Square Enix Responds to "Racist" Deus Ex Character
- Thread starter Greg Tito
- Start date
Surprise, an overly sensitive individual has an initial knee-jerk reaction to the presence of a black person in what can be seen as a less than positive/stereotypical light in a video game.
That guy's site is now racist for his being a stereotypical mingebag.
Seriously, if you are going to harp about one or two games having allegedly racist components, both of which are solid games by the way, you are just an uppity dick. That character in Deus Ex is as racist as any game that portrays a white guy as being an aristocratic megalomaniac, bent on social/economic/world domination.
Please think of other ethnicities as well if you are going to be a harpy for anything that can be twisted to be presented as racist.
That guy's site is now racist for his being a stereotypical mingebag.
Seriously, if you are going to harp about one or two games having allegedly racist components, both of which are solid games by the way, you are just an uppity dick. That character in Deus Ex is as racist as any game that portrays a white guy as being an aristocratic megalomaniac, bent on social/economic/world domination.
Please think of other ethnicities as well if you are going to be a harpy for anything that can be twisted to be presented as racist.
Here's the thing.mokmoof said:
1. The accent and speech style is common today (ebonics, look it up).
2. The reality of homeless people is most want to SURVIVE, so they will perform services. Try going to a subway in NYC, homeless people will very commonly perform or do some other type of service to make ends meet in addition to simply begging.
The reality is this, the suggestion the connection to the minstral shows basically says you cannot write an african-american homeless person (which are unfortunately very common in cities) who perform a service to survive (not quite as common but still there) and who speak in ebonics (pretty damn common in urban centers regardless of social class). So you're telling them that writing a realistic character is an unintentional reference to a minstral show... no.
Furthermore, the implications that people are drawing from her dialect (namely that they imply lack of education and sub-subservience) extremely ignorant of black urban culture or openly racist. The message is this, if you want to be judged as an equal, you need to talk like a white person, a different speech pattern automatically identifies you as inferior. On the other hand, other unusual ways of speaking english are nowhere near as looked down upon.
Why? Because it's the African-American way of doing it, and we as a country are taking that linguistic tone which is merely different as confirmation of the idea that African Americans are inferior in a variety of ways. In the same way as people who write letters to supermarkets about incorrect use of the words "their" and "there" to feel superior about themselves, white culture treats ebonics as uneducated to feel superior about themselves.
Granted, some people haven't been to urban centers and don't have any real experience with ebonics and don't understand. The anti-ebonics movements are racist however, except for the ones instead the African-American community, which is instead a drive to become accept by white america by meeting white america on it's terms, however there will always be another "issue" with the African-American community until racism is dead and buried.
hmm well i was more jarred by the randomness of the encounter i was minding my own business checking the trash for ammo etc and accidently clicked on her glad i did... busting in the front door of the cop station guns blazing probably would not have been the best idea lol.
as for Evan Narcisse he's a troll plain and simple ignore him and he'll go away.
really folks why do people get so bent out of shape about these things. if u find her a racists element to the game u are probably a racist.
there is no black and white we're all just shades of grey.
as for Evan Narcisse he's a troll plain and simple ignore him and he'll go away.
really folks why do people get so bent out of shape about these things. if u find her a racists element to the game u are probably a racist.
there is no black and white we're all just shades of grey.
Huh? Bringing culture to task on percieved racism doesn't make you racist in general.Lokithrsourcerer said:
Though in this case it can, because the suggestion that ebonics use implies being uneducated and inferior is racist.
I laugh how there are two black characters in the game that are well educated and with the most authority at a processing planet in the game that don't speak with any sort of broken english or denotable accent and he just ignores that completely. One character seems out of place!!!!!!!1!!!!! Seriously, this guy is a moron.
Of course it implies that the speaker is uneducated. It's a bastardization of the language, and more to the point, makes the speaker sound stupid, even if they're not. As far as inferiority goes, that's a matter of opinion and it appears to be yours in this case. I guess you're racist by your own definition.AdumbroDeus said:
"Bastardization" is only a comparison to the common language of the day. Language evolves, shakespeare was a bastardization in his time as well.skohl said:
There is NOTHING inferior or uneducated about ebonics, especially as compared to other "valid" dialects of English. There is nothing inherent in the dialect that makes it that way, it's merely an impression gleaned because that particular dialect happens to be spoken by a group that people in America have a desire to feel inferior to.
Your accusation of racism is a complete non-sequitar cause I never argued ebonics was inferior nor implied it's speakers were inferior.
I actually agree to most of what you said there Phantom Echo, which is why at the end of my post I make sure to point out that despite Narcisse decrying the racism he sees in the portrayal, it's ultimately not overly important because he still very enthusiastically recommends the game as a whole. The main point he brings up is a true one, though...Leticia's mannerisms in the game are a near mirror mimic of black faced, Amos & Andy "mammy" style send ups of black people. Whether it personally offends you or is reminiscent of real people, the fact of the matter is that it's unarguably an allusion to some of the most racist fiction in American history. And further, while there are sects of people who speak that way, her particular spiel is so poorly written and poorly acted that it comes off as an over-the-top caricature. And once you deviate from realistic portrayal to practical cartoon spoof, it qualifies as racist and potentially harmful.
Personally, I believe it's unintentional and relatively harmless, but I can't reasonably make the argument it's not there. I can only say it's not that big a deal, and that even the writer of the article doesn't seem to think as much of it as the people on this forum. My primary point was simply that the counter argument of "Well SOME people talk that way so THERE!" is inherently flawed. While I'm at it, I'll go on to say that as a black gamer that was raised in the south...YES...there IS something inherently wrong and inferior with ebonics. It's not a matter of being politically correct or a matter of expression. All languages have their own proper grammar and syntax. If you deviate...it is wrong. Period. There are times where expression may create exclusions...songs, poetry, art in general, but if you speak that way on a day to day basis...you are factually WRONG. No better than abbreviated 1337 net speak. No two ways about it.
Personally, I believe it's unintentional and relatively harmless, but I can't reasonably make the argument it's not there. I can only say it's not that big a deal, and that even the writer of the article doesn't seem to think as much of it as the people on this forum. My primary point was simply that the counter argument of "Well SOME people talk that way so THERE!" is inherently flawed. While I'm at it, I'll go on to say that as a black gamer that was raised in the south...YES...there IS something inherently wrong and inferior with ebonics. It's not a matter of being politically correct or a matter of expression. All languages have their own proper grammar and syntax. If you deviate...it is wrong. Period. There are times where expression may create exclusions...songs, poetry, art in general, but if you speak that way on a day to day basis...you are factually WRONG. No better than abbreviated 1337 net speak. No two ways about it.
Isn't that Evan guy the same guy who posted that RE5 was racist? I laughed my ass off when I read that blog. If anyone is a racist, it is him. By his point of view, its okay to see millions of white people slaughter brutally, but put one black person in the mix...IT'S RACIST! See? Two can play that game. I'm sure he would have been crying "RACISM" if there hadn't been black people in the game, seeing as how it took place in Africa. This whole thing is nothing but a load of bunk to stir up pointless controversy.
I was horribly offended by the German accents I ran into.PhoenixVanguard said:
...
No, I wasn't.
I was offended by the fact that the last antagonist was a woman, that is so sexist.
No. Wait. I wasn't.
Sorry for quoting you here, but you seemed to be both dismissive of the whole idea, yet understanding where he comes from. Though I do NOT understand where he comes from. I support the theory that everyone is allowed to be treated equally. Whether that means we have white antagonists, black antagonists, German antagonists or characters with "stereotypical"... I mean, am I allowed to be offended when a white woman is painted in bad light? No. But a black person is allowed to be offended when another black person in a GAME is painted in something they consider offensive.
If everyone has to start turning over their writing five times to make sure it is fully "offence free" we will stop seeing single moms, adopted kids, drug victims, rape victims... and the list goes on.
So.
Yeah.
No offence, but being offended by a game is ridiculous.
when i close my eyes, this is a video of batman talking to a woman audtioning for the next "Eat Dat Watermelon!" video. I can see the underlying racism here, but I honestly don't think it was intended, I think it's a matter of poor writing meeting poor VO work with someone so desperate for money, they don't care if they disparage their entire race.
