Columnist Deems Enslaved Racially Insensitive

[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.

 

[astrav1]

What a racist bastard.

 

[Doug]

Life is fulll of little pricks. Monkey is hardly tan, and enslaved is hardly a game based around any kind of historical slavery. End of story

He's possibly the whitest tan man ever! But alas, I do need to play the game myself, and whilst the plot summary was alittle unsettling, after seeing the review here, I doubt any of this guys points are valid.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Isn't automatically associating slavery with black people incredibly racist to start with. There have been numerous groups of people of a variety of origins who have been slaves throughout history. Slavery is not an associated with any race but instead with a human practice. Of course if the main character was black the game would have pulled not because it would make the game any different but because publishers are pussies and the media would get in a tizzy killing game sales. Why can't we explore black slavery in a game? Isn't that an interesting narrative model for a game? Why are we afraid?

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

Life is fulll of little pricks. Monkey is hardly tan, and enslaved is hardly a game based around any kind of historical slavery. End of story

He's possibly the whitest tan man ever! But alas, I do need to play the game myself, and whilst the plot summary was alittle unsettling, after seeing the review here, I doubt any of this guys points are valid.

Well see Monkey IS enslaved. The only problem is that the machines are called enslavers. They enslave humans (duh). Trip puts a device on monkey to make him obey her, to keep him from attacking her, but after the first five seconds, she almost dies and he tells her "You follow my orders if you want to live" and she doesn't treat him mean. She's actually nice and caring.

The collar allows them to work as a team and communicate back and forth. And she tells him that she'll set him free once he's helped her out. There is VERY VERY VERY little to do with cruel slavery in the story

 

[SelectivelyEvil13]

I find it peculiar that he has the motivation to explore the game's incorporation of a slave and "master" relationship, yet does not even read over the part mentioning its basis on Chinese legend. The comment regarding Monkey's skin color is beyond absurd and one could argue tinged with its own racist undertones. Why can't a caucasian be tan or olive? Are all caucasians the color of milk? If a picture of a caucasian is pasted on to Microsoft word, do they just blend in and disappear? I happen to be "white" but I am by no means white like a sheet of paper. With his logic, because of my olive complexion, if I were to say, be featured in a film where I was enslaved by a white girl, that film would carry an underlying message of slavery and prejudice?

Furthermore, a simple google search on slavery could possibly enlighten him regarding its worldwide history before it was prevalent in America. Perhaps he could just top off his argument with the icing of "And by the way: F--- YOU History!"

 

[Sennz0r]

Trip and Monkey seem to have the same skin tone to me. Even if one's been forced into servitude by the other, how is it racism if they're both of -I assume- the same race?

If the game's locations were reversed, and it would take place in a ruined Tokyo, the title then being Oddyssey to the East, and the main characters subsequently being caucasian, I'd bet you all the copies of every game ever we wouldn't be having this discussion.

 

[Ryujisama]

Thanks for setting us black folks back another few hundred years, guy. /facepalm

Seriously, read a book or two, and you'll see the inspiration for the game's story..... God, it's stuff like this almost makes me ashamed to be black....

 

[ksn0va]

Why can't they play the game for once! Just once! It seems whenever these news groups decide to critcise a game the only research they do is look at the back of the game's casing and read the summary of the plot.

 

[Chewster]

I have nothing to say about the story, but I honestly have no idea why stuff like this gets posted since all the reactions from people here are exactly the same.

You mean "being offended is bad, and you are a bad person for being offended?"

Basically, yeah. I don't necessarily agree with the columnist, but these reactions are so incredibly predictable.

Its the same every time. Article about Jack Thompson? "He's an idiot who knows nothing about games!" Ebert saying "games aren't art"? "Who cares what he thinks, he looks at films and is an idiot." Like, who the fuck cares man? We're so quick to jump up and down and scream and defend games at all cost.

Paying attention to this stuff ensure it will keep happening.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

So it all boils down to "it'd be offensive if he was black". If that's not reaching, I don't know what the fuck is.

 

[Sennz0r]

I have nothing to say about the story, but I honestly have no idea why stuff like this gets posted since all the reactions from people here are exactly the same.

You mean "being offended is bad, and you are a bad person for being offended?"

Basically, yeah. I don't necessarily agree with the columnist, but these reactions are so incredibly predictable.

Its the same every time. Article about Jack Thompson? "He's an idiot who knows nothing about games!" Ebert saying "games aren't art"? "Who cares what he thinks, he looks at films and is an idiot." Like, who the fuck cares man?

Paying attention to this stuff ensure it will keep happening.

It's news related to games. The Escapist reports on news, and lets its members voice their opinion. Yes with articles like this you usually get a fairly one-sided response, with some people bringing up some interesting points.
If you want more purpose to these kinds of threads, you could consider playing devil's advocate, see if any of the generic responders have anything more to say on the subject.

 

[Weaver]

This guys argument:
"I read too much into this and it hurt my feelings so I want it banned."

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

So is DBZ racist then?

Hm?

what about The Pokemon Infernape?

Because all of them are based on the same damn thing.

 

[The Human Torch]

The best thing we can do about this, is just not give the write any attention, at all. Beating a dead horse will be a lot less interesting for THEM when no one gives a shit.

 

[mr_rubino]

Not every slave was black. If you want proof just look at the Roman Empire's Slave trade. Also in middle age Europe, peasants were basically slaves and they were the same race as the nobility! Hell there is still slavery today among the Chinese Mafia trafficking people. Shouldn't we be just as sensitive to them. I think monkey would be a little it tanned, having to work in the sun all day. According to this guy we should ban all media containing slaves fighting for freedom, so logically we should also ban the film Spartacus.

This is precisely what's bugging me so much about this whole thing. While this man is accusing others of racism he is simultaneously insinuating that black people should be treated differently to people of all other races when it comes to depictions of slavery, apparently ignorant of the fact that throughout history people of all races have been (and still are) slaves. This is another form of the racial discrimination he is so self-righteously railing against, and it makes me very uncomfortable.

Meeting one intellectually dishonest argument with another intellectually dishonest argument doesn't help anything.
In U.S. history, slavery was a distinctly racist institution. You could only get slaves in one color when you went shopping. Early (very very early) on, you could get a second, but they were taken off the market because they broke down too easily, and the fact that the available number seemed to plummet with each passing year.

 

[Ekonk]

I hope to one day make a game that offends little pricks as him and all his prick friends even more.


EDIT: Also, how about this.
"THIS IS RACIALLY INSENSITIVE, HE'S A SLAVE AND HE'S CALLED MONKEY!"
"Soo... what? How is that racially insensitive? Slavery went on with all colours in the days of the Romans, for example."
"BUT HE'S CALLED MONKEY!"
"So - ahhh. You're connecting monkeys and black people? That's pretty fucking racist, dude."
"..."
"GTFO."

 

[CK76]

Classic Billy Madison quote needed