every time i think about overwatch's orientalism i go a lil more insane. 5 japanese characters all of which are tied to a very stereotypical mythologized version of japan. they're some of the few explicitly magical characters. all of them are part of clans and lineages and shit. every map that takes place in japan is an orientalist fairy land with idyllic old looking villages with shrines and gates and cobblestone and zero utility poles in sight. this game is so incredibly racist
what's interesting to me is that no other asian characters get this treatment. mei is a climate scientist or something. diva is a gamer. lifeweaver and symmetra are scientist. something about japan specifically makes the overwatch devs get a boner for the image of a permanently ancient magical other, japanese characters are simply not allowed to be contemporary
thank fucking god someone else was thinking this too
I don't know... Torbjorn just so happens to be incredibly short, Scandinavian, and an industrious crafter.
Reinhardt just so happens to be a massive German man who is serious humorless and a literal knight.
Sombra just so happens to be a Mexican criminal with ties to organized crime, a preference for machine pistols (like those popularized in 'drive bys') and a soft spot for poor under privileged persons.
Mercy just so happens to be a Swiss woman who is great at science and healthcare.
Zenyatta is from Nepal and physically designed to be evocative of Buddhist, in addition to being a member of a famously pacifist organization.
Like, Overwatch doesn't do any cultures any favors. They are the most watered down, most stereotyped, most trope-laiden versions of the characters they can be-
because that's the point. You're supposed to be able to read the character at a glance, to understand who and what they are about without reading or watching a single narrative-driven second about them, to feel like you know the character just from hearing their random chirps during gameplay.
"We've reached the level of technology that we can larp as whatever we want to!"
"Fuck yeah, we're making anime real!"
"Fuck yeah, we're making fantasy novels real!"
"Fuck yeah, we're making The Turner Diaries real!"
"GET 'IM!"
Overwatch in a nutshell
you're arguing that it's a good thing that overwatch stereotypes its characters because it makes it more readable to white racists. get off my fucking post lol
i'm no character designer but i'm fairly sure you can design unique and varied characters of multiple nationalities that stand apart from each other for the purposes of gameplay without diving straight into the valley of racism. what the fuck are these people talking about lol.
