1527 réponses à ce sujet

[GodWood]

lastpawn wrote...

GodWood wrote...

atheelogos wrote...

Jacob and jack aren't popular because their powers aren't that good. Simple as that.

Incorrect.
Firstly Jack is quite popular (and the people who don't like her don't like her for her personality)
Secondly people hate Jacob for his crappy romance and boring personality.

The number of pages in Jack's support thread happen to disagree.

Thats because the Jack support thread lacks posts that simply say hello or goodnight folks/Keelah Salai like other character threads....

[Collider]

A lot of people like Jack, they just aren't as pronounced as other love interest. I don't really think the amount of popularity her character has really matters though. Her personality is certainly unique enough. I did read that at least one of the developers thought she was their favorite new character.

[phordicus]

TheLostGenius wrote...

LPPrince wrote...

TheLostGenius wrote...

I like the part where he shoots his own dad. That was a Jacob is being badass moment. For the rest of the game, not so much.

When did he shoot his dad? In all my playthroughs, he said he wasn't worth shooting.

You can coax him into it. Go renegade.

how do people get this wrong?  jacob gives him a gun with one bullet and the father offs himself.

[aznsoisauce]

Garuda One wrote...

Nazomi wrote...

aznsoisauce wrote...

EDIT: Holy ****. Had to edit for some goddamn white space. WTF.

Relevant to this topic:

AWESOME BLACK VIDEO GAME PROTAGONISTS
Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson - Halo series
Doctor Eli Vance - Half Life series
Sazh Katzroy - Final Fantasy XIII
Augustus "Cole Train" Cole - Gears of War
Louis - Left 4 Dead
Jade - Beyond Good & Evil BONUS! She's the main character AND she's a she.

I could go on but the point has been made. Far more interesting and likable video game characters exist and also happen to be black (or at least, not white).

Sorry, OP. There's no elephant in the room.

The point is made is it?  I'd be pretty impressed if you could come up with a  list of non sterreotypical, non optional main characters. Not supporting characters. I think that was the point. Jade was desinged to be ethnically ambiguiuous by the way.

I agree, the only one who I think doesn't follow a stereotypical persona would be Eli Vance.

What the hell? So just because some people think those characters are stereotypes they can't be awesome? And the point still stands since they are all (in my opinion anyway) non-white video game characters that are leaps and bounds more interesting than Jacob.

But...yeah. I really wasn't sure about Jade. Also, I don't consider Eli, Sazh, or Louis to be stereotypical. Especially Sazh...though the whole chocobo thing is hilarious in a racist way. That, however, would be going off-topic.

It's all opinion anyway, so I guess I shouldn't care if I've impressed anyone.

[Aniki_21]

Honestly I don't see why a lot of you seem to think the idea that not being able to relate to a "plainish" Jacob as much as the would a plainish white guy character. I mean does anybody really think it's a coincidence that black lead characters (i.e. non optional main character the players don't have a choice whether or not to play) are nearly non-existant? You'd be hard pressed  to try to list many games that fit this description that came out all last year. Doubt I will get many responses to this one.

[Beholderess]

Aniki_21 wrote...

Honestly I don't see why a lot of you seem to think the idea that not being able to relate to a "plainish" Jacob as much as the would a plainish white guy character. I mean does anybody really think it's a coincidence that black lead characters (i.e. non optional main character the players don't have a choice whether or not to play) are nearly non-existant? You'd be hard pressed  to try to list many games that fit this description that came out all last year. Doubt I will get many responses to this one.

Again, in this case people should have trouble relating to aliens too.

[MajesticJazz]

Okay guys, riddle me this. If the reason why Jacob gets so much negative vibes is NOT because of his skin color but rather his dull personality and sorry romance okay, I buy that. But answer this....how come Jacob got so much negative vibes PRIOR to the release of ME2. Before people saw how dull his personality was or how bad his romance was. People didn't have the game to see that. Hell, Jacob hardly got any media coverage (Like a character reveal video) and was one of the least hyped characters compared to Thane, Grunt, Miranda etc. But yet Jacob STILL got negative vibes. When someone would create a Jacob thread before the game came out, it instantly became about his skin color. When someone created a thread talking about "Things you wished Jacob said", all of the things people submitted were lines that are steretypical in which a black person would say....again, his skin color playing a part.

So I would agree that there are MANY of you here who really do not like Jacob because he is boring, I buy that. But please don't act like EVERYONE feels that way. There are also MANY of you here who aren't so fond of Jacob because he is a black person but you won't admit that, you'll just hide behind the "He is a boring character" excuse.

EDIT: Also let me add something else. Besides Jacob being "Boring and bad romance" which is the excuse that EVERYONE seems to be hiding under which is very interesting. I think the reason why Jacob is not so popular because HE ISNT a black stereotype. Yes his looks and voice is stereotypical black/african-american, but he isn't like CJ from GTA or Cole Train from Gears of War. He isn't like Griggs from MW that just happened to be the only character to run to the radio and turn it on to rap music. Jacob is just a black guy in space who has good morals and isn't stereotypical black.

White people like Cole Train because he is an exaggerated stereotypical black guy and whites are comfortable seeing blacks in that nature. When blacks deviate from the norm, whites get nervous because it "isn't what they expect" or they are "not used to it". Cole train and CJ is what they expect and what they're used to so it is no question why whites enjoy these characters. Yes, whites enjoy Captain Anderson but he isn't a squadmate and he isnt a romance option.

Again I'm going to bring up that thread in which someone asked "Things you wished Jacob said" and nearly 95% of the responses were lines that you would stereotypical attach to black people. This only supports my idea that whites are only comfortable when the blacks are acting "in place" and not outside of that. If Jacob did talk VERY ebonic like Cole train or like the lines in the "Things you wished jacob said" thread, then Jacob would probably be one of the most loved characters in ME2 and people wouldn't call him boring. His romance would still be bad but people would then say he doesn't have a dull personality because he is acting/talking in a way that they can "relate to".

I'm interested to see if anyone is brave enough to respond to this....

Modifié par MajesticJazz, 16 avril 2010 - 03:22 .

[Errol Dnamyx]

If only he wasn´t black, I´d be allowed to properly hate him...

[DarthCyclopsRLZ]

Sure, he spent most of the game cleaning guns, but I like Jacob well enough.  I don't mind "2-dimensional" characters, really. Some people in real life can be just that.

Only went through a playthrough as male Shep, so I wouldn't know about the romance, though.

Modifié par DarthCyclopsRLZ, 16 avril 2010 - 03:42 .

[Ski Mask Wei]

MajesticJazz wrote...

Okay guys, riddle me this. If the reason why Jacob gets so much negative vibes is NOT because of his skin color but rather his dull personality and sorry romance okay, I buy that. But answer this....how come Jacob got so much negative vibes PRIOR to the release of ME2. Before people saw how dull his personality was or how bad his romance was. People didn't have the game to see that. Hell, Jacob hardly got any media coverage (Like a character reveal video) and was one of the least hyped characters compared to Thane, Grunt, Miranda etc. But yet Jacob STILL got negative vibes. When someone would create a Jacob thread before the game came out, it instantly became about his skin color. When someone created a thread talking about "Things you wished Jacob said", all of the things people submitted were lines that are steretypical in which a black person would say....again, his skin color playing a part.

So I would agree that there are MANY of you here who really do not like Jacob because he is boring, I buy that. But please don't act like EVERYONE feels that way. There are also MANY of you here who aren't so fond of Jacob because he is a black person but you won't admit that, you'll just hide behind the "He is a boring character" excuse.

EDIT: Also let me add something else. Besides Jacob being "Boring and bad romance" which is the excuse that EVERYONE seems to be hiding under which is very interesting. I think the reason why Jacob is not so popular because HE ISNT a black stereotype. Yes his looks and voice is stereotypical black/african-american, but he isn't like CJ from GTA or Cole Train from Gears of War. He isn't like Griggs from MW that just happened to be the only character to run to the radio and turn it on to rap music. Jacob is just a black guy in space who has good morals and isn't stereotypical black.

White people like Cole Train because he is an exaggerated stereotypical black guy and whites are comfortable seeing blacks in that nature. When blacks deviate from the norm, whites get nervous because it "isn't what they expect" or they are "not used to it". Cole train and CJ is what they expect and what they're used to so it is no question why whites enjoy these characters. Yes, whites enjoy Captain Anderson but he isn't a squadmate and he isnt a romance option.

Again I'm going to bring up that thread in which someone asked "Things you wished Jacob said" and nearly 95% of the responses were lines that you would stereotypical attach to black people. This only supports my idea that whites are only comfortable when the blacks are acting "in place" and not outside of that. If Jacob did talk VERY ebonic like Cole train or like the lines in the "Things you wished jacob said" thread, then Jacob would probably be one of the most loved characters in ME2 and people wouldn't call him boring. His romance would still be bad but people would then say he doesn't have a dull personality because he is acting/talking in a way that they can "relate to".

I'm interested to see if anyone is brave enough to respond to this....

Preach.

[Beholderess]

MajesticJazz wrote...

Okay guys, riddle me this. If the reason why Jacob gets so much negative vibes is NOT because of his skin color but rather his dull personality and sorry romance okay, I buy that. But answer this....how come Jacob got so much negative vibes PRIOR to the release of ME2. Before people saw how dull his personality was or how bad his romance was. People didn't have the game to see that. Hell, Jacob hardly got any media coverage (Like a character reveal video) and was one of the least hyped characters compared to Thane, Grunt, Miranda etc. But yet Jacob STILL got negative vibes. When someone would create a Jacob thread before the game came out, it instantly became about his skin color. When someone created a thread talking about "Things you wished Jacob said", all of the things people submitted were lines that are steretypical in which a black person would say....again, his skin color playing a part.

So I would agree that there are MANY of you here who really do not like Jacob because he is boring, I buy that. But please don't act like EVERYONE feels that way. There are also MANY of you here who aren't so fond of Jacob because he is a black person but you won't admit that, you'll just hide behind the "He is a boring character" excuse.

EDIT: Also let me add something else. Besides Jacob being "Boring and bad romance" which is the excuse that EVERYONE seems to be hiding under which is very interesting. I think the reason why Jacob is not so popular because HE ISNT a black stereotype. Yes his looks and voice is stereotypical black/african-american, but he isn't like CJ from GTA or Cole Train from Gears of War. He isn't like Griggs from MW that just happened to be the only character to run to the radio and turn it on to rap music. Jacob is just a black guy in space who has good morals and isn't stereotypical black.

White people like Cole Train because he is an exaggerated stereotypical black guy and whites are comfortable seeing blacks in that nature. When blacks deviate from the norm, whites get nervous because it "isn't what they expect" or they are "not used to it". Cole train and CJ is what they expect and what they're used to so it is no question why whites enjoy these characters. Yes, whites enjoy Captain Anderson but he isn't a squadmate and he isnt a romance option.

Again I'm going to bring up that thread in which someone asked "Things you wished Jacob said" and nearly 95% of the responses were lines that you would stereotypical attach to black people. This only supports my idea that whites are only comfortable when the blacks are acting "in place" and not outside of that. If Jacob did talk VERY ebonic like Cole train or like the lines in the "Things you wished jacob said" thread, then Jacob would probably be one of the most loved characters in ME2 and people wouldn't call him boring. His romance would still be bad but people would then say he doesn't have a dull personality because he is acting/talking in a way that they can "relate to".

I'm interested to see if anyone is brave enough to respond to this....

Well, I am certain that there are SOME people SOMEWHERE who dislike Jacob because of his skin color. People can have prejudeses, all right. It's not different from some people disliking Ashley specifically for being religios, for example. But to think that the majority of players dislike Jacob because of the skin...seriosly, it baffles me.
I've never watched any pre-release videos, or anything about ME2, so I've had no prior exposition to Jacob. Yet when I've first seen him in game, I liked him. He started to bore me to tears much later. I've seen some people at this thread say the same - that at the start of the game they were well-disposed towards Jacob. If his skin color was a defining factor, more people should hate the guy from the start, cos' his appearance is the first thing everyone sees.
However, it might be possible that for a high percent of people Jacob's skin tone can increase an already-resent dislike for a character. People tend to judge "other" harsher than themselves. But, again, it can increase the dislike for a character, not to serve as it's source.




On a completely unrelated note, I have played a romance with a black NPC in one game. In an original campain of NWN it was possible to romance Aarin Gend (not a party-member, but a pretty-important quest giver), and, frankly, he was one of the (very) few NPCs worth remembering in this game.

Oh, and I've heard that there are couple of fan-made modules for Baldur's Gate 2 that allow Valigar (certainly not white) as a romantic interest. Guess he is popular with the ladies. Sure, the only official romanceable male in this game (Anomen) is white...and HE is universally disliked. Not just forgotten, but hated with passion=). Oh, and one of the romanceable females in BG2 has a black skin. Granted, she's a drow=)

[Slayer299]

MajesticJazz wrote...

Okay guys, riddle me this. If the reason why Jacob gets so much negative vibes is NOT because of his skin color but rather his dull personality and sorry romance okay, I buy that. But answer this....how come Jacob got so much negative vibes PRIOR to the release of ME2. Before people saw how dull his personality was or how bad his romance was. People didn't have the game to see that. Hell, Jacob hardly got any media coverage (Like a character reveal video) and was one of the least hyped characters compared to Thane, Grunt, Miranda etc. But yet Jacob STILL got negative vibes. When someone would create a Jacob thread before the game came out, it instantly became about his skin color. When someone created a thread talking about "Things you wished Jacob said", all of the things people submitted were lines that are steretypical in which a black person would say....again, his skin color playing a part.

So I would agree that there are MANY of you here who really do not like Jacob because he is boring, I buy that. But please don't act like EVERYONE feels that way. There are also MANY of you here who aren't so fond of Jacob because he is a black person but you won't admit that, you'll just hide behind the "He is a boring character" excuse.

EDIT: Also let me add something else. Besides Jacob being "Boring and bad romance" which is the excuse that EVERYONE seems to be hiding under which is very interesting. I think the reason why Jacob is not so popular because HE ISNT a black stereotype. Yes his looks and voice is stereotypical black/african-american, but he isn't like CJ from GTA or Cole Train from Gears of War. He isn't like Griggs from MW that just happened to be the only character to run to the radio and turn it on to rap music. Jacob is just a black guy in space who has good morals and isn't stereotypical black.

White people like Cole Train because he is an exaggerated stereotypical black guy and whites are comfortable seeing blacks in that nature. When blacks deviate from the norm, whites get nervous because it "isn't what they expect" or they are "not used to it". Cole train and CJ is what they expect and what they're used to so it is no question why whites enjoy these characters. Yes, whites enjoy Captain Anderson but he isn't a squadmate and he isnt a romance option.

Again I'm going to bring up that thread in which someone asked "Things you wished Jacob said" and nearly 95% of the responses were lines that you would stereotypical attach to black people. This only supports my idea that whites are only comfortable when the blacks are acting "in place" and not outside of that. If Jacob did talk VERY ebonic like Cole train or like the lines in the "Things you wished jacob said" thread, then Jacob would probably be one of the most loved characters in ME2 and people wouldn't call him boring. His romance would still be bad but people would then say he doesn't have a dull personality because he is acting/talking in a way that they can "relate to".

I'm interested to see if anyone is brave enough to respond to this....

MajesticJazz wrote...
EDIT: Also let me add something else. Besides Jacob being "Boring and
bad romance" which is the excuse that EVERYONE seems to be hiding under
which is very interesting. I think the reason why Jacob is not so
popular because HE ISNT a black stereotype. Yes his looks and voice is
stereotypical black/african-american, but he isn't like CJ from GTA or
Cole Train from Gears of War. He isn't like Griggs from MW that just
happened to be the only character to run to the radio and turn it on to
rap music. Jacob is just a black guy in space who has good morals and
isn't stereotypical black.

So, you're saying on one hand that you accept that many of the people here just dislike Jacob for non-racial reason e.g. - he's boring and a bad romance. But you're going on to than say that we don't like Jacob because he's a non-stereotype, which means that we obviously *do* have a problem with Jacob because of his skin color? Well since I have no *clue* who Cole Train or CJ are I can't really
understand why they'd be something I'd expect.  [edit - we'll i looked up Cole and '*why* would I expect (or want) Jacob to talk like a meatheaded, jarhead with more muscle's than braincells I don't understand one iota!]

As far as Jacob being a 'black guy in space who has good morals..." well, maybe. Problem is you don't find that out when you talk to him! Which still leaves him as the games most boring character with a cringe-worthy romance.

Modifié par Slayer299, 16 avril 2010 - 04:02 .

[gurlgotkat]

I do not hate Jacob, i only dislike you are forced to hit on him every time you talk to him. :/ if he had some normal dialogue before you start the romance too than maybe his likability would be more. I thought Mordin was the most amazing character because he basically had the most dialogue, which made his character really interesting. so hence maybe if jacob had more backgound, maybe he would be more interesting? out of all the crew, i feel i know jacob's background the least. I do dislike jack she picks a fight whenever she can and is completely unreasonable. personally i would kill jack off before jacob.

[Beholderess]

DarthCyclopsRLZ wrote...

Sure, he spent most of the game cleaning guns, but I like Jacob well enough.  I don't mind "2-dimensional" characters, really. Some people in real life can be just that.

Only went through a playthrough as male Shep, so I wouldn't know about the romance, though.

Funny enough, in real life I'd prefer to be friends with someone like Jacob than with most of of the other squad members. Solid, dependable, friendly without being clingy...normal. Thing is, some people (myself included=) tend to judge fictional characters according to a different set of criteria than real people. For me, value of fictional character is measured mostly by how much entertainment he/she/it/whatever provides=). In real life I'd be happy to hang out with Jacob, and would stay very, very far away from the rest of the squad (with a few exceptions).

Modifié par Beholderess, 16 avril 2010 - 04:13 .

[JKoopman]

Madi wrote...

The big elephant in the room here that no one wants to talk about is the fact that Jacob is black. Now before you start getting ultra defensive and start accusing me of reverse racism I’d like to point out that I’m biracial and have no racial biases of any kind.  Secondly I’m not saying the reason that Jacob  is such a  massively unpopular is because the people who don’t like Jacob are inherently racist. However that doesn’t mean that the fact that Jacob is black isn’t a factor. In fact I would say it’s a significant factor.

I think it’s probably largely subconscious. Jacob is a relatively basic character with nothing incredibly interesting about him although still a much more solid, well rounded character than you’ll find in most games. The issue is I think that most white gamers just find it difficult to relate to black characters. I think that’s one of the main reasons why black characters are so rare in video games and actual black protagonists are nearly nonexistent in video games.Especially non- stereotypical characters (i.e. C.J. from GTA)  Can you honestly tell me that if Jacob was a suave white guy he’d be this unpopular? Just look at Kaden who Jacob is commonly compared to.  Most people seem to agree that he isn’t much more if at all more interesting a character than Jacob yet he’s still infinitely more popular than Jacob. Once again that doesn’t mean that you’re a racist but I just think it clearly shows that race plays a factor in a lot of things, whether subconscious or otherwise. Although I think the fact that he bears a strong resemblance to Kanye West didn’t really help either. I don’t really get why his look was changed so dramatically from Mass Effect Galaxy. It’s like he’s a completely different person.

http://masseffect.bi.../market/galaxy/

a) If you think you have no racial biases, you're only fooling yourself. Everyone does. Some people just choose to act on them more openly than others.

Since when has Kaidan ever been popular, let alone "infinitely more popular" than Jacob? This forum was filled with Kaidan hate back in the ME1 days, and people still gleefully talk about leaving him to die on Virmire.

c) I don't think anyone really hates Jacob. They just don't particularly like him. Which is understandable as he's the most "down to earth" character in ME2 and there's really nothing particularly interesting about him.

d) If skin color alone really had such an effect on people's perceptions of a character then people would think the same of Anderson, but Anderson is one of the most beloved and respected characters from ME1. In fact, I would jump at the chance to have Anderson on my squad.

e) Why is it okay to hate Jack for example, who's white, without it being about her skin color but if anyone dislikes Jacob it automatically must be because of his race? People aren't allowed to dislike a black man without it being because he's black? That's what seems racist to me.

Jacob is just a poor character. End of story. He could've been white or hispanic or asian and people would've still felt the same way about him.

Modifié par JKoopman, 16 avril 2010 - 04:33 .

[Errol Dnamyx]

Am I a racist if I dislike Jacob, but chose Anderson to be councillor in Me1? Or am I half racist now? I´m a bit confused, could some of the racism experts in this thread please help me out?

[JKoopman]

MajesticJazz wrote...

Okay guys, riddle me this. If the reason why Jacob gets so much negative vibes is NOT because of his skin color but rather his dull personality and sorry romance okay, I buy that. But answer this....how come Jacob got so much negative vibes PRIOR to the release of ME2. Before people saw how dull his personality was or how bad his romance was. People didn't have the game to see that. Hell, Jacob hardly got any media coverage (Like a character reveal video) and was one of the least hyped characters compared to Thane, Grunt, Miranda etc. But yet Jacob STILL got negative vibes. When someone would create a Jacob thread before the game came out, it instantly became about his skin color. When someone created a thread talking about "Things you wished Jacob said", all of the things people submitted were lines that are steretypical in which a black person would say....again, his skin color playing a part.

So I would agree that there are MANY of you here who really do not like Jacob because he is boring, I buy that. But please don't act like EVERYONE feels that way. There are also MANY of you here who aren't so fond of Jacob because he is a black person but you won't admit that, you'll just hide behind the "He is a boring character" excuse.

EDIT: Also let me add something else. Besides Jacob being "Boring and bad romance" which is the excuse that EVERYONE seems to be hiding under which is very interesting. I think the reason why Jacob is not so popular because HE ISNT a black stereotype. Yes his looks and voice is stereotypical black/african-american, but he isn't like CJ from GTA or Cole Train from Gears of War. He isn't like Griggs from MW that just happened to be the only character to run to the radio and turn it on to rap music. Jacob is just a black guy in space who has good morals and isn't stereotypical black.

White people like Cole Train because he is an exaggerated stereotypical black guy and whites are comfortable seeing blacks in that nature. When blacks deviate from the norm, whites get nervous because it "isn't what they expect" or they are "not used to it". Cole train and CJ is what they expect and what they're used to so it is no question why whites enjoy these characters. Yes, whites enjoy Captain Anderson but he isn't a squadmate and he isnt a romance option.

Again I'm going to bring up that thread in which someone asked "Things you wished Jacob said" and nearly 95% of the responses were lines that you would stereotypical attach to black people. This only supports my idea that whites are only comfortable when the blacks are acting "in place" and not outside of that. If Jacob did talk VERY ebonic like Cole train or like the lines in the "Things you wished jacob said" thread, then Jacob would probably be one of the most loved characters in ME2 and people wouldn't call him boring. His romance would still be bad but people would then say he doesn't have a dull personality because he is acting/talking in a way that they can "relate to".

I'm interested to see if anyone is brave enough to respond to this....

Dude, the way you go on about what "whites" like and what "whites" understand and what "whites" are comfortable with, it sounds to me like you're  the racist here. Don't think you can understand and define an entire race of people under one set of principles any more than I can say "Blacks only like Miranda because of her boot-ay".

Modifié par JKoopman, 16 avril 2010 - 04:40 .

[Beholderess]

JKoopman wrote...

a) If you think you have no racial biases, you're only fooling yourself. Everyone does. Some people just choose to act on them more openly than others.

Since when has Kaidan ever been popular, let alone "infinitely more popular" than Jacob? This forum was filled with Kaidan hate back in the ME1 days, and people still gleefully talk about leaving him to die on Virmire.

c) I don't think anyone really hates Jacob. They just don't particularly like him. Which is understandable as he's the most "down to earth" character in ME2 and there's really nothing particularly interesting about him.

d) If skin color alone really had such an effect on people's perceptions of a character then people would think the same of Anderson, but Anderson is one of the most beloved and respected characters from ME1. In fact, I would jump at the chance to have Anderson on my squad.

e) Why is it okay to hate Jack for example, who's white, without it being about her skin color but if anyone dislikes Jacob it automatically must be because of his race? People aren't allowed to dislike a black man without it being because he's black? That's what seems racist to me.

Jacob is just a poor character. End of story. He could've been white or hispanic or asian and people would've still felt the same way about him.

This. Every single sentence.

[STG]

JKoopman wrote...

Dude, the way you go on about what "whites" like and what "whites" understand and what "whites" are comfortable with, it sounds to me like you're  the racist here. Don't think you can understand and define an entire race of people under one set of principles any more than I can say "Blacks only like Miranda because of her boot-ay".

This.

[Beholderess]

Hmm, this thread makes me qurious if it is possible to do some research in order to get a definite answer? Perhaps someone could try to remodel Jacob as a white guy and then show the game to someone who haven't played ME2 before? See if they'll like him?

(sigh) Not possible, of course. Even if re-modeling can be done, number of test subjects still would be too small to lend an accurate data.

Still...qurious.

[Marta Rio]

MajesticJazz wrote...
 He isn't like Griggs from MW that just happened to be the only character to run to the radio and turn it on to rap music. Jacob is just a black guy in space who has good morals and isn't stereotypical black.

Ha I'm glad I wasn't the only one to notice this about Griggs...he was such a stereotype I was like "really, Infinity Ward, really?" 
But I'm afraid I can't agree with your assertion that people are uncomfortable with Jacob because he doesn't act "stereotypically black."  Anderson didn't act stereotypical in any way, and yet is a popular character.  People post the things they do in the "Things you wish Jacob would say thread" because they're taking a satirical approach and trying to be funny, not because they actually want him to act like that.  (Note that I don't necessarily think these things are funny, it's just that most of it is tongue-in-cheek and not serious.)  If Bioware had made him more stereotypical, people would definitely be complaining more about that, probably accusing the company of racism, etc.  I'd venture to say that the community would dislike him more in that case.  I know that I certainly would.

[JMA22TB]

Jacob is not popular and ripped without mercy because of the irritating things he does as a character - has nothing to do with him being black.



Done.

[Nightwriter]

MajesticJazz wrote...

Okay guys, riddle me this. If the reason why Jacob gets so much negative vibes is NOT because of his skin color but rather his dull personality and sorry romance okay, I buy that. But answer this....how come Jacob got so much negative vibes PRIOR to the release of ME2. Before people saw how dull his personality was or how bad his romance was. People didn't have the game to see that. Hell, Jacob hardly got any media coverage (Like a character reveal video) and was one of the least hyped characters compared to Thane, Grunt, Miranda etc. But yet Jacob STILL got negative vibes. When someone would create a Jacob thread before the game came out, it instantly became about his skin color. When someone created a thread talking about "Things you wished Jacob said", all of the things people submitted were lines that are steretypical in which a black person would say....again, his skin color playing a part.

So I would agree that there are MANY of you here who really do not like Jacob because he is boring, I buy that. But please don't act like EVERYONE feels that way. There are also MANY of you here who aren't so fond of Jacob because he is a black person but you won't admit that, you'll just hide behind the "He is a boring character" excuse.

EDIT: Also let me add something else. Besides Jacob being "Boring and bad romance" which is the excuse that EVERYONE seems to be hiding under which is very interesting. I think the reason why Jacob is not so popular because HE ISNT a black stereotype. Yes his looks and voice is stereotypical black/african-american, but he isn't like CJ from GTA or Cole Train from Gears of War. He isn't like Griggs from MW that just happened to be the only character to run to the radio and turn it on to rap music. Jacob is just a black guy in space who has good morals and isn't stereotypical black.

White people like Cole Train because he is an exaggerated stereotypical black guy and whites are comfortable seeing blacks in that nature. When blacks deviate from the norm, whites get nervous because it "isn't what they expect" or they are "not used to it". Cole train and CJ is what they expect and what they're used to so it is no question why whites enjoy these characters. Yes, whites enjoy Captain Anderson but he isn't a squadmate and he isnt a romance option.

Again I'm going to bring up that thread in which someone asked "Things you wished Jacob said" and nearly 95% of the responses were lines that you would stereotypical attach to black people. This only supports my idea that whites are only comfortable when the blacks are acting "in place" and not outside of that. If Jacob did talk VERY ebonic like Cole train or like the lines in the "Things you wished jacob said" thread, then Jacob would probably be one of the most loved characters in ME2 and people wouldn't call him boring. His romance would still be bad but people would then say he doesn't have a dull personality because he is acting/talking in a way that they can "relate to".

I'm interested to see if anyone is brave enough to respond to this....

We knew nothing about Jacob then. NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. They gave us no information on him.

If the canvas is blank, we'll paint something on it. We'll find something to say about that person. We had threads about Jacob joking about blackness because that was pretty much the only thing we had to go on.

We had threads that did nothing but go on and on disparaging Miranda's ridiculous "perfection" because that's all we knew about her.

If people disliked Jacob pre-release, it was because he was an unknown and NOT because he was black. Last time I checked, every other single character in the game was an unknown at that point and there was dislike for each of them, as well. People hated Miranda, people hated Jack, people hated lots of others.

Racism isn't just carried by racists - it's carried by those oversensitive to racism, too, and those who accuse it of being places it's simply not.

Modifié par Nightwriter, 16 avril 2010 - 05:49 .