tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940841.post4104765873640973375..comments2024-02-02T07:41:55.155-05:00Comments on The Headpiece for the Staff of Ra: Gamers Dissapoint Me Once AgainMosBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14396378353702882073noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940841.post-86866807289927960902008-04-13T10:27:00.000-04:002008-04-13T10:27:00.000-04:00Okay, I dipped into the first dozen or so comments...Okay, I dipped into the first dozen or so comments. It's amazing how quickly the same tropes appear in American discussions of race:<BR/>1. <A HREF="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/10/newsweeks-ngai-croal-on-the-resident-evil-5-trailer-this-imagery-has-a-history/comment-page-1/#comment-14970" REL="nofollow">Censorship!</A><BR/>2. <A HREF="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/10/newsweeks-ngai-croal-on-the-resident-evil-5-trailer-this-imagery-has-a-history/comment-page-1/#comment-14970" REL="nofollow">Political correctness run amok! You're just being oversensitive!</A><BR/>3. <A HREF="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/10/newsweeks-ngai-croal-on-the-resident-evil-5-trailer-this-imagery-has-a-history/comment-page-1/#comment-14970" REL="nofollow">It's not racist because I'm black/arab/other minority and I don't think it's racist.</A><BR/>4. <A HREF="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/10/newsweeks-ngai-croal-on-the-resident-evil-5-trailer-this-imagery-has-a-history/comment-page-1/#comment-14972" REL="nofollow">Ignorance of racism is the same thing as not being racist at all.</A><BR/>5. <A HREF="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/10/newsweeks-ngai-croal-on-the-resident-evil-5-trailer-this-imagery-has-a-history/comment-page-1/#comment-14974" REL="nofollow">It's not racist because, if the images involved a different group, I don't think people would complain.</A><BR/>6. <A HREF="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/10/newsweeks-ngai-croal-on-the-resident-evil-5-trailer-this-imagery-has-a-history/comment-page-1/#comment-14979" REL="nofollow">It's not racist because it doesn't involve the very specific images that I think are racist.</A><BR/>7. <A HREF="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/10/newsweeks-ngai-croal-on-the-resident-evil-5-trailer-this-imagery-has-a-history/comment-page-1/#comment-14982" REL="nofollow">It's not racist because it was made by people who don't know about racism.</A> <BR/>8. <A HREF="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/10/newsweeks-ngai-croal-on-the-resident-evil-5-trailer-this-imagery-has-a-history/comment-page-1/#comment-15028" REL="nofollow">It's not racist because the creators didn't intend it to be racist.</A>Noumenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02442204504120141558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940841.post-63226499674057134282008-04-12T13:30:00.000-04:002008-04-12T13:30:00.000-04:00I've been meaning to blog about this for a while, ...I've been meaning to blog about this for a while, but I've been too lazy. So I'll just mush this point into this comment. <BR/><BR/>The `it's just a game' defence sounds a lot like the `it's just a joke' defence of racist (and sexist) humour. But Thomas Ford, a psychologist at <A HREF="http://www.wcu.edu/5564.asp" REL="nofollow">Western Carolina University</A>, has done work showing that sexist jokes not only make it more likely that audiences will subsequently act in sexist ways, but that sexist jokes have a greater effect in this respect than non-humorous sexist statements. It seems quite plausible that the same goes for racist jokes. So, rather than a defence, `it's just a joke' really just makes things worse. <BR/><BR/>I don't keep up with the social psych research into such things, so I don't know if anyone has done any research that would be directly applicable to this trailer. But, since `it's just a game' is so close to the crappy `it's just a joke' defence, the former should be regarded as, at best, also a crappy defence.Noumenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02442204504120141558noreply@blogger.com