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Racist imagery in RE5 trailer?
Racist imagery in RE5 trailer?
Apr 13, 2008 3:18PM PST
Message board reactions to Newsweek blogger N'Gai Croal's thoughts on Resident Evil 5's controversial trailer miss much of the point.
To say that previously released Resident Evil games featured rabid mobs of Spaniards and Americans of mixed ethnicity simply won't do. To many Americans, an animalistic, homicidal white man is an anomaly, and an animalistic, homicidal black man is a recognizable "type" with historical and institutional precedent. This is what Croal refers to when he says "the imagery is not the same. It doesn't carry the same history, doesn't carry the same weight." Some discussion of the taxonomy of stereotypical, racially insensitive, and/or outright racist imagery of blacks -- such as revolting notions of sambos, minstrels, and savages, as well as the spiritual and moral mentors to non-black figures who feature in many Hollywood movies -- might have preempted much of the reactionary posting that is appearing online. However, I understand that it is not the Newsweek writer's obligation to provide crash courses in black history for an American audience that ought to know better.
Imagine a series of tycoon games in which the object is to control a state's banking and financial institutions and then exercise increasingly powerful political lobbying power. The first game in the series features white characters. Its sequel, however, focuses on corporate fat cats with stereotypical Jewish features. The same entrepreneurship lionized in American culture as the embodiment of by-their-bootstraps success is something else entirely for the stereotyped Jewish character because of historical context and because the same socially constructed categories have been used to oppress and separate Jews from people of other ethnicities. As it retells an age-old story, the game of Jewish tycoons perpetuates notions that have been used in part as justification for the expulsion and extermination of Jews across Europe from 15th century Spain and Portugal to 20th century Germany, Poland, and Russia.
No matter how academic this might sound, all Americans are familiar with the concept. We know that is it different to use a racist, sexist, or homophobic epithet against a person of an ethnicity, gender, or sexuality who the term was never intended to slander, than it is to use the same word to attack another person of the ethnicity, gender, or sexuality that it is intended to wound. Resident Evil 5's trailer is no racist slur-- the point I'm attempting to make is the all-importance of context to meaning.
Unlike Croal, I am not yet convinced that the trailer depicts non-zombie blacks as "all dangerous men, women, and children" who "have to be killed." But I do believe that its imagery does invoke, if not directly draw on, our familiarity with and interest in films like Black Hawk Down, as well as the real world tragedies in Sudan's Darfur region and Rwanda (where black Hutus have in fact murdered perhaps as many as a million black Tutsis and moderate Hutus, often with knives and machetes). The potential problem is that while action games are perfectly able to adapt some of the intensity and chaos of these situations to the purposes of interactive entertainment, they're miserable at handling complicated social, political, and historical contexts. (Similarly, where Black Hawk Down succeeds as an action movie, several critics accuse it of shortchanging the socio-politics of the Battle of Mogadishu.)
At the moment, neither Croal nor I have any idea as to how Resident Evil 5 will handle its suggestive themes. We aren't sure whether it will in some way acknowledge the terrible baggage attached to the real atrocities that lend its scenes such emotional power or simply mine these as videogame thrillmakers. Beyond this specific game, there exists the danger that -- over time, and across multiple iterations -- well-meaning pop culture creations will distill the specific and complex character of conflicts such as Darfur's into the general and simplistic trope of a malicious black mob armed with machetes.
I say well-meaning, because in the case of videogames, current technical limitations restrict the extent to which a developer can paint complete pictures. For instance, it is both easier and more cost effective to render convincing opponents in games like Resident Evil or Call of Duty than it is to breathe believable life into non-combatant characters who go about the business of day-to-day living. This is one reason why we find no NPCs in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's middle-eastern cities, even as the game's missions lead players through the very homes and workplaces of vanished people. And should Infinity Ward have decided to populate its levels with anyone other than armed militants it would have faced the challenge of preventing players from shooting innocents -- a circumstance undoubtedly closer to life, but one that would have risked depicting American and British soldiers as war criminals, as well as forcing players to restart missions after each incident of indiscriminate fire. The trade-off, of course, is that COD 4's unnamed Saudi Arabia is inhabited exclusively by angry Arab gunmen.
While I would be surprised if RE5 does not include a few black NPCs who fill sympathetic supporting roles fleshed out in non-interactive cutscenes, I'm not counting on in-game villagers to flee their zombified and cannibalistic former neighbors.
Comments (93)
Not sure what's eating Red_Cloak, but...Posted: Apr 13, 2008 12:00AM PST by The_Flavius
I appreciated the discussion. There's good discussion to be found in the GAF thread as well, but it is (as usual) becoming more and more difficult to sift the good out from the usual crap.
While I do not discount the possibility...Posted: Apr 13, 2008 12:00AM PST by The_Flavius
of life on other planets (and I certainly hope that we at least try to establish an amicable relationship with them if at all possible...particularly if they are of the "so-ugly-they're-cute" E.T. variety), I'm having a hard time with you relating events taking place in a videogame (or merely its trailer) that could reasonably be perceived by some to be, at the very least, insensitive, and the plight of a, at least at this point in time, fictional group of aliens.
Reactionary?Posted: Apr 13, 2008 12:00AM PST by BananaFlavouredPants
I think a lot of people on NeoGAF are asking why Croal failed to bring up the same issues brought up in games like CoD4, and why he's calling the ominous manner in which the blacks act before their turned racist when it's basic horror technique, then there's the fact that there's a gun-trotting foreigner walking through their town, I really wouldn't expect them to be that welcoming.
As far as the lameass spam threats are concerned...Posted: Apr 13, 2008 12:00AM PST by The_Flavius
you can fuck off. Knock yourself out, sweetheart.
Back on topic: so the entirety of your position is that people shoot aliens in videogames all the time, and that N'Gai's/Shawn's/whomever's points are automatically void due to some bullshit statute of limitations that exists within your own mind.
That about sum it up?
Red CloakPosted: Apr 13, 2008 12:00AM PST by Boulder_o'Peril
Presumably black interests are Ngai's personal interests, so he seems selfish, not cowardly.
Shawn mentions context, and that's an important point you miss. Alien murder and human murder are different just as video game murder and real life murder are different. Arguing the moral equivalence between the two is easy if you forget that.
Ok,Posted: Apr 13, 2008 12:00AM PST by spoiLars
I appreciate the discussion, and find it interesting to read the opinions of the few that actually take the time to reflect on the matter. One of the weaknesses of messageboards is of course that it is way to easy and fast to spew some nonsense about more serious matters like this one, without having to neither think about or own up to it. And the kids on the boards are usually never the most reflected or experienced individuals, but they want to air their opinion anyways. Which they of course have full rights to do, dont get me wrong, but too many put on their blinders and refuse to see something from another angle.
I have to say though, that I dont agree with N'Gai, but the fact that we have different opinions doesnt make me have to go apeshit. I think he is putting way too much weight and over-analysis into the trailer. He said ?What was not funny, but sort of interesting, was that there were so many gamers who could not at all see it. Like literally couldn?t see it.? And as many have said, that not to say that the feelings of those who are offended are invalid, but isnt that sort of a good thing? That all the viewer thinks when he sees it is that here is some STARS guy, fighting zombies in what seems to be an African setting? It cant be easy for people to try not to think about different races as just that, different from each other, when it is continuously pointed out to them by the other part. Do you think people would have reacted different if the main character had been black instead of white? I'm not sure myself, but it is something to think about. The problem with this will most probably not come from the games content, but what the individual player thinks as he plays it. If the player is killing zombies that just happen to be black since, hey, its in Africa, I dont see a problem. Its if he starts drawing any connection between the skincolor and the evil nature of the zombies,the problem arises. But you will always have those people, its like the dudes who watch Turtles, then head out and kick the living shit out of the neighbors kid.
Having served in the armed forces, I tend to get dragged into these kinds of discussions a lot. You are right about the inability of videogames to portrait the intricate social context of the setting they are put in, and understandibly so, as it is of course a very complex matter and might just be too much to wrap ones head around when playing a game. I have trained with soldiers from most of the allied countries, and each one seems to have a completely different mindset about both the situation where they serve, the reason why, and what they think about the people they are there to help. Playing something that also depicted all the social details of a middle eastern/war torn African setting, would be something I'd enjoy, but for the average consumer it would probably make a better book than a game. Not to mention that no publisher would touch it with a ten foot pole.
I hope to see, like you said, that they have at least some sympathetic roles filled by blacks in the game. If you run around Africa the whole game, and all the npc's you meet who play good guys are white, it will be a whole other subject. So in conclusion, racism is a sensitive subject, and while it might be undeserved, you can almost always expect to get your ass handed to you for even going near it. As DALATU noted, name calling is where most of these discussions end up fast, as it is the last resort of people who dont have the knowledge or insight to back their argument. The fact that they are 12 doesnt help either.
Thank God.Posted: Apr 13, 2008 12:00AM PST by __DQ__
A voice of reason? On the internet?!
It doesn't take an astrophysicist to see why N'Gai would be upset with the imagery in these trailers. However, you have to take these things for what they are -- brief attempts to sell a product. It's so easy to take out of context because, really, there is no context.
Picture somebody sounding the alarms over a trailer for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou that only showed scenes from the raid on the pirate camp -- basically Bill Murray shooting miscellaneous dark-skinned people. You wouldn't be out of line to see racism in this monstrous crew of white devils ethnically cleansing a room full of guys playing cards, but that's because all you have to go on is the imagery.
There's certainly room for racial awareness in gaming, but you don't want to start crusading against something we know so little about. Nobody wants interactive hate-speech, but preemptive strikes like this run the risk of compromising a game's vision before we even know what it is.
I wonderPosted: Apr 13, 2008 12:00AM PST by tdous
Could there be a point where a generation grows up with such little regard for racism and lack of first hand knowledge of such imagery that they could watch a trailer like this and "literally couldn?t see it"?
I was just wondering if there was any possibility that people for whom race is such a complete non-issue in their dealing and interactions with others that what they see here is .. a village full of zombies? Surely that's anti-racism education succeeding?
On the screen: Chris shoots down (African) zombie with shotgunPosted: Apr 13, 2008 12:00AM PST by TheBarryman
RE 5 is racist!Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by dgvd
I have not read the interview with Croal, but if he said RE5 is racist then he is 100% correct.
I am so upset with the way Capcom is presenting white people. Basically, an ALL WHITE evil company "Umbrella" infects a group of peaceful black Africans.
Then Capcom has another WHITE man invade foreign land and indescrinately kill black people left and right.
I'm sorry, but not all white people are like that. I'm white and I've never owned an evil company, Infected another race with a disease, invaded a predominately black country, or killed a bunch of black people.
I am offended by the stereotype that Capcom is implying about white people and their portrayal that white people are evil and/or blood thirsty.
A bit to think on...Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by SnakeLinkSonic
Very Ironic that N'Gai's speculation on a coming misinterpretation was indeed, misinterpreted.
- It has gotten me interested in what RE5's actual content will actually be because that in itself will factor in a lot for this coming storm (maybe?).
"We aren't sure whether it will in some way acknowledge the terrible baggage attached to the real atrocities that lend its scenes such emotional power or simply mine these as videogame thrillmakers."
I do like that, considering its the only thing I really care about myself (the RE universe itself). I tend to expect the thrillmaking aspect to become apparent when this game releases, because simply, we just aren't there yet. The industry itself and the consumers that have supported it have always been detrimental their own experience.
- I don't really think I took N'Gai's statement in the wrong way, but I did find something unsettling in how it was "separated" from the game itself. This is already an issue (and the game is still so far off), what about a game that actively tries to deal with a racist setup/issue, yeah not in my lifetime anyway...
I think one thing that's really interesting though is that it may result in forcing the entire industry to grow up even if it's just a bit...(which will be more than enough for me at this point)
I didn't even bother to think about that aspect of Call of Duty 4 though, so thanks for that bit of insight.
Nice Blog btw...
- It has gotten me interested in what RE5's actual content will actually be because that in itself will factor in a lot for this coming storm (maybe?).
Does Racisem require intent?Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Master-D
A game made in japan, by people who have never had to deal with any racial issues, can they really be racists?
If the answer is no, they are inherently non-racist, as they have no experience with other races and as such have never made up any racist ideas.
If this follows true, then he only vessel for racism is N'Gai, who is reading his own context into the image. So it's racist for N'Gai, but it's not inherently racist, as that would require intent.
A Very Hot (and dangerous) TopicPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by aggies11
Discussing racism is a minefield. Discussing racism on the internet is likely a fools errand? And yet here were are.
Personally I don't have an opinion, as the line is crowded with so much grey area, that I don't know where I stand. However I do have thoughts.
With respect to N'gai, his stance boils down to the fact that due to our socio-history, that basically Black zombies are inherently racist. Ie. You can't have Black zombies without being "racist". Intellectual that idea doesn't sit well with me, as you would think that racism would require some sort of malevolence, some sort of willful ignorance etc. However if you take a zombie, that acts like a well known zombie, and simply change it's skin colour to Black, does that automatically capture ignorance, negative stereotypes and prejudice? (Note: I'm asking the question, no answering it).
One other thing that I find myself thinking about, is that the concept of history, and historical events are only interesting (relevant) if people remember them. New generations seem to be forgetting "a lot" of things lately (ie. manners ;) ) and this may be one of them. Can a Black zombie be inherently racist if the socio-historical context is forgotten?
GFW and Jeff green had a brief discussion along these lines on a recent podcast. (Talking about the Racist video games article I think?) Jeff brought up an interesting point on how if he made a doll for Jewish Girls that captured certain touchstones in Jewish culture. That to him this doll would be fine, but to a non Jewish person seeing it, it could be considered "offensive" and "obviously racist".
It got me thinking, and I think that in that situation it wasn't the doll being racist itself, but rather the non Jewish people's belief that it was offensive. This mistaken belief is actually a result of stereotypes and ignorance. I think there is a mistaken belief that stereotypes are inherently wrong. Because they are not. They can be true. However the facts themselves are not the issue, but the ignorance surrounding them. It is the use of stereotypes when you don't actually know if they are true or not, which is the problem. A stereotype, a belief (in *either* direction), based on ignorance (lack of knowledge). It becomes just as guilty to perpetuate stereotypes about, for example, Jewish people, as it does to be adamantly against such stereo types (eg. Finding the doll offensive) as both cases demonstrate the same amount of ignorance. I think this can also explain the belief that people can't be racist against there own race: because typically they are knowledgeable about what is true and what isn't and so would not have the required ignorance.
I think this can relate somewhat to the whole RE5 debate, because we have to be careful when determining if something is inherently racist/offensive, that our beliefs are based on facts, and not necessarily perpetuating stereotypes based on further ignorance.
One final thing I think worth noting (somewhat) is that can the concept of race even apply to zombies? You aren't killing people, you are killing zombies. They aren't human any more, but mindless creatures. The whole concept of race is not based merely on skin colour, but rather an entire cultural and social fabric that goes with it. Zombies all act the same, and don't have any culture anymore (or at least adopt "zombie culture"?) I say "somewhat" to this whole point, because if the viewers of the game see them as "Black zombies" rather than just "zombies", then this distinction isn't too useful, as if this belief is common, it doesn't matter if it's incorrect, because it becomes the new reality.So I can certainly see where N'gai is coming from as it doesn't matter whether you *intend* for something to be racist if the audience is going to respond to the imagery that way. (This kind of comes up with Dave Chapelle and his TV show. If you make jokes that obviously are making fun *of* racist beliefs, but the audience is missing the point and laughing *with* the racist beliefs, then it doesn't matter what your intent was, the audience has co-opted it and turned it into something negative.) So the case very well may be that the audience isn't ready for Black Zombies yet as it may trigger/reinforce negative stereotypes.
I must agree with Shawn though, that games are just ill equipped to deal with these sorts of issues. The medium is still too new/underdeveloped to overcome the technological hurdles required to do all this. I'd venture it takes a much larger effort to "say" anything in a game, then it does in film, currently.
*Edit*: Oops, I only read the synopsis in the MTV article, and not the full text that followed, which goes into more detail. It's not just Black Zombies, but rather how they acted *before* they were turned, and how they acted after. Which would require analysis of how they acted and was it "out of step" with traditional zombie behavior. If this is true, then I can definitely see more where this reaction is coming from
Good commentaryPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Godmil
Since reading this quote from Arizona Daily Star ("Newsweek's N'Gai Croal - by far the deepest thinker and best writer in the field of video game journalism -") I thought, The jury is out until Shawn Elliot states his opinion. So I was very glad you clipped in so quickly. Enlightening read.
I know you don't care about story...Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Dr3upMushroom
But wasn't the reason for it being set in Africa was because they wanted to go to the birth of the virus, and the birth of humanity. This might seem like an irrelevant point to the discussion at hand but I just see it as another plot in the weird and convoluted story of Resident Evil.
Coming From Another Black ManPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by XtremeGmr4life
When I first seen the trailer for RE5 I thought it was pretty cool they were setting it in Africa and so did a lot of my friends. I wasn't offended and racism didn't creep into my mind at all. I can't see myself crying foul when the majorities of zombies portrayed in games and movies happen to be white. I could see how some people who aren't familiar with the genre could take offense though. This is a hot button topic and if things aren't projected right I can see it blowing up. Me personally I think Barret in Final fantasy 7 and COLE TRAIN!!!!!! from Gears of War to be more offensive than african zombies. Whats funny is if RE5 still took place in Africa and all the zombies were white people would be upset about that too. You know what they say d***ed if you do d***ed if you don't.
Asia.Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by CreativeRehash
I think the location of the developer is a huge indicator that the subject matter may be misconstrued by some audiences. Americans may see this game and shout racism, but to Japanese gamers I don't think the portrayal of the Africans in RE5 would sound any alarm bells. In Korea Japan and China foreigners are usually stereotyped quite a bit. Maybe the game is somewhat racist, but I don't think it's in the least bit intentional.
HmmmPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by enime
Yet if the main character was black, it would have even the playing field and racism would have been thrown out the window. I see like this: When we mix reality with fantasy, topics like these come into effect. Not on purpose but by accidently not knowing what meaning is presented in the images. I can't wait to play it and for me, it makes sense using the light and dark tones as the environment and since Afirca heat (sun) is the focus of the light, to protect themselves, they have to have buildings that keep them in the shade. This shade or dark, can only come with the African people since it is set in this environment. It wouldn't make since to use caucasians (and no offense to anybody) in this setting because it wouldn't make sense. At least the developers are trying something different with the enemies and AI.
What really is going to be surprising is the end boss (if it isn't a tyrant I will be glad) but everything is happening because of a white men (yes, there goign to be predictable twist is this game....just a hunch). This game is not suppose to teach abotu African American History. This is about survival and using different things to survive. Chris is fighting infected people and that has been the premise of every RE game and race has never been a problem regardless if it was white, hispanic, and now black. This issue might never be solve but at least it is something we can discuss about. Which is important to us:the game play or the issue of racism?
I respect N'Gai..Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Krakrok
but he needs to calm the hell down and not be so hypersensitive. Like this is the first racial stereotype in a game. Mario anyone? And to refute Shawn, the fact that I've killed infinitely more non-blacks in games, NOT JUST RE BUT ALL GAMES, is very fucking noteworthy. Hmmm... I wonder what actual Africans think of all this.
Everyone.Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Andryan
While I doubt that the CAPCOM team were in any way attempting to create racist imagery is pretty much irrelevant. Sure, ignorance is bliss, but that doesn't make it okay. What we have to realize is that when dealing with racism, we are not dealing with a simple issue. We should not be discussing this simply to decide whether the game RE5 is racist or not, but to take a deeper look at racism is video games. We should be discussing topics such as this to learn, not to simply label products or start spam-wars.
Whether or not one agrees with Shawn and N'gai is irrelevant - the topic itself is what is important
Let's put it into perspective ...Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by K1LLSWITCH
I understand some people may be offended by the images of Resident Evil 5 depicting a white man killing, seemingly, a whole village of african people by the numbers. But what is the Resident Evil franchise about? It's about an infestation of virus controlled creatures (primarily zombies) that inhabit a particular town or city. To say that the game is protraying racially explicit violence towards a group of people in an attempt to exterminate is jumping the gun a bit, in my opinion, as no one truly knows what RE5 is about - yet.
IntentionalityPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Zip_Zap_Rap
Intentionality is a fallacy and is irrelevant to the argument Croal puts forth.
The question is not, is Capcom a racist company or RE: 5 racist game, rather it is, does the monsterization of Haitians in the RE: 5 trailer contribute to a negative discourse which furthers racist stereotypes?
I would agree with N?gai that the imagery used in the trailer comparable to the imagery the permeated colonial media. Unlike Shawn I do not believe Capcom will treat the nuanced subject matter with the degree of insight required.
I think.Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Matthew_X
that we are forgetting that this is not an american game. It's made in Japan where race issues don't way as great, on the shoulders of the populace. It's a game set in Africa last time I checked a good number of black people live there.
Absolutely.Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by TheLongShaft
You guys got it exactly right. Capcom are a bunch of cracker ass racists. You can't depict black people in this manner. You can use middle easterners like in COD4 or whites like in every videogame evermade, but don't ever depict black people in the same type of situations. I am going to write Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and get them to shut this game down because it obviously belittles and demeans black people. What a load of crap. This story is absolutely ridiculous. Why does everything have to be racist? Maybe this game isn't racist, maybe they are just using blacks like everyother ethnicity has been used. Big deal, get over it. This just shows the double standard that the the media reports on nowadays.
What I noticed about some of the vids...Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by MrArmageddon
In watching some of the videos I've noticed protagonist Chris Redfield walking around amongst peaceful villagers so based on that I suppose it's a likely guess that not all of the people in the game (black or any other skin color) are infected. It's difficult to tell this far from the game's release, but I do remember some VERY brief socio-political commentary in RE4 (when Leon calls Salazar a terrorist and Salazar remarks, "Isn't that a popular word, these days?"). Also, the main villain in RE4 seemed to have it in for the US for some reason, which is an aspect of the story that COULD have been fleshed out more and COULD have been used to make some statements about the current political climate but Capcom chose not to, for whatever reason. Is it possible, however, that that is a sign that perhaps Capcom is willing to use RE5 to make such statements? Again, it's difficult to say, especially since the RE series isn't known for having particularly deep or thought-out storylines. Just some thoughts.
Was RE5 created to wound?Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Tilt
What race, gender, and sexual inclination would everyone be happy with in this game? Resident Evil exists in a horrific fictional universe, where the genesis of the zombie virus takes place in Africa... in a fictional universe. I could be wrong, but I highly doubt the developers of RE5 sat down and thought to themselves "lets make a racist game and piss everybody off" because that will makes us buckets of money... no I don't think that is the case here. Is everyone jerking themselves off over this issue? I guess we'll find out when the game is done! Good post Elliott, I actually mean that, it has folks thinking! North America is young; everyone read some history if you want sadness!
Come on people.Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Deltronzero
If you don't like what is going on in the game then don't buy it or play it. Simple as that.
Only important viewpoint is your own.Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Star_Royal
I don't think it's really important how others', especially outsiders to this established series, perceive what little has been revealed of RE5. How is that useful to me - or anyone else - and what does it have to do with how YOU approach or handle the material? Do you require others approval/disapproval to validate or invalidate your own point of view?
If the game turns out to be blatantly racist, I can decide for myself how to respond; whether or not I look past that.
Edit: Not to say the issue of racism itself isn't worth discussing, but instead there seems to be a preoccupation with outsiders' values and perception and now one's own. It comes off as if we're waiting for popular opinion to give us the green light to be comfortable with this game.
Does anybody else find it disturbing....Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Mr_Friday
Possibly moreso than the fact that the enemies are of a particular ethnicity, that with each game the zombies seem to look and react more and more like humans? It's getting to the point where, had I not known about the story of RE5 prior to viewing the trailers, the game would've looked like a village massacering simulator to me. I understand Capcom's want to make faster and smarter enemies, but there is something that feels vaguely wrong about the only distinction between human and zombie characters are the latter's pair of red eyes.
Well, and the tentacles shooting out of their head, but I'm guessing that part doesn't come till later.
What I see.Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by risingsuntzu
I feel as though all of these racist ideas are being placed upon me. What I mean by that is that when I first saw that trailer, the fact that a white man was killing black people never crossed my mind. My first thoughts were of movies like the Constant Gardener. Spoiler "Justin learns that Tessa uncovered a corporate scandal. KVH (Karel Vita Hudson), a large pharmaceutical company working under the cover of AIDS tests and treatments, is testing a tuberculosis drug that has severe side effects. Rather than help the test trial subjects and begin again with new medicine, KVH covered up the side effects reported in the tests, and only improved the drug in anticipation of a massive, multi-resistant tuberculosis outbreak." I thought to myself how poignant the evil umbrella corporation must be taking advantage of those poor people and running tests and now these innocent people are infected with a deadly virus. Honestly, cant it just be that villagers who happen to be black were infected and that BLACK villagers are attacking you and must be killed.
My basic point is this, until I kept reading in the media that this game had racist overtones, it never even crossed my mind. Even as a blackman it honestly never crossed my mind. I know when things feel racist or wrong, and to me this just isnt one of those cases. The color of the protagonist and Villagers is completely beside the point. I just hope this wont always be the case, looking at skin color rather than context.
oopsPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by risingsuntzu
quick correction
Honestly, cant it just be that villagers who happen to be black were infected and are attacking you and not that BLACK villagers are attacking you and must be killed.
this is crapPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by AlchemistX
i wrote a long comment but it didn't go through cuz 1ups mad awesome like that, so i'll skip to the bottom line since i'm sure this won't be last of racial discussion with re5. croal is full of shit and a poser who should be namedropping in hollywood or new york or some bullshit, the video explains the what's and why's of the game, and i don't see the pre infestation zombie walk he described so that's another point of him being full of shit. he just knew the discussion would get him noticed during the battle between p.c. crybabies who want to shelter everything, full on douchebag racists, and everyone between. he'd be better off writing about what he knows about aka the theatre.
Mr_Friday, more like natural evolution..Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Star_Royal
of the way games are presented, and I think for contemporary horror, essential. I believe the more naturalistic you can present horror in all apsects (lighting, film quality, sound, texture, etc.), the more effective that horror can be. I'd imagine that if he could go back in time with more current make-up effects, George Romero would not settle for the minty green skinned zombies of the Dead movies, and strive for something more truthful in appearance (unless corpses are infact minty green)<
I think there are enough phsyical mannerisms to distinguish the infected of RE4 and 5 from the normal human, such as their posture as they approach and stalk you, stand around aimlessly.
On top of that, I think the work Capcom has done so far, visually, is damn impressive
You all suckPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by xIvSlowDeath420
Why are we even discussing a game that EVERYONE,including N'gai and everyone at 1up and all of us have seen less than 3 minutes of."I'm sick of the way capcom is handling blacks in this game",where do you people come from,WE'VE SEEN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES OF THE GAME.
Valid Points Star_Royal, However...Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Mr_Friday
Impressive though it may be, it just seems, and this problem may be more mine then other's, I dunno off in some way, where at the gut level I don't feel like I'm saving a village, but rather, purging it.
I think that problem for me stems from the fact that while the enemies are becoming more human like, the heroes still act as though they are still fighting green-skinned mutant monsters. In zombie movies there is usually some acknowledgement of the psychological strain of killing things that until recently were human, but you never see any reaction even remotely close to remorse, or even surprise from the protagonists.
One could argue that they have years of training, experience, yadda yadda yadda, but you'd at least think they'd still be capable of realizing "Wow, this is fucked up."
But hey, if no one else feels that disconnect, than I guess it's just my problem.
Voice of ReasonPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by digitalmullet
Good post Shawn. Oftentimes people forget that not everyone perceives certain things the same way; as a result, we all should keep an open mind when discussing controversial subjects. The points that N'Gai brought up are legitimate in many degrees. Issues like these provide an opportunity for everyone to learn from each other. However, it troubles me when some individuals argue in absolutes, and are unwilling to at least acknowledge the grievances that certain people have with the RE5 trailer.
"To many Americans, an animalistic, homicidal white man is an anomaly, and an animalistic, homicidal black man is a recognizable "type" with historical and institutional precedent. This is what Croal refers to when he says "the imagery is not the same. It doesn't carry the same history, doesn't carry the same weight."
- This is a very solid point. We as gamers need to keep in mind that context plays a huge role. For example, people who do not play games and are not aware of the RE series may interpret the trailer as being racist. That does not make them wrong; instead, it shows that at the very least the imagery of the trailer is upsetting for some. Does that make the game racist? No, but it certainly indicates that not everyone is happy with the content. Therefore, it is vital to keep this in mind before resorting to unfair remarks.
Hmmm...Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by MaritalWheat
First off, the blog was a great read. Personally, I don't think that making this game should be a big deal; I find it sad that in today's world people automatically point to it as being racist...when the game is about zombies. If anything, shouldn't things like Army of Two with the Twin Towers scene be a bit more touchy of a subject? The only way that I see this game as being insensitive is when you do look at all the issues in Africa with genocides and violence left and right. However, racist...I think not. And overall...its a videogame, and again, about zooommbieees. If people put as much effort into actually educating more people about history and the current issues we face as they do into calling out things like this...boy, would our world be better. But then again, I'm saying this as someone who doesn't have any problem with any other ethnic or racial group...unfortunately, I'm sure the only thought on plenty of people's minds who will be playing this will be, "Oh yeah, I'm killing a black dude, sweet." Especially when you judge your gamers by Xbox Live experiences.
Also, good point Mr_Friday.
Internalized perception of racismPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by hoyle1911
I'm just not comfortable with the categorization that black racism is somehow of higher importance than white or hispanic persecution. Some immigrants from South America still feel something negative when you mention Cortez or Columbus. Some who saw images of Resident Evil may have sparked some memory of the Holocaust. It's too personal of an association to then point fingers at RE5 but ignore earlier games. I don't like the double standard.
And of course, there's the issue of point. As in, is there a point to Croal's position other than discussing it? As far as I know, he doesn't want censorship or a censure, or editing of the content. Also, he seems mindful of the fact that any international game will end up having unintended consequences, as every culture will view the zombie slaying in RE5 differently. I could see a Haitian shaman being really pissed off that his beliefs are trivialized and made in to silly movies and games in foreign pop culture.
social commentaryPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by mkunze0813
Its not the same to say that the zombie genre usually has white zombies, if you look at Romero's films they were a critique of our capitalist culture. Its quite another thing to critique another culture.
I think the problem is people aren't really that aware of the current events, or history of some of these African nations. In many cases these are situations of attempted genocide.
Mr_Friday,Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Star_Royal
Yeah if you look at the bigger picture like that, than I can see where you're coming from. I was thinking strictly technical
I don't think most developers are capable of or conscious of (or care to)engaging in the game making process to that degree, where characters in general display a significant realistic emotional range in response to their situation, especially in the heat of Combat aka gameplay mechanics.
I think that's a next, or THE next frontier in gaming, having a dynamic system where characters respond in infinite and naturalistic ways to ever changing stimuli. Little things, like Chris stumbling over some debris as he backs up and cursing himself afterwards. Showing a moment's reluctance, or hesitation, regardless of what the player's input is.
I mean, Indiana Jones behaves identifiably like a man reacting to a situation based on awareness of his own strengths, weaknesses, experience, foibles, values etc. and that's why he endures in the public conscience.
Microcosm of a Greater ProblemPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by chicano_marco
I agree that when games approach race (or gender and sexuality), game developers need to be more sophisticated and recognize the context and history of these issues. It's not enough to say, "it's just a game," because obviously it's not if this is one of hundreds of comments. To trivialize the matter in this way, as we try to do with other media such as movies or books, but with less success because of their mainstream status, is to cover your ears, close your eyes, and shout incoherent phrases to avoid entering a real discussion. I feel that if people discount the effect of the RE5 trailer, most likely that is how they will approach any discussion about race, as well as the legacy of discrimination in this country and the world. I hope as we all take a look at the current discussion, we can view it as a window to a larger conversation on race and discrimination.
Indeed, Star_Royal...Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Mr_Friday
Technology plays a big part in creating convincing characters, though I find it a little ironic that it is mostly used now to increase the realisim in the monsters while our protagonists remain underdeveloped.
One could argue is seems a bit, I don't know, backwards?
Here's hoping for more human heroes. Huzzah.
I'd love....Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Phantasystar77
for people to start complaining about video games being racist against whites for once. I always hear complaints about black/asian/hispanic stereotypes and think its a load of BS, but the gaming media always ignores the countless white stereotypes.
Most awesome coincidence ever?Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by SnakeLinkSonic
Crash is on F/X Tuesday, Black Hawk Down on Wednesday...
I don't know, it made me smile...
RE5 and what?Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by animateria
After watching the interview, I doubt that the game was made with any racists thoughts behind them.
I'm surprised this is being made a big deal when other RE games had been populated by a white zombie cast, or in RE4s case, a Spanish zombie cast.
Making a big deal out of a game because it has a population of mosty "black" zombies, is plain American. Racial sensitivities might be higher in the U.S. but this just confirms that we can't get over it and will make a deal out of it even when its not intended.
N'Gai is being overtly sensitive to the issue. And I doubt he would have made a big deal if a RE game was in China and had a whole population of Chinese Zombies.
Get over it. A zombie plague can happen any where in the world (in the RE world) and why the hell not in Africa?
Damn...Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by animateria
I need to use html tags or I make a wall of text?
2 CentsPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by TaureanWilliams
First off good to have you blogging again Shawn, always like to hear your thoughts on stuff.
As a black male it is sad that stuff like this comes up, but I understand why it does. In a perfect society something like this would not matter, but we don't live in a perfect society. I KNOW that RE5 is not intentionally trying to be racist or shocking. It all comes down to what your definition of racism is. But as a Society this obviously is borderline, if not a little over....
So.....Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by LotusisAustin
Do we know if the npcs in the trailer are infected?
Am I the only onePosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Jaded_Fruit_Fly
Who saw non black people as zombies the first time they saw the trailer?
Sure you have to be quick to see them, but they are there.
There is a dude in it with a freakin' Rock Lee style bob head haircut.
My mother is a white woman from Holland, my father a black man born and raised in south Africa during the apartheid era.
I could go into whole discussions about the race issues that may or may not exist with this game except, there is a zombie dude in the trailer with a freaking bob head haircut at the 2 minute 8 seconds mark.
ESRB Warning: This Game contains content unsuitable for Black PeoplePosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by GunsAkimbo
A huge money making theme in fictional universes is what I call the "White Man's apocalypse". What this consists of is a writer taking the hell on earth situations that are happening to impoverished, feuding, rioting nations across the globe and dropping in white people and locations to create an 'edge of your seat' dynamic that will sell lots of product.
The fact that Resident Evil 5 is not resorting to stealing these impoverished and often times dangerous situations and replacing them with 'white' equivalents should be heralded and not criticized. Unless of course the game really ends up depicting every black man, woman, and child to be as crazed and dangerous as the zombies throughout. I don't believe this will be the case as I trust that the developers and most of humanity feel nothing but heartache and compassion for what many of these impoverished areas have to endure.
3rd world stereotypesPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Ronin_Magnum
Those who say N'Gai is being overly sensitive are failing to perceive the nuances here. It is much more than the mere notion of "black zombies". What is potentially objectionable here is the manner in which Capcom has chosen to portray them in the trailer, as well the geographical location of the game because it deliberately preys upon Western fears that have roots in horrible stereotypes.
The imagery used seemingly embraces and perpetuates stereotypes about Africans living in the 3rd world, stereotypes the trailer displays by the savage, bestial nature of both the infected and non-infected Africans. It seems to exploit the 1st world's morbid fears about the supposedly primitive, impoverished, hut dwelling people that make up the majority of world population and, we fear, will eventually overtake the rest of us.
N'Gai, I'm fairly confident in saying, would find nothing objectionable about a "black zombie" clad in a bloodstained business suit, say, in an infected downtown London because there is far less cultural baggage attached to the image. The outcry here is all about the context, an argument perhaps a bit too nuanced for many to understand.
Capcom has already delivered what is perhaps the most insightful and hilarious jabs at any culture, American culture, of any game to date with Dead Rising, so there is potential that RE5 could make some interesting commentary, but, unfortunately, I don't anticipate they have the skill to pull something this sensitive off.
Really? Come OnPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by godofLAX
I don't think that it is racist just because it has a negative representation of black people, who aren't even real but actually "zombies" or "infected". A finger shouldn't be pointed at everyone non-black man, who says something that is not positive about black people, calling him/her a racist.
Reality Check: RE4 was as racist as RE5 appears to bePosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by zipper1149
Time for a reality check. Most Americans have a very short term memory and believe that the modern zombie comes from a Robert Rodriguez movie. The truth is that Zombie fiction, especially the lumbering, bloodthirsty, mob-like zombie comes from an Aristocratic Western European image of Eastern Europeans as cultist, mob-like, destitute, incapible of independent thought, and drawn to cults of charisma. the "zombie" in RE4 and 5 more resembles the ghoulish hordes in European folklore.
The images in RE4 had a history too. Sorry N'Gai didn't know about it, but it's based on just as much a slight at people of different ethnicities as some image of "Black Zombies." If you want to talk about race you need to be honest, or else you look hypocritical. You also have to be better studied. I'm not saying I condemn RE4, I actually really enjoyed it. I'm just saying that if you're going to be offended because something is "racist" than stop being a hypocrite and sack up to your own acceptance of racism first.
@ Ronin_MagnumPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by animateria
Western stereotypes from a Japanese Company?
And what about stereotypical fears of 3rd world countries taking over 1st world countries?
I'm not sure where you get those notions but look back at RE4. Its a fairly 3rd world depiction of a Spanish area. I don't think you would be writing about those for that game. Does the bagman with the chainsaw equate to the fear savage and violent 3rd world countries trying to take over 1st world ones?
Nuances that others can't understand? Thats an elitist excuse to seem like some people know better of these issues. REMEMBER that in the background of RE series a corporation was responsible for the spread of the virus. Not 3rd world plot trying to take over the other nations.
The fact is that several African nations were or are in constant struggle with militia groups. If RE5 wants to use that as their background its Capcom's choice. I don't see why it should be a big deal.
Dodging Africa because it can be racially sensitive to Americans? Many other countries do not have this distinction of color or race, and RE5 would probably not be an issue in those nations.
For shit's sake...Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Cyberxion!0!
It really seems to me that since racism is so sensitive a subject, people like N'Gai can pretty-much get away with reading far too deeply into things, while the rest of us have to either agree, or sit back and keep our mouth's shut lest we be labeled as racially insensitive. How is that indicative of progress?
Do I agree with him that there's a chance that this video will be interpreted by others the way he chose to interpret it? Of course! That's going to happen without a doubt. However, I don't think that speaks to any failure on Capcom's part to be sensitive as much as it does to the unfortunate fact that some people are far too unwilling to move beyond racism. It's hard to get over it when you let it define everything around you, after all.
Maybe one day when we're all able to look at something like this and see it as nothing more than a videogame, maybe racism won't be as big an issue as it is today. However, I think N'Gai and those who think along the same lines as him are, along with the real racists out there, keeping society in a cultural-deadlock.
And really, I doubt that I'm the only one who's more than a little appalled that N'Gai, choosing to take up the cause of educating his readership on racist imagery based solely upon his personal interpretation of the RE5 trailer, was so dismissive towards people who expressed opinions similar to that of Zipper1149. I somehow don't think it's anything more than self-serving to dismiss other forms of potentially sensitive imagery just because you can't personally relate to it. What's worse about that is that he was dismissive to people who were of the opinion that he was reading too deeply into things, because he didn't seem to think that they could relate to his plight. It's mind-boggling really, and says an awful lot about N'Gai as a person...
@Cyberxion!0!Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Andryan
It's not something you have "to either agree, or sit back and your mouth's shut" with. It's something that should be discussed. Does that fact that no one spoke up about RE4/CoD4/etc make it okay not to talk about this? I don't think so. Maybe it means those are things we should GO BACK to and talk about.
Racism isn't something that you can merely "get over", seeing as how its effects are still very prevalent in todays societies.
Maybe we should all get beyond whether or not N'gai is right or wrong in calling out the trailer on racism, calling out CAPCOM on being racist, and so on, and maybe just discuss the issue at hand. Racism in games, in the real world, whatever.
Subscription Cancelling BastardsPosted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by section1031
As stated previously, this should not have been a blog, but an article. I subscribe(d) to GFW and GFW radio on itunes for both thought provoking articles and for the waja (how do you spell it?) alike. While I am not sure if I agree with N'Gai (and it sounds like Shawn is unsure if he agrees either), I understand his concerns and think that this sort of discussion belongs at the forefront of the enthusiast press. N'Gai's job is to be thought provoking and engaging, and between the interview linked to this article and his article on Ubisoft's blacklisting of 1up, he has proven that is exactly what he is capable of without resorting to unreasonable or incindiary statements or positions. Even if I don't agree with his statement, there is legitimacy to his concern. Finally, Elliot's calling attention to this has sparked some of the more well thought out responses I have seen on a message board in recent memory and sparked me to my first post on 1up after years visiting the site.
"A game based around light and darkness."Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by trumpster
There are inherent philosophical implications to Resident Evil 5. The theme here is "light" and "darkness" -- if handled correctly, Capcom could
make a masterpiece that transcends the genre. This is
definitely one of those games that needs to be played
to understand the context of the storyline. Perhaps
racism will be addressed in the game in a mature way.
This is a hot button issue at this time,
from political situations in Rwanda and the
United Nations handling of it, to the Obama campaign.
I would like these questions to be addressed. I would
applaud Capcom for creating a game that didn't shy away
from addressing these issues, albeit in a veiled way through the guise of the classic zombie story. Perhaps the
protaganist (was it Chris Redfield?) will undergo a
change of his opinion while in the area, and feel sorry
for these people. Maybe he will question his very
involvement in their plight, as Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire of the Canadian Forces did in Rwanda. Resident
Evil 4 was considered a masterpiece and Capcom may
just be upping their game a bit and taking on a big
issue. We will have to wait to pass judgement, but
there is the potential there for an evolution of video
game narrative that can be taken seriously.
Are you fucking serious?Posted: Apr 14, 2008 12:00AM PST by Tylahedras
"However, I understand that it is not the Newsweek writer's obligation to provide crash courses in black history for an American audience that ought to know better."
Oh so we're required to be informed of the treatment of blacks in this country prior to our life times? But we're NOT required to be anything other then knee jerk reactionaries who see black people getting shot and screaming racism?
So now you're telling me that Capcom needs to be concerned with the uninformed stupidity of people who view trailers knowing nothing. But we should see racist imagery and "know better."
Double standard much?
Croal only made a mistake, you supported it, you're ten times worse then he is.
You're all a bunch of racistsPosted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by el_dopa
I don't believe N'Gai ever called the trailer racist. He simply said that the imagery in the trailer is irresponsible. And you're free to dismiss that, but I think he's right. There are a few moments in the trailer where uninfected villagers are portrayed as very threatening, suggesting that there is less of a difference between these people and the zombies they will eventually become than we previously thought.
To invoke the image of "the dangerous black man" is never something anyone should do lightly. If we find there was no substance behind Capcom's decision to have done so, I will be sorely disappointed. I'm just saying, I'll probably end up disappointed.
Listen up, black people!Posted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by whalleywhat
I have a keyboard, an internet connection and a completely uniformed opinion! You should quit whining and shut up!! I am only able to think about any issue in absolutes! Blacks and whites, so to speak! Therefore, I am only able to judge anything to be either the best evar or completely terrible!! As you can see, I am well equipped to engage in a discussion about the power of racial imagery and how it relates to our history and our present! Now you can understand how somebody reacting to strong imagery in a game trailer and expressing concern over it is infuriating to me!! RE5 could be the best game evar, but now it might be banned by (secret Muslim) Barack Obama! How dare anyone express concern about their race being depicted as bloodthirsty savages! There is no reason to inform myself about things that happened before I was born!! I am a complete and total waste of oxygen!!!!
Context and ImageryPosted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by Tiler
I think that Shawn hits this right on the head: it all depends on what context you take the trailer in. By being a video game and from the Resident Evil series, this game has two contexts that it should be viewed by.
First, the nature of video games with enemies is that those enemies must be otherized. Sometimes this is easy. In World War II games Nazis are easy to otherize because they are historically viewed as evil and therefore otherized. Aliens are also easy to otherize because they are not human. However, when other groups have been historically otherized, such as blacks or Jews, but those ideas have changed, when a developer attempts to otherize them for a game, it may appear as though they are drawing on this historic otherization as opposed to the nature of game enemies as a whole.
The second context is the imagery in Resident Evil games. N'Gai notes that the imagery is not the same. However, if you dig up the Resident Evil 4 trailer you will see many similarities. The one that most people point out is the mob of zombified villagers. This is somewhat superficial. N'Gai criticizes a few areas. He notes that there is no talking in the trailer for 5. In 4, there is at most one or two lines. They are also in a foreign language, further otherizing the enemies. He also notes that the villagers are often portrayed in the shadows, not showing their faces. The trailer for 4 features the fight that occurs at night in the village where you cannot see the faces of the villagers. It also features an enemy, Dr. Salvador, who is designed with a burlap sack over his face. You can also see in the trailer for 4 the scene where Leon looks into the village, only to see fairly peaceful villagers going about their business. It cuts out the part right after that where Leon sees the body of a police officer burning on a stake. N'Gai also points out the music used in the trailer. Think back to the first scene in Resident Evil 4 and you will remember the distinctively Spanish music playing in the background.
Bottom line is this, when taken in the context of being a video game from the Resident Evil series, the trailer is similar to the last trailer of the series. However, there is still the issue of historical context. Shawn again makes a good point. The only place where the developers could even hope to tackle the issue is in game. Therefore, we have to wait to see what will truly come of this. But, Shawn does not answer N'Gai's overall charge. N'Gai notes that because this historical context is not acknowledged in the trailer, or taken into account, it irresponsible for Capcom to release it.
In the end, I think it was fine for them to release it. When taken in context the trailer is as fine as others in the series. I hope that they do work on adding the historical context to the game, but for the trailer it would have been impossible to add it.
Great post Shawn.Posted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by Falen
I think it hits the nail on the end for whats going on. N'Gai doesnt say that the game itself is racist or should be banned, he is just concerned about the selected footage that Capcom decided to release. There is no racial or historical issue that is simple and clear cut, its all messy. N'Gai is just pointing out how a trailer like that will be absolutely horrifying to anyone sensitive to these issues that is not familiar with the general resident evil mythos.
Its not the same as with RE5, the spanish are of a hispanic ethnicity, but their history is not one of slavery and degredation. Spain was a world power, Africa was and is the toilet the western world shits on. N'Gai's worry is the game is tapping into the very real horror and inhumanity that went on for centuries as a part of the thrills of the game. He doesnt say that that should never be done but that it would take great care to do and that care is not evident in the trailer.
I agree with shawnPosted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by sunderland
Also, howcome nobody gave a fuck about all those games set in a war-torn middle eastern countries where all of the people you shot clearly had a thick accents? That region has a history and weight to it too, but it's funny how when it involves black people, everyone's suddenly using the word "racism".
Some people would probably argue that such middle-eastern countries do exist, and hence all those games can be seen as a representation of reality. Those people should also remember that there are many african countries that are still ravaged by civil wars in which people still kill each other with machetes and knives.
I'm between you and N'Gai I think, maybe leaning towards CroalPosted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by WreckTheLaw
Hey Shawn, just wanted to thank you for putting it up on the front page. It's a good read, and it's good to add to a growing amount of discourse on this subject.
Context vs PerceptionPosted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by Looshifer
Anyone, be they hypersensitive or not, can look at a single screen shot of RE5 and label it racist. "White man shoots gun at black crowd" is never going to look good, regardless of whatever context in which it is set.
"But they're zombies!" Doesn't matter. People are still going to freak out because not everyone is going to play the game and experience the explanation. The uninformed are only going to see a white man shooting black people, and that is enough. I see this becoming another rallying point for anti-video game sentiment. One only need look at the recent Mass Effect "seXBOX" scandal to see how little information the media needs to pounce. Hopefully, they will come in just as uninformed and the topic will be as easily dismissed.
Capcom could insulate themselves from potential problems by putting other races and creatures into the game, which could happen given the variety of enemy types typically found in RE games. Capcom has, at this point, shown very little of the game. I expect to see some monsters/supernatural-looking creatures in the future, which will help to defuse the argument... a little. After all, there is still a white man with his gun pointed at black people.
@ AndryanPosted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by Cyberxion!0!
Yeah Andryan, I totally suck at establishing context, so maybe it didn't come through that what I said there was in relation to this particular topic.
I don't actually sit around discussing racism with people around me be they white or black, and I rather think it's because race doesn't define us more than anything else. It doesn't, as N'Gai implies, mean that we're ignorant or insensitive to racism, but again, it simply means that we don't let the sins of a past that we were never part of define us.
Which isn't to say that racism doesn't exist, but that I wholly believe that when we stop treating the matter of race with as much importance as we do and start being a single people, we'll all be better off for it.
Unfortunately that's a theory that I'll likely never live to see bear fruit, because hey, the very idea of racism is kept alive in part by people like N'Gai Croal, who think that it's perfectly reasonable to see it everywhere you look, even if it means that you have to ignore context and abandon common sense in the process.
I will grant you that real racism calls for a dialog, but I'm not of the mind that it's healthy to use it as an excuse to justify allowing people to go on seeing it wherever they think that they see it, even it's a matter of personal interpretation. How can anybody see that as being anything but damaging to progress? I think it's telling of us as a society that racism is still such a sensitive issue that it's almost a sin to suggest that assigning racist overtones to everything around us does nothing more than help perpetuate racism, but I feel that it's the truth just the same. You can't get beyond something if it defines your very existence, can you? I think we're seeing the answer in action right now.
At any rate, what I meant in my last post was that due to N'Gai's dismissal of pretty-much everyone else's opinions, it seemed like we were being asked to either accept his viewpoint or can it. People brought up RE4, he shot it down because he couldn't relate. Then, rather ironically, he went on to express real confusion that some people didn't share his viewpoints. I can't be the only one who finds that state of mind a little alarming. What's with his almost slavish desire to perpetuate the ideals of racism? @_@
@ Cyberxion!0!Posted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by Andryan
I'm fairly bad at elaborating my ideas on the internet, so I'll keep this as limited as possible. Your latest post makes what you think much easier to understand, and placed in that context it makes much more sense to me. Actually, this is the sort of discussion I was hoping to see come from this. I'm going to think for a while before I respond in full.
PerhapsPosted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by shyguysamurai
I respect both Shawn and N'Gai. They're two of (IMO) the most interesting and thought provoking guys in the game.
I think we all may be jumping the gun calling anything racist or standing up for a game saying it's not racist. To my knowlage no one in the media has played the game at all yet. Maybe the context of the story will set everything right... or maybe it'll prove the game to be truely racist. Who knows?
I'll wait to pass judgement until I hear some first-hand accounts and impressions.
This is the most interest topic to come up in a whilePosted: Apr 15, 2008 12:00AM PST by Z06SRT10
It's nice that it's not only N'Gai who's brought this up. Nicely written, Shawn.
In response to LooShifer's post:
I don't think this will get the same treatment as Mass Effect did because the same type of uppity white people that throw a fit about their children being exposed to sex don't give a damn about black people being executed by a white cop in Africa, because to them, in their comfy white bubble, racism is a thing of the past. No, it's not the mainstream media that's going to get a hold of this, but Al Sharpton is just the type of guy that, for better or worse, would tear this story apart.
At least somebody gets itPosted: Apr 16, 2008 12:00AM PST by Vanderhoef
Thanks, Shawn. I tried to support N'Gai when Kotaku posted a link to his blog and - even though I generally think Kotaku users are intelligent - they simply missed his point. Some even resorted to cheap insults. Anyway, I appreciate your comments.
Hypersensitive FTLPosted: Apr 16, 2008 12:00AM PST by dozerking
Ngai is over analyzing big time and far to GD sensitve. It's a trailer with African's or some country with black people, no need to read any further into it. If people are racist, this game isn't going to change anyone or bring out the worse in people, unless the story attempts to tackle tough issues, which I doubt. While race is always a difficult thing to talk about in public, from what we know, this game tackles nothing about race problems or addressing racial concerns, it's taking place in Africa(or somewhere with black people), that's it. I don't see a real discussion about injustices in the world, just petty hypersensitivity. If Capcom put random people in Africa for instance I think we can all agree it would be wildly ridiculous. It's the setting, they are aiming for a sense of reality in the context of the setting, deal with it. I don't see anyone promoting other races over others or demeaning certain races, or any reason to suggest any of this is racist in any way. There are stereotypes everywhere in video games, and since this is in a black country, there are going to be black people there, duh? Maybe we ought to discourage games about Africa and others and stick to killing white people in Europe, can't get certain people all worked up into a frenzy now.
Hello Folks...Posted: Apr 16, 2008 12:00AM PST by jswanson
Is everyone forgetting where this game is coming from? This is a JAPANESE game. They have no reason to see killing black zombies as being worse than killing hispanic or white zombies. Croal says 'It's obvious no black person worked on this game'
No shit. It's Japanese. Are we supposed to expect them to dictate their art and narratives according to American PC attitudes?
Obviously this game wouldn't get made in America. However it looks like they still plan on releasing it here, the fan-base of the series ensures that.
I don't have a PS3 or 360, but I'm seriously tempted to buy this game simply because it flies in the face of Political Correctness and challenges free speech.
Wow, I apologizePosted: Apr 17, 2008 12:00AM PST by medicinehead
I didn't realize that line breaks weren't automatically inserted in a post. If it's possible, could you please delete my previous post? It looks horrible as one paragraph.
Here is how I intended it to be formatted (I hope - and if not, I give up):
Shawn, I've read your post here and listened to some of what you've said on GFW Radio, and my one question to you has still not been answered: "What's the Point?" Aside from stirring up that which really isn't there, or worse, pointlessly philosophizing for the sake of philosophizing, I still don't quite know what the point of this entire debacle is.
You mentioned in the audio of the latest GFW Radio podcast that posts here aren't conversational, because you don't know who the readers are. I'll give you some of my background to help you, so that you'll understand from where I draw my feelings. I'm a 25 year-old white male who still lives with his parents, doesn't have a great job, and lives in a suburb. I'm a Bible-Thumping, right-wing conservative. So now you know who I am.
When I watched the video, I found that the things you were mentioning did, in some way, stir in me. But not because it was a race issue, but rather that it was presented in a menacing way. Yes, all those people could become zombies, but not because they were finally allowing that which was hidden to be shown, as you mentioned. Rather, it was because they were shown in a menacing fashion *in a zombie game*. Anyone, no matter the race or geological location, would evoke the same feelings from me if they were presented in a menacing fashion in a zombie game.
You also said that using locations that have been shown in the media as "hotspots" is a bad idea, as it gives everyone an almost subliminal message that those areas are dangerous because of the race seen most often in that area. I don't think, unless you have your "race glasses" on, that you'd get that impression. Yes, I did get the nervous feeling you mentioned in the podcast, but it was a zombie-infested area, after all. Sure, it could very well be that the feelings were also due to instances such as those recalled in Black Hawk Down, but are you claiming those instances didn't - and don't continue to - exist? Why are you so quick to assign the hostility in those areas on the condition of one's skin color, and not something else, like political or religious reasons? Additionally - and this may cause a stir - how does a stereotype begin to exist, if not for those conditions being met most often?
You say that those who discount your claims based on the lack of reaction on other Resident Evil titles are missing your point, but I really don't think they are (I don't quite know what your point is, but I'll touch on that later). The lack of protest from previous Resident Evils was precisely because they, as well as Resident Evil 5, aren't racist. You, like many other white people, get this idea that whenever black people are shown in a negative light, it's done for racist reasons. White people do bad things, and perhaps shockingly, so do black people. Just because they're black doesn't mean they can't do things wrong, nor does it mean that those of other races should shy away from mentioning those wrong things. We felt no qualms blasting away all sorts of non-black races offered in the game, because they were zombies. But now, because we show black people as zombies, we're racist?
I know, you're concerned that showing black non-infected people rioting in an African village would evoke negative feelings about black people. I think you're way off-base. What would *you* do if you were to find out half the people of a village were zombies? Sit quietly? Not me, no way! I'd grab whatever weapon I could find and high-tail it out of there! But what if I couldn't escape the village because I'd die of starvation or thirst in the desert? Well, then I, along with all the other people who weren't infected and were willing to fight, would gather in one place and do exactly what was shown in the video.
You're taking this video entirely the wrong way. You're not looking at it with a clear head, but instead trying to put any racially charged bent on it that you can. It's not that you're doing it on purpose, but that you've been trained in your life to think that way, and therefore you perceive the video in a skewed fashion.
Perhaps this will make my entire post moot in your eyes, but I'll close with my view of the events. As I mentioned before, I'm a Christian (to put it simply). I know of many others who believe what I do being persecuted for their beliefs in areas very similar to those depicted in the trailer. When I watched the video, my feelings were of a stranger in a land, based on the stories I've read of Christians feeling much the same feeling when in similar locations. I did see the underlying hostility, because I believe that, without Christ, all people have that potential (however, as I believe anyone has the ability to accept Jesus as their savior, I don't therefore think those people are doomed). But none of that has to do with race. It all has to do with faith. Wars have been fought on faith. The current problems in Iraq and the surrounding areas are heavily based on faith, not race.
Therefore, it is my opinion that those who believe this video is based on race are doing so because they've been fed the idea that minorities can't be as "bad" as the majority. White and black people - all races, actually - can be equally bad, and I feel it is a worse thing to try to prevent the bad from being shown simply because of a skin color.
I understand the context, but still don't agreePosted: Apr 17, 2008 12:00AM PST by MSUStud911
I've read all of the pertinent blogs and watched the trailer and I have to disagree with Croal's take on this, at least with regard to Redfield's walking through the village prior to the zombie attack. He seemed to think Redfield existed apart from the black villagers and that the villagers themselves were threatening, with the implication that they were threatening because they were black.
Frankly, to my eyes, the trailer was blocked out using horror techniques to make it omnious, not filled with black people to make it ominous. I didn't perceive that the race of the village inhabitants had anything to do with the tone being set. Perhaps the villagers themselves are somehow complicit in the zombification, lending to the ominous look from the shadows of that one particular shirtless villager. Who knows?
I was reminded more of the imagery from Exorcist: The Beginning (the Renny Harlin version) than I was of any racial stereotypes. I'm open to the possibility that I'm simply not able to perceive the racist implications because I'm white and not a racist, but in my own mind I see the trailer as relying on horror conventions only and nothing more.
Difficulty of social commentary in gamingPosted: Apr 17, 2008 12:00AM PST by mummifiedstalin
I'm most interested in Shawn's idea at the end that games can't yet create thorough contexts for social realism yet. I'm definitely with him on the idea that the best games are the ones that add some thought to your fun and make fun thought. (He went into this more on the podcast.) But I do see some limits to how complex they can really get (at least at this point) to making those social complexities be the point of the game. (And I don?t think he was saying that had to, but that they need to be aware of and ready to answer for the choices they make, which I completely agree with.)
For me, games have never been just escapism. They're intellectual fun. Even FPS's are logical puzzles since it's about coming up with the most efficient way to out-think and out-move your opponent. At the core, the fun is always in the ability to figure something out, so it's intellectual to begin with. Adding social/cultural/political/moral levels to that just makes it more interesting.
The difficulty, though, is how to do that well in a game. Usually, when it's come up in the past, it's in the story. And that's fine, but that doesn't seem like something unique to gaming. But I've never seen a solid example of how to make "complex issues" become the real point of the game itself. For example, a lot of games of course try to put a morality edge to their games where your choices affect the outcomes, etc. But that usually gets flattened into either a good/evil binary or some kind of artificial system of rewards like the Ultima games had. This completely loses any real complexity since real morality and politics aren't just stats with two options.
So I like it best when games, like Bioshock or Portal or even some of the later Final Fantasies try to incorporate a larger scope to make the player really think about what they're doing. But it never seems like the "higher" issues can be the point...at least not yet. And I think part of that's because, being games, there has to be a set of predetermined goals and rewards with skills to master. The kind of reflection Shawn's talking about is look at a context from a number of angles and see how many angles could be right at once. What would a game like that look like? Would it have to be a game that doesn't really have a fixed endpoint? A true and pure sandbox? I'm just not sure (or maybe I'm not thinking of the right examples).
That's not to say that there haven?t been plenty of good games that are set in an interesting context. In fact, I taught a course comparing ancient and modern fantasy/sf last year where a bunch of my students ended up presenting on the complex moral and cultural contexts of a bunch of games. Some of the examples:
Ambiguity of good and evil in Final Fantasy
Politics in WoW (or why Orcs aren't always evil)
MMORPG economics
Psychology of online role play
And some others I can't remember off the top of my head. So even if games haven't quite reached the status of true cultural interventions yet, they're obviously starting to get complex enough to warrant some good reflection. I?m just worried that it might not ever be able to do more than that and might, at best, just be a novel/movie where you stop for a bit, mash some buttons and beat up on some monsters before getting back to the author's "grand narrative." And that's cool, but it isn't really using the medium for a unique way to interact with the ideas.
A differently superficial, preliminary reaction.Posted: Apr 18, 2008 12:00AM PST by whyspecialize
I'm sadly without a forum of my own to try to sound smart about this, and maybe this thread is dead, but anyway:
The trailer totally worked on me, and had me excited about the game, and after reading N'Gai & other folks' reactions to it, my feeling changed to a slightly more uncomfortable one, although not exactly the same "American history makes this problematic" reaction-- although I do see that, it wasn't the first thing to come to my mind, and perhaps something limited about my perspective makes it hard for me to see it immediately through the lens of race in America. Maybe because the art is so Japanese, even when it's depicting white American people.
To me it's more that, as an attempt to outdo the previous game, Capcom sought a way to add a level of intrigue to RE5. Obviously the setting is intentional. The setting makes you go "oh shit." The fact that the zombies are black is not the calculation, but I think that the zombies are hordes of frustrated masses in an implicitly politically unstable, poor, and dirty place is the calculation that they made, because that dovetails with the nature of the zombie menace as a horror archetype: violent, angry, and existing in massive and expanding numbers.
The choice of setting is powerful because how we see zombies and how we see poor uneducated people in the third world have a lot in common.
Somebody commented to me once that the politics of horror movies tend to be implicitly conservative. I agree; zombie movies are about large numbers of people losing their their higher intelligence and living only to satisfy a primal urge. Yeah, it's a hunger for brains, but in movies like 28 Days Later or Dawn of the Dead they draw parallels between the zombies and people crazed by sex.
So, we know nothing about RE5 and how exactly it treats its different subjects, but clearly I'm the type to see stories as political from the beginning, and I'm optimistic that if only in the interests of telling a good story they'll contrast life before T-Virus with life after and they'll have survivor characters to humanize the not-quite-post-colonial-enough treatment of Africa and Africans.
I don't think having a black protagonist would hurt, although it would be at this point a really transparent reaction to criticism.
Reminds me of...Posted: Apr 19, 2008 12:00AM PST by nostyle118
... that South Park episode where Chef was complaining about the South Park town flag.
The flip side of course...Posted: Apr 20, 2008 12:00AM PST by Dash27
is that by bringing this sort of thing up you're going to get blowback from people like me who are just tired of the perceived racism everywhere. N'Gai comments:
"What was not funny, but sort of interesting, was that there were so many gamers who could not at all see it. Like literally couldn?t see it. So how could you have a conversation with people who don?t understand what you?re talking about and think that you?re sort of seeing race where nothing exists?"
Isn't that the goal? Not to see it in terms of race? For someone like me, my generation, my environment, my thoughts on race... the goal is to not see color of skin any different than hair color or any other superficial.
"We're all equal" or so I'm told, but we're not. This and that and the other group needs special treatment because of historical events that not only did I personally have anything to do with, but neither did any of my ancestors who came over to the US from Europe as poor immigrants in the 40's.
Perceived slights like this also imply a villain. And guess who the villain is? Majorities. Here it's white males. Hi.
Guess why you get this kind of defensive reaction?
It's sad that people see these slights, sad because it's got precedent and there are certainly reasons for it even now. But there is also a flip side to it that nobody gives a damn about. The generalizations about minorities get reversed to be seen as a generalized prejudice about the majority. I'm apparently handed everything and have it easy and should be more sympathetic. Or something.
Shooting zombies that happen to be black? You can talk about it all you want but I'm not feeling it.
the ironic thing is...Posted: Apr 20, 2008 12:00AM PST by nostyle118
...that based on the comments made here most people didn't even notice that the zombies were of a certain race until reading the article.
LamePosted: Apr 20, 2008 12:00AM PST by Gammit10
Sometimes a game is just a game. We don't need to get hopped up on meta-meanings and perceived social-political underpinnings, when we can easily just say "hey, a new location for Resident Evil, cool!"
I personally don't care what color the people are (including the protagonist).
Blah Blah Blah...Posted: Apr 21, 2008 12:00AM PST by Godheval
I think this whole post would've carried more weight if you'd spent as much time getting to the point as dancing around it with verbosity. After reading it, I'm not even sure I got your point. But there is one point you, N'Gai, and most people seem to be missing.
That we even have to separate these dark-skinned zomboids from their paler-skinned counterparts in earlier RE games is itself representative of an inherently and institutionally racist mindset. Does the appearance of dark-skinned men acting like zombies have to infer anything more than what we see, that they are simply dark-skinned men acting like zombies?
The real problem lies not with Resident Evil 5, but with the entire gaming industry, in failing to represent non-whites in any significant capacity. Token appearances, stereotypes, and cannon-fodder abound, all without demonstrating the true diversity that exists across the human spectrum. If this had been achieved, then the appearance of these "black zombies" would not have the same - if ANY - impact.
Resident Evil 5 can actually help to fix this misrepresentation by including not merely a disposable "black" NPC - which himself would be just a token - but to make a significant secondary character (ideally a playable one) who is from the same region as the zombies, and who perhaps has a personal stake in saving people rather than killing them.
That's probably asking too much, though.
Thanks for the commentaryPosted: Apr 23, 2008 12:00AM PST by reefinyateef
I rarely post to 1up but I have to say, this post and your accompanying talk on the podcast was pretty amazing. This was the only discussion of race on a video game (or even tecch related) podcast where I didn't feel talked down to. As a Black tech geek, I often feel that way when race is dicussed, even from some of the podcasts I love such as Leo Laporte and the TWiT crew. You brought up issues, and you and Jeff were able to discuss them intelligently and recognizing of bias. Congrats for a great article.


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A primary role of Information Technology (IT) organizations is to protect, preserve and serve information in support of business functions. The role of data storage is to protect, preserve and serve the needs of IT and various applications that transform data into use for information when needed. In this Server Storage I/O fundamentals webinar we will look at the current state of technology, tools, trends along with techniques as well as what is emerging from cloud, virtual, software defined as well as hardware defined capabilities. In addition, with a sub-theme of head in the clouds, feet on the ground, we will also look at what to use when, where, why and how as well as what matters for different scenarios.
Key themes:
•Software defined, virtual, cloud and physical or legacy environments
•Networking with your servers and storage (LAN, SAN, WAN, DAS, Block, File, Object)
•What to know about NVMe and emerging flash SSD technologies
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•Bulk storage including object, archive, big data, data ponds, data pools and data lakes
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Client/server software like Subversion can be a black box to administrators, making it hard to identify the root cause of performance problems. In this session, we'll outline common issues and provide step-by-step instructions to help you find and eliminate bottlenecks quickly.
• Understanding Subversion's operative model
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Servers need and storage and storage support servers as part of providing information services across different organizations, application and environments. An industry trend is a shift for some environments from separate compute servers and storage I/O networking capabilities to converged environments including cloud and virtual. This webinar looks at various current and emerging industry trends along with perspectives for making informed decisions pertaining to virtual servers and storage across converged, hyper-converged and traditional deployment scenarios.
Key themes:
•What are your different options for supporting various types of server virtualization
•Industry trends including various hypervisors as well as containers
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•Who's doing what as well as decision making criteria
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Many people use Ubuntu Server in scale-out environments for web infrastructure, cloud or big data applications. The sheer scale of these deployments - at companies like Netflix, Mercado Libre and Instagram - has many people now referring to 'hyperscale computing'. Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS contains new technologies to help the rapid deployment and management of web services in distributed environments, so you can scale your infrastructure without scaling cost. Join Matthew Revell and Mark Baker from the Ubuntu Server team to learn about these new technologies and how they can help you benefit from the same infrastructure as the world's leading web scale companies.Read more >
There's no doubt that new technologies like cloud and big data are having a dramatic effect on the speed with which organisations can respond to changing market conditions. However, to to take advantage of these new technologies, new deployment and provisioning tools are required - tools that are designed for elastic distributed environments. Join Jorge Castro and Mark Baker from the Ubuntu Server team to learn about Juju, the new service orchestration tool in Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS, and how it will help you deliver applications as services on fast and flexible infrastructure.Read more >
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS is a hugely significant release of Ubuntu Server, the most current platform for your compute needs. Not only is it a long-term support (LTS) release, meaning it is supported for five years, but it also includes all the new features we've spent the last two years developing and testing. Join Ubuntu Server Product Manager Mark Baker to hear about some of the new features in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS - and what makes it the perfect platform for cloud and big data deployments.Read more >
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS is a hugely significant release of Ubuntu Server, the most current platform for your compute needs. Not only is it a long-term support (LTS) release, meaning it is supported for five years, but it also includes all the new features we've spent the last two years developing and testing. Join Ubuntu Server Product Manager Mark Baker to hear about some of the new features in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS - and what makes it the perfect platform for cloud and big data deployments.Read more >
First aired Nov. 21,2013. Now, more than ever, business requirements are demanding 99.999% system availability. Anything less impacts the company's credibility and revenue. Join HOSTING and XTIVIA, in an engaging presentation on the nuances of architecting and deploying a highly available, world-class MS SQL Server solution. XTIVIA's Senior SQL Server Consultant and Microsoft SQL Server MVP, Chris Shaw, will bridge the gap between business requirements and technology solutions.Read more >
How can you make informed decisions without timely insight and awareness into how resources are being used or performing? Without insight and awareness into your server and storage I/O environment, you are flying blind. This webinar looks at the various issues as well as associated tools, techniques, technologies and metrics for gaining insight into your server and storage environment including storage I/O. As part of this discussion, we will also look at metrics that matter, baseline to compare what is normal vs. abnormal along with for planning and forecasting.
Key themes:
•Metrics that matter are those that are relevant and have context
•Where to get metrics, measurements, insight and awareness
•Where to look for server and storage I/O bottlenecks, problems and opportunities
•Design for management and resiliency as well as metrics to measure
•Gaining insight and awareness to monitor how your information factory and its networks are performing
Representatives from a range of established KMIP Key Management server vendors answer questions from the moderators and from the audience on various aspects of encryption, standardized key management via KMIP and some of the deployment issues and opportunities brought about through enterprise key management.Read more >
Join Petri IT Knowledgebase Contributing Editor Russell Smith as he discusses what IT professionals need to know about Windows Server 2003 End of Support, which arrives on July 14th, 2015. Learn about Server 2003 to Server 2012 migration tips, including how to manage Active Directory, virtual machines, and other infrastructure during the transition. In this webinar you will learn:
-Windows Server 2003 End of Support (July 2015) is approaching fast.
-What the specific details of Windows Server 2003 End of Support are.
-How to plan out a Windows Server 2003 migration to a newer Server OS.
Ryan Post, an inside systems engineer at Veeam, will demonstrate how Veeam Availability Suite v8 can provide you with peace of mind before, during, and after your migration from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 R2. Ryan will show you how Veeam's solutions can help you with:
-Learning the challenges (and opportunities) with Windows Server 2003 End of Support
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In this webinar we will be leveraging XtremIO arrays located in Microsoft Technology Centers to conduct a series of demos with SQL Server.Read more >
Migration is a process. We have in-depth methodologies, resources, offers and tools to help you move from Oracle to SQL Server quickly and painlessly. Learn 5 steps to migrate from Oracle and unlock value from your data using the cutting edge capabilities of SQL Server.
Join this session to learn about the 5 steps in migration:
•Assess your current data systems
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From Microsoft's SQL Server® 2005 to the latest SQL Server 2016, there are many generations of the platform which are being used in production environments. If you are evaluating whether or not to migrate your current platforms or are architecting a brand-new infrastructure for later generations, this webinar is for you!
In this webinar, Lee Howard, Sr. Solutions Engineer for SanDisk®, will discuss the importance of understanding the current demands of your SQL Server environment and how to leverage enterprise tools like SQLIO, IOMETER, SQLIOSim, and DPACK to measure:
- Memory Utilization
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Lee will also share 3 key performance symptoms flash can treat – all backed up by quantifiable data. By pinpointing where the main performance bottlenecks lie, you can ensure you're building a better SQL Server architecture to obtain the greatest performance gains and best ROI.
This is your time to build it better…with a little help from flash storage.

subset: commoncrawl


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