Resident Racist 5: A game for the kids!

Before I start, this has nothing to do with sports. But it has everything to do with pissing me the fuck off due to all the ignorance and what I'm about to tell you should make you want to kill something.

As some of you may know, the video game developer Capcom has recently released a trailer for the next game in their surival/action-horror game franchise, Resident Evil (Biohazard as it's known in Japan). I assume most of you are fairly familiar with the content matter, as the game has also spawned two full length films with a third on the way. The 5th numbered game in the franchise is, easily enough, Resident Evil 5, which is due to be released in the near future on both Xbox 360 and PS3.

Capcom debuted a brand new trailer featuring cinematics and gameplay segments at a recent video game conference:



(alternatively, GameTrailers.com has it in glorious HD: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/22800.html)

Basically, every game in the series has gone something like this: people (Black, White, Asian, Latino, Hobbit, Pacific Islander, etc.) are infected with a virus and are mutated into zombies. They exhibit your standard zombie behavior: staggering around, growling, trying to eat brains, trying to eat you, listening to baroque music while trapped in a Jaguar...you know, the usual zombie shit. You have to kill them or avoid them or you die and lose the game. Pretty simple.

Now today I stumble across this absolute GEM of an article by Kim over at Black Looks. Here's the main excerpt:

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. “I have a job to do and I’m gonna see it through.”

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.

No, Kim, your "worldly" perception and quick draw gunslinger application of the race card is what's wrong on so many levels. If racism is ignorance then I'm not sure we have a word to describe Kim here. Let's take a look at this...wait, before I start.

It's a fucking video game It's a fucking video game It's a fucking video game It's a fucking video game It's a fucking video game It's a fucking video game It's a fucking video game It's a fucking video game It's a fucking video game.

Ok, with that out of the way:

1) White man in Africa killing black people. OH MY FUCKING GOD! IT'S RACIST GENOCIDE! Nobody in Africa ever kills each other. Especially not in Somalia. Mogadishu is a historically war-free area, right? Amirite??//? The book "Black Hawk Down" was written about American soldiers fighting in Somalia. I've no doubt that some of these soldiers were black. The point is that the character in this game is AMERICAN...and another point is that if he was a Black American, Kim would likely take no issue with it. Bravo, just BRAVO on that line of reasoning.

2) "The Black people are supposed to be zombies". A fucking stunning revelation. Someone write this down. I'm sure after about fourteen Resident Evil games, two feature films, and a third film on the way that the whole zombie thing is just a ploy to exploit these Black people in a third world African country. Because I mean shit, those poor people really need another kick in the teeth...the whole living in a war-torn dirt poor disease-infested area of the world isn't enough. Capcom is going to fucking show them!

3) "I have a job to do and I'm gonna see it through". A line from the main character, Chris Redfield. This most definitely can be interpreted as "I'm soooo happy this private military rig contracted me for this job so I can kill Black people." Jumping to this conclusion given the initial quote is like Tony Hawk trying to jump the grand canyon on a skateboard...on a skateboard with 3 wheels and no ramp to elevate from.

4) The depiction of Black people acting like savages. Because zombies have historically been so civilized and normal, and never trying to eat everyone in site while mumbling incoherently. Oh and everyone in Mogadishu with those assault rifles wandering the street are just out for a stroll. No savage-like behavior in war-torn Africa, how could I forget? A white man in military clothing doing the killing. Ummm, ok? People of different races/ethnicities wearing military gear are always killing each other.

5) "the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people." NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. I'm sorry if young kids want to play awesome, violent games but this just isn't true. And I'm sorry if some parents are so fucking horrible at parenting that their 7 year old is playing games like this and Grand Theft Auto, but this game IS ABSOLUTELY not intended for kids. To my knowledge none of the Resident Evil games have received anything but an M ("Mature", ages 17+) rating. Perhaps some of the GameBoy versions received a Teen rating, but still no kiddies.


Also, if anything, this game is teaching people to fear, hate, and destroy ZOMBIES. My heart goes out to the poor sucker who's gunning down 10 zombies in his front yard, kills 9 of the white ones, and the last one happens to be a black zombie...and our hero is too scared of being racist so he puts his gun down and allows #10 to eat him alive.

Kim at Black Looks is absolutely clueless of the situation and she's trying to speak to some point on which she has absolutely ZERO expertise and has performed absolutely ZERO research. For the record, Resident Evil 4 took place in Spain, and *gasp* had you killing Spanish zombies.

Race card declined. I'm selling A FUCKING CLUE and I only take hard cash (sorry no food stamps). Oh does that make me racist? Or does the fact that I can't wait to get this game and kill tons of zombies that happen to be Black make me racist? I'm so confused.

Remember folks, if you are attacked by a Black zombie, it's going to be a hate crime to kill it. Just shoot it in the knee a few times and maybe you can hope for 3-5 with early parole once the zombie infestation is taken care of.