pakotlar, the whole race issue(especially between White and Black) is still a sensitive issue in America. Shifty is most correct, maybe I am over exaggerating things, but, just don't be surprise if people complain and it reaches the news.
Of course you are both correct in saying that racism is a sensitive topic. Now this should be the last post on the subject as we are getting OT, but feel free to PM me about it.
The Race Issue, as it relates to America, is very different from what we are talking about with regards to Resident Evil. I would be strictly against any game that made light of the slave trade, slavery in America, indentured servitism, or any variation on the motif with malicious intent against the black population (One of the reasons Chapelle show was ok was the lack of that malice). Same goes for Civil Rights movement, violence against blacks during those periods of time, etc.
What is being portrayed in this game is clearly different. You guys are not alone in your thoughts. However, the danger with thinking like this is that it associates a single action, issue, topic with a wide range of materials that make some mention or depiction of those sensitive issues out of the context in which they were originally displayed and chargrined.
An example of this would be associating the attorcities commited [in those times]leading up to the end of the Civil Rights movement, with a game that portrays violence against black zombies in a village of Africa. The former is a sad time for America because of violence against black Americans, but the latter is a piece of fiction, with absolutely no connection to the former, despite the fact that "violence" and "black people" are both included in the material. This is the reason why showing a white guy shooting a black guy on TV is ok within bounds. The intent of the material can make the difference between something that is "racist" and "entertainment".
You know the NAACP isn't going to do anything, because they will be first in line to play this game, just like all the black kids I know
The reason we can have books, shows, movies, and videogames where race is taken light of, made fun of, ignored, is because of these concepts. Intent and Context.
I seriously hope you wouldn't start going after everything that touches on sensitivities of one group or another, because most entertainment would go out the window. Yes, the [black American] race issue is the most vocal one in America today. But don't ever forget it is not the only one. Heck, I'm part of the group of Zombie lovers, and I demand RE5 canned and be turned into the Telletubies.
edit: PSman, i just clicked on your link. It backs up what I wrote I think. Read Rockstar's response, and think about why GTA was not canned over this.
BTW, I'm Russian, and think it's pretty cool that a Russian guy is this big time street thug in GTA4. I mean if I were to get very sensitive and think about all the ways in which this could be offensive, I could probably get upset and outraged and cry "ROCKSTAR U MOSNSTERS", but when you realize this is a fiction and a videogame, it becomes ok. There was a time when being Russian in this country would bring you a lot of malice too, remember.
