Critical Race Studies and Digital Media

"This imagery has a history."

"Like many white liberals, I had viewed the absence of explicit racial markers in cyberspace with some optimism-seeing the emerging "virtual communities" as perhaps our best hope ever of achieving a truly color-blind society."

Henry Jenkins reflects on the myth that the online world is essentially color-blind. In this article he reflects on what is wrong with this argument. He also interviews Sarah N. Gatson (Part One & Part Two") on why the myth carries such persistent force.

Plus on the gaming side, Black Professionals In Games: N’Gai Croal Talks Stereotypes, Finding Video Games’ Spike Lee + More N'Gai Croal: Interview on the Resident Evil 5 Trailer.

"This imagery has a history. It has a history and you can’t pretend otherwise. That imagery still has a history that has to be engaged, that has to be understood … If you’re going to engage imagery that has that potential, the onus is on the creator to be aware of that because there will be repercussions in the marketplace.

"The point isn’t that you can’t have black zombies. There was a lot of imagery in that trailer that dovetailed with classic racist imagery. What was not funny, but sort of interesting, was that there were so many gamers who could not at all see it. Like literally couldn’t see it. So how could you have a conversation with people who don’t understand what you’re talking about and think that you’re sort of seeing race where nothing exists?

"There was stuff like even before the point in the trailer where the crowd turned into zombies. There sort of being, in sort of post-modern parlance, they’re sort of “othered.” They’re hidden in shadows, you can barely see their eyes, and the perspective of the trailer is not even someone who’s coming to help the people. It’s like they’re all dangerous; they all need to be killed. It’s not even like one cute African — or Haitian or Caribbean — child could be saved. They’re all dangerous men, women and children. They all have to be killed. And given the history, given the not so distant post-colonial history, you would say to yourself, why would you uncritically put up those images? It’s not as simple as saying, “Oh, they shot Spanish zombies in ‘Resident Evil 4,’ and now ‘black zombies and that’s why people are getting upset.” The imagery is not the same. It doesn’t carry the same history, it doesn’t carry the same weight. I don’t know how to explain it more clearly than that."

More reactions to these images here and here (make sure you read --some of-- the comments section and relate them to Croal's comments above on 'those who can't see it') and here.

N'Gai Croal's Blog on Gaming: Level Up
Resident Evil 5 Trailer


Related: A copy of DS title Animal Crossing Wild World sent out to media yesterday by Nintendo came loaded with most of the game's secrets unlocked, it also included a surprise: a racial slur.