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Post by vetus on May 8, 2011 21:02:57 GMT -5
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Post by genkifan on May 8, 2011 21:23:43 GMT -5
On the subject of San Andreas, I'd always had extremely little interest in the GTA series, but I would play it for a few minutes just to go on a silly rampage every once in a while when a friend brought it over. San Andreas, on the other hand, I straight up wouldn't even let on my TV. I hated the characters and lifestyle portrayed in that game significantly more than in the other GTA games. Call it racism if you want, but if it is racist to despise that way of life, hideous humor, terrible music and fucked up sense of morality, then, well, I guess I'm "racist." I mean, I generally hate most things about the GTA games, and really only enjoyed IV due to thinking Brucie was funny (I rarely find a damn thing about GTA games remotely funny) and feeling like the game actually had structure and a kind-of interesting plot. I just really hated San Andreas. I had a lot of the same problems with San Andreas, insofar as the glorification of that lifestyle goes, but you might want to think twice about calling the music 'terrible' in a discussion of whether or not a game is racist. Now that's not an attack on you, because for all I know the terrible music you're referring to is Rod Stewart and Depeche Mode, but just at a glance it seems like you're talking about hip hop. |
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Post by TheGunheart on May 8, 2011 21:30:40 GMT -5
I find the criticism towards the lack of same sex romance options in RPGs odd, though. Kinda like calling a writer who never writes about gay protagonists a homophobe. It's not the lack that I find questionable, it's the exceedingly half-assed execution. |
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Post by cj iwakura on May 8, 2011 22:05:14 GMT -5
As a counterpoint, Garcian Smith from Killer7 is one of the least racially stereotyped black characters around. Awesome character, and his race isn't at all a factor. (I'd say Kanji from Persona 4 as anti-homophobic, but I think he's straight.  There's always Tatsuya and Jun from P2.) |
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Post by Haz on May 8, 2011 22:20:22 GMT -5
I didn't think San Andreas was racist, either, and so does every other black person I know. If Rockstar's intent was trying to get the feel of early 90s LA gang culture as seen/inspired by hood films which were also accurate depictions of the culture like Boyz N The Hood, South Central, Juice and Menace II Society (which I firmly believe are some of the influences behind the game) they nailed it perfectly. You might as well call those movies racist too, while we're at it (which they're not.) Shame, too, that some people can't get past the aestethic, because SA is probably the best GTA game of the PS2 era and probably ever, for the sheer amount of things you can do, the size of the game area (at the time), keeping track of your character's physical health, the arcadey style that GTA4 got rid of, and etc. Plus, the PC version of the game is basically Unlimited Modding Works. Now for sexist games, I think the Super Robot Wars series is pretty bad in that respect. It features a lot of that type of stuff that was mentioned about Okami in the original post. As David Brent said on The Office, "Now, you do not punish someone, Dutch or otherwise, for having big boobs." what am I reading 1. Would women's boobs not shake/jiggle when piloting giant robots? 2. Most SRW games since 4 allowed you to pick a male or female original character/protagonist. 3. The OG games have numerous female characters, good and bad, of varying importance to the plot. I don't see how SRW can be sexist in any way. |
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Post by kal on May 8, 2011 23:06:51 GMT -5
The women piloting giant robots would almost certainly be wearing push up/sports bras so no, there should be almost no jiggle (this is conjecture though). Although I'm not entirely sure why Genkifan considers it sexist outside the usual spectrum of anime sexism.
I personally didn't enjoy San Andreas that much but that's more because the game gravitated towards putting as much pointless crap into itself and not an issue with the culture the game decided to centre itself on.
Someone else mentioned Resident Evil 5 which is incredibly offensive, they tried so hard to not be racist they removed the black people from Africa but then at the same time threw in a bunch of tribal enemies ripped out of some Italian exploitation flick...mixed messages.
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Post by kisai on May 8, 2011 23:34:07 GMT -5
River City Ransom:
All of the street hooligans are Japanese. There's no law and order in Japan, only street gangs.
BloodRayne:
Rayne just slaughters and kills hundreds of German people, all begging her not to kill them when she latches on to their necks. They are portrayed as sadistic, demon worshipping meanies who like to dig mines.
Resident Evil 4
All Spanish people are zombies who curse a lot.
Deus Ex
Americans are trying to take over the world. The Chinese and French are trying to stop it.
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Post by Ryu the Grappler on May 8, 2011 23:41:01 GMT -5
Shodai Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun is worse because it depicts the citizens of Osaka (including middle-aged people, business men, and secretaries) as barbarians who will pick fight with random strangers for no reason and take everything by force. The game's depiction of Hanshin Tigers fans is particularly really offensive.
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Post by kitten on May 8, 2011 23:54:39 GMT -5
I had a lot of the same problems with San Andreas, insofar as the glorification of that lifestyle goes, but you might want to think twice about calling the music 'terrible' in a discussion of whether or not a game is racist. Now that's not an attack on you, because for all I know the terrible music you're referring to is Rod Stewart and Depeche Mode, but just at a glance it seems like you're talking about hip hop. I'm not trying to accuse the game of being racist, I'm just trying to accuse it of being fucking atrociously terrible. My comment is regarding a chain of comments in the thread that initially regard a post made by Jason X, where he found people's reactions to disliking San Andreas to be racist. And, yeah, all of the hiphop/rap I remember hearing from the game was fucking loathsome trash There's some great stuff in the genre, I don't mindlessly hate it (I've enjoyed Del and Jedi Mind Tricks, among several others) and some of that great stuff is vulgar, but most of what I remember from San Andreas was just your average, verbal garbage being spewed from the most pathetic people imaginable. I think the only musical genre I hate everything I can think of from is country. Which is pretty much as "white" as music gets. |
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Post by X-pert74 on May 8, 2011 23:56:06 GMT -5
I wish Mass Effect had more variety with alien races, but at least they featured some male Quarians in 2 (when the first game has only female ones). I also agree about their attempts to have same-sex relationships. I'm not familiar with the Dragon Age series, but having only Liara as an option (and only for female Shepard) seems kind of weak to me. Are there any Quarians beside Tali at all in the first game? I don't quite remember... I find the criticism towards the lack of same sex romance options in RPGs odd, though. Kinda like calling a writer who never writes about gay protagonists a homophobe. I'm pretty sure there's at least one other female Quarian in the first Mass Effect. I think she's involved with one of the side-quests on the Citadel. You don't need to intentionally have a variety of sexualities in characters in order to attempt to avoid homophobia. I just feel like they could have gone a little further than they did. For all intents and purposes, Shepard is supposed to represent the player, so there could at least be one male romance option for male Shepard. |
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Post by muteKi on May 9, 2011 0:26:27 GMT -5
I think the only musical genre I hate everything I can think of from is country. Which is pretty much as "white" as music gets. Which is a bit amusing. Although I do enjoy a small number of c/w musicians (preferring to lean more toward rockabilly anyway), for the most part I'm put off because the songs tend to follow one of two major formulas: 1. Pop love songs with steel guitars and violins (the Lonestar formula) 2. Marketed jingoism of various forms (the "boot in your ass" formula) Neither are particularly appealing, but speaking as what might pass in some circles for a musician, I find that the first offends me far, far more than the second. |
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Post by Sturat on May 9, 2011 7:22:52 GMT -5
You might as well call those movies racist too, while we're at it (which they're not.) There is a difference between something being racist and just being a negative portrayal. The problem is that portrayals of African Americans in video games are so disproportionately negative that it makes the film industry look good! I have no interest in any Grand Theft Auto games, but I can understand someone being uncomfortable playing the one with an African American protagonist because there are so few positive portrayals in other games to balance it out. |
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Post by Lash on May 9, 2011 8:48:24 GMT -5
Wow, I'm actually completely shocked at how few people seem to think he's a stereotype. |
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2011 9:49:40 GMT -5
I second Square's Tom Sawyer, because Jim was beyond the minstrel show level of stereotypes. He'd make David Duke say "damn."
I didn't think San Andreas was racist, because every character in every GTA game is a hamfisted, poorly-developed stereotype of Americans and people not from Britain. The black characters weren't positive by any means, but then again when has there ever been a good or positive character in a GTA game?
The one character I seriously didn't like in San Andreas was Sweet, who basically wanted to stay a stereotypical thug/local dope dealer rather than go into real estate like his sister, or at least a higher paying bracket of crime like his brother.
Also, does Bob Sapp count? He's the inspiration for Craig Marduk, afterall. That tv segment where he went to the zoo and ate bananas in front of the monkeys (who he called his brothers) set civil rights back about 50 years ;p.
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Post by derboo on May 9, 2011 10:19:09 GMT -5
Wasn't Bill Goldberg the inspiration for Craig Marduk? I didn't even get the impression that Marduk was meant to be a black character, looked much more like a thoroughly tanned caucasion or latino.
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