Fair Play: Race

In this section of Fair Play? our class discussed race relations in video games. In the same manner that violence and gender may have an impact on players, so does the racial makeup of games. Racial depictions are very important, and the statistics provided in Fair Play? are once again enlightening. Not surprising, more than half (56%) of all human characters in the study were white and white female characters outnumbered female characters of every other racial group (22). This effectively shunned many other groups, with no Latina characters to be found, virtually rendering Native Americans invisible and creating Asian/Pacific Islanders characters that were mainly computer-controlled props, bystanders and villains. Racial stereotypical roles also seem to be enforced in games with nearly every video game hero white, Latino characters only appearing in sport games, Asian/Pacific characters as wrestlers or antagonists and almost all African American males portrayed as competitors, while most African American females were non-action characters (22). These stats are disheartening, especially when analyzing them against the racial makeup of players, which is vastly different. As noted in a previous post, a recent study by NewScientist magazine also supports the information found in the Fair Play? article. This calls for an immediate analysis of what video games are showing of society and how change can be brought to it. If video games are recreating our world, then they must do it accurately and fairly. It is not only with the racial makeup, but with gender and violence as well. Video games must rise above the stereotypes, with developers giving honest thought and critique to how they will create their future projects. It is not only developers that need to step up to the plate, but society as well, for we must all ask ourselves why we have let such a practice go on for so long. The Fair Play? article brings up valid points; we must no longer simply ignore the stereotypical practices that plague video games, but take up the challenge of revolutionizing the field.