Square Enix Responds to "Racist" Deus Ex Character

[crepesack]

I'd be more offended by the people saying "This woman is an african-american stereotype" than by the actual character itself. You must be pretty darn racist to see something that over the top and say "Yup, that's what black people sound like."

That's how maybe 10% of black people sound like. It would be a lie to say otherwise.

 

[jyork89]

Why does the thought of every black character in gaming speaking like that crack me up? Now THAT would be racist!

 

[VanTesla]

Stereotyping one person does not equal racism... With this arguement you could say Zeke is a racist caricature of the hispanic community... Some people are actually like that and that is how certain stereotypes start. If they do it with every person of a certain ethnic group, then that is racist, unless it's a comedy skit.

 

[Shifty Tortoise]

Eidos is troll, and successful troll is successful.

 

[mjc0961]

I can't speak for Evan Narcisse who also objected to the black zombies in Resident Evil 5

Yeah, I think that makes things clear. This guy is just overly sensitive. There is clearly nothing racist about that video clip and there was clearly nothing racist about black zombies in a game set in Africa. The only racist here is likely Evan Narcisee, because it's usually the real racists who constantly pull the race card on every little thing like this.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

More butt hurt idiots worshiping at the altar of the PC gods(oh wait we can't use that word we might OFFEND somebody!), or a massive troll (both are equally worthless and undeserving of any attention). Move on people, nothing to see here.

I'm so used to console/PC wars, that I didn't realize you meant Political Correctness instead of PC gaming until a good 20 seconds after.

 

[cynicalsaint1]

You know whats funny?
She is such a small part of the game that I didn't even notice her on my first playthrough.

 

[Operations]

AND they got the British accents right! Which was quite surprising, considering Rocksteady - a British studio - have hired bloody Nolan North to do a (crap) cockney accent for the Penguin.

Could be worse, they could have gotten Don Cheadle "Blinder".

 

[mesoforte]

There is a difference between the portrayal of a character and a portrayal of a race.

If this is within the character, it only applies to that character, not to an entire race of people. Just because a character is portrayed a certain way does not mean its bringing everyone down.

I wish people would stop identifying an individual as anything more than that.

 

[A Gent of Villainous Intent]

I'm more offended from the fact that she sounds like she's voiced by a man.

"Well SHEEEEEEEET"

 

[Cain_Zeros]

I don't remember anyone complaining about racism in the first game over the Chinese accents. I'm Chinese and I didn't see it as a big deal, people need to relax about these kinds of things.

Ha... yeah. That's not going to happen.

OT: If that's racist, then I should to argue every portrayal of Irish people in American Media is racist.

But I, frankly, am too drunk to.

Except Irish isn't a race, it's a nationality. Yes, it would be nice if there were portrayals of Irish people other than Leprechauns and drunkards, but even if you were serious it wouldn't be racism.

 

[Chasmodius]

I was all set to agree with Narcisse, because minstrel stereotypes are very clear and distinct forms of racial shoe-horning -- however, after actually listening to the provided clip, I'm not sure I'm with him there. Yes, the voice acting on that character is a little strange, it doesn't quite fit anyone I've ever spoken to, and it edges toward some of the minstrel accents I've heard; however, it isn't really all that outlandish, nor is it so much like a minstrel accent to be plainly obvious. It is a strange set of mannerisms, but part of that, I think, comes from a disconnect between the voice (and situation) and the character's appearance. Without looking at the video, the style of speaking brought to my mind a much... larger woman. I don't know, maybe that's just me. For some reason, she just didn't look much like what I think of for a street person.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

There is a difference between the portrayal of a character and a portrayal of a race.

If this is within the character, it only applies to that character, not to an entire race of people. Just because a character is portrayed a certain way does not mean its bringing everyone down.

I wish people would stop identifying an individual as anything more than that.

This.
There's a distinction between an individual and an entire group. If all black women in the game had sounded like Latitia (ie vaguely transsexual), we would have a problem. This of course applies to RE5 as well (granted, I haven't played it).
Heh, just imagine if all Caucasian characters in the game had sounded like Adam *amateur Batman impersonator* Jensen...

 

[Ranooth]

So people aren't concerned about the fact that you can impale her with weird augmented arms, or the fact you can shoot up a whole police station or brutally murder an old women with a fridge but they are with someone's voice and the colour of their skin?!

This is one weird world indeed . . .

 

[JdaS]

Other than the fact that the voice doesn't fit the character model, AT ALL, I don't really see a problem here.

Damn, that "WEEEELL SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT" got me good... Oh, you.

 

[BlueMage]

I'm more bothered with the protagonists voice. What's happened to his throat?

Augmentations require you to gargle with gravel. Every day. True fact.

 

[swimon]

When is the last time a GERMAN was in a name and NOT a nazi? Hmmmm?

Hmmn... 2000?

Yeah because if there's one thing you can say for sure about Gunther Hermann, cyborg psycopath, it's that he's not a german stereotype. Also he is not in any way an ersatz (get it? Because he's german... he, he, he) nazi.

 

[JAWZxZ]

Oh shit, everyone drop everything, somebody was offended by a character in a GAME. How dare they offend me, I need to be as vocal and annoying about this as possible.

The character isn't "racist" calling someone a racial slur or attacking them because they're different than you is racist. This could be a misguided stereotype, and I find it laughable. Anyone who gets genuinely offended by this sort of thing needs to get their priorities straightened out.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

q fucking q. Honestly, People like this just bother me. They're always looking for something. I can't believe that people still get bothered by things like this. So, close your eyes and imagine she's white if it bothers you that god damn much while you're playing this game.

I know why people look for stuff like this, but I still have to ask... WHY DO PEOPLE STILL LOOK FOR STUFF LIKE THIS!? It boggles my mind.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

She was actually one of the more memorable characters in the game because she had a damn personality.

I love how that personality screams racist nowadays.

Exactly. If anything was actually racist in this game, it would be that Chinese prostitute with the terrible voice-actor or the offhand referral to an Irish man as a "Mick" (an insult that hasn't been used since the eighties, and wasn't even that offensive then), but I don't see people go up in arms over things like that. To quote "To Kill A Mockingbird"; "Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand".