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I was looking around Gaia's game discussion forum when I came upon this photo of a advertising board in Europe...



...and there's a big ol' row over there as to whether the ad is racist or not, be it by intent or short-sightedness on behalf of the designer, so I figured I'd see if any of you had anything to say about it.

As for me, I could sort of see where people might be getting those feelings from, but the offense I'm more worried about is that model they used - blech.

I looked at the picture three times before I saw the black dude. Reminds me of this kid who used to say he'd be awesome as a Spec-Ops Operative. "I just have to dress in black and I'll just melt into the night."

As for racist, it does seem a bit. Implying that white is better or going to kick black's ass.

I'm not offended, but I'm
a) not black
b) very hard to offend

Actually, I think it looks very cool.

Yes, a white woman triumphantly clutching the throat of a vanquished black man could be construed as racist.

I don't know if I should see it as offensive, because I don't really 'get' it at all, really.

I kind of think it's racist, though? I mean, I really get that impression more than "nope, not at all". Still, buh? I don't get the message.

Yes it gives off racist vibes. She's looks like she's judging the quality of the black guy (who represents an inferior gaming system, I think), about the throw him away in disgust, then announce the triumphant arrival of the superior, white video game system.

I get what they were doing artistically there and it wasn't a race thing. It's a contrast thing, the best way to make a really bright white object seem even more extreme, be it a person, object, or whatever, is to put it next to something or someone really dark.

The problem is that really does give off really racist vibes in the design execution. It looks bad, particularly with the phrasing of the copy.

Huge racist vibes. Seriously, I'm surprised they found a black guy willing to do that poster.

Durandal wrote:Huge racist vibes. Seriously, I'm surprised they found a black guy willing to do that poster.

I would guess that a pretty easy way to get models to pose for work is not to fully tell them what it'll be used for.

Let's see, If I had seen that pic with no question of if it's racist, two things would have popped into my head.

1. That chick's ugly
2. They're making a white PSP...meh.

I fail to see it.

Pablo Sanchez wrote:Yes, a white woman triumphantly clutching the throat of a vanquished black man could be construed as racist.

She's not clutching his throat, Dark Moose.

The picture isn't racist. The copy makes it so.

Y'know, the first time I looked at the pick, I didn't even see the black guy 'cause of the contrast, so I was pretty confused. As it is... well, it's definitely in poor taste.

Prior evidence does not favor the PSP's marketing team either.

Oh, snap!

It's nice that Sony caters to every niche market, I suppose. Ironically, this is the kind of thing that makes me want to get a hold of the market research they performed where they showed this ad to a focus group, and they said, "Yeah, that makes me want to buy this product".

Hum, it gives me some racist vibes, indeed. At the very least, it should made their marketing guys had second thoughts about it. Nowadays Sony is getting bad PR flak as it is.

Yes, a white woman triumphantly clutching the throat of a vanquished black man could be construed as racist.

King Kong wrote:Yes it gives off racist vibes. She's looks like she's judging the quality of the black guy (who represents an inferior gaming system, I think), about the throw him away in disgust, then announce the triumphant arrival of the superior, white video game system.

I think it looks lime she's gonna start making out with him, but maybe it's just me.

Durandal wrote:Huge racist vibes. Seriously, I'm surprised they found a black guy willing to do that poster.

I'm not, and he probably approved the photos. Money is money, doubly so for models looking for work. The picture in and of itself isn't a problem; you get all sorts of art photos like that. The problem is the copy. They really need to call it something other than Playstation Portable White.

Gil Hamilton wrote:

Durandal wrote:Huge racist vibes. Seriously, I'm surprised they found a black guy willing to do that poster.

I'm not, and he probably approved the photos. Money is money, doubly so for models looking for work. The picture in and of itself isn't a problem; you get all sorts of art photos like that. The problem is the copy. They really need to call it something other than Playstation Portable White.

I don't see how the name itself is a problem. It's only really problematic when you combine the name and the picture together. Otherwise the 'white' part is, quite accurately, describing the color of the PSP. The picture and the name are simply a bad combination.

Durandal wrote:Huge racist vibes. Seriously, I'm surprised they found a black guy willing to do that poster.

My thoughts exactly!

You can always find people who will model for literally almost anything.

Whatever, it still doesn't change what my first thought was Spanky

VG cats said this would happen but This is Where in europe England... Their market research has been horrible since the "gettoh squirells" ad.

Lord Poe wrote:She's not clutching his throat, Dark Moose.

Okay, so the contrast on the black model was so low that he's hard to see and I mistook her seizing him by the jaw for his throat... my GOD my minor mistake has completely changed the entire meaning of the picture!

...

Or, maybe it barely changes anything at all, in that a white woman is still displayed as utterly dominant over a pliant, even helpless black man.

I don't get how you can really see that as anything but racism. The entire poster's intent is to promote the superiority of white vs. black. Even if it's intended to promote the product and not racism, the way it was done very clearly indicates that we're supposed to think that the black fellow is worth less than the white chick.

Andrew J. wrote:I think it looks lime she's gonna start making out with him, but maybe it's just me.

People don't (usually) sneer in contempt at the person they're about to make out with. The pose that they're doesn't necessarily give off racist vibes; the emphasis on their color and the implied superiority of 'white' is what really makes this ad racist. The pose just makes it worse.

I think it's provocative...but poorly implemented. The way they portrayed the psp white seems to make it racist. On an aside, I saw white psp's in several major European airport electronics stores just a few months ago...