NBC News discovers Chinese bootleg gaming consoles/famiclones, and it's hilarious!

[fcgamer | 4,767]

On 4/12/2023 at 11:13 PM, Code Monkey said:

I had a long response written out but I feel like continued discussion is not desired here so I just want to make a single comment in response. Just because I never learned how this works, that doesn't equate to racism. This is all very interesting and confusing to me at the same time but when you ask questions to try and understand, people lose their minds.

See my post above about the toothpaste. Furthermore, it was once suggested here by some that I never experienced racism since I'm a white male and willfully chose to move abroad, and could therefore just as easily move back home at will any time I chose*

People start getting funny about things but it always tends to be a smorgasbord - i.e. pick and choose what to examine, and dismiss the rest if it doesn't fit the agenda. So trust me, it's not you.

*I know a guy who just barely made it back to England after an accident that ultimately led to a botched surgery, and basically put the guy in severe pain and crutches for life, rendering him just barely able to work part time and financially ruined. Should anyone even be willing to take him on (fun fact, disabled here are discriminated against quite often just for that...). Barely scraped up enough money to make it back to England, doesn't have family there anymore either as it was a middle-aged guy.

[fcgamer | 4,767]

On 4/12/2023 at 10:12 AM, Scrobins said:

Caricatures are harmful, there is no acceptable one.

Would this apply to those caricatures you can get at the beach on the boardwalk as well then? Harmful and none are acceptable?

[fcgamer | 4,767]

On 4/12/2023 at 9:46 AM, Scrobins said:

I can't tell if you are being a troll or your upbringing was so devoid of racial awareness that you are incapable of gaining that skill at this point in your life.

If this were the situation, could it perhaps be stated or argued that CodeMonkey just doesn't see race in such a manner, thus not being able to view things as racist or not? Perhaps he is just seeing people as who they are - people - without the unnecessary points of skin color, ethnicity, race, wealth, social class, bloodlines, sexuality, etc. It honestly wouldn't surprise me in a way, and to just view people as humans and nothing else should be commended.

[fcgamer | 4,767]

On 4/12/2023 at 6:58 AM, FenrirZero said:

With those who either know, or even look up, the former know that the depictions of the black characters (both on package and in game) are racist. Even by NES/Famicom era standards. Which is why it was not ported outside Japan.

Do you have a source for the bolded part? I'd like to be able to make a note for my archives, thanks.

[Code Monkey | 2,014]

1 hour ago, fcgamer said:

Would this apply to those caricatures you can get at the beach on the boardwalk as well then? Harmful and none are acceptable?

I thought that was the point people were making, those drawing guys are racist and probably get yelled at all the time for drawing people with improper proportions.

 

1 hour ago, fcgamer said:

If this were the situation, could it perhaps be stated or argued that CodeMonkey just doesn't see race in such a manner, thus not being able to view things as racist or not? Perhaps he is just seeing people as who they are - people - without the unnecessary points of skin color, ethnicity, race, wealth, social class, bloodlines, sexuality, etc. It honestly wouldn't surprise me in a way, and to just view people as humans and nothing else should be commended.

This is what I was trying to say, I interact with people of all kinds of different races, especially running software teams. I don't really know what's racist, I just treat everyone equally the same and I'm probably oblivious to anything racist that does happen in my presence. Apparently this is wrong somehow.

It doesn't matter anyway, I've accepted not understanding it and the fact I'm not allowed to question it. I'll just keep treating everyone equally the same and hope for the best.

[Scrobins | 1,729]

Dave, is it really necessary for you to re-derail a thread just because you have an opinion after the conversation has moved on? Respect the subject the OP wishes and please stop engaging this discussion in bad faith.

There is more than one definition of the word “caricature” and you are conflating them to make the appropriateness of one excuse the other. Cartoon artists at carnivals and street fairs would not make a caricature of the other sort without getting their jaw broken.

And no, the notion of “not seeing race” is not generally an accepted concept. You are not “disallowed” from asking the question, but the point is that the vast majority of people have a passing understanding of racial discrimination against BIPOC communities that someone saying they don’t see race is regarded as willfully disregarding the pain of others’ experiences. Saying you don’t see color is to say you don’t know or don’t care what people of color have been through.

Anyway please keep this thread on topic. If you want to engage and understand race relations, then please start a separate thread to ask.

[YOURTURN | 1,257]

4 hours ago, fcgamer said:

Do you have a source for the bolded part? I'd like to be able to make a note for my archives, thanks.

Nope. But here are two links for you!

LINK #1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square's_Tom_Sawyer

LINK #2: https://www.jp.square-enix.com/game/detail/square_ts/

I should note that this game was on my "to buy" list when I was planning to collect Famicom exclusive RPGs.

[OptOut | 8,892]

Awesome thread. 

[YOURTURN | 1,257]

Video Game Sage.

When things escalate, it doesn't happen quickly.

It doesn't happen light speed.

Heck, it does not happen ridiculous speed.

It escalates... Ludicrous speed.

[Code Monkey | 2,014]

On 4/12/2023 at 10:27 PM, phart010 said:

The black kid with big red lips is a classic racist meme from back in the day. Basically white people would do comedy skits and color their face black with shoe polish and put on puffy lips and mock black people by acting ridiculous (excuse me if you don’t like the term ‘black people’, but that’s what black people I know prefer). That’s actually where the term ‘blackface’ originated from (although I think nowadays people ignorantly misuse the word for anything and everything).

Racist cartoons back in the day would recreate these skits making black people as black as night and exaggerating their features, always making a mockery. This black kid on the Tom Sawyer box is drawn in the same style, although it looks kind of Japanese anime styled. Before jumping to conclusions about racism, I would assume the Japanese artist didn’t draw it to be intentionally degrading, rather he/she was probably just ignorant of the cultural sensitivity of this. You have to take into account that Japan had little exposure to American societal issues in the 80s and even less exposure to black people. It’s possible they just saw some old racist American cartoons from the era and copied it not knowing any better.

Very interesting, thanks.