Capcom's Resident Evil 5 trailer sparks cries of racism | GamerSquad reports that Capcom's Resident Evil 5 trailer sparks cries of racism

Capcom's Resident Evil 5 trailer sparks cries of racism

Filed under: All News
Posted: Aug 1st 2007 by James O'Brien

Racism or just digital entertainment?

The recent trailer for Capcom's Resident Evil 5 has sparked controversy amongst campaigners for racial equality, with one blogger arguing that the zombies in the new trailer depict black people as "inhuman savages" and that it encourages a racial divide. Black Looks writes:

"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 man’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 young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people."

Forgive us if we're wrong on this, but isn't Capcom aiming RE5 at a distinctly mature audience, not minors? And aren't zombies just zombies, not identified and/or singled out by the colour of their (decaying) skin?

Several onlookers at GamePolitics have defended the title on many grounds but, whatever the outcome, we're sure it won't do too much good for gaming's image as an apparently detrimental pastime woven into the fabric of our society.

11 Comments

Comments

this is just stupid, did white people say it was racist to the last time around when the zombies were white, its just a game get over it

Posted 491 days ago by nitefighter

PLEASE, the only racist thing in the piece was the originators post. We need to STOP being afraid to depict each others racial identities in cultural content. All that happens is that we end DEBATE. While that would please many ideologues' we need to take a more enlightened view or be seen as PLEBS.

Posted 429 days ago by Two Bells

umm aren't most people in Africa black? Not all but the most right? hence why most if not all in the trailer at least are black. ppl need to just get over it, it's just a game.

Posted 491 days ago by hella

Well in resident evil 4 they where in spain killing spainards ....no one complained...now their in africa and now some one complaines....ignorance...

Posted 491 days ago by phill

Black Looks - some massive chips on shoulders. And this will mean the game will be altered closer to release as the tabloids will pick up on it and go on about how it will mean the end of society if it is released(just like Manhunt 2).

Posted 490 days ago by Stadhart

resident evvel4 super...

Posted 484 days ago by kayibey

What the heck is wrong with these jerks? Do they think that even Games are released with special propaganda to undermine the Blacks? Thats y these mofos are still barbarians....damn they're the more racist ppl than any other race...

Posted 436 days ago by dethstare

Funny that white americans didnt have a go at the first dozen games, being racist or promoting genocide, & wasnt resident evil 4 bout killing spanish or french zombies & they didnt complain at all that i know of. they just need to get that chip of the sholder that white & spanish Enslaved their race hundreds of years ago.

Posted 408 days ago by olly

or do this since people have such a problem get rid of zombies and guns make chris redfield a plumber and have him collect coins to save the world. But someone would say thats racist against plumbers. And 4 your info black looks resident evil is not marketed toward little kids. Its rated M FOR A REASON !!VIOLENCE!! REMEMBER Resident Evil 2 this game contains strong depictions of blood and violence. Then again this dude is probally 58 yrs old with nothing better to do but take pot shots at a game thats 2 hard 4 him 2 beat boo hoo and f you

Posted 353 days ago by enygma

well this game depicts violence and all that fun stuff but hasnt this whole race thing come up on our Tv shows that took care of this already? So what if youre white and so what if youre black and so what if youre green it really doesnt matter because claiming that theres an injustice in race is classifying youreself as a racist for singling out the problem of the race. So the creators of resident evil arent racist.... You ARE!!!!!

Posted 308 days ago by Red 5

I am a white person who has played the resi games all my life. I'm also not one to suffer the idea of political correctness for the sake of it... BUT, i think in this case capcom may have overstepped the mark as reality or fantasy, you have to take into account how this looks. Racism is deeply ingrained in the histories of many cultures, the after effects and the concequences for a country like South Africa still have a huge resonance today. Having a video game with the flag waving all american 'white' hero gunning down the local mob just touches a little too close to insensitive for my liking and intentional or not, ignorance is not an excuse. Use your brains and your hearts for once and try to imagine what message this sends out.

Posted 271 days ago by kieran marc

Add a new comment

Your name (required):

Your email address (required, will not be shown to the public):

Do you want us to remember your personal information for next time?

Yes No

Add your comments:

Please enter the code above:

Email me if anyone else comments on this story

Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.