Resident Evil 5 trailer resurrects zombies and racism

The theme of a white man fighting zombified people of color in Resident Evil has caused a few people to express concern.

According to the site Black Looks, a blog for African American women:

“The new Resident Evil video game depicts a white man in what appears to be Africa killing Black people. The Black people are supposed to be zombies and the white man’s job is to destroy them and save humanity… This is problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults.”

That the game is advertised to children is suspect but the Resident Evil 5 trailer video is kind of creepy.

According to Bonnie Ruberg of the Village Voice,

“But looking again at the trailer, I see a different message: it’s not just that these zombies are black, but that the uninfected black villagers are zombie-like too. See all those spooky shots of the villagers before they get infected? It’s as if race itself were a disease. The white protagonist has to fight back or be infected.”

Read the rest of his article for more musings on the merits of calls of racism in the game.

Of course, the United States is much more sensitive about racial tensions than Japan, where Capcom is located. It remains to be seen how Capcom will react to claims of racial bias.

Resident Evil 5 is currently scheduled for release on the PS3 and the XBox 360 in 2009.

Read [Village Voice] Also Read [Black Looks] Via [GamePolitics]