While gamers continue to debate whether or not the upcoming Resident Evil 5 contains racist imagery, the Penny Arcade crew has weighed in on the issue with a new comic (left).
Incidentally, in a recent GamePolitics poll on the topic, 83% of GP readers disagreed with the idea that there was racism in the game.
For the full PA comic, click here.
Monte: trolls are just at their absolute worst when it comes to women and feminist. You could bet good money that if the developer were male the trolls would be silent and the conversation would actually focus on the journalism.10/18/2014 - 9:18pm
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Monte: Papa: Not the first time we've had a journalism scandals before, but the harassment never got close to this level; the difference with this scandal is that feminists are involved. Without the feminist angle, their would be A LOT less harrassment10/18/2014 - 9:15pm
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Papa Midnight: Monte: That's honestly rather short-sighted. As has been proven with other persons who have been targeted, if it wasn't Quinn, it would be someone else.10/18/2014 - 6:26pm
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Avalongod: I think that's part of what gives an esoteric news story like this real life...it taps into a larger narrative about misogyny in society outside of games.10/18/2014 - 3:29pm
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Avalongod: @Monte, well the trolls made death threats that came to police (and media attention). I think this is tapping into a larger issue outside of games about how women are treated in society (like all the "real rape" stuff during the last election)10/18/2014 - 3:28pm
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Wonderkarp: Zippy : Havent tried the PS4 controller. might later.10/18/2014 - 2:37pm
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Monte: Seirously, If Quinn was not involved and GG was instead about something like the Mordor Marketing contracts, the trolling would have never grown so vile and disgusting. There have been plenty of movements in the past that never sufferred from behavior..10/18/2014 - 1:57pm
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Monte: We have seen scandel's before but the trolling has never been as vile as what we see with GG. Trolls usually have such a tiny voice you can barely notice them, but its like moths to a flame whenever femistist are involved.10/18/2014 - 1:53pm
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ZippyDSMlee: Wonderkarp: You might be able to if you had a PS4 controller.10/18/2014 - 1:00pm
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MaskedPixelante: http://store.steampowered.com/app/327940/ Night Dive starts charging for freeware.10/18/2014 - 12:21pm
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Matthew Wilson: the sad thing is there are trolls on both sides of this. people need to stop acting like their side is so pure.10/18/2014 - 12:19pm
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MechaTama31: So, only speak out on a scandal that hasn't attracted trolls? I wouldn't hold my breath...10/18/2014 - 10:49am
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Monte: I feel like GG just needs to die. The movement is FAR to tainted by hatred and BS for it to be useful for any conversation. Let GG die, and then rally behind the NEXT gaming journalism scandal, and start the conversation fresh.10/18/2014 - 10:33am
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quiknkold: and we dont have a Dovakin to call a cease fire10/17/2014 - 7:37pm
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quiknkold: The whole thing is Futile. Both sides are so buried deep in their trenchs that there isnt a conversation. Its just Finger Pointing, Name Calling, Doxxing, Threats. there needs to be a serious conversation, and GG isnt it.10/17/2014 - 7:37pm
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quiknkold: I thought it was a good article. Jeff is right. I feel like GamerGate did destroy its message. I am for Ethics in game journalism, but man. so much hate. and its on both sides. I've seen some awful stuff spewed on twitter. Its a big reason why I exited..10/17/2014 - 7:34pm
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Matthew Wilson: while he focused on gg, he did call out both sides crap.10/17/2014 - 7:18pm
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Papa Midnight: That was a damn good read offered by Jeff Gertsmann.10/17/2014 - 7:17pm
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Matthew Wilson: http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/letter-from-the-editor-10-17-2014/1100-5049/ deferentially a nice write up.10/17/2014 - 6:44pm
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james_fudge: I think Evan killed it. He's a great guy and super smart.10/17/2014 - 6:38pm
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Comments
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Well, yeah, but robots are racist towards all organic flesh bags.
Stupid Oil suckers.
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Hey, the robots were just minding their own business until the bugs got all up in their faces, buzzing around their illuminated optical receptors every night, with no regard to personal space.
One bug, one pesticide canister!
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Nice. Dennis I would just mention, last line of the story:
"For the pull PA comic, click here."
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Don't know about racism, but can we consider the middle one sexist?
/b
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
I thought the last one was specist. Seriously, what have bugs done wrong?
Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Yeah, it advocates spousal abuse by women against men.
....
Whaddaya mean that's not a sexist act?
Nightwng2000
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Nightwng2000 has also updated his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nightwing2000 Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
I noticed that, too. I wonder if PA was trying to say something there or just being funny...
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
You know, I used to be on the side that was saying "This is what they consider racist? They need to lighten up."
I still am, but now I kind of understand where they are coming from. As an Asian, I have no real emotional stake in something like this because the people being shot aren't <i>"my people"</i>. However, looking at things like the movie scene (Dragonball: Evolution and Avatar) there's still a significant air of racism among movies today, an industry which has predated gaming by about 50 years (not casting any Asian actors whatsoever for effectively Asian characters is already an insult, but then having one of the white actors say "I can just get a tan, dye my hair, and I'll look Asian" is just disgusting to me). THough, in this game it's different because of the setting of the game; it makes sense for the natives to be portrayed as black.
I'm not saying I agree with them, I just know where they're coming from. Having a society that already gives you two strikes (or three in some cases!) merely because you're not white can cause an entire race of people to become disillusioned and bitter, specifically when they believe they're being treated unfairly. This can cause a snowball effect that ends up causing people to overreact to every little thing.
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
I understand where you comming from. But I wouldnt fret over the Hollywood DBZ movie too much. This movie will be so embarrisingly bad.
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
I know exactly what you mean. 21 pissed me off to no end. They didn't even try to make white people look asian, they just wrote the asians out of what happened. And the only asians that remained were used for comic relief.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
"However, looking at things like the movie scene (Dragonball: Evolution and Avatar) there's still a significant air of racism among movies today, an industry which has predated gaming by about 50 years (not casting any Asian actors whatsoever for effectively Asian characters is already an insult, but then having one of the white actors say "I can just get a tan, dye my hair, and I'll look Asian" is just disgusting to me)."
You are right to be offended by this. This is an actual slight to the brilliant and creative people of East Asia, who have their creations licensed and then repopulated with "localized" actors, plot, and dialogue.
Just look at The Forbidden Kingdom (2008). You have an opportunity to make a movie with 2 of the greatest martial artists in movie history, and you have to place a talentless white American kid in the staring role. The fact is that Hollywood is still racist, and they still think that America won’t go see a movie without the main character being white. This is, of course, despite the success of Sony pictures classics bringing over big Hong Kong films such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, etc.
This is very different than what’s going on in RE. Here you have a game that takes place in Africa, and the main character, who has been an established character in the franchise for many years is white. So you have a few choices.
1. Tell your writers "your creativity must be censored because someone might find this racist, so set your game somewhere else" (this is of course even more racist, because if everyone does this Africa will never be featured in a game)
2. I guess you could make everyone living in Africa suddenly white? This would not only be ridiculous but it seems extremely racist as well.
3. Magically make the main character black. I guess you could do this, but you would have to introduce a new main character, and again this would be stepping on the toes of the writers. (We do want halfway decent writing, right?)
4. Tell your story the way your writers envisioned it and let petty people say petty things, and hope that no one decides to ban your game.
The difference Ashton, is that in Hollywood you have real people, making real choices, that affect Asian actors and writers. In RE you have fictional characters that are doing fictional things, and it does not directly affect anyone, unless they are looking for ways to be offended.
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Just because Holywood frequently makes asian characters white is not necessarily evidence that they are racist. They may very well be racist, but all this shows is that they are assuming that there are a lot of racist Americans. And frankly, it's a good strategy. I would think that there are more people who wouldn't see a movie because the main character is black than there are people who would boycott a movie because the main character is white when he should actually be black.
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Internet troll > internet paladin
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Or it could just be easier/cheaper to get white actors (since they outnumber the others, at least in Hollywood).
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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
But, as I said, many hong kong cinima films have been very sucessful in the United States. (Even with subtitles O_o)
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Although i'm not a big fan of DB, i'm pretty sure it is never said to take place anywhere in asia, or in our world for that matter. So i have no problem with that.
As for RE5, it might contain accidental "racist imagery", but at least we can all agree that if that is the case, it happend at worst out of ignorance and in no way deliberately. Can we?
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
It's also worth noting that Avatar was a Western creation, and it wasn't even set in Asia. It had a lot of Eastern influences, from the anime style to the martial arts, to the many asthetic choices for archetecture and culture. BUT, it was not actually set in Asia.
Not set in Asia, not created in Asia. They can cast whomever they want.
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
And another point:
Goku's a damn alien.
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Oh yeah... Good point!
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Yeah, but you can look at a photo of a black homeless guy on a bus bench and call it racist, when it is just reality too. The question is not really if it is racist, because almost anything can be, but is it more racist than reality? (If we are calling this racist, then I call out Final Fantasy 1 for having no black people. Just to prove there is no winning.)
Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Come on, we're not all like the jackass (liberals) in hollywood. Chances are, they decided that the DB movie would have white actors because it's easier for the core audience to identify with them. Not saying it makes sense, but Hollywood is a place full of douchebags.
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Lol I usually don't like these comics but this one is amusing.
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
A bit of an amusing strip, but I don't feel much will be debated about this. It just attracts the wrong sort of attention, as it has done repeatedly.
You have the ones who repeatedly decry the image is racist because a person is white, and that person is shooting a black man (who is undoubtedly trying to kill him), and for some reason that isn't allowed with them. So they prefer to be treated differently by stating that it is only racism because a black man is being shot and they can somehow relate to this fictional character.
The whole point of equality is to eliminate this want/need for spotting racism and not caring about skin color of a person and making judgements of something because of that skin color. In other words, you judge it because of skin color, but the other person doesn't care, the fact is, you're trying to kill the one with the gun.
This sounds bad when I reread it, but ugh I need coffee...
Re: Penny Arcade Examines the RE5 Racism Controversy
Yes. The people calling this racist, saying that it's wrong for a white protagonist to kill black zombies, are the only ones really being racist by trying to treat one race different than another.
All I see is Chris killing zombies that happen to be in Africa...
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