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sighs a critical discussion on the (often racist and awfully stereotypical) depiction of brown character(s) in east asian media, including mobile games, is really long overdue
a lot of people claim that depiction of a particular brown character in the media is not necessarily racist if only people would be willing to read/understand the lore--but the thing is a lot of the times the depiction of a brown char is so overtly racist/stereotypical that--
--even the most cursory glance at their character design/description/trivia is enough to see that yes, this character does have problematic racist/stereotypical elements that really need to be critically examined
a disclaimer: your stance on a piece of media w/ problematic racist/stereotypical depiction of brown/dark-skinned character is not a judgment of your personal virtues or failings; a critical discussion is not intended to make you feel bad/guilty
it is also not intended to make you boycott that piece of media. what a critical discussion on this issue could facilitate is the point of view(s) and voice(s) of the people who, again and again, become the punchline of a shallow, caricature-ish portrayal in media
before even delving into the lore/story of a particular franchise, a closer examination of the *character design* itself is important--are they wearing cartoonish, inaccurate vaguely middle-eastern/indian outfit? are they described as 'exotic' or 'foreign prince'?
does their character design conflate design elements/aesthetic of different cultures in order to achieve a 'brown' aesthetic(tm) that is ultimately disjointed and make it look like the only research their char designer did is watching aladdin?
what i also noticed is the trend of giving a brown character a brown aesthetic(tm) and background story while simultaneously distancing these characters from brown *names* bc in the current media landscape, a brown name is *scary*
a white character might still exhibit foreign character tropes, but the names given to them tend to align w/ their (often european/american) background and its aesthetics--bc white names don't carry the same weight as brown names and are not villainized
speaking of background--did the character hail from 'war-torn' countries or tribes? are there mentions of harems and other stereotypically 'exotic' 'tradition' (eg. belly-dancing)? does the character or people from the char's place of origin possess 'animalistic' traits?
racist/offensive stereotypes don't have to be part of the media's lore (stories, etc.) to be seen as racist/offensive, although they often are incorporated into the lore, both overtly and subtly
speaking of lore, let's get into character traits--is the token brown char described as 'simple' or 'happy-go-lucky'? are they described by animal metaphors (eg. 'ape-like strength')? those descriptions *in itself* are not necessarily a problem, but even if it's unintentional--
--they often hark back to the 'noble savage' stereotypes, which at its core describe how non-white characters are 'pure' and 'good' and 'happy' bc their culture is primitive/backwards and therefore they're not 'tainted' by the burden of civilization
'brutal savage' stereotypes are just as harmful--for instance when a brown char is described as 'beastly' or 'wild' and can only be calmed down (= 'tamed') by a non-brown character, whose kindness and virtues manage to 'reform' the brown character
yes, those stereotypes hail from the west (europe), but it would be incredibly naive for us to distance ourselves from our culpability in perpetuating and reinforcing a western lens in media discourse--western lens is the dominant lens with which we view media
also: asia is not a monolith and east asians might/can harbor colorism/racism against brown asians (southeast/south/middle-eastern/central asians) and black people--there are many, many real-life examples of this
this irl racism/colorism bleeds into east asian media franchises, whether intentionally or unintentionally, regardless of whatever justification or reasoning you might want to use in your defense of the franchise
arguments such as 'the country is homogenous so the creators of the franchise don't know any better' or 'racist stereotypes only make sense in context of western media' are condescending and insulting--both for the creators and the people affected by the racist portrayal
no media is insulated against racism/colorism and harmful stereotypes, regardless of country of origin; the onus is on the creator to realize this and at the very least do bare minimum (!) research to avoid glaringly obvious pitfalls
as a fandom we expect fan creators to do their research and are quick to point out cultural insensitivity/incoherent setting (eg. americanized high school in a jp setting); we should hold creators (which gains monetary benefit from the franchise) to the same (or higher) standard
the problematic (or lack of) portrayal of disenfranchised groups is *not* trivial--it has been studied again and again for decades, and there's a term for it: symbolic annihilation
symbolic annihilation is at its core about the erasure of particular group of people in media--this could arise from omission (absence of representation), condemnation (demonized portrayal), and *trivialization* (caricature-ish portrayal based on shallow, harmful stereotypes)
symbolic annihilation removes the agency of the group being portrayed (or not portrayed); it reaffirms prejudices and actively perpetuates negative messages, it can lead to social disenfranchisement and disempowerment
'but [a brown person] enjoys the franchise and doesn't think of the portrayal as problematic!' 1) brown people can and do internalize and perpetuate racism/colorism; 2) a brown person's opinion is NOT your shield against criticism
we are still continuously unlearning the legacy of centuries of colonialism which manifests in post-colonial mindset/behavior (eg. desire for light skin; utopic view of east asia/western countries, etc.)--we do not exist to make *you* feel better about your (problematic) views
tl;dr instead of bending over backwards trying to justify racist/stereotypical portrayal of brown characters in (east asian) media by claiming that it's just 'misunderstood' or that people are the ones at fault for being 'too sensitive' or 'imposing their western belief' etc.--
--please try to understand why people raised their complaints in the first place. please understand how even seemingly innocuous, fun piece of media could reinforce and further perpetuate the beliefs that has led to irl discrimination
please understand that criticism against a franchise you like is *not* a personal attack against you, nor it is intended to make you (or your friends etc.) feel bad; please understand that east asian media are not insulated against racism/harmful stereotypes and neither are you
please enjoy the media and love the characters! please do so while also critically examining the media and, if you're able, push for improvements!
we send feedbacks/emails/tweets to a game dev/creator if a game's maintenance is extended for a few hours or if a glitch prevents us from playing it--please extend the same energy to push for a better portrayal of brown characters!
