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The embargo on Capcom's recent press event lifts today, so you'll be seeing all sorts of Resident Evil 5 info popping up. Last night at midnight, Gametrailers posted the most recent trailer. Capcom took some heat for their last trailer, which featured potentially uncomfortable imagery of a white man facing an angry black mob. Based on the latest trailer, it seems they couldn't care less.
"There's no reason here," the lead character says over images of Africans. "No humanity." Now he's probably talking about the outbreak of infection that substituted for good old fashioned zombies in the last Resident Evil. But it's a really poor juxtaposition of words and images. Add in shots of a body strung up on a pole, a black man brutally clubbing a victim, and someone slashing into a crowd with a machete, followed by the proclamation, "Welcome to Africa".
It doesn't help that when the female sidekick shows up at the end, our alabaster hero explains to her that he's okay working with a woman. "My last partner was a woman," he reassures her. Thankfully, the trailer ends before he can explain that some of his best friends are black.
Don't get me wrong. No one who knows games in general, and the Resident Evils in specific, is going to ascribe racism or malice to Capcom. Their only sin is being utterly tone deaf, which has long been a feature of the Resident Evil games with their tortured dialogue and incomprehensible non-plots. And I'm absolutely looking forward to playing Resident Evil 5, which looks like it will take the genre of walking backwards and shooting at zombies to the next level.
But I've long thought games should tackle thorny social and political issues. Movies, television shows, and songs do. Iraq and the Balkans have made recent cameos in gaming. Why not Chechnya and Myanmar? Why not Africa? Imagine a provocative game about brutality, set in Africa, featuring uncomfortable imagery that evokes Rwanda, drawing on themes of horror and violence. Unfortunately, one of the least appropriate places for this would be the tin-eared and absurdly earnest Resident Evil series.
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Frakjack
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By smr at 7:03 PM ON 06/02/08
While I find the Resident Evil series of games to be the further thing away from what I want to play, I must give you guys props for the Billie Holiday reference in the post title.
By GyRo at 4:42 PM ON 06/03/08
The sad part isn't that Capcom looks foolish here; it's that other developers who might be thinking about tackling a tricky subject could be scared away if this turns into major controversy.
By Jdogg247 at 12:58 PM ON 06/06/08
You too are fucking stupid the Resident Evil series is fucking great and i do admit they are stretching the series out but i gaurentee this will be just as good.
By notzaar at 3:17 PM ON 06/17/08
Capcom is doing the right thing. They are completely ignoring the moronic cries of "racism" and not flipping. Obviously they don't consider their game racist and aren't going to fuel the stupid accusations by addressing them and looking like they are trying to backpedal.
By Al at 3:22 PM ON 09/07/08
It's always interesting to me how something as unreal as fighting off zombie attacks can be twisted into a controversy. This game takes place in Africa. The last one had Spanish speaking zombies. RE2 had both civillian and police to mow down if you so choose (and don't mind losing precious ammo). I play these games with the mindset that I am a part of an interactive horror/thriller flick and nothing more. If anyone tries to look at these games as reality, obviously they've never been nor ever will be a gamer.