Stereotype: Italian-Americans - Mario(Mario Brothers)
Even tho Mario is a great character and is loved by many, he is indeed a very basic stereotype that is used quite often in video games, known as the Italian american stereo type. This stereo type can be recognized by the accent and tone of voice and is usually foreshadowed or shown to have a big family. For example, in Mario, he has his brother Luigi and his cousins, Wario and Waligi. While he is far better than any of the Italian-Americans in Mafia or Mafia 2, this plumber could make do with some polish and updating to his image. Italians have little to look forward to; their scale of representation is either a gangster or a pipe-jumping embarrassment chasing turtles and crabs.
Stereotype: Homosexuals - Gay Tony GTA 4
Grand Theft Auto has never been known for political correctness. While it blows past the ESRB, the adventures of criminals and the underground found new limits to crash through with the homosexual club owner and crime lord – Gay Tony. Tony Prince, the real name of the criminal, is a flamboyant, amoral, drug-addicted caricature of a homosexual character living in Liberty City. He is colorful, stereotypically fashionable and even runs Hercules, the gay club in town complete with shirtless goons. While Gay Tony is not as offensive as he could have been, having a high-profiled homosexual character in a game could have been a better choice than Mr. Prince.
Stereotypes: The Irish - Irish (Red Dead Redemption)
When grizzled cowboy John Marston meets Irish in Rockstar’s instant classic, the character might as well be wearing shamrocks and chasing a pot of gold. Irish’s accent is over-the-top, his antics revolve around drinking and alcohol nearly as much as they do sex (yes, he even propositions nuns.) Irish is an example that those of us with white skin can be the victims of stereotypes as well. Irish video game characters do not have a large amount of representation so when one of the Emerald Isle’s sons appear, there is a lot riding. Rockstar did catch heat for this character and his embarrassing ways.
Stereotype: Angry Black Man - Sgt. Avery Johnson
If you watch any cop movie from the 70s and 80s, they all had the loud angry black captain. That was the African-American pacifier – you’re in charge but your just one scream away from full hypertension. Well, unfortunately, Halo reached back to Starsky & Hutch in and brought out Sgt. Johnson. Cigar-chomping, swearing and grizzled-voiced, Johnson is the ultimate angry black man. While he is not terrible, Johnson could have been more multifaceted rather than one dimensional and predictable.
No comments:
Post a Comment