It also doesn't help that Japan, let alone most of the East Asian countries, have a very skewed perception on black people. The whole region is pretty xenophobic, but black people are treated almost as poorly as they were in the U.S. back in the 50s and 60s.
I find it so weird how so many Japanese characters appear so Caucasian when the Japanese are known for being very proud of their own culture and identity. I wish there were more Japanese characters in Japanese games. There's more than enough Caucasians.
I believe the issue here is more complicated, way before the industry were dominated by "evil white men", videogame characters were...yes, white. This is not about money, this is about how people (or consumers If you like) "relate" to these v.g/comics/movie icons. I believe the best example on this issue was Predator 2, a black guy as the main hero,2 latinos and a not so bright american, what happened?, nobody liked the movie, why?, the majority, couldn`t really "relate" with those characters...
@gomezgomas I disagree. Predator 2 is so underrated because people assumed it was a quick cheap sequel since Ahhnold wasn't in it. Plus the "cop movie meets alien" formula didn't have as much broad appeal as the "Rambo meets alien" premise of the original.
It would have been better if they did a straight adaptation of Dark Horse's mini-series Concrete Jungle as that was more tied to the original film (protagonist was Arnold's brother) while still an 80s style cops vs. alien story.
I love Capcom but we are in the 21st century and as a large global Video game developer they should have been aware of these implications. But then again maybe they were which was why they threatened to blacklist any journalist who mentioned these in previews of the game. Sorry my comments are so long it it was the only way I felt I could put my points across. Since most commenters don't seem to be aware about why Moviebob pointed out Shevas costume and the grass skirt Zombies
@X23Ninja you know, there was a background story for those grass skirt zombies, It wasn`t "free", maybe sheeva`s costume was, but so is almost every bonus costume on ANY videogame.
This guy is intelligent, knows how to talk about these issues, has suggestions to fix them, know his history, is passionate about the topic, is (sometimes brutally) honest, but right. Why is there no one like him in politics?
What about Black Panther? He wears a costume and is from Nigeri-uhh...... A country in Africa. They didn't use a real country but they made an elaborate history for the one they made up, which is why I can't remember it.
Great vid dude, however, while many of us want greater diversity in all entertainment mediums, the fact is, your not gonna get that diversity wholeheartedly if the people making the decisions to bring in diversity aren't diverse themselves.
You may consider others but your always gonna feed your own children first.
I couldn't take more than 2 minutes of this bullshit.
Tribes like those exist in Africa, Sheva's provocative costume is nothing new in the gaming community. All it does is refers to the earlier level, like a tribute.
Those that cry out racism just because it involves a white man killing zombies who were black should get over themselves.
@clawbytes Wow the good ole "they exist in Africa" comments. The majority of the countries in Africa don't even have this made up "tribalism" out of the asses of western nations. What makes them "tribal"? What makes Americans not tribal?
@Akumatrunigga Even you admitted they exist. Don't try to convince people it's racist to portray an African tribe. As for the definition, I'm sure you can google it yourself. Yes, it's a TRIBE. Africa has TRIBES. umad?
@clawbytes NO clawbytes tribes like that do NOT exist in Africa.Open up a book or watch a documentary on African tribes and you would not find a single African tribe woman that actually dresses the way Capcom dressed Sheva. Find me a picture of an African tribal women who dresses in a leopard skin bikini with a necklace made of bones if you want your point proven. Maybe one wearing war paint or even a necklace made of bones but NEVER in the ignorant combination Capcom has given Sheva
@gunninlinguist You seem to be bothered enough reply to my comment so maybe we both need to re-evaluate our priorities.Admitting you couldn't even complete a useless trivial challenge you found in a youtube forum doesn't exactly go in you favour either.And who are you to say quote - Most action heroes aren't white these days.You obviously sifted through 100s of thousands of action hero characters in order to come to that conclusion. Which is sort of admirable I guess...in a retarded kind of way.
...there aren't 100's of thousands of FILM Action hero characters to sift through and yeah they're mostly non white. Hows your games character research going. I want a thorough statistical analysis of the proportion of characters representing particular ethnicities and their disparity with real world demographics. Hop to it now, chop chop...
@gunninlinguist Okay maybe saying that there are 100s of thousand of FILM Action hero characters was an over exaggeration. But I got the 100s of thousands of heroes bit from YOUR earlier comment. So I could say exactly same thing to you. I honestly don't know where you got this delusional idea that most action heros those days are non white but I greatly disagree with you on that one and so would many other people.
@gunninlinguist If you said that their was a better racial diverty of action heroes these days then I could understand but that most action heroes are non white?What are you smoking? Will smith does not count as most action heroes. Besides I don't have to do any research all I have to do is type Action heroes into Google images close my eye and randomly point to a picture and I would honestly bet money that 80%of the time the action hero would be white. Go a head try it will only take 5 minutes!
@X23Ninja I think it is artistic licensce being excercised. No one complains about Red Sonja wearing a Chain Mail bikini, despite the fact that 1. Women rarely participated in Dark Age/Bronze Age combat and 2. Armor of that nature is both silly and historically inacurate. I also had no problems locating pictures of african tribes in traditional clothing, both for cerimonial purposes and as a normal way of life.
@saintjst7 I understand you viewpoint but most people don’t understand or don’t know exactly WHY some people are up in arms and honking racism about things such as Sheva’s costume or Zombies in grass shirts throwing spears.As Moviebob pointed out the problem is NOT racism but it’s the implication that things such as grass skirts and a necklace made of bones gives about Africa and people of African descent.
@saintjst7 The implication being that Africa (in particular Sub-suburban Africa) is primitive, negatively tribal and has no high culture. These implications DO exist otherwise nowone such as Moviebob would be complaining.
@saintjst7 Now you can argue that some African tribes really do dress in some of these features but it wasn't done in the game with any level of sophistication, beauty and dignity that real African poeple truly put across when they proudly wear their cultural clothing or with anything added to balance these implications out.
@saintjst7 You also mentioned artistic license about Red Sonja wearing a Chain Mail bikini but apart from possible issues about sexually objectifying women, no would really get any negative implications about Dark Age/Bronze Age Europe from the clothing itself that Europe was primitive or backward. Shevas costumes and the grass shirt Zombies close similarities to actual colonial stereotypes portrayed about Africa that were truly ignorantly racist is a another factor as well.
@clawbytes Well saying that African tribes do dress like Sheva was what you were implying in your "I couldn't take more than 2 minutes of this bullshit.Tribes like those exist in Africa" comment. That is is quote I did NOT change a single word. I assume you thought I was replying to your more recent comments but its that comment I was responding to and whether you believe it or not that IS what you were implying. I love Capcom but Capcom just came as ignorant in the way they dressed Sheva.
@X23Ninja I was talking about how rural tribes DO still exist in Africa, NOT the accuracy of Sheva's costume, you stupid ignorant fuck. And next time, don't try to tell me what I'm implying.
@clawbytes People (including myself) often don't realise what information they imply to others its a part of life. Whether you like it or not that is what you implied or I would not of written the comment. Just like how Capcom didn't realise the racial sensitivity of Shevas costume and how it could be intercepted by other people around the world. The gaming community is becoming increasing globalised with a more diverse variety of gamers and developers need to realise this in the 21st century.
@clawbytes By the way, it's all right, you can swear on the Internet, your mum probably isn't going to read it. I know, 'cause she's too busy being fucked by me.
As far as the topic goes gaming is a primarily White/Asian industry whatyagonnado? Do I get offended when Vin Diesel, The Rock, Ving Rhames, Will Smith play the big heroes in movies, or by the many bad stereotypes of Whites in media you could fixate on if you so chose? Anyway Turok Native American Indian, the main character of the best selling game of 04/05,CJ from GTA San Andreas, black. Just off the top of my head...
@gunninlinguist Turok is the exception that proves the rule,can you name just off the top of your head three other best selling games in recent memory or (any memory) with a native American character as the protagonist or in a non stereotypical supporting role? Oh and the main character GTASan Andreas being black whilst I'm not against the idea is not exactly a positive example of a black character in a video game. And I would also ask you the name three high rate games with black leads as well.
Well theres the lead of Prey hes Native Indian. I dunno about blacks...Balrog from Street Fighter? Em guy from Crackdown? Im sure theres loads but really who gives a shit. Whats with this forced multiculturalism anyway. I saw this college that bragged about having forced a demographic that matched the American average. Made we wanna puke. Just let things flow. Whites have tons of negative stereotypes looks at Irish, German, French,Italian,English, American etc. Do we give a shit? No.
@gunninlinguist The fact you couldn't even name 3 native American video game protagonists just proves my point even with the omniscient power of Google. One you did mention you didn't even know the name of proving my point even more. Plus there's the fact you couldn't even name me ONE black video game protagonist(50 cent does NOT count)There isn't yet a video game equivalent of Will Smith i.e a highly successful nonwhite character who does a role that (let face it)typically a white male fills.
Its not that I cant its that I cant be fucked to. You care more about this topic than I do your own homework. 100s of thousands of video game characters in history to sift through. Have fun. And I already said-Crackdown guy, CJ from San Andreas. Why do you care anyway? Are you black? Did you also whinge about Resi 5 and the fact it was set in Africa? Even though noone gave a shit about Resi 4 having Spanish redneck peasants as the main cannon fodder?
One thing you should have mentioned is that not only do games make characters that White Young Straight Males can identify with, but the idea that WYSM CAN'T identify with anyone else. Anyone who isn't a WYSM certainly can (we have to). But you hear over and over that WYSM just 'can't understand' female characters and 'turned off' by gay characters. Maybe those WYSM should pull their heads out of their asses and LEARN to identify with people who aren't catered to their every whim.
The only non white character that seemed to do well to have more then one game was Turok. I loved the first two games. The fact that he was Fist Nation, or as you might say in America American-Indian was cool for me I as first Nation can relate to it. I agree I think there should be more of that sort of think in gaming. The myth in gaming that only white men can be the hero and anyone else is either the enemy or sidekick is disturbing.
ok so am I the only one who knows that in some parts of Africa they've chosen to still live in small self sustaining tribes where they in fact have to kill leopards and other animals for clothing and where animal bones as jewelry because there's not a fucking Tiffany's down the street from them and therefore if a zombie virus had completely taken over Africa that some of the zombies might just have grass skirts and use their hunting weapons to defend themselves?
I guess it's hard for me to NOT sound racist when making discussion of another race. But for the most part, the black character that seems to be the most "interesting" (or at least the one most explored) in games is the ghetto black character. I as a white person understand that this is not the entire face of the black population, and just like us whites, there is wide variety of personality for black people. Which leads to the question of why is the ghetto black character the most interesting?
@SoulConstruct Its most likely because thats all they've gone out to portray black people as. Lack of creativity. Its really on the devs and character designers. But it will begin to change soon enough.
Just like what he said, the industry needs more creativity and diversity. Not the "black" version of an established white characer( Green Lantern). It's 2011, be realistic developers and character designers and start doing some research. Its changing a little bit, but could be wayyyy better giving the inspiration thats accessible to artists. Technology only makes it easier.
@hadephobiac Yeah black characters are not compelling, but neither are white characters. A character should never have race/sex/orientation/or whatever as a defining characteristic otherwise that's all he will ever be.Take John Stewart for example, for a good long while he was the black Green Lantern and nothing else, but when writers decided that he needed to be more they gave him personality, quirks and traits to make him stand out as a character, with his race no longer his defining trait.
@CrimsomS I agree with you completely, except that I'd say they still don't do enough for him in terms of characterization, but it is a step in the right direction.
search on Youtube for the video "are anime characters caucasian or japanese". anime characters are not white, dude. Sailor Moon's name is Tsukino Usagi. She speaks Japanese. She's JAPANESE. She's blonde because a) she's a reincarnation of a goddamn moon goddess or b) she dyed it, like lots of Japanese girls do.
Anime characters are mostly White in features though. Many are explicitly described as being from Western countries aswell. And what about the black characters? Are they Japanese too with a heavy tan lol? Kurasaki Ichigo and Uzamaki Naruto not White? Fuck outta here.
What the hell is everyone talking about? there are 3 principal race in this world and those have their specific features, asians= monolyds, black or light brown hairs, black eyes, big cheekbones, flat face with the little and boulbous nose, big square jaws (this features vary from person to person obviously)... if the asian character don't have this kind of feauters then he don't look asian. There is no such a thing as raceless features.
just a thought : why even tell the race of the main character ? or his/her gender ? give people choice . Yes I am an RPG fan . The game I think everyone should look out to before making a game is KOTOR . You can make the main character whatever race , gender you want and it won't have an impact on the story . And this is what is said in Wikipedia about Revan (main char.) Gender - Player's choice (canonically male) , yes I do see the words in brackets , but more important is what is out of them
@freezman13 But you just mentioned the main problem - you can make the character however you want, but CANONICALLY they're a White Young Male. Having a skin-tone slider in the actual game doesn't solve anything.
@Blunderbuss09 And that is the problem - that we have those CANONS and if every game would give a choice about the main characters appearance , there wouldn't be any canons .And you don't even have to make in depth character customization in every game , just give several character styles for each race .
People whom compare RE4 to RE5 in terms of representation are idiots.
RE4 was set in SPAIN, not Mexico, they aren't "hispanic" they are white Spaniards killed by a white American. The Spanish peasant farmer is not a sensitive stereotype about Spanish people and if SPANISH people thought it was, then it's up to them to fight that sort of representation. It is NOT up to black people to fight that war of representation for Spaniards.
Especially considering the fact that they were EXTREMELY clear it was set in Spain. I was going to respond to this stright away about how it deplicted a Spain stuck back in time and how I thought this had to do with race and not color, but then I noticed: there are most likely farms like this in Spain. Maybe not all over, but they are probably there. I also took notice of how the Spainards ARE pretty white looking. After my experience with this issue...
I'd like to think I've become something of a better person with the ability to at least know how to stay out of things when I really shouldn't get involved. After checking this issue out extensivly and playing through the game I agree: RE5 was a MASSIVE failure. It doesen't even have good enough gameplay to make up for the insensitvity. At least in four, which is probably my favorite in the francise, you had the option to ditch your retarded female sidekick...
and the inventory system was halfway decent. Come to think of it, RE4 was the ONLY game in the series I gave a crap about. I do take note of the fact that Bob doesn't mention Sheva's stupid "clubbin'" costume which I think is as offencive, if not more so, than the leopard bikini (with the necklace made of BOOONES). I also take note of how people forgot, or just didn't know about, Rouge Galaxy's Kilika. As much as I love Level 5's games, the stereotype she emits is massave..
Seriously, look this up. She has dark skin, wears the same kind of bikini as Sheva, assessories and all, she uses the kind of weapons as stereotypical african tribes do and her super moves are just... wow. I know for one she dons a tiki mask and does a war dance and for another she uses some kind of war horn. It is just rediculous. Bob was kinda right to skip over it. We would have been here all day. As original as Rouge Galaxy was... What the hell, Level 5?...
The absolute worst part of it is, THIS IS HER REGULAR ATTIRE. This is not an optional costume. GOOD GOD. The only redeeming qualtiy of this is she isn't as stupid and bland as Sheva (mostly due to the player's actions) and she isn't as crazy as the enemies mentioned in this game. How did we miss this? I am truly soory for my actions for when I started out here, for what I said and all the people I was a dick to. I have no right nor excuse and I deserved every flame.
What's so bad about having an African protagonist with unlockable tribe war attire? I would think that many Africans from tribes are proud of their tribes and still contribute to traditions where that attire is adorned. How is this racist? Or is it the black Americans that are bitching? I dare not say "African Americans" because almost 100% of those calling themselves such do not have dual citizenship so like it or not, you're Americans.
Gotta love how people got pissed over RE5 being racist... But EVERYONE overlooked a similar type of racism on RE4.... Come on! Is it because these are black and those were latins? I'm latin! I'm offended by havin my ethnic group reduced to mindless zombies who attack you in a slow alternative to L4D!
I keep coming back here. First time I made an ass of myself and paid for it. Second time I organized my thoughts and was careful not to step on toes (although some still bitched). I just don't understand this. Why are we noticing this JUST NOW? This is far from the first time this kind of thing has happened in gaming. What makes RE5 so significant? It wasn't even that good of a game. If this is such a big issue, why did we put up with punch-out!!? What did we put up with Rouge...
Galaxy's Kilika? Why did we put up with Dhaslim, with FF7's Barret, with the dirty Spainish village in RE4? Why are we suddenly starting here? Why are we treating Capcom like they're members of the KKK of this? I know some already said that a lot of these games are "cartoony" and thats why we don't take them seriously, but I think that's a crappy reason. If THIS is worth making an example out of, EVERYTHING is. In the words of the South Park guys "Either it's all okay, or NONE of it is".
Is it because the tribe is so crazy and violent in this game? Was that what crossed the line? I'm not trying to be mean. I'm not ripping on people because they are taking issue to this. I'm not trying to endorse P.C. I hope to god I'm not being a bigot. I just want to know, that's all.
It also could be because whiter skin is a good trait to have in some Asian country. Take for example Thailand, girls with whiter skin are more beautiful in the eyes if Thai people. So yea this might have help explain why most game characters are white looking. Plus who would play a game where the characters are ugly in their eyes?
"Videogame makers want their game to sell, so it's largely plausible that there's a perhaps unspoken or even unthought of inclination to model most heroes into that which can be identified with by the biggest audience. Hence game characters tend to be young white men, the "if I was older and tougher" imaginary self-image of young white men or the masturbatory fantasies of young white men."
yeah the resident evil 5 controversey i just bullshit
so what if it was a white zombie army vs one black man? would it be okay? also if a zombie apocolypse in africa was going on and you had a machine gun would you stop and just say, nah this is racist and let them eat you? no you wouldnt!
@waffleriddlethis is all true and i agree, however... did they have to make them chuck spears!? i'm black and i went to high school in a rich white neighborhood and when this game came out and my friends got the the spear chucking part it's just one more thing i had to hear going to school back then. it's B.S. and leaves dark skinned people like myself feeling like they don't have an identity growing up. it's probably hard understanding it on the white side of things but trust me it's Bullshit.
But whats up with with Spawn? I mean hes a black superhero, with costume and whole books of backstory, i could spoil the story by telling things from the comics, but i just tell you that hes i pretty important for... erverything that exists and will exist... and hes just one example.
@DzonatanGavert Jup exactly, but i had to look that up, cause i didn't know all the sc2 charakters, but in terms of comics he kind a big deal , theres was even a life action movie and several games with him as maincharakter( i mean not beat em up's with him as one of many charakters, games that take place in his world ) Look his comics up, they're very cool AND give you something to think about ^^, have a nice day
I live in South Africa...born and raised. I played RE5 all the way through on co-op with my brother. I am also well educated and 24. As far as I see it this game wasnt racist. Villages like the one you go to in that boat scene do exist, people still live like that in some parts of africa. So it is relevent, and not archaic like people claim. That being said the characters are still pretty bland and generic. But thats more of a "todays video game characters" thing than a racist one.
So, your point is that even though white young men are the main gamer consumer they should be forced to diversify even if they don't want it? Your endpoint is political correctness shoved down our throats.
God, just shoot yourself or attend Brown University.
This probably isn't going to be read by the Bob, but: I've read that manga and games etc. from Japan don't draw their characters western - it's all about what's the tabula rasa of your culture. If you draw a stick man, you assume it's a white guy, unless you color him. If Japanese draw a stick man, they assume it's an Asian guy. The same goes for largely colorless faces in art from Japan - it's Japanese people being drawn. There's certain tropes used to convey that a character is western.
But all drawings of manga have almost all their traits from one source: Osamu Tezuka "the father of manga" who's drawing style - including the famous big eyes and small mouths that are present in all manga and anime- came from Carl Bark's Scrooge McDuck.
And by your logic McDuck is a white guy so all character disigns from manga and later anime from the last 60 years or more are really white guys.
I'm sorry, but that seems like a face-saving lie. Many of the anime that show realistic characters also show: light skin tones, big busts, blonde or red hair and blue eyes. I don't see how that can be anything but an attempt to represent White people.
@snalin They don't DRAW them western, but the concept of big eyes and BLOND HAIR was BASED off of the massive influx of westerners after WWII. So while the Japanese can immediately relate to Sailor Moon as 'Japanese', to us, she doesn't LOOK it.
@snalin This. White people in anime are blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and actually have SMALLER eyes than everyone else.
On topic: RE5 fails. The bad guy in RE5 is a blonde white guy who wants to populate the world with genetic supermen and kill everyone else. We couldn't do at least had a stupid cutscene to spell out "corporate colonialism" or "Nazis" in there somewhere? We have Heart of Darkness' setting and none of its meaning.
Lol at butthurt Azns pretending Anime characters aren't White. We know they are and we're flattered thanks. But if it makes you happy lets just call them Eurasian ok?
I talked alot of shit about one of yer Madden videos a while back cuz you acted like it wasn't a gamer game. I been gaming way before Madden and I play alot of other games outside of sports games, gears, halo and I hate COD. At first i thought listening to a white dude making a complaint that I didnt really have a problem with wasngonna be crazy, you nailed it my dude. The whole target audience thing was perfect. I still could really give 2 shits about white protagonists as long as the game ain
I'm sure there are lots of different thoughts on this, but in my opinion, most anime/manga/game characters from Japan aren't supposed to look white at all. Most Japanese aren't particularly dark of skin, and most Japanese aren't particularly slant-eyed or the like either -- and I should know, I live in Nagasaki. I suspect that you assert that characters seem mostly white because... you're white, and you impose that blank slate onto iconic figures built to accept and contain the player POV.
White people need to get over themselves. (I'm white btw) IT'S FUCKING SKIN for god's sake. It doesn't make people stupid or any certain way for having a different color of skin.
Resident Evil 5 is the most embarrassing example of racial stereotyping. It's the same as asking a fellow from France why he's not wearing a beret and carrying a baguette and a wheel of cheese.
In general, yes, I enjoy MovieBob's comments. I found the chipmunk especially amusing.
@Skion06 you can't judge a man not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character, if the character is given no content to begin with beyond their skin colour
What the hell is wrong with you and women looking good? All good guys are huge muscleheads, and all women are uber sexualized. Why wouldn't a man want to be strong or a women good looking....last time I checked sheva kicked ass.
This didn't fit in my last comment, but I also want to mention that, considering the fact that your arguments regarding race are spot-on, I can't help finding your brief mentions of women disappointing at best. I know that the bit at 3:03 is intended as a joke, but does seem to be based on the idea that women's only worth is sex. I've also never met anyone who hated someone for being hotter. You have excellent ideas regarding race, but you could stand to apply some of that same thought to women.
Excellent video, and for the most part I couldn't agree more. You could take the argument here and apply it to essentially any oppressed group: women, queer people, etc. But I'd like to point out that anime characters only look white here, according to our tabula rasa. In Japan, according to their tabula rasa, the characters look Japanese. Matthew A. Thorn's essay "Are manga characters white?" explains this better than I can.
The funny thing about those supposedly "caucasian-looking" anime characters. The Japanese see them as Japanese. They see the character as their own "cultural default".
This video pretty much sums it up why there should be more black characters in M&A and Games. It just makes me want to create a black touhou character and watch the reaction.
Better yet! How abaut black reimu and marisa? No clothes or attitude changes. Just different skin pigment. I would love to see the reaction.
@Seiryu64 You...make absolutely zero sense. Asians don't have special eyes that see things as different colors. White-skinned character have white skin. You can't misinterpret a skin color.
@Scorptile3122 Either you're not understanding the obvious or you really don't get this: Anime/manga characters are NOT seen as "looking white" to Japanese people. That's a purely western take on the appearance of characters in that medium that doesn't ring true for the audience for whom it was/is originally intended. White people don't have a monopoly on lighter skin tones, so that assertion is ridiculous. This couldn't possibly be any clearer.
@Scorptile3122 What about this are you not getting? Skin color is not, nor was it EVER the issue. And it is not the determining factor in a character's ethnicity when it comes to anime and manga. That's what I said right out of the gate. Stop trying to conflate white skin with white people. That's fucking stupid.
This video is totally true and i would say that goes the same for characters in games that have physical disabilities except for Joker in mass effect 1 and 2 he fuckin rocks there should be more people in video games that have physical problems like being in a wheelchair etc.They don't have to be a main character but have a critical role in a game would be good.Any way to ur point I do believe it is racism with a little ignorance mixed in maybe.
And no this isn't exactly a rant on TGO's vid, but the passed debate in general. Really pissed me off back then, and still does. Now its wrong to delve into past histories of cultures of different races because abunch of oversensitive jerks will start crying the moment you do? Yaay.
Then again, Turok has never been called out, so....
Wait.... Chief Thunder. Guess I'll call this a wash.
Honestly I didn't see the big deal about the blacks in african tribal clothing setting, nor shiva in a tribal outfit. It's like it's gotten to a point where it's illegal to reference the obvious traits of races and their past cultures, even the most pure aspects. African tribes used to wear things like that (and IIRC, one remaining tribe actually still does)?
NO FUCKING SHIT, SHERLOCKS. That Shaka Zulu inspired videogame will never be geenlit at this rate.
This video brings to mind a problem I have with how people responded to Halo 2 (the only bad Halo game), the only good part of SP campaign (the most important part of a game) that was really good and not okay was the Arbiter sections and most pseudo-gamers(you call them "hardcore gamers") hated that part. Fact of the matter is the Arbiter is a deeper character then John 117 (aka MC) and gave us a look at the Covenant's side of things. I personally was very offended by that stance from many.
There are a few exceptions. Venom from Guilty Gear XX, a black ,gay, British assassin (actually the leader of the assassins guild), with long white hair with the bangs draped over his face with a blue eye painted on the front, and uses a magical pool cue and pool balls as his weapons of choice. Bob, I'm not sure you know too much about the guilty gear series, but you should do a little piece about it. It would be nice to demonstrate "video games are from japan" in a better light i guess.
@Jonruy That would go against the novels. He's actually a ginger. Though this would be pretty cool, and is a way better idea than a ginger. Especially since gingers are typically the whitest possible group of people.
We had this same discussion in out game design class.
When the question of race came up, the overwhelming answer was "NOT WHITE!!!" and considering that the class was 98% white with none others the others being black... We chose BLACK!
An you know what? We were the only ones to go that route and we got high praise from the guest judge (an industry pro) for doing so.
The problem with writing black video game heroes is that most game designers are American or Japanese. The Japanese seem to be very racist, not against whites, but mostly against blacks and other types of asians. I want to become a game designer, I wish I could help the problem, but I really can't. I find it hard to write a character of a different race without making their race a huge defining characteristic. Write what you know, I guess.
Bob, I like your videos and I have written to you on the escapist, but this time I think you talked about and gave us the steps to solving one problem while creating another.
This may be me being overly sensitive but I think that you were being unfairly sexist in two instances, the stick figures in which a boy with knowledge of female hurts uses that toward personal sexual gain, as well as insinuating that female audiances would be that petty towards the subconcious use of a hot female lead.
im not really a marvel or comic fan or anything, and I just found out that warmachine from ironman is black. at first I thought cool but then there was the statement about a black character cant do anything until a whiter character does it first. and it does seem accurate, theres an example. im black and a very heavy gamer but i havent really noticed all of this stuff. it dosent seem that bad but i guess it would be cool to see a very popular game franchise star a black character.
Game Overthinker..uh..-er.. you just gained a new subscriber!! I'm so sorry I've missed you if everything you post is this lucid, and unfortunately, truthful. And ignore all these people coming on here attacking some specfifc point of yours, i.e. bringing up Storm and Black Panther or saying not all women hate hot women.. they need to realize another hard truth: the exception PROVES the rule. BRAVO man!
Sorry man but Black Panther is walking white guilt. The comic equivalent of blaxploitation. Storm, Static Shock, and possibly Blade are the few in only a handful of interesting black characters.
Here's a fun exercise (taken from red letter media). Describe Black Panther without describing what he looks like or what he does (job or hero-wise). Describe the character like they've never read a comic book before.
If you draw a lot of blanks, you have a shitty character.
well i am a black person and i highly dont think it would actully happen unless the new generation take the first step, and on top of that i think that people would buy a game that would lead a black person
The problem with your argument is that there isn't as many "african tribes" wearing those outfits. You are coming off like typical person whom view popular images of Africa based on stereotypes that present fragmented, inaccurate, and at times fallacious, images or representations of Africa.
It is very small minority of these "tribes" that exist in Africa. Making the assumption comes off very naive
I'm sorry but it's extremely sexist to say all women hate women who are more attractive than they are. Seriously most women have ALOT more things to worry about than how other women look, And if they do hate women prettier than them, it's because our culture places so much emphasis on how a women looks that it makes many of them feel insecure.
Make a game about a black guy saving an asian princess, and there is suppousely no white people in the game
HellsingRuler 21 hours ago
It also doesn't help that Japan, let alone most of the East Asian countries, have a very skewed perception on black people. The whole region is pretty xenophobic, but black people are treated almost as poorly as they were in the U.S. back in the 50s and 60s.
calvin28 1 week ago
I find it so weird how so many Japanese characters appear so Caucasian when the Japanese are known for being very proud of their own culture and identity. I wish there were more Japanese characters in Japanese games. There's more than enough Caucasians.
scrustle 2 weeks ago
"The Yankees will miss the playoffs," said the Red Sox fan, unironically.
Moonfoote 2 weeks ago
I believe the issue here is more complicated, way before the industry were dominated by "evil white men", videogame characters were...yes, white. This is not about money, this is about how people (or consumers If you like) "relate" to these v.g/comics/movie icons. I believe the best example on this issue was Predator 2, a black guy as the main hero,2 latinos and a not so bright american, what happened?, nobody liked the movie, why?, the majority, couldn`t really "relate" with those characters...
gomezgomas 1 month ago
@gomezgomas I disagree. Predator 2 is so underrated because people assumed it was a quick cheap sequel since Ahhnold wasn't in it. Plus the "cop movie meets alien" formula didn't have as much broad appeal as the "Rambo meets alien" premise of the original.
It would have been better if they did a straight adaptation of Dark Horse's mini-series Concrete Jungle as that was more tied to the original film (protagonist was Arnold's brother) while still an 80s style cops vs. alien story.
RattyRandnums 4 weeks ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Valve, doing it right over and over again!
(Eli Vance, Lois and The Demoman) <-- these are specially fleshed out characters!
Tarik360 2 months ago
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Tarik360 2 months ago
I love Capcom but we are in the 21st century and as a large global Video game developer they should have been aware of these implications. But then again maybe they were which was why they threatened to blacklist any journalist who mentioned these in previews of the game. Sorry my comments are so long it it was the only way I felt I could put my points across. Since most commenters don't seem to be aware about why Moviebob pointed out Shevas costume and the grass skirt Zombies
X23Ninja 3 months ago
@X23Ninja you know, there was a background story for those grass skirt zombies, It wasn`t "free", maybe sheeva`s costume was, but so is almost every bonus costume on ANY videogame.
gomezgomas 1 month ago
This guy is intelligent, knows how to talk about these issues, has suggestions to fix them, know his history, is passionate about the topic, is (sometimes brutally) honest, but right. Why is there no one like him in politics?
unusuallynormal231 3 months ago
As far as I understand it, 'race' is a social construct that has been scientifically proven to not actually exist. >_>
Now, you you want 'visual diversity,' then you're talking sense.
Gaawachan 3 months ago
I'm sure if someone made A game where A SWAT team tries to arrest, and control A 'flash mob', The media establishment would scream 'racism'.
Launchpad05 4 months ago
LOL. Us "white guys" don't care what colour the person is we're shooting. We just want to blow shit up.
michael1791 4 months ago
What about Black Panther? He wears a costume and is from Nigeri-uhh...... A country in Africa. They didn't use a real country but they made an elaborate history for the one they made up, which is why I can't remember it.
PSshadow92 4 months ago
Great vid dude, however, while many of us want greater diversity in all entertainment mediums, the fact is, your not gonna get that diversity wholeheartedly if the people making the decisions to bring in diversity aren't diverse themselves.
You may consider others but your always gonna feed your own children first.
DAVICIOUSX 4 months ago
capcom aren't bad people, they're just idiots.
viking977 4 months ago
I couldn't take more than 2 minutes of this bullshit.
Tribes like those exist in Africa, Sheva's provocative costume is nothing new in the gaming community. All it does is refers to the earlier level, like a tribute.
Those that cry out racism just because it involves a white man killing zombies who were black should get over themselves.
clawbytes 5 months ago
@clawbytes Wow the good ole "they exist in Africa" comments. The majority of the countries in Africa don't even have this made up "tribalism" out of the asses of western nations. What makes them "tribal"? What makes Americans not tribal?
Akumatrunigga 4 months ago
@Akumatrunigga Even you admitted they exist. Don't try to convince people it's racist to portray an African tribe. As for the definition, I'm sure you can google it yourself. Yes, it's a TRIBE. Africa has TRIBES. umad?
clawbytes 4 months ago
@clawbytes NO clawbytes tribes like that do NOT exist in Africa.Open up a book or watch a documentary on African tribes and you would not find a single African tribe woman that actually dresses the way Capcom dressed Sheva. Find me a picture of an African tribal women who dresses in a leopard skin bikini with a necklace made of bones if you want your point proven. Maybe one wearing war paint or even a necklace made of bones but NEVER in the ignorant combination Capcom has given Sheva
X23Ninja 4 months ago
@X23Ninja I WASN'T talking about tribes dressed like Sheva. Way to misread my post to have a stupid comeback.
clawbytes 4 months ago
@X23Ninja
Most action heroes aren't white these days. Do I give a shit? No. What race are you anyway that these minor things bother you so much?
gunninlinguist 4 months ago
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X23Ninja 3 months ago
@gunninlinguist You seem to be bothered enough reply to my comment so maybe we both need to re-evaluate our priorities.Admitting you couldn't even complete a useless trivial challenge you found in a youtube forum doesn't exactly go in you favour either.And who are you to say quote - Most action heroes aren't white these days.You obviously sifted through 100s of thousands of action hero characters in order to come to that conclusion. Which is sort of admirable I guess...in a retarded kind of way.
X23Ninja 3 months ago
@X23Ninja
...there aren't 100's of thousands of FILM Action hero characters to sift through and yeah they're mostly non white. Hows your games character research going. I want a thorough statistical analysis of the proportion of characters representing particular ethnicities and their disparity with real world demographics. Hop to it now, chop chop...
gunninlinguist 3 months ago
@gunninlinguist Okay maybe saying that there are 100s of thousand of FILM Action hero characters was an over exaggeration. But I got the 100s of thousands of heroes bit from YOUR earlier comment. So I could say exactly same thing to you. I honestly don't know where you got this delusional idea that most action heros those days are non white but I greatly disagree with you on that one and so would many other people.
X23Ninja 3 months ago
@gunninlinguist If you said that their was a better racial diverty of action heroes these days then I could understand but that most action heroes are non white?What are you smoking? Will smith does not count as most action heroes. Besides I don't have to do any research all I have to do is type Action heroes into Google images close my eye and randomly point to a picture and I would honestly bet money that 80%of the time the action hero would be white. Go a head try it will only take 5 minutes!
X23Ninja 3 months ago
@X23Ninja I think it is artistic licensce being excercised. No one complains about Red Sonja wearing a Chain Mail bikini, despite the fact that 1. Women rarely participated in Dark Age/Bronze Age combat and 2. Armor of that nature is both silly and historically inacurate. I also had no problems locating pictures of african tribes in traditional clothing, both for cerimonial purposes and as a normal way of life.
saintjst7 3 months ago
@saintjst7 I understand you viewpoint but most people don’t understand or don’t know exactly WHY some people are up in arms and honking racism about things such as Sheva’s costume or Zombies in grass shirts throwing spears.As Moviebob pointed out the problem is NOT racism but it’s the implication that things such as grass skirts and a necklace made of bones gives about Africa and people of African descent.
X23Ninja 3 months ago
@saintjst7 The implication being that Africa (in particular Sub-suburban Africa) is primitive, negatively tribal and has no high culture. These implications DO exist otherwise nowone such as Moviebob would be complaining.
X23Ninja 3 months ago
@saintjst7 Now you can argue that some African tribes really do dress in some of these features but it wasn't done in the game with any level of sophistication, beauty and dignity that real African poeple truly put across when they proudly wear their cultural clothing or with anything added to balance these implications out.
X23Ninja 3 months ago
@X23Ninja news flash, they were "ZOMBIES", there`s no such thing as dignity on any zombie "I know"
gomezgomas 1 month ago
@gomezgomas Ermm you do realise your defending the dress sense of fictional Zombies?
X23Ninja 1 month ago
@saintjst7 You also mentioned artistic license about Red Sonja wearing a Chain Mail bikini but apart from possible issues about sexually objectifying women, no would really get any negative implications about Dark Age/Bronze Age Europe from the clothing itself that Europe was primitive or backward. Shevas costumes and the grass shirt Zombies close similarities to actual colonial stereotypes portrayed about Africa that were truly ignorantly racist is a another factor as well.
X23Ninja 3 months ago
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X23Ninja 3 months ago
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X23Ninja 3 months ago
@clawbytes Well saying that African tribes do dress like Sheva was what you were implying in your "I couldn't take more than 2 minutes of this bullshit.Tribes like those exist in Africa" comment. That is is quote I did NOT change a single word. I assume you thought I was replying to your more recent comments but its that comment I was responding to and whether you believe it or not that IS what you were implying. I love Capcom but Capcom just came as ignorant in the way they dressed Sheva.
X23Ninja 4 months ago
@X23Ninja I was talking about how rural tribes DO still exist in Africa, NOT the accuracy of Sheva's costume, you stupid ignorant fuck. And next time, don't try to tell me what I'm implying.
clawbytes 4 months ago
@clawbytes People (including myself) often don't realise what information they imply to others its a part of life. Whether you like it or not that is what you implied or I would not of written the comment. Just like how Capcom didn't realise the racial sensitivity of Shevas costume and how it could be intercepted by other people around the world. The gaming community is becoming increasing globalised with a more diverse variety of gamers and developers need to realise this in the 21st century.
X23Ninja 3 months ago
@clawbytes By the way, it's all right, you can swear on the Internet, your mum probably isn't going to read it. I know, 'cause she's too busy being fucked by me.
X23Ninja 3 months ago
As far as the topic goes gaming is a primarily White/Asian industry whatyagonnado? Do I get offended when Vin Diesel, The Rock, Ving Rhames, Will Smith play the big heroes in movies, or by the many bad stereotypes of Whites in media you could fixate on if you so chose? Anyway Turok Native American Indian, the main character of the best selling game of 04/05,CJ from GTA San Andreas, black. Just off the top of my head...
gunninlinguist 5 months ago
@gunninlinguist Turok is the exception that proves the rule,can you name just off the top of your head three other best selling games in recent memory or (any memory) with a native American character as the protagonist or in a non stereotypical supporting role? Oh and the main character GTASan Andreas being black whilst I'm not against the idea is not exactly a positive example of a black character in a video game. And I would also ask you the name three high rate games with black leads as well.
X23Ninja 4 months ago
@X23Ninja
Well theres the lead of Prey hes Native Indian. I dunno about blacks...Balrog from Street Fighter? Em guy from Crackdown? Im sure theres loads but really who gives a shit. Whats with this forced multiculturalism anyway. I saw this college that bragged about having forced a demographic that matched the American average. Made we wanna puke. Just let things flow. Whites have tons of negative stereotypes looks at Irish, German, French,Italian,English, American etc. Do we give a shit? No.
gunninlinguist 4 months ago
@gunninlinguist The fact you couldn't even name 3 native American video game protagonists just proves my point even with the omniscient power of Google. One you did mention you didn't even know the name of proving my point even more. Plus there's the fact you couldn't even name me ONE black video game protagonist(50 cent does NOT count)There isn't yet a video game equivalent of Will Smith i.e a highly successful nonwhite character who does a role that (let face it)typically a white male fills.
X23Ninja 4 months ago
@X23Ninja
Its not that I cant its that I cant be fucked to. You care more about this topic than I do your own homework. 100s of thousands of video game characters in history to sift through. Have fun. And I already said-Crackdown guy, CJ from San Andreas. Why do you care anyway? Are you black? Did you also whinge about Resi 5 and the fact it was set in Africa? Even though noone gave a shit about Resi 4 having Spanish redneck peasants as the main cannon fodder?
gunninlinguist 4 months ago
HI! I'm history repeating myself!
Shadow772craig 6 months ago
I liked Carl Johnson's character.
NotGood1024 6 months ago
I just favorited the hell out of this vid.
velle37 6 months ago
LOL...Jermaine
NikoBelic4 6 months ago
One thing you should have mentioned is that not only do games make characters that White Young Straight Males can identify with, but the idea that WYSM CAN'T identify with anyone else. Anyone who isn't a WYSM certainly can (we have to). But you hear over and over that WYSM just 'can't understand' female characters and 'turned off' by gay characters. Maybe those WYSM should pull their heads out of their asses and LEARN to identify with people who aren't catered to their every whim.
Blunderbuss09 6 months ago
Like in Psych: Guss: You know how it is, the black guy always dies first. (not sure of exact words).
This stuff makes sense I guess (I'm African), as for anime, it always takes place in Japan, unless it's one of those French type of animes.
tubester358 7 months ago
I am studying programming in the hope for being a game-designer.
Hopefully I will get through with enough of knowledge for this Branch.
In addition, it will be worth the wait.
Tarik360 7 months ago
The only non white character that seemed to do well to have more then one game was Turok. I loved the first two games. The fact that he was Fist Nation, or as you might say in America American-Indian was cool for me I as first Nation can relate to it. I agree I think there should be more of that sort of think in gaming. The myth in gaming that only white men can be the hero and anyone else is either the enemy or sidekick is disturbing.
Haidyss 7 months ago
@Haidyss Actually it's Native American, or just Injun if you want to be offensive.
retardstupidass 7 months ago
Black Panther doesn't wear a costume. I'm not black and I love him.
BigolePappy2 7 months ago
ok so am I the only one who knows that in some parts of Africa they've chosen to still live in small self sustaining tribes where they in fact have to kill leopards and other animals for clothing and where animal bones as jewelry because there's not a fucking Tiffany's down the street from them and therefore if a zombie virus had completely taken over Africa that some of the zombies might just have grass skirts and use their hunting weapons to defend themselves?
squalliereekinghavok 8 months ago 8
@squalliereekinghavok wear*
squalliereekinghavok 8 months ago
I guess it's hard for me to NOT sound racist when making discussion of another race. But for the most part, the black character that seems to be the most "interesting" (or at least the one most explored) in games is the ghetto black character. I as a white person understand that this is not the entire face of the black population, and just like us whites, there is wide variety of personality for black people. Which leads to the question of why is the ghetto black character the most interesting?
SoulConstruct 8 months ago
@SoulConstruct Its most likely because thats all they've gone out to portray black people as. Lack of creativity. Its really on the devs and character designers. But it will begin to change soon enough.
ComplexGville 8 months ago
Just like what he said, the industry needs more creativity and diversity. Not the "black" version of an established white characer( Green Lantern). It's 2011, be realistic developers and character designers and start doing some research. Its changing a little bit, but could be wayyyy better giving the inspiration thats accessible to artists. Technology only makes it easier.
ComplexGville 8 months ago
hm, what about dc's static shock, marvel's blade and tekken's raven?
Koyaanitsqatsi 8 months ago
this is so fucking stupid, fuck political correctness, black characters are simply NOT compelling.
hadephobiac 9 months ago
@hadephobiac
How so?
Silentgeargrandia 8 months ago
@hadephobiac Yeah black characters are not compelling, but neither are white characters. A character should never have race/sex/orientation/or whatever as a defining characteristic otherwise that's all he will ever be.Take John Stewart for example, for a good long while he was the black Green Lantern and nothing else, but when writers decided that he needed to be more they gave him personality, quirks and traits to make him stand out as a character, with his race no longer his defining trait.
CrimsomS 8 months ago 18
@CrimsomS I agree with you completely, except that I'd say they still don't do enough for him in terms of characterization, but it is a step in the right direction.
asn8744 5 months ago
@CrimsomS I don`t agree (read my comment about predator 2) I t has nothing to do with "good writing", It`s just majority`s subconscious speaking.
gomezgomas 1 month ago
Also don't give me that sexist bullshit about women being jealous of women prettier than they are. You're part of the problem.
relmneiko 9 months ago
search on Youtube for the video "are anime characters caucasian or japanese". anime characters are not white, dude. Sailor Moon's name is Tsukino Usagi. She speaks Japanese. She's JAPANESE. She's blonde because a) she's a reincarnation of a goddamn moon goddess or b) she dyed it, like lots of Japanese girls do.
relmneiko 9 months ago
@relmneiko
Anime characters are mostly White in features though. Many are explicitly described as being from Western countries aswell. And what about the black characters? Are they Japanese too with a heavy tan lol? Kurasaki Ichigo and Uzamaki Naruto not White? Fuck outta here.
gunninlinguist 5 months ago
What the hell is everyone talking about? there are 3 principal race in this world and those have their specific features, asians= monolyds, black or light brown hairs, black eyes, big cheekbones, flat face with the little and boulbous nose, big square jaws (this features vary from person to person obviously)... if the asian character don't have this kind of feauters then he don't look asian. There is no such a thing as raceless features.
Bigsnake210 9 months ago 11
just a thought : why even tell the race of the main character ? or his/her gender ? give people choice . Yes I am an RPG fan . The game I think everyone should look out to before making a game is KOTOR . You can make the main character whatever race , gender you want and it won't have an impact on the story . And this is what is said in Wikipedia about Revan (main char.) Gender - Player's choice (canonically male) , yes I do see the words in brackets , but more important is what is out of them
freezman13 9 months ago
@freezman13
That is... actually the best comment I've ever read on this thread.
Cudos man, on a brillant idea.
Silentgeargrandia 9 months ago
@freezman13 But you just mentioned the main problem - you can make the character however you want, but CANONICALLY they're a White Young Male. Having a skin-tone slider in the actual game doesn't solve anything.
Blunderbuss09 6 months ago
@Blunderbuss09 And that is the problem - that we have those CANONS and if every game would give a choice about the main characters appearance , there wouldn't be any canons .And you don't even have to make in depth character customization in every game , just give several character styles for each race .
freezman13 6 months ago
"And the Black Guy" lol
cylonj 9 months ago
People whom compare RE4 to RE5 in terms of representation are idiots.
RE4 was set in SPAIN, not Mexico, they aren't "hispanic" they are white Spaniards killed by a white American. The Spanish peasant farmer is not a sensitive stereotype about Spanish people and if SPANISH people thought it was, then it's up to them to fight that sort of representation. It is NOT up to black people to fight that war of representation for Spaniards.
Gamers, the last retards of AV culture.
bawokoroma 9 months ago
@bawokoroma
Please, PLEASE be gentle.
Especially considering the fact that they were EXTREMELY clear it was set in Spain. I was going to respond to this stright away about how it deplicted a Spain stuck back in time and how I thought this had to do with race and not color, but then I noticed: there are most likely farms like this in Spain. Maybe not all over, but they are probably there. I also took notice of how the Spainards ARE pretty white looking. After my experience with this issue...
Silentgeargrandia 9 months ago
@Silentgeargrandia
I'd like to think I've become something of a better person with the ability to at least know how to stay out of things when I really shouldn't get involved. After checking this issue out extensivly and playing through the game I agree: RE5 was a MASSIVE failure. It doesen't even have good enough gameplay to make up for the insensitvity. At least in four, which is probably my favorite in the francise, you had the option to ditch your retarded female sidekick...
Silentgeargrandia 9 months ago
@Silentgeargrandia
and the inventory system was halfway decent. Come to think of it, RE4 was the ONLY game in the series I gave a crap about. I do take note of the fact that Bob doesn't mention Sheva's stupid "clubbin'" costume which I think is as offencive, if not more so, than the leopard bikini (with the necklace made of BOOONES). I also take note of how people forgot, or just didn't know about, Rouge Galaxy's Kilika. As much as I love Level 5's games, the stereotype she emits is massave..
Silentgeargrandia 9 months ago
@Silentgeargrandia
Seriously, look this up. She has dark skin, wears the same kind of bikini as Sheva, assessories and all, she uses the kind of weapons as stereotypical african tribes do and her super moves are just... wow. I know for one she dons a tiki mask and does a war dance and for another she uses some kind of war horn. It is just rediculous. Bob was kinda right to skip over it. We would have been here all day. As original as Rouge Galaxy was... What the hell, Level 5?...
Silentgeargrandia 9 months ago
@Silentgeargrandia
The absolute worst part of it is, THIS IS HER REGULAR ATTIRE. This is not an optional costume. GOOD GOD. The only redeeming qualtiy of this is she isn't as stupid and bland as Sheva (mostly due to the player's actions) and she isn't as crazy as the enemies mentioned in this game. How did we miss this? I am truly soory for my actions for when I started out here, for what I said and all the people I was a dick to. I have no right nor excuse and I deserved every flame.
Silentgeargrandia 9 months ago
What's so bad about having an African protagonist with unlockable tribe war attire? I would think that many Africans from tribes are proud of their tribes and still contribute to traditions where that attire is adorned. How is this racist? Or is it the black Americans that are bitching? I dare not say "African Americans" because almost 100% of those calling themselves such do not have dual citizenship so like it or not, you're Americans.
AndyWetzel 10 months ago
@AndyWetzel
I think it's how crazy the tribe in the game is that's so offenceive.
I asked this alittle while ago but didn't get a responce.
Also, be careful. I tried to argue that this isn't as racy as it sounds, and I wound up having to deal with a smug bitch so... heads up.
Silentgeargrandia 10 months ago
White 20 year old male here. I'd love to see a black character who wasn't a cartoon of a normal person as the protagonist.
CanceledCzech 10 months ago
you should make the chipmunk something like your presentation sidekick
poppydephary 10 months ago
Gotta love how people got pissed over RE5 being racist... But EVERYONE overlooked a similar type of racism on RE4.... Come on! Is it because these are black and those were latins? I'm latin! I'm offended by havin my ethnic group reduced to mindless zombies who attack you in a slow alternative to L4D!
Terryracoon 10 months ago
I keep coming back here. First time I made an ass of myself and paid for it. Second time I organized my thoughts and was careful not to step on toes (although some still bitched). I just don't understand this. Why are we noticing this JUST NOW? This is far from the first time this kind of thing has happened in gaming. What makes RE5 so significant? It wasn't even that good of a game. If this is such a big issue, why did we put up with punch-out!!? What did we put up with Rouge...
Silentgeargrandia 10 months ago
Galaxy's Kilika? Why did we put up with Dhaslim, with FF7's Barret, with the dirty Spainish village in RE4? Why are we suddenly starting here? Why are we treating Capcom like they're members of the KKK of this? I know some already said that a lot of these games are "cartoony" and thats why we don't take them seriously, but I think that's a crappy reason. If THIS is worth making an example out of, EVERYTHING is. In the words of the South Park guys "Either it's all okay, or NONE of it is".
Silentgeargrandia 10 months ago
Is it because the tribe is so crazy and violent in this game? Was that what crossed the line? I'm not trying to be mean. I'm not ripping on people because they are taking issue to this. I'm not trying to endorse P.C. I hope to god I'm not being a bigot. I just want to know, that's all.
Silentgeargrandia 10 months ago
It also could be because whiter skin is a good trait to have in some Asian country. Take for example Thailand, girls with whiter skin are more beautiful in the eyes if Thai people. So yea this might have help explain why most game characters are white looking. Plus who would play a game where the characters are ugly in their eyes?
XxOakxX 10 months ago
"Do The Right Thing"
Heh. Saw what you did there ;)
Maxurai2222 11 months ago
"Videogame makers want their game to sell, so it's largely plausible that there's a perhaps unspoken or even unthought of inclination to model most heroes into that which can be identified with by the biggest audience. Hence game characters tend to be young white men, the "if I was older and tougher" imaginary self-image of young white men or the masturbatory fantasies of young white men."
Epic quote :D
martixbg 11 months ago
yeah the resident evil 5 controversey i just bullshit
so what if it was a white zombie army vs one black man? would it be okay? also if a zombie apocolypse in africa was going on and you had a machine gun would you stop and just say, nah this is racist and let them eat you? no you wouldnt!
waffleriddle 11 months ago
@waffleriddlethis is all true and i agree, however... did they have to make them chuck spears!? i'm black and i went to high school in a rich white neighborhood and when this game came out and my friends got the the spear chucking part it's just one more thing i had to hear going to school back then. it's B.S. and leaves dark skinned people like myself feeling like they don't have an identity growing up. it's probably hard understanding it on the white side of things but trust me it's Bullshit.
Jeffyfolife 11 months ago
But whats up with with Spawn? I mean hes a black superhero, with costume and whole books of backstory, i could spoil the story by telling things from the comics, but i just tell you that hes i pretty important for... erverything that exists and will exist... and hes just one example.
Goorbatschov 1 year ago
@Goorbatschov
Never heard of him then agian... Is that the guy from Soul Calibur II X-box version?
DzonatanGavert 11 months ago
@DzonatanGavert Jup exactly, but i had to look that up, cause i didn't know all the sc2 charakters, but in terms of comics he kind a big deal , theres was even a life action movie and several games with him as maincharakter( i mean not beat em up's with him as one of many charakters, games that take place in his world ) Look his comics up, they're very cool AND give you something to think about ^^, have a nice day
Goorbatschov 11 months ago
I would like more diversity in games, and a black version of mario sounds interesting. lol
Ven0m64 1 year ago
I live in South Africa...born and raised. I played RE5 all the way through on co-op with my brother. I am also well educated and 24. As far as I see it this game wasnt racist. Villages like the one you go to in that boat scene do exist, people still live like that in some parts of africa. So it is relevent, and not archaic like people claim. That being said the characters are still pretty bland and generic. But thats more of a "todays video game characters" thing than a racist one.
Azex88 1 year ago
So, your point is that even though white young men are the main gamer consumer they should be forced to diversify even if they don't want it? Your endpoint is political correctness shoved down our throats.
God, just shoot yourself or attend Brown University.
RadDreamer1 1 year ago
@RadDreamer1 Ignoring the market share that isn't your demographic completely? Yeah, YOUR plan sounds fan-fucking-tastic.
CrotchConfidence 11 months ago
This probably isn't going to be read by the Bob, but: I've read that manga and games etc. from Japan don't draw their characters western - it's all about what's the tabula rasa of your culture. If you draw a stick man, you assume it's a white guy, unless you color him. If Japanese draw a stick man, they assume it's an Asian guy. The same goes for largely colorless faces in art from Japan - it's Japanese people being drawn. There's certain tropes used to convey that a character is western.
snalin 1 year ago 3
@snalin
it's a very good aregument that you got here.
But all drawings of manga have almost all their traits from one source: Osamu Tezuka "the father of manga" who's drawing style - including the famous big eyes and small mouths that are present in all manga and anime- came from Carl Bark's Scrooge McDuck.
And by your logic McDuck is a white guy so all character disigns from manga and later anime from the last 60 years or more are really white guys.
But thats just my opinion.
jamg25 10 months ago
@snalin
I'm sorry, but that seems like a face-saving lie. Many of the anime that show realistic characters also show: light skin tones, big busts, blonde or red hair and blue eyes. I don't see how that can be anything but an attempt to represent White people.
mst3k4evur 10 months ago
@snalin They don't DRAW them western, but the concept of big eyes and BLOND HAIR was BASED off of the massive influx of westerners after WWII. So while the Japanese can immediately relate to Sailor Moon as 'Japanese', to us, she doesn't LOOK it.
ZephyrFiction 10 months ago
@snalin This. White people in anime are blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and actually have SMALLER eyes than everyone else.
On topic: RE5 fails. The bad guy in RE5 is a blonde white guy who wants to populate the world with genetic supermen and kill everyone else. We couldn't do at least had a stupid cutscene to spell out "corporate colonialism" or "Nazis" in there somewhere? We have Heart of Darkness' setting and none of its meaning.
Xick 9 months ago
@snalin
Lol at butthurt Azns pretending Anime characters aren't White. We know they are and we're flattered thanks. But if it makes you happy lets just call them Eurasian ok?
gunninlinguist 5 months ago
I'm lucky my favorite video game icons aren't human.
wakeangel2001 1 year ago
It's a very good solution. Except I think Medea has value, as a sarcastic what not to do thing. (It's like Mrs. Swan for us Asians.)
astrangeone 1 year ago
I talked alot of shit about one of yer Madden videos a while back cuz you acted like it wasn't a gamer game. I been gaming way before Madden and I play alot of other games outside of sports games, gears, halo and I hate COD. At first i thought listening to a white dude making a complaint that I didnt really have a problem with wasngonna be crazy, you nailed it my dude. The whole target audience thing was perfect. I still could really give 2 shits about white protagonists as long as the game ain
WutEyeDo 1 year ago
Aight.
WutEyeDo 1 year ago
I'm sure there are lots of different thoughts on this, but in my opinion, most anime/manga/game characters from Japan aren't supposed to look white at all. Most Japanese aren't particularly dark of skin, and most Japanese aren't particularly slant-eyed or the like either -- and I should know, I live in Nagasaki. I suspect that you assert that characters seem mostly white because... you're white, and you impose that blank slate onto iconic figures built to accept and contain the player POV.
bimyouna 1 year ago
White people need to get over themselves. (I'm white btw) IT'S FUCKING SKIN for god's sake. It doesn't make people stupid or any certain way for having a different color of skin.
unusuallynormal231 1 year ago 2
about anime characters looking caucasian
watch?v=6FsaReX4ej0&feature=player_embedded
o0JklN0o 1 year ago
Comment removed
o0JklN0o 1 year ago
Resident Evil 5 is the most embarrassing example of racial stereotyping. It's the same as asking a fellow from France why he's not wearing a beret and carrying a baguette and a wheel of cheese.
In general, yes, I enjoy MovieBob's comments. I found the chipmunk especially amusing.
Jikuu 1 year ago
@Skion06 you can't judge a man not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character, if the character is given no content to begin with beyond their skin colour
GerardBlaize 1 year ago
It's pretty funny that the Yankees won the year he made this video.
abcdefh1992 1 year ago
What the hell is wrong with you and women looking good? All good guys are huge muscleheads, and all women are uber sexualized. Why wouldn't a man want to be strong or a women good looking....last time I checked sheva kicked ass.
xNewAgeWarriorx 1 year ago 2
So you grew up reading female literature....All is revealed.
xNewAgeWarriorx 1 year ago 3
This didn't fit in my last comment, but I also want to mention that, considering the fact that your arguments regarding race are spot-on, I can't help finding your brief mentions of women disappointing at best. I know that the bit at 3:03 is intended as a joke, but does seem to be based on the idea that women's only worth is sex. I've also never met anyone who hated someone for being hotter. You have excellent ideas regarding race, but you could stand to apply some of that same thought to women.
TenguXx 1 year ago
Excellent video, and for the most part I couldn't agree more. You could take the argument here and apply it to essentially any oppressed group: women, queer people, etc. But I'd like to point out that anime characters only look white here, according to our tabula rasa. In Japan, according to their tabula rasa, the characters look Japanese. Matthew A. Thorn's essay "Are manga characters white?" explains this better than I can.
TenguXx 1 year ago
THE
BLACK GUY!
maxride10000 1 year ago
Ronin Is Female Can't tell right?
warandhell87 1 year ago
The funny thing about those supposedly "caucasian-looking" anime characters. The Japanese see them as Japanese. They see the character as their own "cultural default".
AdamYJ 1 year ago
4:02
Try being white in south texas.
I close my case
Spacekidd2 1 year ago
This video pretty much sums it up why there should be more black characters in M&A and Games. It just makes me want to create a black touhou character and watch the reaction.
Better yet! How abaut black reimu and marisa? No clothes or attitude changes. Just different skin pigment. I would love to see the reaction.
DzonatanGavert 1 year ago
my skin may be white, but in the inside, we're all red...
Tr3vor42532 1 year ago
lolracism.
MintySinty 1 year ago
1:18 looks like Lebron James
mrpostman98765 1 year ago
Only two contentions
1) Institutional racism is still racism.
2) While anime/manga characters may look white to westerners, they don't at all to Japanese viewers/readers.
Seiryu64 1 year ago
@Seiryu64 ...white skinned characters...don't look white to some people? Logic goes where
Scorptile3122 1 year ago
@Scorptile3122 What complexion do Asian people ACTUALLY have, and how often is it that different from white people?
Sorry, but your logic is pretty nonexistent here...
Seiryu64 1 year ago
@Seiryu64 You...make absolutely zero sense. Asians don't have special eyes that see things as different colors. White-skinned character have white skin. You can't misinterpret a skin color.
Scorptile3122 1 year ago
@Scorptile3122 Either you're not understanding the obvious or you really don't get this: Anime/manga characters are NOT seen as "looking white" to Japanese people. That's a purely western take on the appearance of characters in that medium that doesn't ring true for the audience for whom it was/is originally intended. White people don't have a monopoly on lighter skin tones, so that assertion is ridiculous. This couldn't possibly be any clearer.
Seiryu64 1 year ago
@Seiryu64 ...their skin color. It is white. Do you disagree with that?
Scorptile3122 1 year ago
@Scorptile3122 What about this are you not getting? Skin color is not, nor was it EVER the issue. And it is not the determining factor in a character's ethnicity when it comes to anime and manga. That's what I said right out of the gate. Stop trying to conflate white skin with white people. That's fucking stupid.
Seiryu64 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@Seiryu64 But...they're white. Look at their color.
Scorptile3122 1 year ago
@Scorptile3122 That statement is fucking moronic, and this is the last response you'll get from me.
White skin does not make a character white, and if you can't grasp that then you are too stupid to converse with on this or any issue.
Seiryu64 1 year ago
@Seiryu64 So if someone's white, they're not white? Kgotcha.
Scorptile3122 1 year ago
what about the demoman in teamfortress?
joex90 1 year ago
same can be said for body types, you never see a fat hero, or a small thin one. they are all the same.
Montork 1 year ago
YAY! Metropolis!
hemms2 1 year ago
112 POEPLE LIKE THE LEOPARD SKIN BIKINI
weirdlittlekid 1 year ago
This video is totally true and i would say that goes the same for characters in games that have physical disabilities except for Joker in mass effect 1 and 2 he fuckin rocks there should be more people in video games that have physical problems like being in a wheelchair etc.They don't have to be a main character but have a critical role in a game would be good.Any way to ur point I do believe it is racism with a little ignorance mixed in maybe.
phillyman26 1 year ago
And no this isn't exactly a rant on TGO's vid, but the passed debate in general. Really pissed me off back then, and still does. Now its wrong to delve into past histories of cultures of different races because abunch of oversensitive jerks will start crying the moment you do? Yaay.
Then again, Turok has never been called out, so....
Wait.... Chief Thunder. Guess I'll call this a wash.
Paur 1 year ago
Honestly I didn't see the big deal about the blacks in african tribal clothing setting, nor shiva in a tribal outfit. It's like it's gotten to a point where it's illegal to reference the obvious traits of races and their past cultures, even the most pure aspects. African tribes used to wear things like that (and IIRC, one remaining tribe actually still does)?
NO FUCKING SHIT, SHERLOCKS. That Shaka Zulu inspired videogame will never be geenlit at this rate.
Paur 1 year ago
This video brings to mind a problem I have with how people responded to Halo 2 (the only bad Halo game), the only good part of SP campaign (the most important part of a game) that was really good and not okay was the Arbiter sections and most pseudo-gamers(you call them "hardcore gamers") hated that part. Fact of the matter is the Arbiter is a deeper character then John 117 (aka MC) and gave us a look at the Covenant's side of things. I personally was very offended by that stance from many.
gamerprophet 1 year ago
look so your a redsox fan, it doesnt mean that you talk about the YANKEES SUCKING in your video. a by the who won last year who's going to win this
GO YANKEES GO
pasta360 1 year ago
There are a few exceptions. Venom from Guilty Gear XX, a black ,gay, British assassin (actually the leader of the assassins guild), with long white hair with the bangs draped over his face with a blue eye painted on the front, and uses a magical pool cue and pool balls as his weapons of choice. Bob, I'm not sure you know too much about the guilty gear series, but you should do a little piece about it. It would be nice to demonstrate "video games are from japan" in a better light i guess.
ZhangHe2369 1 year ago
Finally I'm not the only one that thinks that Tyler Perry shows and movies suck.
crazyfunny23 1 year ago
The remake doesn't have the partner being black anymore.
ShykinArcana 1 year ago
Here's something that'll blow a few minds: Once Master Chief finally takes off his helmet, make him Korean.
Jonruy 1 year ago 16
@Jonruy that would be awesome lol
aristokraticassassin 1 year ago
@Jonruy nah i say make him a latino dude, that'll get people really riled up
erik4727 11 months ago
@Jonruy That would go against the novels. He's actually a ginger. Though this would be pretty cool, and is a way better idea than a ginger. Especially since gingers are typically the whitest possible group of people.
RoarkDeschains 11 months ago
I agree with you Bob!
We had this same discussion in out game design class.
When the question of race came up, the overwhelming answer was "NOT WHITE!!!" and considering that the class was 98% white with none others the others being black... We chose BLACK!
An you know what? We were the only ones to go that route and we got high praise from the guest judge (an industry pro) for doing so.
It can be done and done well.
Will it... only time can tell.
misterprickly 1 year ago
The problem with writing black video game heroes is that most game designers are American or Japanese. The Japanese seem to be very racist, not against whites, but mostly against blacks and other types of asians. I want to become a game designer, I wish I could help the problem, but I really can't. I find it hard to write a character of a different race without making their race a huge defining characteristic. Write what you know, I guess.
moongoboom 1 year ago
Bob, I like your videos and I have written to you on the escapist, but this time I think you talked about and gave us the steps to solving one problem while creating another.
This may be me being overly sensitive but I think that you were being unfairly sexist in two instances, the stick figures in which a boy with knowledge of female hurts uses that toward personal sexual gain, as well as insinuating that female audiances would be that petty towards the subconcious use of a hot female lead.
pervertedpally 1 year ago
Agree
Lava111222 1 year ago
It is a form of impressionable mind control. They dictate to the masses how they should think and act.
P.S.
Will Smith rocks. Barack is dropping the ball imo....
WageASPSlaves 1 year ago
1. Resident Evil never wanted to be "ART" ndd its probably the worst example for a racial debate in videogames.
2. There are some black Heroes with costumes in the World of Comics (Spawn etc...)
3. The outfit of Shiva is sexy (why is no one bitching about her name ?)
KrushFukk 1 year ago
METROPOLIS! FRIGGIN METROPOLIS! I LOVE YOU LONG TIME NOW!!!
Oh... and... you made a good point, I guess. I don´t know, I´ve never been racisted before.
Klikoderat 1 year ago
im not really a marvel or comic fan or anything, and I just found out that warmachine from ironman is black. at first I thought cool but then there was the statement about a black character cant do anything until a whiter character does it first. and it does seem accurate, theres an example. im black and a very heavy gamer but i havent really noticed all of this stuff. it dosent seem that bad but i guess it would be cool to see a very popular game franchise star a black character.
aaronbxiii 1 year ago
Game Overthinker..uh..-er.. you just gained a new subscriber!! I'm so sorry I've missed you if everything you post is this lucid, and unfortunately, truthful. And ignore all these people coming on here attacking some specfifc point of yours, i.e. bringing up Storm and Black Panther or saying not all women hate hot women.. they need to realize another hard truth: the exception PROVES the rule. BRAVO man!
sobatinyela 1 year ago
Movie Bob? Good points buuuuuuut the Luke Cage thing, ermm I'm not gonna type mean stuff but, you totally forgot about Storm and Black Panther. (sp)
blazingsonic 1 year ago
@blazingsonic
Sorry man but Black Panther is walking white guilt. The comic equivalent of blaxploitation. Storm, Static Shock, and possibly Blade are the few in only a handful of interesting black characters.
Here's a fun exercise (taken from red letter media). Describe Black Panther without describing what he looks like or what he does (job or hero-wise). Describe the character like they've never read a comic book before.
If you draw a lot of blanks, you have a shitty character.
InsanityManifest 1 year ago
well i am a black person and i highly dont think it would actully happen unless the new generation take the first step, and on top of that i think that people would buy a game that would lead a black person
Gang3rs 1 year ago
@Gezab
The problem with your argument is that there isn't as many "african tribes" wearing those outfits. You are coming off like typical person whom view popular images of Africa based on stereotypes that present fragmented, inaccurate, and at times fallacious, images or representations of Africa.
It is very small minority of these "tribes" that exist in Africa. Making the assumption comes off very naive
Akumatrunigga 1 year ago
I'm sorry but it's extremely sexist to say all women hate women who are more attractive than they are. Seriously most women have ALOT more things to worry about than how other women look, And if they do hate women prettier than them, it's because our culture places so much emphasis on how a women looks that it makes many of them feel insecure.
bluemoon86 1 year ago