Zombie Racism?

For fans of the videogame industry or anyone in general who has been following the news lately, the New York Post's Stimulus/Ape political cartoon isn't the only form of media expression drawing criticism for racist depictions.

The popular survival horror series Resident Evil is now being slammed for the latest installment in the saga. Resident Evil 5 features a white protagonist, Chris Redfield, walking through African villages killing hordes of zombies. So why the uproar? Critics contend that the portrayals of Africans as savages are racist and that it is wrong to feature a white American male killing them in various ways. I would agree that the game was racist if this is what was really happening, but it's not.

The hardcore gamers know what the Resident Evil series is really about. A western evil corporation has created a virus that it proceeds to accidentally or intentionally infect people with. The protagonist, Chris Redfield, is a part of an elite government task force charged with stopping the infection and saving civilian lives. The first three games in the series were set in the United States and featured zombies of all colors, but were mostly white. Resident Evil 4, a best-seller and game of the year for 2006, was set in Spain and so accordingly featured Spanish zombies. Now the bad guys have set up shop in Africa.

Its one thing for political pundits and race watchdogs to watch a three minute trailer of a thirty plus hour game and declare it racist. Especially when said trailer features a white guy in the opening scene shooting poorly clad Africans who are screaming and running at him in a completely deranged and in-humanlike manner. Their greivances and misgivings about such images are understandable.

Historically speaking, Africans were long depicted as animals, physically strong but mentally defunct, uncontrollable, and even immoral. This popular notion fed the hen common belief in white supremacy and validated everything from colonialism and slavery to Jim Crow and aparthied. This practice even continues today. The next time you turn on ESPN, listen to how the athletes are described. Much time is devoted to their physical prowess while hardly any attention is paid to the dedication and intelligence that is necessary to succeed in high level indivdual and team sports. Lebron James is a "beast" or a "dominant post player" but not a really smart strategist.

But I digress. While these greivances are understandable, they ignore the main context of the game. This is a survivial horror game about zombies. The Africans and others in the game appear normal, until they are two feet from you and their heads burst open and tentacles come out to drink your brain. Having played the game, I can attest to the fact that making the zombies more human-like adds to the horror and overall visceral experience. It is truly exhilerating to be chased through a village by dozens of enemies. Desperately fending them off while looking for a means of escape is incredibly fun. The blood really starts pumoing when you reach that last dead end and its time to stand and fight. Once you play the game, you realize that Chris has a partner who is a strong, non-stereotypical black woman named Sheva Alomar who fights alongside with you. You encounter bosses and other enemies who are not African as well as human allies who are. Oh and I should mention that the game was developed by Capcom, a Japanese based publisher/corporation in a country that does not have the same twisted history of race relations as America does.

Ultimately,Resident Evil 5 is a fun game that helps me unwind after a hard week of exams, papers, and homework. I don't in any way consider the game offensive or insensitive. However, for those who do, Capcom has issued several statements explaining their rational behind the game and has apologized for any unintended offence that it may cause. For those of you that do find it questionable, your opinion is well rooted both in historical fact and unfortunate reality. In this so called post-racial America, there still exist bigotry, racism and inequality. Add to that the perception of seeing so many Africans die in combat and it becomes sort of reminiscent of the tragic wars and genocides that have plagued the continent for decades. However before you write this off as another example of racism, I ask that you play the game for yourself. As the old adage goes, don't knock it until you try it. You might be surprised at what you find.