nwasianweekly.com
Sept. 2, 2006

On the box of “Shadow Warrior,” the main character Lo Wang smirks from behind a stereotypical goatee. A caption on the box reads “Who wants some Wang?”

By Vi-An Nguyen
For the Northwest Asian Weekly

When racism appears in TV shows, magazines and movies, it is quickly and publicly condemned. But when it rears its ugly head in video games, racism goes largely unnoticed, according to Robert Parungao, a University of British Columbia graduate who wrote his thesis on Asian stereotypes in popular video games.

Critics of video games usually focus on violence, addictiveness or even sexism. “While these are important, problematic issues (like racism) are pushed to the wayside because of the constant attack on games because of their violent nature,” Parungao said.

Even when racist images in video games are pointed out, he continued, they usually notice only the African American or Hispanic stereotypes, not the Asian ones.

A study conducted in 2001 by Children Now, a children’s advocacy group based in California, found that 86 percent of heroes in video games were white males, while 70 percent of Asian characters were fighters, especially martial artists. Non-white characters were nearly always victims or villains.

Parungao’s own research similarly found that “on the most part, games continue to perpetuate common Asian stereotypes put forward by Western media, especially martial prowess, thickly accented English and shifty-eyed gangsters.”

For example, the character Master Sho-Yu in “Kung Fu Chaos” is a cliché-ridden karate master, decked out in exaggerated Asian costume and donning a stereotypical moustache and goatee and perpetually angry eyebrows.

Parungao found Asian stereotypes also rampant in other top-selling video games, including “Grand Theft Auto,” “Warcraft 3” and “Shadow Warrior.”

“They still play off the fears of a ‘yellow peril,’ and Chinatown is almost always considered a den of sex, drugs and debauchery,” said Parungao.

He added that these games also display a lack of distinction between various Asian ethnicities. In “Shadow Warrior,” for example, the Chinese character Lo Wang — an offensive name to begin with — shouts “Just like Hiroshima!” when he throws a fireball projectile.

The fear is that gamers, particularly impressionable youths, will internalize the racial stereotypes. “It is the kind of limiting (of) what characters of color can do and cannot do in the games that sends a message to kids,” Eileen Espejo, senior associate at Children Now, said in the Aug. 12, 2004, issue of The New York Times.

But local teens interviewed for this article say they don’t really notice any stereotypes, and when they do, they’re not hurt by them.

“I rarely notice Asian racism in games, but once I was almost offended by a character with an extremely thick Asian accent, until I realized that this stereotype is very common in real life, and therefore, cannot be all that offensive,” said Dayna Chun, a 17-year-old avid gamer.

Ethan Lo, another fan, agrees. “I’ve never felt racially attacked by a video game,” the 16-year-old said. “Any stereotyping has some truth to it.”

Chris Williamson, an employee at Pink Godzilla, the popular video-game retailer in Chinatown/International District, warns against pointing fingers too quickly. “Most video games are created in Asia, by Asian producers, and then imported to the U.S. Any Asian stereotypes in these games come directly from the source,” he said.

Indeed, video gaming magnates Nintendo, Sega and Sony Playstation are based in Asia. However, “Grand Theft Auto” was created in Scotland, while “Kung Fu Chaos” and “Shadow Warrior” were produced in the U.S.

Williamson believes it’s not only the minority characters who are being distorted or misrepresented. “Games and their characters are supposed to be unrealistic — it’s part of the fantasy and it makes them more entertaining,” he believes.

A gamer himself, Parungao doesn’t advise parents to restrict their children from all kinds of video games. Instead, he said, they should “play the game with the child and ask questions like, ‘Is this a positive image of people of color?’ or ‘Do you think these depictions are accurate?’

“In doing so, a game that can potentially be harmful or negative has the ability to actually be a site of learning, where children can actually better understand how the media continues to portray people of color in stereotypical ways,” Parungao said.

In order to combat racial stereotypes in games, Parungao believes that a “critical sensibility in regards to race issues” is necessary.

“If people develop the ability to think about what they are watching or playing, then I feel that constructive criticism will naturally emerge from the population and influence the industry,” he said.

Vi-An Nguyen can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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