Columnist Deems Enslaved Racially Insensitive

[The Brocken]

Derp it's 4:30

 

[The Last Nomad]

Saying Enslaved is racist seems to me like just mentioning the fact that black people were once kept as slaves is racist. It happened, and nobody is glorifying it, merely acknowledging it.
And also (A pretty big factor here), Monkey is not black. But Mr.Whoever-is-complaining-about-games-this-time considers that becuase his name is Monkey that it is somehow alluding to racism. I would consider making the link between a slave named Monkey and black people racist.

I still haven't played Enslaved and maybe it is racist in other ways but this just seems a bit of a stretch.

 

[Halceon]

The author is clearly suffering from a terminal case of willful ignorance.

 

[Don't Poke My Bobcat]

The thing that I find most amusing in cases of crying racism, especially with the slavery line of attack, is that the individual rarely ever knows what they're talking about.

A quick history lesson, slavery was invented by blacks - whites merely saw it as a good profit opportunity (much like how everything works these days, someone has an idea and someone else muscles in and turns it into a vast industrial engine) and copied suit, except not enslaving their own because they weren't "readily available" (the slave industry already thriving with blacks). This is a quick and careless overview, if you're interested read into it in your spare time.

Now bringing this to this instance, I expect the following occurred:

1. "Enslaved" provoked a trigger on search engine for "slave"
2. Half an hour of research was given at a push, much to the same level of research as the Mass Effect alien sex controversy
3. Correlation between supposed real world issues was found, and therefore an article can be produced.

Slavery does seem to be a faux pas to even mention, but I ask - is there anyone oppressed now? Then why is it such an issue?

The reason racism continues to exist is because it continues to be placed upon the forefront of everyone all the time. I long for the day I can call a black persona ******, and it having exactly the same impact as calling anyone a wanker. It only has weight because society as a whole persists in making it so, as soon as we let it drop we will move forward. But I won't ever see that day, with mass media now available to pretty much anyone in the colonised world, there will always be idiots to lap up any drivel of this type. People being offended because they think they should be offended because it makes them look understanding and they lack the ability to delve deeper into something.

And the trouble with idiots, is that they like to shout about something which they think makes them look intelligent. Day in, day out I see stupid people completely misperceive something and go running with it to make it look like they know what they're talking about for once. Like here, a very base level of information on this game has caused an idiot to run with it.

So in essence these whistleblowers are more evil for using something they believe to be a disgrace as a tool for recognition and to make themselves seem well informed. Irony it seems, is lost here.

I'm placing this here; it wouldn't surprise me if there are tears over my use of "******", and will only help to illustrate my point further.

 

[Susan Arendt]

The problem is that racism is pretty much dead in the US, and the Western First World for that matter.

You are very fortunate that you apparently live in an area where you can go through day to day life and believe this to be true. But I assure you, racism is alive and well in the US. Having lived the majority of my life in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and now living in Durham, NC, I see it quite frequently.

See, racism is when a group of people believe in the superiority or inferiority of one race compared to others as an intristic state of being.

Thanks, I'm well aware of the definition. And still I assure you, racism is very much alive and kicking, and not just amongst fringe groups like Neo Nazis and such. Many good old American middle class white folks are still very much of the belief that they are intrinsically superior to everyone else, but most especially blacks.

 

[Gamegodtre]

I hope they don't uncover early artwork depicting a dark or black skinned character concept for Monkey. Although I doubt such a thing would even exist and if it did, the team would have burned all evidence of it in order to avoid a huge shitstorm of controversy.

if anything he would have been Asian since the book is from china........
mind goes off point...........
want to put in a joke but i think it would be in poor taste so i won't say it......

Let me guess, "Why am I not surprised a black man didn't read something?" It's kind of funny but we should both feel bad.

no joke was going to involve prostitution
and Thailand

 

[The Brocken]

no joke was going to involve prostitution
and Thailand

Well I guess that means I'm the asshole here.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

If it hasn't been posted yet...

LOL! Poor Turians can't catch a break.

 

[Callate]

Does "I find this offensive, so I don't think it should exist" really require a response much beyond "the world doesn't revolve around you, grow up" any more?

 

[RJ Dalton]

I'm just annoyed people seem to assume slave = black, when history (and current events) has instances of slave = anything and master = anything.

(*I'm guessing. His profile on the website is "" so for all I know he could be a pseudonym or an AI or three white guys from the third floor.)

Exactly. Slavery is still going on in many countries in the world and historically, nearly every culture at one point has either been slave-owners, or enslaved themselves, sometimes both. Before the transatlantic slave trade took off, different African tribes were making slaves of their own people for centuries. In fact, in some African countries, slavery is still legal as long as its done according to the original traditions of the African tribes.

In short, I've said this before, but I'll say it again: a dog that walks around long enough will find a stick.

 

[AceAngel]

I'm more offended by the fact that the game 'even considers itself to be based upon Journey to the West' when it's has too many loose ends to even come close to the actual Eastern story.

So yeah, racism is the LAST thing to consider.

 

[tzimize]

Its people like this that make me want to reconsider free speech. Some opinions are so stupid they should be fined.

 

[rancher of monsters]

See, this is why I hate to hear people open there mouths without knowing what thier talking about. Cries like this are really harmful to genuine cases of racial insensitivity, cuasing a constantly growing disinterest with any real pursuit of justice in these matters. On the matter of a darker monkey playing the lead, well, it might not be racist, but there is such a thing as setting yourself up for abuse.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Oh dear.

It's based on the Chinese story 'Journey To The West', which is about 400 years old, it has nothing to do with black people (or the Carribean slave trade), not intentionally either. They didn't think 'We must remove black people from this game to stop it from being racist', there never were any black people in it.

Does this mean that any piece of media involving slavery is now racially insensitive?

 

[brtshstel]

I am sick to death of people, especially well-educated people (who have a god-complex and simply lord it over other people), who twist anything and everything that is up to interpretation into a race issue. This author is that person, and has clearly done so. I bet he was also the same sheep who went with the "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is racist" and even the "beginning shot of Street Fighter II has to be changed so it's not a black man being punched by a white guy" crowd.

Last month, while I was working at a coffee shop, I was accused of being racist. Why? Well, a black woman got in the service line next to mine, which had a few people. I, just reporting to work that day, opened up my register and invited her to come to my line, as she would not have to wait to be served (as per the functions of my job; to quickly serve people). She then gave me an appalled, foul look and asked the rhetorical question "Oh! Is it because I'm black?" and then stormed off. As you can probably tell, it was by no means a race issue, and a nearby manager told me not to worry as I had done nothing wrong.

Seriously. I know that prejudice exists even today, and that's quite unfortunate, but some people need to chill out. Not everything is a race issue.

 

[VuvuZelaMan]

Here's my take on it.

The proper reaction: OK, so in this game, you play as a slave called Monkey? ...that's unfortunate*, that name there. ^Reads box^ Oh, it's a reference to the story the game's based on. OK then, nevermind that.

His reaction: OK, so in this game, you play as a slave called Monkey? RACIST! ^Doesn't read the back and types out some crap^

*Unfortunate as in http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UnfortunateImplications

 

[darkerthought7]

As someone who's currently studying race, ethnicity, oppression, Critical Theory, and all that jazz, I have to ask about the article author's credentials. If he had any amount of sense in him, he'd have actually read what the game was BASED on, rather than try to create a bullshit argument that is: "Slavery? OPPRESSION! HELP! HELP! I'M BEING OPPRESSED!" The game is a readaptation of an ancient Chinese story of redemption. "Monkey" is renamed from the Monkey King, and "Trip" is renamed from Tripitaka. Whatever your opinion of how well the readaptation was done, the fact remains that all of the hype and all of the information about the game makes this obvious. Compound that with the fact that the Monkey King is, in fact, ENSLAVED by Tripitaka by a magical necklace that causes him pain when the monk chants a spell, and you have yourself a very uninformed pundit spouting nonsense.

To all would-be critics and analysts, DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Before you go shouting from the rooftops about a hot-button issue you found, make sure your argument is actually valid. Otherwise, you'll get condemned by pretty much ALL of your peers.

 

[nipsen]

..so.. if I call this guy an intellectual midget with a sickly desire for attention - does that make me a racist?

 

[nipsen]

I have to ask about the article author's credentials.

..do we really need to dig that deep? Maybe he just was incredibly offended that the whiny ***** were in control, or something.

 

[Spookimitsu]

Here was my retort. I hope it gets authorized.

Gaddam this has nothing to do with "African-Americans" and the slave trade. This discomfort you feel needs to be directed by those that you still feel servitude towards. Lobby for reparations. Write your senator. Work to dissolve racial stereotypes, and uplift people cultural. Put your efforts somewhere where they are needed. Stop 'waka flocka' and 'soulja boy' from releasing their brain-numbing, culture killing albums. Get more kids in the library, and teach them Reading is fundamental, non FASHION. Put your energy somewhere useful. Not towards this video game. Its based off an old Chinese book, homey. The protagonist was LITERALLY named MONKEY. This protagonist was also MADE TO OBEY A MONK. The book is centuries old. Stop acting like an fucking and do some research. Google is your friend. Wikipedia is even friendlier.

Everytime the word "slavery" is mentioned, do we all have to cringe? This wasn't even an attack on black people. I'm black. This game isnt about hurting black people, in subtext OR context. It has nothing to do with the enslavement of the African people by Europeans. Really. I love to try find hidden meaning wherever it may possibly exist. I promise you, its not within here. Give it a rest.

I didnt see anyone crying out loud when in GTA4 all your black friends were happy to be taken to the fried-chicken restaurants, and I thought that that was a bit cringe-worthy, but kinda funny. But fuck it, because I don't really care. I don't hear about people complaining about Red Dead Redemption where the MAJORITY of outlaws and criminals you can play and interact with are black (ha-ha, Dr Lane Davies ftw, thats one cool dude). My point is if you want to make a valid point, then do some research and studies and make a VALID point. Don't just point at a picture of watermelon and grape soda and decide that some vile corporate entity is trying to hurt your feelings. Get over yourself and your over-extended feelings of entitlement.

I say Black as opposed to "African-American" because I have never been to Africa. Plus I don't see any other distinctions being made for "European-Americans" or "Asian-Americans" or otherwise, I usually just hear white people, Asians and Latinos. So lets just dispense with that bullshit of semantic segregation.

p.s. Hey, Kyle Harvey you are a fucking moron for writing this, and congratulations on looking like a joke of a journalist. Enjoy your ill begotten paychecks you soulless cretin.

Raven sorry, this isnt entirely directed at you and your ignorance... Kyle was the one who put this poison out for the masses. But yeah you were saying some pretty ignorant shit too. Congratulations on not letting go of those shackles in your mind, and never knowing why the caged bird sings. So thanks a ton for this.

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed but I dunno if they'll let it slide. I'm thinking the "stop acting like a fucking j*g" part is going to be the deal breaker, but really, that shit pisses me off. I hope I spelled 'cretin' right, I dont want to come off as being sloppy.

P.s. Resident evil 5 wasnt racist. That shit was all a marketing ploy. Honestly Capcom can throw me in any country or region that they please, and I will be glad to shoot the tits off of any infected locals.