IGN says that Resident Evil 5 is too racist to remake, and should be re-written.

[Mack Yancy]

The Resident Evil Game That Can't Be Remade - IGN

Resident Evil 5 simply can’t be remade, at least not to the standards of Capcom’s best work. And so the answer is not to remake, but to rewrite.

www.ign.com

Set in a fictional West African country, Resident Evil 5’s primary antagonists are Black people. Yes, technically it’s the Uroboros virus that protagonist Chris Redfield is fighting, but the parasite’s host is depicted as a nation of mobs and primitives who are violent even before their infection. Intentionally or not, Resident Evil 5 positions Africa as the ‘Dark Continent’, an uncivilised world harbouring a diseased population that needs gunning down via Western intervention in the name of global security.

This insensitive treatment of people of colour was hotly debated even as early as Resident Evil 5’s debut trailer, with writers such as N’Gai Croal and Stephen Totilo pointing out the game’s uncomfortable, post-colonial imagery. The arguments and think-pieces continued well into the game’s release window, with IGN’s own former editor-in-chief Hilary Goldstein having also wrestled with the subject. But that was 2009 – a time when race was apparently a debate rather than a reality. In the 2020s, in a post-Black Lives Matter world, there is only one acceptable response to a white man shooting waves of Africans for an entire video game: no.

 

[deadshot138]

The main bad guy is blonde and white. This is literally people so socially and professionally bankrupt that they cling to anything.

 

[jefferz]

In 2024, the year of our lord, I would have never expected IGN to come out, and say some stupid shit like that.

All hail lord gaben

 

[ShadowRun]

TS bringing the most important issues that face the world, one day at a time .

 

[nixkid]

I wonder why anyone would consider a game that depicted modern Africans as witch doctors, spear chuckers, and primitive savages racist? It's really a mystery.

 

[I Am Legion]

I wonder why anyone would consider a game that depicted modern Africans as witch doctors, spear chuckers, and primitive savages racist? It's really a mystery.

Are there not witch doctors in Africa? Are there not warriors that have shields and spears? Do the Maasai not exist? Zulu's, Somalis? I mean you make whites and Asians Zombies, why not Africans? Have you seen the images from Haiti? There are Witch Doctors there too....would that be racist? I am no expert but I would think GTA seems more racist than monster stuff.

 

[KnockoutsGalore]

They're right that the game should not be remade. But mostly because it sucked.

 

[Yehudim]

They're right that the game should not be remade. But mostly because it sucked.

Was a lot of fun co-op

 

[nixkid]

Are there not witch doctors in Africa? Are there not warriors that have shields and spears? Do the Maasai not exist? Zulu's, Somalis? I mean you make whites and Asians Zombies, why not Africans? Have you seen the images from Haiti? There are Witch Doctors there too....would that be racist? I am no expert but I would think GTA seems more racist than monster stuff.

Sure.

Do black people in America not eat chicken and watermelon? Do Asian people not wear paddy hats and eat rice? Imaginary of a black person eating KFC is not inherently racist in and of itself. You can do it in a way that doesn't invoke the harmful stereotype that was perpetuated during minstrel show era. And that's my issue with the depiction of Africans in RE5. It could have been done with deference to the culture and history of West Africa. But it wasn't. It leaned into stereotypes of Africans being primitives and savages. Many of you really think that Africans are primitives and savages so you won't be able to see the issue anyway.

 

[Spounman]

I haven't heard of this game but it sounds cool. I'd watch a movie based on Resident Evil The Village. That game got a lot of heat but I liked it.

 

[Spounman]

Many of you really think that Africans are primitives and savages so you won't be able to see the issue anyway.

 

[Cherry Brigand]

I wonder why anyone would consider a game that depicted modern Africans as witch doctors, spear chuckers, and primitive savages racist? It's really a mystery.

You're right. The remake should be set in Haiti.

 

[Spam On Rye]

IGN just proves that zombies are most certainly real. What a bunch of Limp wristed, weak minded sheep.

 

[MMAisGod]

So by these standards RE4 wasn't too racist to remake???? Epic fail.

 

[Mack Yancy]

TS bringing the most important issues that face the world, one day at a time .

Important enough for you to keep posting in the thread, and I didn't even tag you!

 

[Mack Yancy]

I am no expert but I would think GTA seems more racist than monster stuff.

In what way is GTA racist?

 

[Mack Yancy]

So by these standards RE4 wasn't too racist to remake???? Epic fail.

What races were depicted in Re4?

 

[Ichibanner]

Some imaginary characters in a video game are upsetting some really sensitive people with nothing better to do than bitch about it?

Good, I'm glad they're offended. F*ck 'em!

 

[Fox by the Sea]

Sure.

Do black people in America not eat chicken and watermelon? Do Asian people not wear paddy hats and eat rice? Imaginary of a black person eating KFC is not inherently racist in and of itself. You can do it in a way that doesn't invoke the harmful stereotype that was perpetuated during minstrel show era. And that's my issue with the depiction of Africans in RE5. It could have been done with deference to the culture and history of West Africa. But it wasn't. It leaned into stereotypes of Africans being primitives and savages. Many of you really think that Africans are primitives and savages so you won't be able to see the issue anyway.

yes, next time when they make a game about fighting beastly villagers in the middle of the jungle, all black people there should be doctors, accountants and insurance agents, or else it's wasis.

 

[Blayt7hh]

Are they remaking RE5? I remember it getting pretty mediocre from the reviews