Since I've already discussed homophobia in video games this morning, I thought I'd continue the social criticism with a look at racism in games. The Houston Chronicle's game blog recently brought up the subject with a post about the moral aspects of Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood.
See, the protagonist in COJ is a Confederate solider during the Civil War trying to rescue his brother from those damn Yankees, so of course along the way, much Union blood must be shed in the name of the South. Playing the game means inhabiting the persona of a rebel during the Civil War, and this gives some people pause.
The Chronicle's blogger suggests Ubisoft might have allowed players to have a choice between the union or the Confederate, so you wouldn't be "forced" into killing other characters for the crime of being a member of the army that freed the slaves. Here's how it was put:
"Shooting Union soldiers really just made me pause the game and walk away for a few minutes. As a minority, had the South won, I wouldn't be in this position I am today. They were content to keep things the way they were -- no need to free their slave labor, no need to give minorities the right to vote. It wasn't until the 1960s -- and the threat of military force -- that the Old South buckled and let blacks vote -- a hundred years after the end of the Civil War."
It's easy to think something like, "Hey, lighten up! It's just a game!" but imagine for a moment, a video game that had players to take on the role of a Nazi tank commander blitzing through Poland in 1939. Obviously, that game wouldn't ever be made -- Nazis are for shooting, not being heroes -- so why is it okay to lionize the Confederate army during the American Civil war?
The Houston Chronicle's blog also mentions the similarity in imagery between Valve's upcoming Left 4 Dead 2 and the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Setting the game in New Orleans so shortly after the deadly storm seems a strange decision. After all, it was only a few years ago that the city was decimated, and there actually were corpses moldering in the streets. Sure, a zombie invasion is different than a killer storm, but the point is the visuals might be disturbing to people who actually suffered through that tragedy.
I think gamers are often pretty cavalier about racism and homophobia in games... but it's generally white, straight people who exemplify the "It's only a game! Get over it!" attitude. It's easy to dismiss racism (or borderline racism) when it's not directed at you specifically. It reminds me of telling someone you just insulted, "Ah, you should have more of a sense of humor when I'm making fun of you."
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expl0siv0
Saying that confederate soldiers are all racists fighting for slavery is a bit of a stretch. The poor saps fighting for the confederacy were fooled into fighting by the ultra-rich slaveholders. Besides at the outset of the war there was no intention of freeing slaves, so it isn't like union soldiers were fighting the good fight for slaves down south. The Lincoln Administration freed the slaves to create turmoil in the confederacy and plus it looked good to the European powers who were on the fence about the whole civil war we were having.
Same as is the case for German soldiers during WWII. Its not like they were fighting so the could keep jews in concentration camps. In conclusion I'm not a confederate or Nazi sympathizer its just that the opinions that represent those movements are those of the leaders, not the everyday soldiers that you apparently play as in Call of Juarez.
And I don't think I need to even say anything concerning the LFD2 in New Orleans controversy because that is the stretch to end all stretches.
expl0siv0
expl0siv0's comment is abusive and has been removed.
Anushka324
This was an interesting, thought-provoking post. Thanks for bringing it up Steve Johnson, sometimes it's necessary to not ignore the ethical issues that make people uncomfortable. Whether we like it or not, racism still exists in this country, though often in subtle ways that pervade our unconscious thoughts, actions and products. I think video games are in interesting view into what's popular or thought to be appealing/relatable to a society ( See games aimed at Japan vs. USA vs. Europe) and it would be quite fascinating if 30 years down the line, certain games (or content in them) would be considered very politically incorrect or even racist!
Backmask344
People take this racism in video games stuff too seriously.Like Resident Evil 5 takes place in Africa, what else whould you find Rusians, I have also heard that Left 4 Dead 2 is racist because they put in a couple of black zombies among thousands of white zombies because there were no black zombies in L4D.Just because you kill a black person in a game doesn't make it racist.People just need to stop claiming everything as racism.
turtle21
Oh please, the two brothers in COJ weren't the good guys they were killers. ive played too many games, while they were good games, were too into role of the hero or antihero at that, but they seem to have a so called dark past type of story. Thats good in all, but if u play a game that always protrays the main character as a "oh i killed women & children im a bad person" type character it gets pretty dull after awhile. i think it adds more to the story and more realism if the main characters shows crazy and even racist traits, (but only to show how a character really is in the game) for people to get a better understanding of the character. But not by all means make stupid racist games like ( Feaky Flyers, Homie Rollerz, Spanish for Everyone, or even though it was a classic Mike Tyson's Punch-Out). (PS) Mike Tyson's Punch-Out was a great game not stupid but it had alot of ethnic stereotypes in it.
that_guy090
OK...so here's a walk down history lane. It seems to me that gaming sites (and their writers) need to stick to gaming, not politics OR history. First and foremost, the Union had slave states, anyone remember that? Second, Lincoln did NOT end slavery based on moral principles, but instead signed the Emancipation Proclamation in an attempt to weaken the South and strengthen the Union position before moving into the deep south. Third, this middle-school view of Lincoln as a practically deified (see God-like) entity is plainly uneducated and foolish. Lincoln was a narcissist whose whole being was focused on the "sanctity of the Union" and not of slavery, or economics or whatever. Lincoln viewed the monolith that is/was the central government as superseding any and all state and often times individual rights. The Civil War was not about race, or money, or land...it was about Lincoln's fanatical worship of "The Union" as an infallible and wholly perfect entity. Was Lincoln a great man...absolutely...was/is slavery immoral and outright heinous...without a doubt...Was the Confederacy solely created based on hate-mongering and the repression of black slaves...NO...absolutely NOT! The South believed in the rights of the State and it's people and did not believe that a homogeneous, monolithic, lording central government had the right to demand concessions and/or blind acceptance of "The Union's" laws. The principles behind the South's secession (individual and state rights) were not racist but instead what they had done with that freedom was indeed racist (i.e. slavery). The act of wanting freedom to choose what best for you is not inherently racist, the action that you take based upon that belief however can be (hence the difference between theory and practice).
jagos179
I read this post and like the person quoted I paused. Then I thought this;
So its OK to murder in video games, but it's not OK to be a confederate soldier because part of the war was about slavery (never mind all the other issued the war was fought over)?
Somebody needs to get their priorities straight when crying about something. I am sorry if anybody is offended, but murder is a much worse thing than racism on every single level of morality.
kid7swagger
Wow this guy really did his homework for this one. I do believe its in a way racist due to its mandatory role in the game. You can no longer use the "It's just a game." remark anymore. The world as it is doesnt contain the innocense it once contained. Had it been 5 or more years ago this would have been tolerable but in todays world racism is racism point blank.
MichaelBarroso
i too wondered why, Nazi's weren't made heroes into video-games.. but in doing so, i'd be able see history through a fresh set of eyes.
Stimpak_Addict
"It's easy to think something like, "Hey, lighten up! It's just a game!" but imagine for a moment, a video game that had players to take on the role of a Nazi tank commander blitzing through Poland in 1939. Obviously, that game wouldn't ever be made -- Nazis are for shooting, not being heroes -- so why is it okay to lionize the Confederate army during the American Civil war?"
I completely agree, because the Nazis totally weren't evil, racists that tortured and killed millions of Jews just because Adolf Hitler didn't like them. /sarcasm
By your logic, we should treat our citizens the same as we treat terrorists. And most PC developers already treat their loyal customers as if they were pirates.
JJackass
Sorry for posting almost the same thing twice.When I posted the first one I got an error and thought I lost everything.Was pissed and started over just to find out it actually posted the first one lol.
JJackass
My Irish grandfather fought for the United States of America in the Army during WWII in the Asian front.My German grandfather fought for the German Army (Not SS) in the European front.He was a prisoner of war in Florida for 8 or 9 years.When released he went home to Germany and decided to move his family to America because he was treated so well here in the States.So I had a grandfather on both sides of the biggest war ever waged on this planet.Every time I play a WWII shooter am I supposed to think it is racist because I am killing Germans?Well I don't.I just play the damn thing because it is a game and it is fun.Hell I even get a laugh every once and a while thinking "Damn that head I just blew off could've been a relative." If you base a violent game on history or a certain part of the world you will run into the fact that you are killing a certain race or heritage examples Resident Evil 5,any World War II game,COD4,and probably many more.So is it only ok to kill Germans and Japanese in videogames?Or are we done with the political correctness speech?
JJackass
I can understand peoples troubles with playing a game where they feel they are on the bad guys side of history.I am of Irish and German decent.My Irish grandfather served for the United States of America in the Army during World War II in the Asian front.My German Grandfather served for the German Army(He was not SS) in the European front.He was a prisoner of war in Florida somewhere between 7 to 9 years.He was released and went home to Germany.They were treated so well he decided to move his family here to the States.So do I have any thoughts of wow this is weird when I am killing a bunch of Nazi's in WWII games.....sure,then I laugh hell that could of been a relative lol.Just the same as could someone that grew up in Germany or Japan have an adverse or odd reaction to playing these types of games,I'm sure they could.But all in all they are just games.So racism can be directed at people that are white/caucasian when you break us down to our heritage.I've never once thought "Oh hell another game killing my kind." I've just played the damn thing and had a good time doing it.I think anytime you use history or locale as the basis of your game you will have people worried about rasiscm.This game,any WWII game,Resident Evil 5.So is it ok to kill Germans and Japanese,but no one else?Just a thought.
happy_go_gamer
Personally, I think it's fairly simple; if you are offended or do not particularly care for the content, then don't play the game. It's a big world out there and absolutely impossible not to step on toes, so sooner or later, no matter what you do, someone somewhere is going to be offended by something and demand attention for it.
I can understand how some would find themselves uncomfortable with this specific game and find it offensive or racist or whatever you want to find wrong with it, but the simplest thing that you can do to not support it, like I said, is to not play the game.
There are plenty of games that I do not care for, and as such, I choose not to participate in the game action. If you look at any game close enough, you can and will find something that will raise the "Offense" flag. You can either choose to throw a fit over it and cause an unnecessary uproar or you can put the controller down, turn off your console and walk away, or just find another game to play.
And just because I may be one of the ones that fall under the "white and straight" category, doesn't mean that I lack the common sense to see that out of all the things to get worked up over, a video game is by far (or should be) the least of your concerns. Maybe take a look at the economy. Now there's a real issue.
Jimi0088
Well the game fits the time period. Stop being little girls and man up. Its just a game. Movies have these kind of plots and things of that nature in them all the time. Its a good game and just take it for what it is.
yogiboy789
who cares if its racist we should pay more attention if the game is worth buying, it could be racist and a garbage game (i personally never played it)
arod95
Oh and even though this topic is pretty much dead (and I won't shut up about it). I thought I'd point out that saying that the civil war was "about" slavery isn't the same as saying that the civil war was a war to "end" slavery. States rights certainly played a part...but the issues that the southern states cared about were almost entirely regarding the "institution" of slavery. I suggest people look up these topics.
Missouri Compromise--Compromise of 1850--Kansas Nebraska Act
Bleeding Kansas
Dread Scott Decision
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
Fugitive Slave Act
Uncle Tom's Cabin/rise of Abolitionists/Abolitionist papers
Northern Government's reluctance to enforce the fugitive slave act
Undergroud Railroad
Westward Expansion
SECTIONALISM
The Eelection of 1860
arod95
@Slaytanic40oz
I don't think that slavery was the only issue in the civil war. I think it was the main issue. I also think that people who harp on states rights are usually confederate apologists who try to make the south look better by ignoring the importance of slavery in the civil war. The evidence does not point to the contrary. Were there other issues involved? Sure, but that doesn't mean that these issues were the main sticking point.
arod95
@Trafficgod
uh...have you seen white men can't jump?
Hell the first scene makes the main black character look bad for assuming that Billy can't play just because he's white. Look past the title....
And the great white hype was a satire. I doubt anyone making a movie called Black Man Can't Work (which when you think about it is a much more vicious title than white men can't jump...jump vs. work...hmmm) would be doing so to make a positive statement about accepting one another...but hey if someone wants to make that movie to foster greater racial harmony, then by all means do it....
arod95
Nothing can make someone lose faith in humanity faster than a quick look at any given comment section on the internet.
First of all, I'm not sure why people keep rehashing the civil war states rights thing, when no one taking up that position has explicitly stated what "rights" the south was fighting for that weren't connected to the institution of slavery or the spreading of that institution into the new territories. Whether or not the North was more racist is irrelevant, but just to touch on that point since it keeps coming up. Was the North racist? Certainly. But let me pose this question to everyone here. What would you rather face, racism as a free man or racism as a slave? I thought so.
Also, for everyone who keeps harping on the idea that most confederate soldiers were poor and most whites in the south weren't plantation owners. You're right, but you're making a leap from not owning slaves to not being racist that really has no basis in fact. Most white southerners still bought in to the culture of white racism that pervaded the south, it was to their economic advantage to. Smaller farmers relied on large plantations for access to cotton gins and other machinery that they couldn't afford. For poor whites, having a position of superiority over blacks afforded them some status even if they weren't well off economically. Think about it, the most slave catchers and people on slave patrols weren't catching their own slaves, and when you're on one of the lower rungs of society you look for any position that you can possibly have over someone else. White supremacy was ingrained in the culture of the south, so those of who you are keep saying "don't assume all southerners were racist" aren't looking at the bigger picture here. Not owning slaves =/= Not being racist.
Finally I'd like to leave you with the opening parts of Mississippi's declaration of secession. It's pretty clear why they were leaving the union. Also, it's becoming pretty apparent that the people who are so quick to say that something isn't racist aren't "color-blind" or thick skinned, they're just lacking in any real knowledge about the history of race in America. Also it seems that people do in to defensive mode when they might be associated with groups that have been historically racist...like southerners. But hey it's the internet...it's easy to talk when you can hide behind a screen. Anyway, here's part of Mississippi's declaration, I suggest you guys also look up Georgia's it's pretty telling.
"In the momentous step, which our State has taken of dissolving its connection with the government of which we so long formed a part, it is but just that we should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course.
Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery - the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product, which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth.
These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization.
That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin."
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