So Leigh Alexander who all ways writes an insightful turn of phrase has taken on the controversy surrounding the apparent racism in Resident Evil 5. Certainly she quotes quite a few areas that one can go to seek more information and a more decisive opinion. I was in the same boat as she was until I actually started playing Resident Evil 5. This certainly isn't a review. I will be sending one of those out soon enough. But to the points that Tom Cross made about the game. It seems a little paranoia filled to me.
I like the guys over at Co-Op would love to just say,
"Hey, no one has the right to say what is or what isn't racism in your eyes. And I'm not going to try and say that the anyone is wrong on this issue." Which I thought was a little TOO politically correct.
But it does do one thing very well. The opinion keeps the conversation from veering from the ACTUAL GAME and not what people are making out of said game.
Leigh actually makes this point to some degree in her own discussion. What I would like to say is that all movies that show acts of racism are not racist. And the lack of discussion of racism in Resident Evil 5 might be bad. But the over arcing point in the game seem to be these:
1. Big Business is EVIL
2. The game obviously takes place in an alternate reality. Hence the whole Umbrella Corporation thing.
3. Bio-warfare sucks.
4. Even in terrible situations people can be strong and resourceful.
5. Things are not all ways what they seem.
Yes, as you can see no racism here, or even any discussion of it. Too bad it might have actually made the game feel deeper. Rather than just another action/horror game.
The concepts in game certainly are insensitive. The wide spread use of mainly African people as "infected." Is a little uneven. However, if the game was taking place in France I'm guessing it would mainly be the French that would be infected. So this alone is not enough. What is worse are the scenes where the Africans have taken to wearing their traditional ceremonial clothing. However, there is a document in the game that explains this. It is not, "out of the way." As Tom Cross mentions. But rather it is in full view on a table next to various other items such as green herbs.
This document does tell the story of a boy in the Majini village. And explains the whole process of the transformations and about the Umbrella treatments to keep these people healthy. Which is actually probably what made them what they are.
Tom Cross himself explains that with this document, it certainly makes the unsympathetic blow a little easier to take. But to me if this were a movie then it would explain it ALL away and we wouldn't be having this conversation.
The main problem I have with the racism in the game is in the scene where this random, glowingly white; Woman is being chased by an infected and Chris and Sheva have to save her. They don't and Chris ends up shooting her. But what bothers me about the scene is not so much what bothers Tom Cross. It's that the scene seems COMPLETELY out of place. The wrongness of the scene aside. The actual scene for what it is, is just crap.
Without that scene. I would be completely fine with the game's intention. In the end however, the developers who made this game were certainly not racist. I would venture more to say that they were just not as sensitive to issue as might have been proper given the subject matter. But as Leigh has mentioned in her post. Judging by sales and the average buzz; no one seems to care very much. Perhaps the media has AGAIN made a mountain out of a mole hill.
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