games?

Are you saying you can't make movies/games set in Africa anymore.

How about GTA:San Andreas where you play as a black man shooting down hordes of innocent whites?

Guess you don't do much research.

Find some real news.

Posted by: Brian G. at August 1, 2007 11:05 AM

You know what would go a long way towards eliminating racism? People not putting so much fucking attention on everyone's race. Isn't that the key really?

Posted by: Anonymous at August 1, 2007 11:07 AM

Thank you for keeping racism alive. If it wasn't for people like you stretching and reaching for connections like this, the rest of the country might have put the idea of color behind us and look at this as just a video game. But you keep it alive and well, without people like you, the NAACP might not be needed any more ,they can't exist without racism, can they? So it has to be kept in the minds of the people from somewhere right?

I can't wait until your next article calling for the removal of all pool tables in the country because we can't have a game where a White ball pushes all the colored balls off the Green Earth table... can we?

Posted by: Joe Nobody at August 1, 2007 11:10 AM

I think that if you really, really want to nitpick the depiction of a white soldier shooting African zombies, the issue shouldn't be racism.

The issues should be imperialism and hegemony. Why is it America's job to help Africa with its zombie problem? Why does America have to play world police?

I'm not saying that I have that issue with this game. What I am saying is, if you really want to get nit-picky, but still at least take issue with something that's, I don't know, relevant to what's going on in the world today? That is the issue you would take.

Never mind the fact that the game is Japanese, and Japan's not fighting a war in Iraq -- that would be us. But I think you can see the point.

Posted by: Dan Hiester at August 1, 2007 11:10 AM

All races should have an equal opportunity to be zombies. Not allowing blacks to be zombies is racism

Posted by: ThinkForAChange at August 1, 2007 11:24 AM

This might be the single stupidest blog post masquerading as sophistication on the entire intarwebz.

No, really. I mean, can you feel the pseudo-intellectualism emanating in waves from the article?

"When it comes to a piece of pop culture like Resident Evil though, we have to consider the possibility that our interest in the supernatural is actually mirroring our anxieties about real-life problems."

Suprisingly, or perhaps not, this deep analysis only comes out of the pocket when blackpeople/gaypeople/fashionable group of victims are involved. I'd like to see your analysis of a game like Dead Rising, with its fears of Americans and white culture, or maybe something like GTA San Andreas, with its glorification of black gangster culture in the US? Hypocrisy much?

"But looking again at the trailer, I see a different message: it’s not just that these zombies are black, but that the uninfected black villagers are zombie-like too."

You see whatever damn message you want to see apparently. RE3 gave of the same vibes about white people, and I'll be damned if you thought about that one for more than 3 seconds.

Ultimately the problem isn't even that you're being hypocritical in the application of your own analysis. The analysis itself is wrong, AND it is hypocritically applied.

Posted by: Unmeel Banerjea at August 1, 2007 11:25 AM

I'm Chaldean. You, and probably most of your readers have no idea what that means, but my family before me came over to the U.S. from Iraq.

Why does this matter?

Because trivial bullshit like talking about how Resident Evil 5 is just a front for racist white people is taken so seriously when any jackass can spout the term "towel-head" or "camel jockey" or the other 9,000 insults used since 9/11 to hate against me and my fellow Arabs. It's hypocrisy by the whole U.S.

Don't make fun of the blacks.

Don't make fun of the Jews.

Don't make fun of any nationality because it's politically incorrect.

But you can totally rip into those damn "sand niggers" huh?

Posted by: Gino Elias at August 1, 2007 11:32 AM

I'm sorry, this may be off point, but,

1.resident evil is about the insane paranoia of corporations and capitalists trying to gain control of the world using biological weapons.

2.The developers of this game is a man named Jun Takeuchi. He is japanese, not caucasian.

3.The protagonists of these games are all white. You cant change that unless new characters are introduced. (and they probably will.)

4.In RE you can get bitten a million times, you dont get infected, as long as you have some "green herb":-)

5.If the pixel colors in this fictional video game meant for adults disturbs you, download a new skin, i'm sure mods will show up. (though that may be a copyright violation!)

Thank You! Have a Nice Day!

Posted by: The Boy at August 1, 2007 11:49 AM

I can list games all day where hundreds of people of a particular ethnicity were dispatched by someone of anether race and nobody said a damn thing. Here's some advice, stop looking for hidden racism in everything and slap the person who showed you this because they and you are, simply.

Posted by: frageelay at August 1, 2007 11:55 AM

You know what I seen when I watched that trailer- some guy killing other people who were infected with a parasite/virus. I didnt see white vs black situation or some kind of subtle race war.

The world today has become so immensely PC its verging on ridiculous. Surely excluding a certain race from something is racism? I hear people saying about equality, well true equality means you take the good parts and the bad parts.

I think this situation is a simple case of- your damned if you do, your damned if you dont.

I still dont see any hint of racism in the trailer.

Posted by: ihave yourlemons at August 1, 2007 11:56 AM

It takes a brave journalist to raise the racism alarm and cry foul on the video game industry based on zero research. Major respect for bucking the trend of journalists making the career change to gossip-monger prostitution, poking the fires of public hysteria in exchange for hopefully-increased readership. Of course, I guess you work for the Village Voice, so what can you do.

It's likely if not confirmed that the game takes place in Haiti, for one thing. Not that it matters, since when it comes to racial alarmism one black guy is just as good as another, ironically enough.

The larger issue missed -- and the one that makes me wonder if and why you get paid for your writing -- is that zombies originated in black Caribbean culture. Therefore, the most likely setting for a zombie thriller would be a black culture, and if anything the overwhelming majority of zombies portrayed as white in movies and games is a spin on this origin. There's such a legacy of white zombism -- much of it owing its roots to "Night of the Living Dead", where a black man struggles against hordes of nearly all-white zombies as well as a cowardly, bald white man in office attire -- that it's amazing that even in profiteering a journalist would make the argument that suddenly zombies could be representative of white fear of black contamination.

Would there be as much spin here if the protagonist was black? You could certainly draw the same grasping-at-straws conclusions (black American fearfully fighting off his own African ancestry, which to this day continues to be a mark against him in assimilating into white American culture? Who knows?) but there would be no shock value to be garnered there, so I doubt you'd waste your time waxing intellectual on the idea.

Posted by: Jared Thomas, Editor of N-Philes.com at August 1, 2007 12:12 PM

While we're speculating the ridiculous, I suspect this game to be one big campaign against african tourism! The message? If you go to Africa, you have two options: Become a zombie or shoot black people. Those of us that are lucky will just get malaria or AIDS.

Posted by: Alex at August 1, 2007 12:35 PM

Fine, I will be fine if they do this:

Intro of the game shows exactly what is in the trailer, but a message is displayed saying that Oh Well, Everyone didn't want us to help the infection in Africa, then a helicopter comes picks up Chris and takes him to Japan where the actual game really starts.

Posted by: Trivialnight at August 1, 2007 12:45 PM

it's set in Haiti not africa. guess another blog entry can be quickly written about how it's full of voodoo sterotypes now.

Posted by: zombie-equality at August 1, 2007 12:59 PM

"White Man Shoots Black Zombies"

the key words here being man, shoots, and zombies!!!!!

I feel dumber for having read this article. WTF is wrong with ppl???

Posted by: yohon at August 1, 2007 1:02 PM

This game is meant for adults. It is not meant for children, even though irresponsible parents will aid the game in finding its way into their chilrens' hands, no doubt.

Adults who already have a racist "disposition" will relish the fact that they're killing Africans. I'd rather have them do it in a video game than real life. They're probably spineless bastards anyhow, so giving them the minor "satisfaction" will probably remove the slightest temptations. I sure hope so, at least.

Adults who are not racist, and are intelligent enough to acknowledge the setting and characters, will simply enjoy the game for what it is -- another RE game.

I think most of us commenting here are concerned, but for me personally, I think making the point is a start towards the call for censorship. Why should we censor this game? Are we not mature enough, as responsible adults, to handle a game like this? What of the other racially-charged video games and movies?

Posted by: Anthony at August 1, 2007 1:14 PM

I as a Chinese feel that this is just poor journalism. The local is Haiti and not Africa. As the 7th+ game in this series, a local with primarily black inhabitants was bound to happen. The race of the protagonist isn't an issue. Capcom is a japanese company and no one ever said anything when they had white characters beating up on Asian possessed characters in their game. Their last in this series was also in Spain. So a White on yellow or brown is ok?

Posted by: Jack Lee at August 1, 2007 1:17 PM

If one feels uncomfortable about the white protagonist shooting african zombies (in africa!) that doesn't at all show racist intent on behalf of the game designers as much as your own racial hypersensitivity.

This racial hypersensitivity often gets us into ridiculous scenarios. Recall the public official who was accused of racism for using the word "niggardly," which btw has absolutely nothing to do with race.

Nintendo's Mario is far more of an ethnic stereotype than anything in the RE5 trailer, but where's the outrage?

There probably is none because it's pretty hard to take seriously the notion that Mario's designer has any animosity towards Italians.

We Americans are very race conscious because throughout our history one's race had and continues to have serious social and sometimes legal significance. It contributes to our fetish for finding racism where there's none intended.

I'm black and the first time I saw the RE5 trailer I thought it was intriguing and that the setting is unique. It didn't occur to me that the white oppressor was killing black people until I came across the "RE5=racist?" talk in the blogosphere.

It's not racist if you have to read so much into it. Just because a videogame character is killing zombies, who had once been human and happen to have dark skin is not an allegory on race.

Any survival horror game set in Africa with a white protagonist will probably involve said white protagonist shooting lots of african zombies. Ask yourself if you'd be more okay with Ada Wong, another RE character shooting african zombies.

If you're more okay with an asian woman shooting the african undead than a caucasian man doing the same, then you should see how silly the this RE5 controversy really is.

Posted by: Geoff at August 1, 2007 1:23 PM

For God sakes, IT IS A GAME! There are plenty of REAL racist problems in this world and we don't need to start making up new ones cause you need your 15 minutes as an ignorant blogger

Posted by: C Power at August 1, 2007 1:32 PM

This article needs to be pulled just on the sheer fact that the author has absolutely no idea what she is talking about. As you can see from all of the comments made absolutely no one is in agreement with her racist frame of mind.

Posted by: Chris Redfield at August 1, 2007 1:33 PM

I don’t think it s so much a racist issue but as a man of African descent I definitely feel where these people are coming from and what they are trying to imply. Obviously there are racial tensions in this country and worldwide especially against people of African descent. Remember games are a way of fulfilling fantasies, dreams, and things not yet possible in real life. A lot of people have negative or insensitive feeling towards blacks and would love to fulfill them, this would be a way to live out those fantasies (just like other video games). In other words it would strengthen their hate and give more fuel to the fire. I can only imagine how many people on XBOX live or PSN spewing negative comments while playing this game.

Also, to counter the argument about RE4 being in Spain and there was no backlash…the original people of Spain weren’t taking from their homeland, disfranchised and enslaved for over 400 years. These people are not so much affected by these portrayals; they don’t have the psychological or economical scars associated with slavery and the fallout that followed so I don’t think there’s a valid comparison there. Any form of entertainment that going to have a White man killing and mistreating blacks on a massive scale is going to cause backlash in the black community. It is what it is people. I am sure if this was WW2 game about an SS soldier going into Poland to round up Jewish people for a death camp base game people would be outraged. I know it’s not entirely the same situation but you get the idea.

Posted by: Neg_MARON at August 1, 2007 1:36 PM

Let's go over a few points here...

1. Resident Evil 0-Code Veronica (which all together was about 6 or 7 games, if you count the survivor series) were about a virus that turn people into zombies. The virus was originally based on the Ebola Virus, which came from Africa. So, now the game is going it would seem to where everything started...Africa. Hence black people.

2. The previous games have all had white main characters killing other white zombies (although you can't really tell most of there races as they're so decomposed). Resident Evil 4 was set in spain, and you did nothing but kill Spaniards who acted the same exact way as the creatures in the Resident Evil 5 video act. So it's alright to show the Spanish as zombies, but not black people? Are you racist against the Spanish?

3. The game is not even made by white people, it's made in Japan, by the Japanese.

4. The plot of the game is that you have to stop a viral infection. So are you saying that the main character should not go to Africa to try and put down the infestation of these parasites and help the non-infected black people? Are you saying we should let the black people in this universe all die becasue you might have to kill a few black zombies? Maybe you're the racist here.

Posted by: Joker at August 1, 2007 1:45 PM

What a load of crap, in my opinion. I despise people who focus on race, first thing, when there is interaction between two people of different races (even pretend people). Even if they're playing racism police. Why do I hate it when people do this? Because to me, that is the very definition of racism! If I played a game set in Africa, and there were Africans there, I wouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't say OH S*** IT'S RACISMZ! Would they rather see a black hero killing all of the African zombies? What's the difference???

It's just the setting of a story! If you set a story somewhere, you'll have characters (yes, enemies and villains too) that are native to that setting. Because it's set in Africa, it is automatically a race issue? To me, this is the equivalent of watching a movie set in a foreign country, and then getting mad when all of the characters aren't white Americans. Also, I guarantee that there will be living African characters in the storyline. And HIV has absolutely NOTHING to do with Umbrella Corporation, or video games in general. Or zombies. This is just stupid.

Posted by: Draven at August 1, 2007 1:48 PM

The trailer never says that Chris is in Africa. Isn't it racist of the general public to assume that he's in Africa because the people are black? Black people are the majority in more than Africa.

Posted by: Sheep at August 1, 2007 2:00 PM

Becasue of slavery no black person can ever be portrayed in a negative way in any form of media, no matter what the context, ever again...

This is pathetic, it's a game, get over it.

Posted by: sb5283 at August 1, 2007 2:09 PM

I think I'll preface this by saying that no one really knows the plot or intentions behind this game, so its all just speculation.

That said, I think that suggesting Capcom threw the combinations together "willy-nilly" is insulting. Perhaps there is actually a commentary here on racial genocide in Darfur.

Perhaps there is a reference to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and is being used as a social statement.

This could be Capcom following in the steps of Game directors like Hideo Kojima who like to make points with there games.

Finally, I'd like to say that your article was very well written and thought provoking and that I enjoyed it.

Posted by: SteveBurnside at August 1, 2007 2:13 PM

Reminds me of the boy who cried wolf. People are so willing to slap a racist label on everything that when real racism happens, it gets lost in the pile of B.S. like this article. In other games when white zombies were killed I'm betting not one white person complained.

Posted by: Jeff Aronovitch at August 1, 2007 2:42 PM

First off, it's just a trailer so far. We have absolutely no idea of the storyline behind RE5, so please do not attempt to raise a media ruckus over a TRAILER.

Secondly, look at RE4 and its storyline (there are spoilers here). The game was set in Spain and featured Leon from RE2 gunning down countless zombie-like Spaniards. Yet, at the end of the game, you find out that the village, which was depicted as absolutely horrid, was subjugated against its will, and, through a montage of still images, you find that it returns to its idyllic state at the end. Who's to say that the same won't happen to the African village in RE5?

Third, I'm tremendously tired of people crying racism every single time a black person (might be) portrayed in a negative light. Take the children's book, Nappy Hair, from a few years back. Parents raised a misinformed furor because of journalists like yourself over the title, without realizing that the book was about a child celebrating her African-American heritage.

Another thing, RE4 was set in Spain, and ::gasp:: Spanish people were killed. Now, as a Spanish person was I offended? No. I thought it was rather cool that an RE game was actually set in a foreign country for once. But no one raised over a furor over that setting. Why? Is it okay for me to die because my people weren't enslaved or endured racism?

Fourth, before you and colleagues start causing a firestorm, actually attempt to get some information about what you're talking about for once.

Posted by: Gabe at August 1, 2007 2:55 PM

To the person who thinks the blog should be pulled, I disagree. I think it should stand along with its responses as a perfect example of the current backlash against the hypersenitive "I-have-a-right-not-to-be-offended" mindset" currently creeping through every form of media we have. It is killing meaningful dialogue and promoting fear of speaking ones mind truthfully. The writer of this piece is no better than people like Jackson & Sharpton who do nothing to advance a solution to our differeces, only inflame an already bad situation. Also, in games as in humor, context is everything, dont imply racial animosity where it simply doesn't exist.

Posted by: TJ Landry at August 1, 2007 3:22 PM

Amazing how people on either side of an issue can get so worked up about a video game. Personally I am excited to play a game in a new location that hasn't really been explored to its full potential.

The only issue I could see people having with this game is the fact that Africa is not portrayed well in pop media. What gets filtered through are the war crimes, the corruption, the disease, the poor quality of life, and nature shows.

Posted by: Joshua at August 1, 2007 3:26 PM

Here's an idea...Change the contrast on your TV set. You can pretend you're shooting whichever race you're little heart desires.

Posted by: Phil at August 1, 2007 3:48 PM

No wonder I never heard of you guys. I guess you had to make something that sparked some controversy to be heard. ABSOLUTE GARBAGE WRITING.

Posted by: Village Voice BS at August 1, 2007 3:49 PM

The tone of this article gives me the impression that the most exposure you've had to any Resident Evil game is via trailers (and perhaps a cursory glance at a Wikipedia article). The flaw inherent to your judgment that the game contains hints of racism is, primarily, that the game is NOT complete. What we all see in the trailer is a small sampling of the game that is NOT representative of its whole. If you have the ability to read into a work, and the eloquence to write your conclusions "on paper," then I would assume it's safe to believe your education is not so lacking that you know what sampling is (especially in the context of symbols and human psychology).

In this case, specifically, your lack of attention to the series' prior release, Resident Evil 4, brings into question the credibility of your research. Like so many "experts" before you, you've only managed to present a smidgen of the facts -- and that isn't good enough, especially not when the consideration that the materiality of the evidence in support of the Resident Evil series NOT being racist is significant enough to skew your judgment.

That said, your responsibility in this is to either a) do more research and come back with stronger evidence in support of your claims, or b) retract the article.

Posted by: John Wilhite at August 1, 2007 3:55 PM

As I recall, there is exactly one uninfected villager in the trailer. He looks pretty goddamned scared to me.

Really, is it so hard to just accept this as a change of setting? Why is it that white men and zombies killing each other is perfectly fine, but when any black people are brought into the mix, "Oh snap, hate crime"?

Posted by: Munchy at August 1, 2007 4:01 PM

I have a question: Considering that the RE series has always been about fighting classic voodoo-inspired zombies (IE not undead but instead living slaves often converted by poison) as specified in classic afro-cuban mythology, shouldn't it be racist that there has been absolutely no involvement of black (or African/African-American if you prefer) people in previous Resident Evil games?

Posted by: Josh at August 1, 2007 4:05 PM

Actually, I agree with the author...I actually think all of the Resident Evil games were racist. My father was polish/hungarian and my mother was a zombie, and quite frankly, I am sick of the bias against zombie-americans or zombie-africans. it needs to stop now. :sigh:

Posted by: ME at August 1, 2007 4:21 PM

Pretty thoughtful take on it. I'm not sure what to make of the frothing response this issue seems to be getting by commenters here, at Kotaku, at Joystiq, and probably everywhere else it's been covered. I didn't interpret the trailer as racist either, but that's because I put it in context of the entire Resident Evil series. I'm not sure why people are unable to imagine how it looks to somebody who hasn't played the game, and just sees a bunch of homicidal black people swarming the good-looking white guy. And, frankly, the majority of the comments I read have made me realize that racism is alive and well in America -- it's just cloaked in a sense of white victimization.

Posted by: Mitch at August 1, 2007 4:25 PM

"Machine guns in hand,"

In the Resident Evil series, machine guns are the worst possible weapons to use (excluding the "special unlockables".) They are extremely difficult to land the headshots required to kill zombies, and less effective than precision weaponry.

If you don't know much about the series - don't guess. At least play one of the games, or do detailed research before you make claims.

"As one forum commenter wrote, “Is it just me, or is there something subtly racist about gunning down mobs of angry Africans?”"

In other words, it's perfectly acceptable for Umbrella corporation to infect an entire city/country/continent without opposition.

Most such complaints are from people who know nothing about the game or reality, which is typical of these so-called controversies. Overall, it's just plain silly.

Posted by: Sigma 7 at August 1, 2007 4:49 PM

This is ridiculous. I am a 33 yr old black man, born and raised in America and this article is embarrassing to me because of the blatant stupidity of such statements. There is NOTHING of intelligent basis, here. The RE series decides to make Africans victims of the manmade virus which has claimed many victims OUTSIDE OF AFRICA in the past. I get tired of seeing people of my own race make mountains out of mole hills and when issues NEED to be raised, they are not.
Stop reading so much into this and GROW UP and do a better job of journalism. Thank you.

Posted by: Trey at August 1, 2007 4:54 PM

I like turtles!

Posted by: Joseph Falham at August 1, 2007 4:58 PM

I think you're being a little premature here, as we know next to nothing about the game. People who cry racism from a short trailer of a game are either being overly-sensitive (whether for good reasons or bad), or just looking for attention. But in case you think I'm being insensitive, let's look at the facts that we do know:
1) Africans live in Africa (shocking, I know). If it showed a white man shooting white people in an African jungle, something would look very wrong.
2) The trailer itself is not only very short, it is incredibly vague (obviously intentional to draw out speculation and curiosity). To make any judgements using it as a basis is like judging the entire human civilization based on a 5 minute meeting with one person.
Overall, I'd almost call this sensational if it wasn't so absurd.

Posted by: Jonny N. at August 1, 2007 5:10 PM

Resident Evil 1 - white people are zombies

Resident Evil 2 - white people are zombies

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - white people are zombies

Resident Evil Code: Veronica - white people are zombies

Resident Evil Survivor - white people are zombies

Resident Evil Gaiden - white people are zombies

Resident Evil: Survivor 2 Code: Veronica - white people are zombies

Resident Evil Zero - white people are zombies

Resident Evil: Dead Aim - white people are zombies

Resident Evil Outbreak - white people are zombies

Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 - white people are zombies

Resident Evil 4 - white people are zombies

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles - white people are zombies

Resident Evil 5 - ZOMBIE AFRICANS?! RACISM
...
Please, I’m sure the majority of ALL people won’t give a flying crap.
…

Where was you fuss before this? your outrage at this nothing less than offensive.

Clean up your own community before you start pointing fingers, this is the least of your problems.

Posted by: Peter at August 1, 2007 5:15 PM

Add me to the list of "not that convinced this is anything but 'go somewhere, kill zombies.'" Resident Evil has mentioned Umbrella activity in the Congo before, and the games have been set all over the globe--including Antarctica.

The characters who have become the major sold-their-soul inhuman villains in the Resident Evil series--I can already tell you've never played it, so here's some names, please Google--are Alexia Ashford, Jack Krauser, and Albert Wesker. All three are blond.

Resident Evil zombies are -victims-, not aggressors. The villagers in RE4 can easily be seen as tragic figures (especially given the image montage at the end of RE4, which I think is the fall of the village--one mother is shown with a dead child.) If you'd played RE4, you'd also know that the infection was spreading and causing people to become dangerous long before it became visible. This sense of menace was conveyed by finding a dead villager pinned to a wall by a pitchfork through her face, but I took that less as misogyny than as "some of them were not infected, but were brutally killed, and I will not find allies here." I take the trailer as doing the same thing.

I can't say that RE4 was a gem of accuracy in portraying Spain, or that I've never raised eyebrows at the series. I do think you're going too far on too little information, and I also think it would be racist if Capcom were to instead suggest that no matter where in the world you go, there will only be the white majority.

Posted by: sharky at August 1, 2007 5:16 PM

Capcom was wrong to do this. Obviously, the white character should be shooting white zombies in black locales. That way, everybody will think Africans and Haitians are white and easily dispensed with firearms.

Because we all get our education from video games, right?

Funny thing is, if the game took place in Africa and just showed white folks, there'd be outrage over Capcom's fear of showing blacks in Africa or of covertly supporting apartheid.

There's no winning when people are looking to make an issue of everything.

Posted by: SinistarX at August 1, 2007 5:23 PM

Finger pointing and bandwagon journalism at it's finest right here folks.

I would post more but I feel all the other posters have pretty much laid down a solid rebuttal to the author.

Posted by: Daniel at August 1, 2007 5:23 PM

Way to go! You have increased the sales of RE5 tenfold!

You have made a non-issue a non-issue but with larger sales.

Perhaps you work for Capcom because this is brilliant :)

Posted by: Mike at August 1, 2007 5:26 PM

Excellent point bodden.

Posted by: Sean at August 1, 2007 5:28 PM

"A white man should never be seen, at least in popular culture mediums, shooting hordes of indiscriminate blacks because they have actually done it before."

Yeah because Black people are immune to killing White people right? I mean it's never happened before in the history of mankind.

Yeah that was sarcasm!

Posted by: Drifter at August 1, 2007 5:32 PM

Has anyone stopped to think that, perhaps, this game takes place in Haiti, a nation with a long history or zombie-ish weirdness?

Posted by: Brian at August 1, 2007 5:45 PM

Im black and I experience racism from ppl all the time, I have learned to deal with it. White ppl like to rationalize that it isn’t that much of a problem,(I guess it helps them sleep at night). I agree with the alot of the comments made above. We as blacks are a bit overly sensitive about the issue, but I think whites are also a bit insensitive about it too. Remember you were not on the receiving end of organized racism. And even though legal segregation ended in the late 60’s early 70’s. Racist attitudes in every sense of the word still exist in our great county.

That being said, this game opens wounds that have not healed yet. Yes previous RE's have had whites and spanish ppl as zombies, but I think the issue still lies in how organized racism was an issue in the past. If I created a video game where Germans pummelled, burned and killed other germans, then another in which they pummelled, burned, poisened the english, then created another where germans pummeled, killed, burned and poisoned jews in israel. I am pretty sure that it would raise an eyebrow or two with the Israelis. Reminding them of old wounds. It does the same for us blacks.

Posted by: MaybeUAreRacist at August 1, 2007 5:46 PM

Absolutely pathetic. This isn't news. This shouldn't even be a valid opinion. I am trying so desperately hard to not swear at you, but this article has made it so difficult.

As a user has already said, do some damn research before you infect the internet with irrelevant filth like this. We can shoot spanish zombies right? But not black zombies? A black guy can kill hundreds of white guys right? But not the other way around? If you ill-educated, ignoramuses actually gave a damn about these types of issues, you wouldn't attack forms of media that you are using as a scapegoat to shield youselves from the actual truth of the matter. It's not games that are fueling racism. Or violence. Or corruption of our childrens' minds. It's people. People hate people. That's human nature. Write a blog about a solution to that and you would probably be given some sort of award.

Also, to end this rant, if you manage to get this forthcoming game banned because of this ignorant rubbish, I can guarantee you will probably be one of the most hated and unpopular women in the world.

Posted by: Cabal at August 1, 2007 5:54 PM

nothing beats a well to do white girl telling you whats racist, cause you know, she knows, especially after taking those african studies classes she took at her liberal arts college. i guess its the whites job to say what and what isnt racist nowadays.

Posted by: Dan at August 1, 2007 6:01 PM

it's just a video game lady. don't take it too seriously.

Posted by: robert at August 1, 2007 6:02 PM

The reason you might have been disturbed by the trailer is because of the "inhuman" look of the animation. Are you familiar with the Uncanny Valley concept? The characters in this trailer fall deep into it because they are approaching looking human, but yet, because of technical gaps not cleared, they don't convey more realistic behaviors and expressions.

That's maybe part of why it's unsettling. Look into it.

Posted by: Mike at August 1, 2007 6:02 PM

RE: MaybeUAreRacist

They are freaking zombies. All of them were freaking zombies in each and every game ! Why can't you understand that ? Not only that people are judging the game via a god damn trailer ! Hello why don't you wait to buy and play the game to see what the hell it's really about before casting judgment?

Oh well never mind...You know what let's never include black people any form of entertainment medium ever again. Hell we can just pretend they don't even exist period because obviously it's not worth the effort at all including them into anything.

The next RE game should be set in Africa again but all the characters should be white. Will that make you happy?

Posted by: Drifter at August 1, 2007 6:07 PM

You have got to be kidding me. Was anyone complaining when we were slaughtering countless Spaniards in RE4? I don't think so. Killing people of only spanish descent isn't racist. Yet killing blacks is racist? You have got to be kidding me! This little blog entry is just pure ignorance. PS: RE5 looks freaking awesome

Posted by: Julian at August 1, 2007 6:15 PM

This sounds very typical of modern media. That being, sensationalist, hypersensitive drivel that seeks not only to point fingers (rather than realize it's themselves), but to gain potential for other people to do likewise. This article seems to be a pinnacle of what is media today, disinformation coupled with sensationalism (and visa versa). All to cause an uproar and mislead. Absolutely contemptible.

Posted by: Tom at August 1, 2007 6:15 PM

This is the most racist article I've seen yet about this.

The author seems to indicate that it's not okay for Black people to be portrayed as zombies, yet they seem to be perfectly fine with the depiction of Caucasians as zombies in the previous games.

Posted by: Ian at August 1, 2007 6:27 PM

There are very big problems with the arguments made in this article.

A) You are killing ZOMBIES!! Does it really matter what color they are? If you're in Africa, chances are that the zombie outbreak is going to infect black people; I know that is extremely shocking.

B) There were no qualms about the previous Resident Evil games where you kill hordes of white or Spanish zombies.

C) The game is going to, without a doubt, receive a Mature (18+) rating. Would you not agree that most 18+ year olds can handle the fact that the brain craving zombies just happen to be Africans?

I could probably go on..but I don't think it's necessary, especially since it looks like most of these same problems have been pointed out in other comments.

Posted by: Joe at August 1, 2007 6:34 PM

What an incredibly racist article, neatly packaged in psuedo-intellectual word-dropping. Kudos on keeping up the VV tradition of taking itself - and everything else - too seriously.

Posted by: Wow at August 1, 2007 6:34 PM

This is stupid, i'm spanish an i don't have any problem with re4.
In RE Outbreak you can play as a black hero and you must kill white zombies, this is good uh? but if a white kills black zombies no... you are the unique racist here... if you want to avoid racism, you can begin stopping of saying shit like this.

Posted by: Kyojinmaru at August 1, 2007 6:40 PM

Well maybe if you've played the other 8 thats right 8 resident evil games, you'd know every zombie in them (except RE4)is white, and yet no one complained. And then RE4 had Hispanic monsters, and you didn't say anything when this white man was gunning them down. But now he's gunning down Africans you try and say it's bad. I'm black, and I don't take offense to this what so ever. I say this artic e is racist against white people.

Posted by: Theo Kellam at August 1, 2007 6:48 PM

In response to your comment about how the black people look before they are infected, typically - in these games - you are never present for the viral outbreak. That is to say, anyone who is infected is already infected. Anyone who isn't, was likely killed/eaten by the infected people.

Also, since Resident Evil 4, they have introduced an intelligent breed of zombie to the series. At the start of Resident Evil 4, the village appears to be normal. However, as soon as they notice you, you realize that they are all actually infected by a parasite.

In short, the reason that the people in the trailer look a little spooky is likely due to the fact that they are already infected, and are about to go bat-shit crazy on the protagonist.

Posted by: Jordan at August 1, 2007 7:09 PM

I just thought I'd say, though not many people will read down this far, Japanese can be racist too. Race doesn't mean you can't be racist. Also... it's game. You kill undead and unhuman things.

Posted by: Colorblind at August 1, 2007 7:09 PM

Here we go again.... As Cartman in south park so nicely put it - RACE WAR - again, for no stupid reason....
LET'S GET SOME THINGS STRAIGHT -
WHY IS IT THAT IF A BAD GUY HAPPENS TO BE BLACK THE MOVIE, GAME ETC. BECOMES A RACIAL STATEMENT... EVERY PERSON, BLACK, WHITE, HISPANIC, ASIAN ETC. HAS THE RIGHT TO BE A GOOD OR BAD GUY - (EQUAL RIGHTS ANYONE??)

BUT OF COURSE AS SOON AS THE BLACK MAN IS PUT INTO THE SPOTLIGHT, IT'S ALL WHITEYS FAULT...
SAY IF MAIN CHARACTER (WHO'S BEEN IN THE GAME BEFORE) CHRIS REDFIELD WAS BLACK, AND IN THE FIRST GAME (OF THIS LONG AND DRAWN OUT SERIES) HE KILLS WHITE ZOMBIES - NO COMPLAINT, HUH...
AND RESIDENTEVIL4 LEON KENNEDY SHOT AT SPANIARDS, STILL NO COMPLAINT HUH?
OH LET'S NOT FORGET THE FACT THAT THE GAME IS SET IN A 3RD WORLD COUNTRY, HAVING THE OUTBREAK POSSIBLY SPREAD OUTSIDE AND TO THE WORLD -
BUT NO CAPCOM SHOULDN'T BE TRUE TO THE SETTING OF THE WORLD, LETS PUT THE BLACK MEN FROM AFRICA IN ANTARCTICA AND REPLACE THEM WITH PENGUINS JUST TO BE SAFE FOR THIS ONE RIGHT?

-- FACE THE FACT THAT YES, BLACK PEOPLE LIVE ON EARTH, AND YES, JUST AS MUCH AS THE MANY WHITE MEN BEFORE THEM IN THE PREVIOUS 5+ GAMES, THEY TOO CAN BE INFECTED - BUT OF COURSE WE SHOULDN'T SHOW THIS B/C OF THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN
-- BUT IF WE SHOULDN'T SHOW THIS, WOULD THAT BE RACISM...
MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE NO MORE GAMES AT ALL, AND FROM NOW ON THE GAMES WE PLAY WILL BE "HERE JOIN ME FOR TEA WHILE I COMMENT ON THE FREEDOM YOU HAVE IN THIS WORLD"
-- NOT MUCH FREEDOM LEFT NOW I SUPPOSE...

(AND SRY FOR CAPSLOCK, MY CAP BUTTON IS STUCK...)

Posted by: null at August 1, 2007 7:30 PM

Wow... I've read almost half of the comments and noone agrees with you... not even the black people who comments... are you really fighting for them or do you just think you are?

If anyone's a racist here it's you for saying "See all those spooky shots of the villagers before they get infected?" and trying to analyse something thats not even there. Do you really think black people look "spooky"...?

Posted by: Blä at August 1, 2007 7:32 PM

That game looks freagin awesome! Definitely going to have to play it.

The gamers of all colors will will play the game for what it is. A game.

Racist people who still try to find hate and propagate it will use it as a tool to do so.

Posted by: Patrick Olson at August 1, 2007 7:57 PM

i guess we should just ban white people from appearing in any video games to make sure nobody thinks anything racist is happening.

Posted by: Conejo at August 1, 2007 8:08 PM

I love killing zombies, black, white, brown, yellow, green, blue, rotten, any race, it doesnt matter.

Bonnie, you need to get real and stop the old ways of thinking!

Your blog post just annoys me, sorry, but it's true.

Posted by: Icecold at August 1, 2007 8:08 PM

I saw this article and laughed. It's really amazing how far people can take a GAME. In almost every other game I play im shooting white people. So what you are saying is that I can kill a white person but if I shoot a black person i'm instantly racist. I think it's crap how some people take this so far, take it for what it is... a fun GAME.

Posted by: Drew at August 1, 2007 8:14 PM

I am soo tired of people trying to patronize everything thinking they gonna get points/reconised is they point out racism in every turn I’m a black person who loves the Resident Evil series and i hate it when people like you jump to conclusions without doing any research on the subject they are attacking.Right Now.I’ma end this RE5 crying racism crap with .To whoever written this article.Play Resident Evil 2 that’s if you really do play video games like you claim you do, play at least one hour of the game,from there you are going to a police station,from there you are gonna see a injured black police officer , after you do the sequence of events,go back and see the officer.He is now a zombie,what are you gonna do?Remeber the main characters you are using,are white, and what you are saying is that is racist to kill a black zombie.Also the two morals of this is that there are black people in Resident Evil, not playable, but they are there.So stop saying that there’s not any black people in Resident Evil, and two. That the inhabitants of RE 4&5 are infected by a virus that are turning them into rampaging psychos it’s not a color thing, it’s an “I want to stay alive thing”. Killing them to stay alive.lol.Also if you would pay attention to the trailer chris didn’t kill every black person that walk pass them,he’s killing the ones that are trying to kill him.Isn’t it obilvious.But keep in mind, in the end it’s just a game.

Posted by: crimsontyrant at August 1, 2007 8:15 PM

I heard someone suggest that the game takes place in Haiti - though I doubt that's true, I wonder if it would alleve some of the racism accusations.

...But probably not.

Posted by: Julian at August 1, 2007 8:27 PM

I find this very sad. The original writer seems like an intelligent person however she seems to have misunderstood a few things.

Before I post my argument I would like to share the fact that I am a Sudanese man and I have been playing Resident Evil games since they came out.

Anyway whether this game takes place in my back yard or not is not a big issue.

When you see the villagers looking wary, think of it, if you were in an area where a military uniform tends to mean that someone is going to get their arm cut off or their wife raped or something oyu would be wary too. Hell just think of it this way "Beware of strangers"

The villagers looked fine, yes distrusting, but fine. In my interactions I usually see them all smiling and being friendly.

As for the Virus. You made a good point with the AIDS/HIV, its scary and people were fearful. However the personality of Chris Redfield makes him want to prevent further infections of innocent people such as the ones in the village. Especially since Resident Evil 1, an entire City was destroyed only to contain the infection. Those are the casualties that he was talking about that were brought about by umbrella.

One thing no one brought up is the fact that it looked like another BLACK man with a Megaphone was issuing orders to the angry mob. He could have caused the infection.

Regardless, this is a non-issue. Its fiction and its played as entertainment.

I admit and acknowledge that there will be some racists that buy this game for the sole fact that you will be able to kill black people. However you cannot assume that anything that deals with a white protagonist being antagonized by black zombies/test subjects is racist because of the color.

If the game used a modern version of blackface... You would have a good argument there

Posted by: Zeyad at August 1, 2007 8:28 PM

Oh, god.

It's YOU who is trying to make the case for racism where none exists.

Therefore, you are the biggest racist of all.

Lighten up, it's a friggin video game.

Posted by: Joe Marco at August 1, 2007 8:28 PM

I just have an edit to add to your blog which I think is pretty good by the way. But there are no shots of uninfected Africans in this tralier. I believe that like in 4 they went with the virsus that turns its victims into a zombie like weapon controlled by one mind controller. Just thought you should know that, just because they did'nt look like zombies they could have been the enemy (like in Re4 where the Spanish people acted like but did not look like zombies)

Posted by: Vin at August 1, 2007 9:03 PM

This is the problem with mainstream journalism coving video gaming. All the bases aren't covered. Mind you I think the author did the best they could compared to some of the other comments I have seen.

There are no uninfected villagers in the trailer... they are pretending. Like in RE4.

RE4 was an American guy shooing people yelling kill him in Spanish... I wasn't offended. It was a setting and it wasn't an outcry against Hispanics. The T-Virus or Las Plagas knows no color... maybe we should be the same.

Lastly... the developers are Japanese! I live in Japan and let me tell you people here can be pretty dunce about what is considered offensive in the States. In fact, a previous commenter mentioned something about Ebonics which wasn't even in the original game but rather the localization. Not their fault. Most of that wonderful racism in video game happens when the Western localization companies get their hands on them.

Final thought... the producer of RE5 himself in a recent interview explained that the setting was because they were tired of using dark/grimy/shadowy places to make spooky settings. They wanted to try and see what happens if you make a horror game under the beating sun. So they thought... a remote African town. That simple folks.

Posted by: gt at August 1, 2007 9:56 PM

In part of RE2 you play as Carlos, a Hispanic American, and gun down White zombies in America. In RE4 you play as Leon, a White American, and gun down Spanish zombies in Spain.

In GTA3 San Andreas you play as Carl Johnson, a Black American, and gun down White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian people in America/former Mexico. They're not even evil.

(Nobody complained about GTA3, where you are a sterotyped Italian gangster gunning innocent people down. It was only the stereotyped African that set people off.)

In GTA2 it was an Englishman. In GTA4 it will be a Russian.

Due to the nature of Resident Evil I am almost certain that there will be Black allies and civilians. The point is to help the black people by stopping their zombie infestation. Not helping would actually mean genocide.

The pattern I see here is, wether the Black person is the protagonist or the antagonist, people always assume it's racist against Blacks because it's either stereotyping them as the killers or supporting the killing of them.

Posted by: Marshall Banana at August 1, 2007 10:49 PM

dont panic, im black. this is not a big deal. people in resident evil 4 were latin, nobody had a problem with that. so why with this. i think its cool that they are finally having zombies of color, they had white, european, and spanish, why not black. and plus look at them look how fast, and aware they are. they also look like more of a challenge. main point though, is that is is just a game, so calm down. nobady gets this offensive about something when a white person says the n word on t.v. or does something racially motivated. but since a game might have black people getting killed its racist. people need to stop jumping on the "hate video games" bandwaggon

Posted by: b.tate at August 1, 2007 11:07 PM

So I'm guessing this is like an op/ed slash feature hybrid piece; maybe we can slacken the journalistic expectations a little bit...that being said it certainly wouldn't hurt to temper this with some actual background about the evolution of the Zombie genre in film and literature.

I think it's interesting to note that the first and foremost influential piece of zombie literature, George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead," portrayed both the contamination and the racial undertones the author has mentioned, albeit to opposite effect. Consider that the hero of that film was a young black man, and in a final bitter twist was mistakenly shot down by a white police officer because they thought he was a zombie. How's that for a racial message, and in the first majorly important zombie film!

But the comments about Japan's view of the West's race culture are astute. It would be helpful to learn how the setting was determined, though I can imagine it had something to do with a desire to get away from the used-up "dark forests and shadowy hillside manors" trope and try for something nearly polar opposite: a sun scorched desert with nary a tree in sight. Again, I really doubt the creators at Capcom even realized any racial implications.

To be sure, and whether the fanboys want to admit it, the racial problem does exist, simply because we are, and will continue talking about it. I admit that I wonder what someone might think if they walked in on me playing this game, not knowing what its context was. I'm sure an eyebrow or two would raise.

As for the comment about each race being granted the "innate right" to determine how it is portrayed by other people (i.e. the media), that is downright baloney. Racism is a vile poison, but that doesn't change the fact that the only right you have is to ignore it or argue against it, and to not be discriminated on its grounds. There is no "innate right" that protects the image of a culture or race. As sick and wrong as it may be, I have a right to publish anything I want, as vile and racist as I want it to be, so long as it cause no loss of property or life to others. So it is with a video game, which will make very little influence in our wide world, because it will only be played by a small population of people.

Posted by: ubernym at August 1, 2007 11:09 PM

ATTENTION PEOPLE!

Resident Evil 4 was never said to take place in Spain, but set "somewhere in Europe". And Spanish isn't only spoken in Spain as I recall.

"One thing no one brought up is the fact that it looked like another BLACK man with a Megaphone was issuing orders to the angry mob. He could have caused the infection."

Haha, somehow I doubt a guy with a megaphone is the main culprit. However, he is most likely infected.

Posted by: lee comstock at August 1, 2007 11:33 PM

I'm reading up all the comments here, and all the responses I've seen are reasonably biased and predictable (i say this because I would otherwise be typing the exact same thing), but if there's one single comment which Bonnie should take real notice of, it's the well written post by "Annon at August 1, 2007 10:32 AM" describing his views and opinions towards this blog, not as an Ethiopian, but as a person trying not to be bound by the prejudices that usually come with being part of a 'race'.

He hit the nail on the head so perfectly with his post, that there couldn't be anything else worth arguing on the topic.

Posted by: Dan at August 1, 2007 11:45 PM

Honestly lady, get a clue. The race-card is the single most disturbing thing in culture today. Am I supposed to be offended that Metal Gear Solid 4 takes place in the middle east, being Lebanese myself? I'm not at all, and am looking forward to the game all the same I would if it took place anywhere else in the world. Considering almost every "black" person in America isn't African, this shouldn't even be an issue. Blind pride and looking for attention is all this is.

Posted by: Joe at August 2, 2007 12:28 AM

This debate is just ridiculous. It's a game, the setting takes place in Africa, there is most likely going to be quite a bit of Africans. Seriously how can anyone call this racism? It's just blatant stupidity.

Posted by: David at August 2, 2007 1:27 AM

people fail to realize that Resident Evil is a Japanese game created by Japanese people, who do not have a history of anti-black racism. I personally think that this entire article is very racist; if it was Chris Redfield shooting at hordes of zombified Chinese rice farmers, would be be complaining that it was racist against Asians. I don't think Capcom meant any malice against Africans, I just think they were trying to make the series more interesting. And let us not forget that Asians tend to be more anti-white than anti-black... bear that in mind

Posted by: Liv at August 2, 2007 1:27 AM

Remember it's a game you're talking about in this article not a movie. I know it looks so good you can forget easily. As a black gamer I have to say that what I thought about was this has to be one of greatest looking games I've ever seen, the tone, the camera angles, the colors. But the color I see is the the saturated hues and blinding sunlight not the race of the characters color variety. If I misspell a word here it's not because I'm black and can't read, write, or type. it's because I don't have a spell checker on this comments section. Race has nothing to do with it just like it has nothing to do with this game that might be out in 2009. Remember Bonnie and other ill informed people the game is for adults not kids. For people who are interested in Resident Evil not Racism. It's spooky because it's in the horror genre. Those Japanese developers didn't become a huge name in a multi-billion dollar business by offending people. Most of all remember while you're going on about a piece of racism that doesn't exist that my black self along with six million other gamers will be thinking about the quality of the game while we play not the "Oh let's make up some stuff and throw racism and the hard times of black people" out cry from people like yourself.

Posted by: Yeager at August 2, 2007 1:30 AM

You know what would actually make this game racist? Have the protagonist shoot the healthy Africans and save the virus ridden ones.

Posted by: Jacki at August 2, 2007 2:23 AM

Unfortunately the writer is somewhat right in his assessment and does pose some interesting questions. While I, a black man, avid game player, and registered zombies killer, take no offense to the games content non-gamers of African descent most likely will. They have no idea about the series previous installments nor will they care to investigate. All they will see is a white man killing black people. The danger here is the perception of the game not the actual content. It's a jarring revelation that is so powerful it will blind people to the truth; it's simply a game plot. There is no racism in the Resident Evil series. This is about zombie eradication not ethnic cleansing. If it does offend you don't buy it but please don't turn this into a race issue.

Posted by: null at August 2, 2007 4:13 AM

I'm sorry but I read this article and I totally disagree you are the racist not the game. A game is fictional world its not real even if it has some connection to places and people its still a video game. You're the racist here not the game.

Its ok if the zombies are white but not any other colour? whats colour got to do with anything if the zobbies were purple would that make them anyless Fictional no.

Your looking for excuses scape goats hate breeds hate and you are just doing the same with your words in the article.

Since your slow on the up take I'll give you a hint (Genetically we are all the same species) HUMAN get with the programe stop living in a world of differences

Posted by: Dave at August 2, 2007 9:39 AM

I'm sorry, but I find this whole thing stupid, for two reasons;

1) It's a damn game. They're zombies. It's set in Africa. That's why the zombies are black. It's not as if Capcom decided "Ooo, let's make a game where we have a white dude kill a load of black dudes!" They're black because the game's set in a region where there are a lot of black people!

2) How come it's okay for the hero in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to run around killing white people, but it's not okay for a white person to kill black people? And also, you're kicking up a fuss about this, yet is not racist for Will Smith's character in "A Shark's Tale" to say "It's alright, not a lot of white fish can do it"?

I'm fed up of companies and the like having to pussy-foot around everything for the sake of political correctness gone mad. THIS. IS. A. GAME.

It's not TRYING to be racist, it's just that you've over-read the trailer and now believe that it's racist. And it isn't!

I'm not racist, in fact a large chunk of my family is black, but I really think you should reconsider your opinion of the games supposed "racial discrimination"

Posted by: Michael Jarvis at August 2, 2007 10:35 AM

Instead the next RE game should have Redfield shooting up Liberal Left Wing Peace Loving Journalists!!!

Posted by: Obama = Osama at August 2, 2007 10:48 AM

Looks like we might have an up-and-coming Tipper Gore wannabe here, people!! Everyone get ready to emigrate.

First, get yer facts straight. There are several posts that do that for ya, Ms. Ruberg. And I think it would be fine if these were just musings on what the "message" of a corporately produced video game might be (ha... message!), but to suggest these very American racist fears "lurking" behind a video game made in JAPAN is simply inflammatory and irresponsible. As you've seen. You're close to Tipper status... just gain a bit more power and start fear-mongering away.

Posted by: Neoilluminatus at August 2, 2007 10:54 AM

"But looking again at the trailer, I see a different message: it’s not just that these zombies are black, but that the uninfected black villagers are zombie-like too. See all those spooky shots of the villagers before they get infected? It’s as if race itself were a disease. The white protagonist has to fight back or be infected."

ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!

Posted by: Topgun at August 2, 2007 11:04 AM

I fully understand the unease that there trailer's got goin' on. We've been conditioned to keep our ol' red flags ready for anything...
But from what I saw, there were no unaffected villagers in the trailer. The "zombies" since the last game aren't the slow flesh-eatin' type from the Romero School. These are "zombies" that yell at you, run at you, and use weapons like guns and dynamite. They have parasites in their brains. It's fun, and I recommend you check it out!

Posted by: John P at August 2, 2007 11:15 AM

As a black man I find that clinging to these “old school stereotypes” most alarming. How are we ever going to break free of these stereotypes if people like you can’t let them go. Why do people of my skin color always have to be labeled as different by you? When can we finally be treated the same as everyone? If you INSIST on seeing racism when a video game with nearly a dozen “white zombie” titles in the franchise and designed by Japanese publishers FINALY makes the bold move to take the series to Africa then how will racism ever end?

According to you a zombie game should not be set Africa.

According to you my motherland will always be treated differently.

According to you we will always be looked on differently and racism will not die.

I salute Capcom for being truly free of racism.

To defy pundits who would decry them for finally treating Africa with some EQUALITY.

I salute them for not seeing Africa as a place with people of a different skin color, but as an interesting location for their next really amazing game!

Thank You Capcom!

Posted by: Luke at August 2, 2007 11:18 AM

I didn't find the trailer racist or shocking at all. What I've found disturbing is the number of people who choose to make an issue out of the races of the characters involved. When watching the trailer, I saw a cop shooting zombies - not a white man shooting black people.

Posted by: Chubster2010 at August 2, 2007 11:27 AM

Like the RE4 nastys these bloke are no longer human so i don't think it counts as racism.

Posted by: Harrison at August 2, 2007 11:51 AM

"A white man should never be seen, at least in popular culture mediums, shooting hordes of indiscriminate blacks because they have actually done it before."
Thats some sound logic. What color man would you prefer? By your logic it certainly couldn't be a black man.

Posted by: thatsCute at August 2, 2007 11:57 AM

ALL violent video games are going to have one race killing another race. That's the nature of it.

What about games killing aliens? You're a white man (usually) killing hordes of aliens. Why is that ok?

Plus, zombies are a Voodoo term. Voodoo originated in Africa, so this is appropriate.

Posted by: BJ at August 2, 2007 12:27 PM

I think it's disgraceful that people still see each other as black and white and not just people. Children don't understand racism, people of whatever color are just people to them. We should be of the same mentality. When i saw the trailer i didn't even think about the possibility of racism in this game, just one guy killing or getting chased by people that are infected by a virus that changes them into crazy killing machines. I'm pretty pissed off because of people like you saying things are racist, when they never were intended to be. People like you keep racism alive by writing blogs like this claiming this as racist that are not, where as other people like me don't see race, just people! WE'RE ALL THE FUCKING SAME!!!!

Posted by: Ade at August 2, 2007 12:29 PM

I am of hispanic descent and have been a fan of the series since I was 9 years old, I am now 18. The truth is why is there even any controversy over this? It is the continuation of the story and the people infected by Umbrella just so happen to be of African descent. Why is this such a problem? Honestly I find it to be a larger act of racism to speak out against a game that had no intentions of having racial undertones.

Another thing, have you ever even played the series or followed the story? Or did you just pull up the Resident Evil on Wikipedia and feel you had a right to deduce the series as a whole?

The reason I ask is because of this quote.

“Casualties continue to mount over the long years I have struggled.”

When put into the context that you have show it in, it is easy to associate with something that it clearly has nothing to do with.

When clearly if you knew the story and played the games it is a story of a virus infecting the masses turning them into the walking dead.

General Public becoming zombies = Casualties.

Perhaps the creators of the games are not the racists, it is the people who try to make something more than it was ever meant to be or represent into a monstrosity that keep racism alive and kicking.

Posted by: GioD at August 2, 2007 12:29 PM

A shame, its likely a new or reporter on the spiral down and she needed a thread that would generate lots of replies

Posted by: Chris at August 2, 2007 12:47 PM

You obviously know nothing about the Resident Evil Series.

You're the one being racist here, they're NOT being racist by including all the races.
What, you want it to be all white people, would that make you feel better?

The bottom line, is that this goes with the storyline of Resident Evil. It started out in Raccoon City, then that got destroyed, so it moved on to London in the 4th one, and now Africa.
The game is showing how the disease is spreading throughout the world over time.
USA is going to be the next place in the 6th one.

What do you want, chineese people in Africa? Seriously.

By the way, Chris isn't "the only all-american boy".
There are two of them, and two girls.
Thank you very much.

Try playing the series before you make a rant about them.
If I got your contact information, I would sue your ass.

Posted by: Julian at August 2, 2007 1:10 PM

"For nearly a decade, the popular video game series Resident Evil has been giving us excuses to shoot the living hell out of pale, pasty, flesh-eating zombies. Machine guns in hand, players have traditionally faced these nasty brain munchers in creepy old mansions, or (not-so) abandoned rural towns. The zombies themselves have been Westerners—unlucky ex-Americans or Europeans with undead faces as white as the series is dark."

Not true there are red, green and many other colored zombies. Do your research before commenting on something you know nothing about.

"Until now, that is. Development team Capcom recently released a trailer for Resident Evil 5, the newest incarnation of the survival horror game. It doesn’t take place in backwoods U.S.A., though. It seems to take place in Africa."

Key word "Seems" It could be a made up place. Truth is you dont know and are making judgments without knowledge.

"Though the full details of the storyline aren’t public yet, the trailer makes a few things clear: you play as a white Chris Redfield, the same all-American boy who has been taking down old-school leg-draggers for years. And the zombies? You guessed it: the local villagers. Which means that the hordes of undead you’ll be pumping round after round of ammo into—they’re all black."

Who ever said Chris Redfield was American? All that is known is he is a former member of the US Armed Forces. Could be European or Canadian for all we know. Once again making assumptions based of not knowing anything. Your credibility is extremely lacking at this point.

"Resident Evil 5 is already raising questions about racism (White good guys vs. black bad guys? Is this some kind of race war?), or maybe questions about Capcom’s judgment (Who okayed this for production?). As one forum commenter wrote, “Is it just me, or is there something subtly racist about gunning down mobs of angry Africans?”"

Who raised these questions. Who made that comment I have seen nothing of the sort and searched for a long time. Please enlighten us. Also the Japanese corp. of Capcom does not feel they need your approval to release of game of their own design. It was not designed in the United States. Japan does not feel the same way about race as many people in the US do. They made the setting to have a unique and different location and to expand their horizons. How many other games are based in africa... I can only name one off the top of my head and its called "AFRIKA." The possibility that this could put a spotlight and broaden peoples minds about teh turmoil and suffering africans of many nations go through could in essence help.
If this game were of american design and had a white guy running through south Central LA shooting black people indescriminately for fun and wearing a white hood I could see a problem. As a guy in Africa on a mission to help the people and in essence having to defend himself from them as being a twist its a bit disheartening that you would make such comments. Poor Chris is there to help and you tell him he must stand there and be eaten alive so as not to harm any black people... IN A VIDEO GAME.

"But the point isn’t to smack one more label on mainstream video games (violent, sexist, racist). The point is that—for this white girl, at least—the Resident Evil 5 trailer is strangely disturbing."

Your opinion. Don’t buy it. I will and I will enjoy it with many of my black, white, Hispanic and multicultural friends who all think you full of yourself and trying to make a name off assumptions and loosely based facts.

"Of course, it’s possible that Capcom is just throwing around novel combinations willy-nilly here (“I don’t know, how about a zombie game in Africa?”). When it comes to a piece of pop culture like Resident Evil though, we have to consider the possibility that our interest in the supernatural is actually mirroring our anxieties about real-life problems. So, in America — a country still tangling with the legacy of slavery, racism, and oppression—what does Resident Evil 5 give us to be anxious about?"

A lot here to cover. Yes it is probably based off of real life problems. Problem is Capcom is probably explaining and going to get into somewhat. "Mirroring real life problems?" Are you insane? How many slaves did your dad own? Grandfather? Great grandfather? great great great grandfather? Probably none. Mine either it’s ok. Now equality is a fairly new thing all around. IN THE US. Not in Africa. That’s like saying... "Your car is broke and it’s my fault." Even though I live half way around the world. The way the world and 3rd world works is much different from your posh life. I have lived in many 3rd world countries. I have even been deployed in the military to many of them to help out individuals less fortunate then those of the US. I don’t wanna hear you compare apples to Oranges again. It's a pathetic thing to write about and you’re no good at it.

"First, there are the obvious cultural connections: otherness and race, blackness and monstrosity—as Public Enemy puts it the "Fear of a Black Planet." It’s Heart of Darkness meets PlayStation."

Obvious connections? This is the most left field thing in your entire article and extremely far fetched to say the least. I never see a black guy and think. "OoOoO Huge monster who wants to eat my brain" What I really think is 'Heh he probably likes basketball or rap" Just cause everyone stereo types and when they look at me I'm sure they think I like heavy metal. I do like heavy metal. That doesn't mean we can't be friends and I have many of them. Many I have lived in the mud of these third world counties with. Serving our country diligently.

"Plenty of Resident Evil fanboys are standing up for the game by claiming that Africa is just a setting like any other. After all, why shouldn’t zombies be black? On one level, that's true."

Ok.

"But looking again at the trailer, I see a different message: it’s not just that these zombies are black, but that the uninfected black villagers are zombie-like too. See all those spooky shots of the villagers before they get infected? It’s as if race itself were a disease. The white protagonist has to fight back or be infected."

Once again if you did your homework you would know that in resident evil 4 the villagers looked normal. They were mind controlled.

"And that’s the other issue with setting a zombie movie in Africa. The whole idea of zombies is based on our fear of contamination. Get bitten by a zombie, or just drop a tiny bit of undead blood in an open wound, and you’re a goner. Soon you too will carry the disease of the living dead." And if they had written a book about it would you be as gung ho about it or is this just a publicity stunt to get attention? I hope you reply to this so I can see if you’re for real. You seem entirely one-sided and opinionated. Yes I am calling you out.

"Sounds familiar yet? Yup, we could be talking about the HIV/AIDS crisis, which has killed 15 million Africans, and infected 25 million others on the continent. Especially since one of the few sentences spoken in the Resident Evil 5 trailer is, “Casualties continue to mount over the long years I have struggled.” "

Sound familiar yet? Nope not at all. I don’t ever recall zombies breaking out in Africa... Oh you’re talking about aids now... Heh I guess if you kinda... Really read into it... I don’t think capcom is really poking fun at Africans and even if it were, in some strange way, connected to AIDS, All I think it would do is raise awareness. Whets wrong with that?

"Or maybe we’re reminded of the "one drop rule," concocted by racists who feared miscegenation in the era of slavery and Jim Crow to create a definition of whiteness. Is that what’s lurking behind the premise of this game?"

What the hell are you talking about? Once again insanely left field. That’s apples and oranges again... like me talking about how I think stars are pretty and you going "Cause there white? You don’t like the night sky cause its black? Huh?" I think you’re an idiot.

What is "Lurking" behind this game is an original concept and an interesting new take on Reality Sci-Fi An innovative and creative game brought to you by one of the greatest game companies of all time. Albeit in Africa not a racist game. I mean come on is killing alien racist towards extra terrestrials. Many people of darker skin and of mixed couples and other situations have posted here that there is no problem with the game. Its people like the author of this crap that hold back Artistic/Technical and even human progress. Yes America has some far gone roots of racism and still people out there. No one is ever gonna like everyone. I for example hate kids. I never want one. Should I go on a killing spree? No. Some people like them. No one can ever fully get along but for the past half century we have been getting along fine. These roots don’t reach Japan where the game is developed. And they don’t reach Africa where the game takes place either. The whole White/Black battle has been going on for far too long and is silly. Everyone is equal and everyone has the right to become a zombie in a VIDEOGAME. Stupid journalist.

Do some research and come back with actual facts and not "Feelings".

Posted by: Stupid people hurt my head at August 2, 2007 1:49 PM

1.) This game takes place in Haiti and NOT Africa.

2.) RE OutBreak had 2 black characters you could choose from to play as a lead character.

3.) RE Outbreak had these black characters killing white zombies. Was this some how black peoples dream of eliminating all white people? Am I just grasping at straws like the OP of this article ??

http://www.residentevilfan.com/encyclopedia/details.asp?id=22

Posted by: TedKen at August 2, 2007 1:53 PM

Wow... you really are ignorant aren't you? Is it safe to portray a black individual in any setting? I mean, we really should pull ANY media that portrays a black individual right? Yeah...

You're ignorance is the reason racism survives. Your pathetically uninformed and rather contrived dive for a story shows how out of touch you are with issues of racism. You want Blackspoloitation? Watch Gone with the Wind...

Get over yourself. It's a great company publishing a great game in set in an area that most people don't dare touch because of ignorant crusaders like yourself whom think you are doing a service, but in reality are just fueling the fire of racial angst.

Get a clue...

Posted by: SadPanda at August 2, 2007 2:04 PM

Now my post will probably get lost in everyone elses so I don't normally do this, but here we go anyway.

From my eyes what I can see is the people claiming they aren't racist and we need equality are the same people complaining about this game and similar issues. Why do you have to bring up the race issue... had you activists kept your mouths shut the game wouldn't have drawn any attention in a negative way toward any race.

YOU are contributing to a race war by your so-called helping to raise awareness. YOU are the one pointing out these details of a company just trying to make a game with accurate global settings.

Now with thinking this game trailer is a smack in the face of blacks you have a large crowd on the internet arguing back and forth with racial slurs being thrown out.

What do you think the case would be if you had kept your mouth shut in the first place... we wouldn't have an arguement would we?

You would think in the year 2007 you so-called "activists" would realize that you're hurting the situation by flagging shit that is just trying to be accurate. There is no hidden message in the game. STOP CREATING A PROBLEM OUT OF NOTHING and race wouldn't be so much an issue on this day.

No, I am not a fanboy, I haven't played RE since the first; no, I am not racist; yes, this situation is stupid and out of control. Next time you shouldn't create situations out of nothing if you are supposedly trying to help people see past your skin color. Start doing something positive instead of creating problems.

Posted by: Rob at August 2, 2007 2:13 PM

I think the author is jumping at shadows. game set in middle class america, zombies are white. eastern europe, zombies are still white and speak spanish, zombies in africa, what color do you think they are going to be? plus, in case most people havent noticed africa IS a mess and there ARE hopeless people there, its not like we can pretend we havent seen those desolate pictures of africa before. also, lets keep in mind this is a