Comments on: Racism and Left 4 Dead 2

By: volpon

volpon — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:18:21 +0000

For all the talk of privilege, spoon-feeding, whiteness, color, etc; I was baffled by this post and the ensuing thread because I (african-american, louisiana-born, childhood home destroyed in the disaster) had such a radically different experience when playing this game. I remember the experience of having my home destroyed, everyone crying, screaming, etc–and this game definitely made me reflect on the event. At one point it became too much (the zombies, the reminder of the disaster), that I had to step outside for a moment. Yet, rather than being offended at this, I have to say I was essentially amazed and maybe even delighted– I never thought a video game would evoke such an emotional response in me. I’m not a video gamer, really. I had never given much thought to what a powerful, incredible medium it could be. Anyway, I appreciated your post. It was thought-provoking. Just wanted to share the experience of someone who was on the ground, and put down that I was impressed you had developed such a sophisticated opinion on its content.

Lastly, I think there’s something strange about the talk of “healing wounds” etc. I appreciate that people are all different–but it doesn’t jive with my experience. We in Louisiana are strong. We’re not sitting around crying about a video game cheapening our disaster–we’re getting up every morning and rebuilding. Yeah, there are a lot of problems. Everybody knows. But we’re, I believe, by and large, a strong, can-do people, and we’ll do what we can.

By: Alasdair

Alasdair — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:46:03 +0000

Just discovered this blog. Very thought-provoking post.

I’ve thought a bit about the same issues myself, but my view was the ‘subversive commentary’ one – that L4D2 is actually making a postmodern statement about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the media’s reaction to it. In this way, the hordes of zombies compare to how the black population of the city were depicted by the media as a bunch of savages (much like reports from Haiti more recently), and the abandoned survivors compare to how the hurricane refugees were abandoned by the federal government.

But after reading this, I think that’s probably giving Valve too much credit. It seems like they weren’t thinking about these issues; it seems more like they chose the setting because, as one of these posts put it, ‘it would be cool’.

And even if they were, and the game was intended as ‘subversive commentary’, they didn’t succeed. The game doesn’t make those parallels explicit, and if the game was intended to comment on post-Katrina New Orleans, it doesn’t actually have much to say on the matter. Certainly not enough to justify the setting.

So, to be brief: I agree with your post. L4D2 is unjustifiably offensive – which is disappointing from Valve, a developer I’ve come to respect, but as you say this is still early days for them and they’ve still got much to learn.

I just wonder if it would even be possible to create a ‘subversive commentary’ game in the first place. Perhaps it would, but the message would have to be hammered home to be effective, at the expense of the gameplay. Valve concentrated on making a fun game instead. Ultimately, L4D is just meant to be an enjoyable shooter – and it is (providing you overlook the issues discussed here), but any political messages were lost in order to make it that way.

By: kaninchenzero

kaninchenzero — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:26:41 +0000

(This was meant to be a reply to Alex H’s comment http://borderhouseblog.com/?p=1399&cpage=1#comment-2389 .)

By: kaninchenzero

kaninchenzero — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:18:50 +0000

That–about the bridge segment in L4D2/Parish–breaks my heart.

Thank you. Both for the excellent analysis and your kind words.

By: Alex H

Alex H — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:14:00 +0000

I have to third the sentiment! Thank you for this comment. I knew some of these details of Katrina, but they are still shocking. In the last segment of the Parish level you have to cross a bridge to get to the rescue, while zombies *who have been blockaded by authorities and left stranded* impede your progress.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:48:31 +0000

Glad to hear it! I’ve missed your presence as well.

By: kaninchenzero

kaninchenzero — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:18:47 +0000

Thank you, oliemoon. I’ve been a bit rough but I think things might be improving.

By: Brinstar

Brinstar — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:49:07 +0000

By: Jayle Enn

Jayle Enn — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:36:49 +0000

And I just read Alex’s comment on my complaint at the far end of the thread. I’m just used to people who will use a comment like that as an excuse to claim victory in an argument.

I made some other missteps in this thread too, but I’m trying to get better.

By: Jayle Enn

Jayle Enn — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:32:26 +0000

Thank you very much for point #1. Like I responded earlier, it struck me as a weak point in an otherwise very good article. I deal with people who would use a line like that as an excuse to throw their hands up and refuse to read further, so it’s the kind of thing that throws red flags for me.