Representation Matters! Or, what happened to Birdie, final part...

 

This whole series was sparked after seeing what the Street Fighter V team had done to Birdie. Obviously I did not like it. Nowhere in the legacy of Birdie's previous appearances was he ever presented as a fat slob. Why would the studio start doing this to him now? In an interview with EventHubs Matt Dahlgren the Director of Brand Marketing & eSports at Capcom said of the updated designs "A good example for our tone is Birdie… I don't think anyone really saw him coming, but we had this really cool character design — he's practically a new character in himself — but he doesn't take up one of the slots we have for brand new fighters." If Birdie is "practically a new character", with mostly new moves then why not introduce a new character in that spot? Why would they force Birdie into a template that was not his original? My friend challenged me to redesign Birdie so that he would make sense in Street Fighter V. I said that was not why I was upset with the design. Capcom did not redesign Ken, Ryu, Chun-Li, Cammy or the Dictator for the game. Granted they discolored the skin of Charlie Nash and left him with scars and staples but that was part of his return. If the studio did not need to change any of the other returning characters why would it be acceptable to do that to Birdie? I saw two reasons why, because he was black or because he was a punk. If there was a third reason I'd like to hear it, especially from the producer.

Representation was one of the most important things that defined society yet was also something rarely spoken of. We lived in a post-racial world where every member of society had an equal opportunity to advance. Or so that was what we were taught. It was something that the majority, the people at the top of the social ladder, did not necessarily see or understand. Minorities by comparison could feel the effects of representation on a daily basis. They did not always see themselves in television, movies or games. If they did the people were often portrayed with negative stereotypes. These images added up. They effected the psyche of consumers, they became subconscious biases. Years of seeing minorities in only one light, of hearing about minorities spoken about in only one way, especially in the news, had a detrimental effect on society. Just see how divided the USA was when the words "illegal immigrants" or "thugs" were spoken on television. They were trigger words. Those words caused a reaction far greater than their original meaning. This post-racial society was not as inclusive and welcoming as we would like it to be. The images that audiences were bombarded with on a daily basis could be toxic. Pictures and videos could be laced with layers and layers of subversive messages. The way minorities were visualized was more powerful than any derogatory term.

 

Fans had supported Street Fighter for almost 30 years because it introduced us to a library of fighters of every color and from every nation. These characters were not all heavy-handed stereotypes and that was part of the reason why they were so popular. During the early days of Street Fighter II's development Anabebe, Great Tiger, Zhi Li and Vodka Gobalsy were a sampling of stereotypes that the studio designers had identify and break. In doing so they were freed from preconceptions, they were able to create a title with more diversity and inclusiveness than any other fighting game ever made. Only in later revisions was it decided that the fighters should come from different walks of life. The musician from Jamaica and the chef from Mexico were two of the weakest reasons to introduce a new character. The fighter became secondary to the profession. Which was an odd choice considering what the name of the game was.

If you were not a member of a minority group it could be hard to explain what the images in media meant to us. For example it was hard for me to find positive Mexican-American role models on US television when I was growing up. I think officer Poncherello from the show CHIPs was the only person I could remember. Everyone else that remotely looked like a member of my family was usually a bad guy that spoke broken English and had no redeeming qualities. There weren't any Latino game characters that I could think of while growing up, let alone in a popular game. Many years ago when I heard that a Mexican would be added to the roster of Super Street Fighter II I was elated. It was as if the people at the top of the ladder were validating our culture. T. Hawk had some unique moves and a distinct style that worked well compared to the other fighters. More than 15 years later when a masked Mexican wrestler was announced for Street Fighter IV I was over the moon with excitement. Pro wrestling was something that Mexico was known for, now would be our chance to shine. Or so I thought. Then I saw El Fuerte, then I listened to him, then I played as him. This was not what Mexican wrestling was about. This was not the best masked wrestler that Capcom could have come up with. At least he was not the best masked wrestler that the previous designs teams could have come up with. El Fuerte was a joke and when T. Hawk returned he was a joke too. Then a Turk was introduced and he was a joke. Then a fat character was introduced and he was a joke. I wondered what had happened in Street Fighter IV. The diversity in the cast was an excuse to point and laugh at those that did not have traditional Asian fighting roots.

The best example on the importance of positive representation came from actress Whoopi Goldberg. “Well, when I was nine years old, Star Trek came on, I looked at it and I went screaming through the house, ‘Come here, mum, everybody, come quick, come quick, there’s a black lady on television and she ain’t no maid!’ I knew right then and there I could be anything I wanted to be.” The television show Star Trek was a very progressive show, especially for 1963 sensibilities. There was more diversity in that series than in just about any other show on television. Nichelle Nichols played Lt. Uhura, the communications officer that Whoopi spoke of. She carried herself with great dignity and was never written as a second-class citizen. It was a very promising look at the future, one in which all minorities were represented and they all had equally important jobs. Whoopi would find herself playing a character called Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was role that influenced a whole new generation of fans. The thing was that Whoopi's performance did not only effect black audiences but also white ones as well. Whoopi was joined by black actors Michael Dorn as Lt. Worf and Levar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (who was also playing a blind character) in one of the most inclusive casts on television. But that level of representation had fallen by the wayside in recent years.

Today young minorities were not watching television, they were playing video games. They were learning what society thought of them based on the games they played. Since the majority of game heroes were white males then it was pretty obvious who they should look up to. When they saw a minority in a game then they were usually bad guys. However on that rare occasion when they saw a powerful minority in a game it went a long way towards how the audiences saw themselves. Now imagine if each time a minority turned on a fighting game the black character only knew how to box or that the Mexican character only knew professional wrestling. What did they think of when White and Japanese characters could do everything? There were some truths and some untruths to the character designs in all fighting games, not just Street Fighter. The most idolized karate champions in history were Japanese and the pro wrestlers that wanted to learn the art of high flying were trained in Mexico. That was basic understanding of fight culture but the thing was that the culture was not set in stone. Like all cultures it was constantly changing. It turned out that there were many black kung-fu and karate champions. Some of the greatest masked wrestlers were Japanese and Brazilians shaped the history of ju-jitsu. But that was rarely, if ever, shown in games.

 

Blacks had been a major force in professional boxing for more than a century, this was true. But there had also been boxing champs from Latin American countries, from Eastern European countries, from Asia and Oceana. Those fighters were not often represented in games. Instead audiences were shown the extremes of one color. This decision was often made at the design stage because it was just easier to present one ethnicity with one fighting art. This pattern was repeated by every other studio. The rude and aggressive black fighter as well as the calm and gentlemanly black fighter had both been seen in Street Fighter. The comparisons between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson to Dudley and M. Bison were valid. But then there were the details that the developers and even audiences didn't completely catch. Dudley was patterned on people like Holyfield but also Joe Lewis, Jack Dempsy and UK boxing champ Lennox Lewis. Like many fighters in the series Dudley was painted as a heavy-handed stereotype of a nation. Lewis was always polite and cordial in his interviews but Dudley was on a completely different level. His butler would bring him tea in between rounds, he tended to a rose garden on his country estate and he drove vintage Jaguars in the game. Of course he did all of this while wearing boxing gloves which was absurd but made sense in the Street Fighter universe. After all, Ryu wore the same uniform everywhere he went, even when he was not fighting. This could certainly be argued as being a stereotype and it was. But like a cancer a stereotype could be benign or malignant. Dudley was benign.

When Capcom gave Dudley an alternate costume in Street Fighter IV it was modeled after the jacket, shirt and striped pants worn by Freddie Mercury during his famous Wembly Stadium concert. The legendary singer / songwriter from Queen was considered to be one of the greatest pop music voices ever. Freddie was synonymous with British culture. His fair skin and broad mustache made him appear like a true Cockney. The thing was that Freddie wasn't from England. Freddie was born Faroukh Bulsara in Zanzibar (Tanzania) and followed the ancient Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism. His heritage was a world away from Queen Elizabeth and the Church of England, yet his talents were embraced by an entire nation.

The Japanese admired the aristocracy, they admired refined culture and idealized the Victorian era. This was part of the reason why characters like Elena from Street Fighter III had to be educated in Paris and why the not-too-delicate Emilie "Lili" De Rochefort from Tekken was from France as well. Being a member of the rich elite were some of the reasons why Dudley was painted in such a positive light. The idealized images of England and Europe were sometimes met with heartbreak when Japanese visitors traveled abroad. For example when they discovered that France was nowhere near as soft and pastel as the Studio Ghibli films had them believe it caused a nervous breakdown for some known as Paris Syndrome. Japanese audiences had been fed a fable about Paris and England being the peak of refined society, it was too much to bear that they were as dirty and unkempt as any other major metropolis. If the Japanese could be wrong about European nobility then they could be wrong about punk culture.

 

Punks were not supposed to be upper class like Dudley and therefore punks were not supposed to be admired, this message was loud and clear from the designers at Capcom. But it also showed how little they knew about the culture. Punks were not fat and lazy slobs, those would be politicians. The reason punks looked and dressed a certain way was because they were counter-culture, they were trying to be seen and heard. They represented the masses that were disenfranchised with society, especially with politics and classicism. They were keenly aware of what was going on in society and despite the shocking haircuts and attire they could be well spoken and intelligent. Dudley was a member of the elite and while he did fight for and earn his championship he had the luxury of never having to fight in the first place. He was born into money and power and could have done anything he wanted. A punk did not have that freedom, they were often born into poverty and had to fight for everything they had. There was an interesting dynamic at work between British punk culture and the aristocracy. The majority identified with the Royal Family in England however kids, especially minorities, could identify more with the punks because nothing came easy for them. Everywhere a punk went they were stared at and judged. In media they were vilified and demonized. It was something that minorities had become used to.

Imagine a young minority playing Street Fighter and seeing Dudley presented in such a positive light. Someone that not only outfought but also outclassed the bully boxer. Imagine how important it was for a young Iranian to learn what a profound influence Freddie had on the world. They too could become anything that they wanted if they worked hard enough at it. It would help make them fans on a completely different level. Now imagine that a minority punk was turned into a fat slob. The message was clear, the aristocrat should be emulated, not the guy from the streets. Punks had no redeeming qualities, they were not cool at all according to Street Fighter V. Kids that identified with Birdie were pretty much fat shamed at that point. Sure Freddie Mercury could represent British culture but he was not the only musician to do so. Punks and "shock rockers" like Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols and the enigmatic David Bowie could have also fit the bill. Also unlike Mercury, the three aforementioned musicians were actually from England. Just imagine how different the series could be if the team treated Birdie with the same level of respect they had for Dudley.

Representation had been a part of the greatness of the designs in Street Fighter. Any fighting game could have men, women and minority characters. In fact many fighting games did have a tremendous amount of diversity. It was how that diversity was represented that was more important than the inclusion. The Tekken series for example had dozens of female characters from around the world. Yet these women were either young or played up sexually. They were poured from the same mold with only the costume and color of their skin making them different. It was a superficial change that was seen in many 2D and 3D fighting games. Juri and C. Viper from Street Fighter IV were very sexualized as well but they were also the two newest faces. They didn't necessarily represent the legacy designs. Look at how women had been portrayed in Street Fighter prior to 2008. Women could represent the major fighting arts. A karate master could be a man but could also be a girl. A kung-fu master could be a man but also a young woman.

 

The developers working on the newer Street Fighter games needed to re-evaluate the role of their characters before the first 3D model was even built. They needed to work harder on their designs and consider the ways that they were representing different cultures and different arts. I do not think that making a minority character the star of the next game would automatically make the series better. The game had always revolved around Ken and Ryu and that should never change. The way that the game presented minorities could be done with more consideration though. Consideration was something that stopped the team from putting Anabebe, the Great Tiger and Vodka Gobalsky in SF II. In their place were three iconic fighters that were not necessarily a slap in the face to the nationalities represented. When Turkish oil wrestling or yagli gures was put in Street Fighter IV the Turk was presented beet red with a blue dome haircut. Players had to constantly oil themselves up so they could slide across the floor and perform silly attacks. How was this representation of the culture and fighting art different than the Great Tiger? The designers were not able to make a Dhalsim-like change to Hakan before he debuted. When I saw T. Hawk sitting on opponents and going "How" when I saw El Fuerte making Quesadilla Bombs, when I saw Birdie stuffing his face with donuts and bananas I got a distinct feeling of disrespect. I saw the ugliness of stereotypes become malignant with those representations.

Did the developers in Japan simply have no confidence in creating a serious minority character? We saw how a powerful black fighter was turned into a fat white guy during the development of SF IV. It was as if the team could not wrap their collective heads around a black not being a boxer or a silly karateka. So they erased him from the lineup, took his costume away and gave it to Ken as an alternate uniform. Instead of creating Blanka out of Anabebe they went backwards. As a life-long fan of the series that decision would never settle with me. When I thought about what the team did to Birdie in SF V I could see shades of that same misrepresentation. The consideration that the team missed was seen on how different body types could be represented. The cancer had returned.

 

I had mentioned where fat body types had been done well as fighters and adventurers in other games. Fat characters used to represent strength, power and success in ancient stories. In modern fighting tournaments there were boxers, mixed martial artists and wrestlers that were both fat and successful. It was up to Capcom to think about their own legacy and where they wanted to go with it. At one point many years ago they were able to create fat characters that were powerful instead of goofy. At one point long ago they were able to present wrestlers and punks that were unique instead of jokes as well. Why did the team move away from those designs? Were they unaware of what they had done previously or did they choose to ignore it? When did sticking with classic designs become taboo at Capcom? Or did ignoring the rules only apply to minority characters? When popular fighting game YouTube commentator Maximillian Dood made a personal list of five people that should not return in Street Fighter V it consisted of Street Fighter IV characters Rufus (in the number 1 spot), Hakan, Seth, El Fuerte and Abel. Maximilian had his finger on the pulse of gamers and said what they were thinking. He knew that the designs, their control and place in the series were not as well done as the earlier fighters. Hopefully Capcom would listen to him if they wouldn't to me.

 

I "get" that Street Fighter was a series filled with fantastic characters that had impossible abilities. There were martial arts masters could kick with the force of a tornado or split boulders in half with a punch. They lived in a world where science fiction and fantasy were real. Yoga masters could float in the air, mad scientists could bring the dead back to life and beast men were real. This mix of different genres was refreshing. It was another reason why audiences kept coming back. On one side of the spectrum there were fighters that had realistic punches and kicks, they could have existed in this world. But on the extreme end there were fighters that could breathe fire and even "teleport" these things were improbable if not outright impossible.

In the extended Capcom universe there were characters every bit as fantastic and as well done as those in Street Fighter. Take the Indian wrestler Wraith from Muscle Bomber / Saturday Night Slam Masters. The game actually took place in Street Fighter continuity. The character from New Dheli was 7' 2", a certifiable giant. He was equally mysterious with pasty green skin and covered in a hood and rags. He moved erratically and seemed to be some sort of ghoul. He had long red nails that he would use to slash the throats of opponents. He also had sharp jagged teeth which he used to maul opponents like a rabid dog. Similar to Dhalsim he could even breath fire and had some sort of connection to the supernatural. One of his special attacks was absolutely bizarre. Snakes would burst from underneath his hood to bite opponents. It was a perfectly impossible attack that also made him memorable.

 

Here was the thing that made the Capcom fighting games unique when compared to every other studio. There was often a hidden truth, some basis in reality in the most memorable fighters and in their arts. It gave the character designs a bit more staying power in the genre. Ryu was inspired by the life and times of Mas Oyama and Yoshiji Soeno. Chun-Li was most likely inspired by Wing Chun and Bruce Lee. Ken Masters was most likely inspired by Joe Lewis and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. We saw where Zangief came from, where even Dhalsim and Blanka originated from earlier in this blog. The special attacks also known as the "Fireball" moves had been written about in Chinese myth for years. Those attacks were called fa-jin and some kung fu masters claimed to be able to perform such moves to this day (granted they were invisible to the naked eye). Even the ShunGokuSatsu, or "Instant Hell Murder" of Gouki was based on the dim mak or death touch from Chinese legend.

A character as macabre as Wraith could never have existed in real life, or could he? Stop and think about it. A giant of a man, somebody with an undead gimmick that was impervious to harm and both frightened and delighted audiences. Yeah, I wonder where Tetsuo Hara could have based his design on…

 

We knew that Wraith was an absurd character but he did not have to be presented silly in order for us to get that. Part of the charm of professional wrestling is how gimmick performers try not to break character so that the audience can stay entertained. We all know that pro wrestling matches are pre-determined and the stories shown on television are scripted, yet the fans choose to believe that this is real combat and these are real characters. Masked wrestling is an even more absurd concept, I think we all get this, but it is also a great form of entertainment. But to take the masked wrestler out of context and turn him into a silly chef then you dismiss the entire culture. These changes were done because it was the quick fix to make the character "different." By the same token we know that beast men were not real. If they were then they would look like the Amazon or Blanka. As it stood Blanka was a ferocious monster in his original incarnation, he did not have to become dumber as the series progressed. Birdie already had a shocking appearance, the studio did not have to go out of their way to make him fat and gross. When I saw what the studio did to him in Street Fighter V I knew that they took the shortcut, they took the low road. They went for the quick laugh and used a minority to reach the punchline. When it comes to representation these things are important, young audiences can see a powerful minority in their game and be inspired, or they can see a silly character and be disheartened.  If you do not think there is an ethnic bias at play ask yourself this question, would Capcom make the main characters fat, gross or silly?

Capcom would probably not address any of the issues that I had brought up over the course of this series. After all they never responded to my other blogs. But I hope that my readers think about the importance of representation and challenge Capcom when something does not seem right for Street Fighter. I will always challenge the studio to try harder. To be better ambassadors to the world and stop thinking so insular about their designs. It would not hurt to revise, review and represent cultures with a modicum of dignity. If they could not introduce a minority character without giving them silly attacks or of stereotypical appearances then maybe they should not be in the game. My hope is that they get rid of the nonsense and bring back the real Birdie and look at how they are representing minority characters. Thank you for reading and I hope you share your thoughts with Capcom! As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Remix Culture, how Asian designers changed the game, part 4

The previous Friday I talked about how Michael Lau set the stage for the urban vinyl movement. Specifically his gallery shows from 1999, and 2001 featuring his 12” figures in Hong Kong, and Japan respectively. While he was exposing the world to a new type of art his friends, and contemporaries were following closely behind, and releasing their own 12” figures to collectors. At best groups like Brothersfree understood the art movement. They weren’t poaching the community that Lau was representing, I’m talking about street culture specifically. Instead the Brothersfree group were trying to carve out their own niche, to tell their own story by turning industrial workers into the heroes of their Brothersworker line. Or Wendy, and Kelvin Mak telling the stories of Hong Kong tradespeople with their 2da6 line. I felt that other artists like Eric So, Jason Siu, and Pal Wong were biting a little too hard on what Lau had established previously.

The Pazo Art figures from Mr. Wong for example went through all the same motions as Mr. So, and Mr. Siu. They were highly detailed, quality sculpts, with realistic fashion. They often came with a change of clothes, accessories, stickers, and all of the trim that one would expect from $200-$300 figures. They also went right after the street fashion look. What got under my skin was that Pal was sculpting faces that were eerily similar to what the gardeners looked like. Michael Lau created a gardener called Future, he was essentially a caricature of established graffiti icon Futura 2000. When that character was unveiled it was a breath of fresh air. Knowing that he was a part of the gardener community connected their story to the culture. Then seeing Pal going down the same path with his figures felt redundant, and even slightly disrespectful. The smaller figures that he released showed to me that he didn’t understand what the movement was about.

The P.A.S.A. Rapper by Pal Wong was an obvious attempt at capitalizing on the 6” gardener trend. To the casual observer the scale, proportions, details, and accessories were all spot on. He could have been one of the gardeners except for a few things. The sculpt, and paint was an amalgamation of Maxx, and Brian from the earlier gardener line. He was missing a chain for his wallet, and there was no felt wristband, instead it was sculpted, and painted to his wrist. These were all shortcuts to bring a cheaper figure to market, and pass it off to the masses. To make the character slightly different from the gardeners he had an afro, large eyes, and some really thick lips. These things didn’t really capture the spirit of the gardeners, and felt a little bit heavy-handed, if not outright racist. But I don’t want to sweep what Lau did under the rug either. We need to talk about culture, representation, and appropriation with context to this new art form.

Michael Lau had also released a figure with dark skin, and big lips as well. This character was called B/W. He was an African born in Hong Kong. His friends liked him, but he could be long tongued, aka he could be very chatty. He stuck out for several reasons, the most obvious was his jet-black skin, and large pink lips. B/W was the ninth figure of the original 10 gardeners, and was the only one that had skin that dark, and large cartoonish lips. Brian, Elsa, and Uncle were Black characters in the original 10 lineup that looked more like regular people. There would also be a group of basketball characters added to the lineup that had various shades of Black skin, but none as dark as B/W. I would argue that Michael did not intend to use a racist caricature. All of his gardeners had exaggerated cartoonish, facial features. It was bad form to push the envelope that far with B/W. His representation on the rest of the cast was more or less well done.

Why did Pal Wong, and Michael Lau feel that it was okay to present a Black character like this? For Mr. Wong I feel that he was just trying to cash in on the popularity of Lau. He poached his art style, and created a knock-off figure without understanding the culture that Lau was trying to recreate. For Lau I would say it was his lack of awareness he had regarding Blackface. The importance of representation was something that I had written about previously, especially when it came to fighting games. One of the things that I want to remind you of is that the Civil Rights movement that the US went through in the ‘60s only happened in the USA. Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X, John Lewis, James Farmer, and the other Black leaders of that era shaped the culture in the US.

There were no civil rights movements similar to what we had in other countries. While schools overseas might talk about it, culturally the UK, Japan, or China did not have anything like what the America went through. There was a good chance that Lau, and his contemporaries did not realize that the big lips character was offensive. This was partly due to cultural relativism, they got the trope directly from the US. That presentation had been a part of US cultural exports to the rest of the world since the late 1800’s. It was seen in advertising, in toy design, and popular music of the era. By the 1940’s Blackface fell out of favor as a form of entertainment in the states. Culturally the new enemy were the Japanese, and Black Americans were signing up to fight in WWII. It was disrespectful for them to return home and see that ugly face waiting for them. So little by little it started getting taken down in marketing. The change got a lot of pushback in many states, not unlike the removal of Confederate statues did as recently as the 2020’s. 

The thing was while this trope was fazed out in the USA, it didn't entirely disappear overseas. The big lipped characters in pop culture could still be seen through Mr. Popo from Dragon Ball in 1988 (R.I.P. Akira Toriyama), Chocolove McDonnell from Shaman King in 1998, and as recently as 2012 with the release of Anarchy Reigns, the follow-up to Mad World by PlatinumGames. This is why I want to talk about context of the gardeners, including B/W. Lau intended on creating figures based on the street culture that his friends, and he had grown up in. He didn’t go in trying to specifically hurt any ethnic group specifically. Of course that doesn’t prevent people from being insulted. 

As for all of the artists from Hong Kong, and Japan that came out right on the heels of his work, they also had to be put in context. Were they releasing figures because they were going for a cash grab? Were they doing this as an homage to Mr. Lau? Could it be both, or neither? Again, it depends on the way we look at it. Designers like Colan Ho, and Joel Chung were releasing pieces very much out of left field. Their figures weren't workers, skaters, breakdancers, or anything else like that. They had their own signature style, but could also work with a license if they had to. It was an interesting time for collectors that wanted unique, high quality pieces. The urban vinyl craze spread like wildfire throughout Asia. Some artists were turning sketchbook creations into 3D representations, some were remixing kaiju monsters with cute, and cuddly toys. This approach was evident in some of the early pioneers like IT Rangers, and Bee Wong. 

In 2008 South Korean figure artist CoolRain made his debut. He was heavily influenced by Lau, and managed to secure some high profile clients in a relatively short span of time, including Nike, Adidas, Vans, and the NBA. Although he designed a number of smaller 6” mini gardener-type figures for the NBA, he rarely produced a 12” figure that wasn’t a prop for a commercial, or gallery show. Very few people were able to get their hands on his original 1/6 figures, and these tended to be rappers, and star athletes. CoolRain was kind enough to do an interview with me. He gave all the credit to Lau for inspiring him. He definitely approached figure art as an art form, and not a way to make a quick buck.

Lau had also collaborated with Nike, and Sony, but he was notoriously hard to pin down by any company. When in doubt it seemed that the corporations could go to CoolRain if they wanted to use the aesthetic, rather than wait on Lau. Was this an example of an artist holding onto his integrity, or being selective about clients? Was CoolRain selling out the culture? It all depends on the context. He understood the line was blurring between art, toy, and collectable. He taught classes, and presented workshops to the new generation of creatives in South Korea. He was very mindful of the communities he was asked to recreate, whether they were skaters, basketball players, or even professional futbol / soccer players. He was just one of many voices helping spread the word about “urban vinyl” and the larger art movement.

The respect I had for CoolRain remained consistent over the past 20 years. It made me reconsider what I thought about other artists appearing in the early 2000’s as more than just poaching the work of Michael Lau. I’ll talk more about it in a future blog. For now I’d like to hear your thoughts. Could art be controversial, or accidentally racist? Would context be important in exploring, or explaining the relationships between ethnicity, stereotype, and culture? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

What is going on with the Street Fighter V character designs? Part 2, where did F.A.N.G come from?

I'm not going to backpedal, F.A.N.G. is a character that has no redeeming factors. He is an ugly character, a mockery of Chinese martial arts systems. He doesn't really belong in the Street Fighter series but the powers that be have decided to give him a go anyway. It doesn't really matter what I say or what I think about the character. It doesn't matter how offensive or nonsensical I think his design is. The reality is that Western writers, artists, actors, directors and producers have been doing a greater disservice to Asian characters than any Japanese developer ever could. It is the ugly truth. Audiences from the west fail to acknowledge what we have done culturally to Asians over the past century.

Think about how Asians, especially the Chinese, were parodied, if not outright vilified in Western pop culture. Sometimes it was subtle, the way the Chinese or Japanese pronounced English was often exaggerated in comics and films. Sometimes it was very overt, with characters presented with bright yellow skin and narrow eyes. This trend goes back to 1929 when the British writer Sax Rohmer created a villain named Dr. Fu Manchu. At the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th the "Orient" was seen as a place of mysticism, where ancient magics were real and closely guarded. The British colonists and Western Culture by contrast were always the shining example of civility and modern science. Minorities were very often subservient if not outright villains in many pulp stories. Dr. Manchu was bent on global domination using a combination of science and magic. The terms used to describe the character were more demonic than human. It was something to consider that Fu Manchu was almost as old as Mickey Mouse, and almost as well recognized in that era. He had been used to perpetuate some ugly stereotypes or decades, not solely in book form but in film as well. This character would become a template for evil Asians that would be used again and again. Although he was an alien Ming the Merciless, ruler of the Planet Mongo (yep they went there!) was very much an Asian stereotype. The character first appeared in the 1934 Flash Gordon comic strips by Alex Raymond. Ming could be considered the tyrant that Fu Manchu would become if he had conquered the Earth.

 

A few decades later, in 1964 to be precise, Marvel comics introduced the world to the Mandarin. The villain featured in Tales of Suspense would become the greatest rival to Iron Man. The Mandarin had acquired magical rings, which were actually alien artifacts. They allowed him to do various things, from shooting bolts of electricity to controlling minds. His design and purpose was not very far removed from Fu Manchu. This was odd considering that Marvel was a very progressive company, they featured minorities in several comics and presented some main character with different religious beliefs as well. Unfortunately the design of the Mandarin relied on trope, he was so obsessed with domination that it diminished his presence. It was unique however that the hero that used the most advanced robotics would have to do battle with mystical elements. It helped make Iron Man stand out from his contemporaries in the end.

 The USA did a lot of changing following the civil rights era. Minorities began turning up as recurring characters in television shows and were presented in a favorable light in film. Eventually writers and comic artists grew tired of the stereotypes that had been placed on Asian characters. Director John Carpenter created an immortal wizard named Lo Pan in his 1986 cult-hit Big Trouble in Little China. The character was every absurd element from Fu Manchu, Ming and the Mandarin all rolled into one. The film placed the classic martial artists in the modern world. It was a send up some kung-fu tropes, the fantastic details remained with evil fighters who could shoot lightning from their fingertips and even fly. Many Asian actors were used as both the heroes and villains in the movie. This film was such a refreshing change of pace that it went on to influence the creation of Mortal Kombat. Yet the progressive view that John Carpenter had was the exception rather than the rule.



Producers and network executives had little to no faith that a minority actor could carry a role. This went back to the days of black and white film. The producers were afraid that the western audiences would never watch a film or TV show that didn't feature a white actor. Because of this many characters were recast, rewritten or completely ignored. In the ugliest instances a white actor wore blackface, or in the case of Fu Manchu or the detective Charlie Chan they wore "yellow face." Warner Oland was a Swedish actor who played Charlie Chan in several movies. The makeup department would tape down his eyelid to make him look "Asiatic." The features that revolved around the heroic minority would often cast actual Asian actors to play supporting roles. For example Keye Luke, a Chinese born American actor, played "number one son" Henry Oswald Lee Chan in the Charlie Chan films. By casting minorities the producers hoped to lend some sort of credibility to the lead actors as well as the stories they were telling. The downside was that the actual minority was never trusted to carry a leading role. It was a pattern that followed Hispanic and native characters as well. Canadian actor Jay Silverheels played Tonto, opposite Clayton Moore's Lone Ranger. He was a great character, a positive minority and one of the pioneering actors on network television. Yet neither he nor Keye Luke would ever be called to be the star of their own series. I wish I could say that things changed over the years but entering 2016 there was still very little minority representation on television. The shows featuring minority actors were almost all segregated into their own sitcoms. Things had not progressed very far in the century following the invention of film and television.

In fact things have not changed very much on the video game front either. The youngest of the major entertainment mediums has a lot of catching up to do. I could get upset all I want about F.A.N.G., Rufus, Birdie or any of the other Street Fighter characters and it wouldn't make a bit of difference. Why should I take Capcom to task when the western-produced games had very little representation, or diversity? How many games could you name that had a minority lead? How many could you name with a white character? How many franchises have been built around minority characters? How many around white characters? Stop and think about that for a moment. Go back through your mental index of game characters, of franchise characters and see how many you can name. Of those how many are male and how many are female? Of those how many are Asian, Hispanic, Black or Native?

I would argue that the fighting game has the most diversity of all the genres. Minority characters do have a leading role in many fighting games, and are usually presented in classical martial arts uniforms. Granted most leads are Japanese but those games are often produced in Japan. Just as most white leads in games are from western-produced titles. The diversity of characters and fighting styles is one of the things that keeps audiences coming back to the genre. Street Fighter has, or at the very least had, some of the most positive and influential minority casts ever created. These characters weren't perfect in their first incarnation but they did get better with revisions. If I have one complaint about the most recent additions to the Street Fighter lineup it would be how little they seem to be revised before they are added to the lineup. Many of the new characters in the game are forgettable, I would go so far as to say they are throw away designs. They are added to give the lineup a feeling of diversity but end up being nothing more than a gimmick character from a particular country. F.A.N.G. is no exception, he is just one more character that will have his 15 minutes and then fade away while Ryu, Chun-Li and the rest of the original World Warriors remain. So what is it that F.A.N.G. lacks when compared to the earlier designs?



The new characters lack roots. In fact most of the new characters added in SF IV and SF V lack an understanding of the fighting arts that they represent, and in many instances, the actual martial artists that shaped history. The first Street Fighter was based very much on the life and times of Mas Oyama and Yoshiji Soeno. The rivals in the game were inspired in part by actual martial artists and martial arts movie characters. Even the gigantic Sagat was based on actual muay thai fighters, Sagat Petchyindee and Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn. The fighting arts Sagat and Ryu used were exaggerated versions of real forms. These amazing abilities looked great in comics and cartoons and turned out to be perfect for a video game. The second generation of Street Fighter characters expanded on the same principal. A burly sailor would become Zangief, his previous name of Vodka Gobalsky was deemed inappropriate. A new name was pulled from an actual wrestler that the Capcom designers would watch on television. The most racially insensitive characters, Dhalsim and Blanka, were greatly toned down and ended up including details from actual history as well as cinema. What F.A.N.G. is missing, and for the most part many of his contemporaries is that connection to the martial arts and actual fighters.

 

F.A.N.G. is the latest kung-fu master inserted into the canon of Street Fighter. He comes on the heels of some of the greatest Chinese characters in the genre. People like Gen and Chun-Li were pulled form legend. They were given moves and back stories that were worthy of cinema. Yet F.A.N.G. is in a completely different category. He doesn't have a pin that you can attach the design to. Just as you cannot point to the reference used for Rufus or Hakan, two of the saddest character designs ever featured in a Street Fighter game. F.A.N.G. gets to replace Sagat in the story. You would think he would be an intimidating character as one of the new Shadowlaw / Shadaloo Generals. Except that he isn't. You would think that his moves would be based on some ancient brutal Chinese system, but they aren't. F.A.N.G. exists for the same reason that Rufus exists. This is a character that the Producer finds value in. Like George Lucas saying that Jar Jar Binks was his favorite character, I'm sure Yoshinori Ono thinks F.A.N.G. fits right in as well despite what the audience reaction has been. But there is a catch to his design, a different way of looking at him just like any design. Some retouching, some refinement can save any character. Look at the roots of the franchise designs and see what you can learn.

 

The way F.A.N.G. behaves before or after matches means little, and does not necessarily make or break the character. It is absolutely okay to have a flamboyant, or even effeminate character in a fighting game. While the look of F.A.N.G. may be closer to the harpist assassins from the film Kung-Fu Hustle, the character should have had the presence of Fairy, the tailor. In the film veteran actor Chiu Chi Ling played the character. Mr. Ling was an actual master of Hung Gar, one of the hardest striking forms of kung-fu. Yet Fairy was presented in a very soft and almost dainty manner, which made his role all the more interesting. The character he played was living a normal life in a small town. People did not know that the unassuming tailor was actually a powerful martial artist. This was masterful storytelling. The character was really brought to life in the action scenes. Fairy would become a one-man wrecking crew and any semblance to his effeminate personality disappeared as he destroyed mobsters with his bare hands. Yet Mr. Ling was not the first Chinese martial artist who played a dual role well.

 

The unassuming Chinese character was portrayed well by Bruce Lee in the Chinese Connection aka Fists of Fury. To infiltrate the bad guy's hideout he played a mousey telephone repairman. It was his fighting ability and not his appearance that did all of the talking. Some of the most unassuming fighters have been villains. The character actors that play them do such a good job that you can't wait for the good guy to beat them up. This could be seen in the character Boss Wah, played by another martial arts veteran Yuen Wah, in the film Dragons Forever. Boss Wah looked and acted like an absolute weasel, choosing to strike Jackie Chan and his friends when their backs were turned. He was a cigar smoking crime lord, skinny and unassuming. He surrounded himself with some dangerous bodyguards, including former kickboxing world champ Benny "the Jet" Urquidez. At first glance you would think the character in the suit was a wimp. However despite his appearance and mannerisms he was an amazing fighter and capable of holding his own against the rest of the cast. Yuen had actually appeared in several Bruce Lee films and even served as Lee's double on some of the stunts. F.A.N.G. by comparison did not quite sell himself as a fighter. Or rather the designers at Capcom did not really sell the character as a fighter. He was lanky and overconfident in himself, saying that he would beat his opponent in two minutes and then striking an absurd victory pose if he did win. The character was flamboyant but not endearing like Fairy, he was a weasel without the vicious attacks of Boss Wah. F.A.N.G. threw poison balls from his sleeves and flew by flapping his arms. These weren't really moves or abilities that could be attached to any real system or any fighter living or dead. Capcom simply did not convince me that this character was right for the game and the series.

 

The entertainment industry has been whitewashing history for some time. The real world is much more diverse and interesting than any video game, movie or book could ever be. Think back about the ugly caricature that was Fu. Manchu, or how Charlie Chan stereotyped a population. How was F.A.N.G. any different from these representations? Think back about what a great hero the Lone Ranger was, according to history modeled after Texas Ranger Captain John R. Hughes. What a fantastic role model he turned out to be to several generations of mostly white children. Now imagine that if minority children had been exposed to something different, something that was closer to reality. What if they learned that the author Earl Derr Biggers based Charlie Chan on an Chinese-Hawaiian Detective named Chang Apana. He would have been a great minority and mixed-ethnicity role model. Or consider that the Lone Ranger may have been based on an escaped-slave-turned Deputy US Marshall Bass Reeves. Bass actually wore disguises and had Native American friends that helped him capture criminals in the old west. How amazing the films and television shows would have been to the minorities growing up here as well. They deserved to have heroes and villains modeled on reality rather than fantasy. This is what Capcom sometimes forgets. Mas Oyama may have been the basis for Ryu but let us not forget that he was Korean and not Japanese. He was such an amazing karate fighter that he influenced a nation that was and continues to be very biased against Koreans.

This is why I will always push back on Capcom when I think they are doing a disservice to the series. They have a chance to review and revise each and every character before introducing them. Trying to make changes after the fact is impossible. Capcom needs to think about how they are representing minority characters. Just because Street Fighter V is introducing a new Chinese, adding a Brazilian female (Laura) or Arab male (Rashid) into the lineup doesn't mean the studio is being more inclusive. If the woman is there primarily because she is sexy, or if the Arab is there just to fill a Middle-Eastern quota then why should we care? A lot of people in Mexico were happy that a masked wrestler was included in SF IV. They overlooked his silly moves and mannerisms because there was finally some representation in the game. It didn't matter if the representation was positive or negative as long as it existed. These fans, just like fans from around the world, are desperate to be represented in the series. They will accept stereotype, trope or sexism as long as they get a character in the game. Capcom needs to look internally and see what they can do to make better characters and a better game in the process. If they worked a little bit harder and tried to present positive representation they might create something profound. What do you think about F.A.N.G. and the other new characters? I would like to read about it. As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Dee Jay is back in Street Fighter 6, is he better than we remember?

Today we're going to talk about a returning character to Street Fighter 6. Dee Jay made his first appearance in Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers in 1993. The new challengers the title referred to were T. Hawk, Fei Long, Cammy, and Dee Jay. Capcom was in the planning stages of Street Fighter III, and those four were the earliest characters slated to be inserted into the series. Several of the fighters in the SF series were inspired by pop culture, whether they were film characters, or actual martial artists. Dee Jay was no different. The character was created by James Goddard. The Capcom employee was Co-Lead Designer for Street Fighter II: Champion Edition. The studio had long sought to add a kickboxer to the game. The last time a fighter of that style was featured was with the non-playable Joe in the original SF from 1987.

For inspiration Mr. Goddard looked at Billy Blanks who is an actual martial arts practitioner, and fitness guru. Billy's first major role was as the villain Khan the Great in The King of Kickboxers. The film came out in 1990, after Final Fight, but before SFII was released. Billy's next starring role was in TC 2000. In that film he played Jason Storm. The film debuted in August 1993, Super SFII would come out a month later. Many people mistake TC 2000 as the film that inspired Dee Jay, but there's no way a studio could create a character, and their move set in less than a month. Blanks had a great physique, and a trademark fade that was made for game characters. Although there were a few notable Black martial arts film stars in the late '70s like Ron Van Clief, and Jim Kelly, there weren't too many in the late '80s/early '90s. Blanks (and Wesley Snipes) helped spark a new trend for actors like Michael Jai White, Marrese Crump, and Lateef Crowder. As for the character I think his new design was a bit better than his original.

Dee Jay had ditched the fade, and braids for natural hair. This was a nice touch. He was also wearing the colors of the Jamaican flag (green, yellow, and black) on his pants, and the Pan-African colors on his shirt. You know by now that I believe that the most memorable characters were assigned solid colors. Wrapping a character in a multi-colored national flag might be pandering, or a good substitute depending on your perspective. The reason I think for Dee Jay’s multicolored costume in this game was because yellow with black accents were already assigned to Sean in Street Fighter III, and green with yellow trim was assigned to his sister Laura in Street Fighter V. The updated look also includes gold jewelry around his neck, along with a medallion that reads MAXIMUM. This was a nod to his original costume. The studio had originally wanted to put MANTIS on the side of his pants, as in praying mantis. The problem with this was sprite mirroring, the N, and S would have been flipped on the screen. Maximum reads the same when mirrored vertically. The sticking point for me with the character was his stupid grin. It harkened back to an uglier time in US history, and I'm not talking about the '90s.

I am for more minority representation in the series. With that said I would like to see it in a positive light. I did not appreciate the gimmicks, and racial overtones applied to El Fuerte, Birdie, T. Hawk, and Hakan. Also I thought that there could be fat representation without it being used for the sake of comedy like Rufus. I had talked about the perpetually grinning Dee Jay, and the stereotypes behind black characters in Japanese games earlier on the blog. Younger readers may not be aware of it, especially out-of-touch Japanese developers, but the grinning black character was a trope from the days of Jim Crow. In short, to make a Black character more appealing (less threatening) to audiences he often had to be presented as a grinning entertainer. Even if Dee Jay now wore the colors of the Jamaican flag, and sported natural hair, he also wore a lot of jewelry, and never lost that wide grin. I’ve no doubt he would be fun to play with in the game. I also have no doubt that the new developers meant no harm in his return. I just hope that if the studio takes more careful consideration when adding minorities into the franchise. What do you think of Dee Jay? Are you eager to see his return, or would you rather have seen a different, or new character instead? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 15

In the previous blog I talked about how Capcom was revising old character designs, and trying to make them more palatable to modern audiences. Every popular character was getting a redo. In the early stages of SFII Blanka had started off as an ugly Black brute in chains. He was turned into a green mutant, a wild man from the jungle. For SF6 this wild man was dressed in overalls. He was turned into a businessman starting up his own jungle tourism company. In the Street Fighter II concept art Dhalsim had started off as the Great Tiger, an Indian mystic wearing a Ganesh Balinese costume. He was turned into a stretchy limbed yoga master. Some of his more offensive costuming choices, specifically the child skull necklace was removed, and replaced with a necklace depicting the mudras. He would become a yogi, and instructor of yoga at a temple.

You would think that following the success of SFII the designers at Capcom would be more mindful of their international audience. For the most part the studio was able to create characters around a certain form of fighting. Whether they represented kung-fu, karate, wrestling, Muay Thai, or MMA. Those fighters had a look that reflected their style. The problem was when trying to create a design for a new fighter that didn’t represent a certain style. Blanka, and Dhalsim were examples of that. They fought in an unorthodox fashion, and thus had an unorthodox look to them. Before starting on a new game the designers would throw out all sorts of ideas, and see which ones stuck. For example one of the ideas for a SFIII character was simply titled “Rollerblade.” This character had some odd armor, and a helmet / hairstyle.

Designing an entire fighting style around a person that could inline skate didn’t go anywhere. Instead the studio took the skating, and made it a hobby for one of the kung-fu twins they were working on. The older of the two Yun, would be a skateboarder, inspired by Ken Lieu an actual skate legend. Yang was more than likely based on the Yasutoko Brothers, Takeshi, and Eito. Both of them were aggressive inline world champs. I would argue however that at least the spiky helmet in the concept sketch was turned into spiky hair for the younger twin. Not every design was as neutral. Some designs were right on the edge of offensive. What might have been meant as an homage to a certain archetype could be seen a stereotype to another person.

Let’s take a look at how the studio had been trying to incorporate a Middle Eastern character in the franchise for over 25 years. Some of the oldest drafts in Street Fighter III had a mysterious Indian assassin character. This fighter was dressed in classic Arabian fashion. I mean these costumes might have worked in a storybook, or Disney cartoon. That concept was fairly mild compared to the Witch of Islam. An enormous musclebound character that could be mistaken for a djinn, or genie. If you don’t think the design could be considered problematic then I wouldn’t know what to tell you. The Street Fighter 6 team didn't seem to be able to let some of their older designs go, no matter how far out of step they were with representation. 

In Street Fighter V there was an NPC named Azam that was the attendant / bodyguard to Rashid. The duo represented a lost kingdom in the desert. Azam wore costuming that made sense in one of the classic tales of Sindbad. You could easily imagine the musclebound character in a fight with a cyclops, pirate, or sea monster. He looked nothing like a modern person from the Middle East. He was reminiscent of the Witch of Islam concept. Capcom thankfully thought better than making him a main character. The studio still had to develop somebody whose look spoke to Middle Eastern culture. I would argue that they leaned heavily into orientalism when presenting Rashid in Street Fighter V. The studio didn’t lighten their approach to Azam when updating him for SF6, Rashid was another story. 

The developers didn’t second guess using a font that imitated the Arabic language, and script when announcing his return. It was a clever design choice, and I'm certain that Capcom had tremendous love, and respect for the people of the Middle East. This did not mean that some of their choices were not rooted in outdated ideas. Orientalism was the representation of Asia, especially the Middle East, in a stereotyped way that is regarded as embodying a colonialist attitude. This was something that had always been a part of character design from Japanese studios. I'm talking about magic, harems, genies, and inflatable characters! I created a series exploring the origins of these tropes. If you have some time please visit the following links; The Middle Eastern fighter, pt. 1, The Middle Eastern fighter, pt. 2, The Middle Eastern fighter, pt. 3, and The Middle Eastern fighter, pt. 4 (is where I talk about Rashid).

I would say that the newest version of Rashid was greatly improved over the previous. Let’s take a look at the differences between the designs in SFV, and SF6. One of the biggest problems I saw with the original look was the plain color scheme assigned to Rashid. Street Fighter II set a standard for character costumes, one of the reasons they worked was by sheer coincidence. The hardware that Capcom developed on was powerful for its time, but still had a limited sprite size, number of animations, and particularly limited palette of colors. The designers made sure that each character was given a strong primary color, and a complimentary second color. They would be easy to pick out of a crowd. If you think about Ken, and Ryu the colors that come to mind are red, and white. When you think of Chun-Li the color is blue. When I mention Blanka the color is green. You get the idea. For Rashid the color was primarily white, with a black belt. Something was lost when his costume was very similar to Ryu’s.

Designer Yusuke Hashimoto gave Rashid a makeover without losing too many elements from his original look. The first thing he did was expand the the secondary color black to cover the top half of his costume, and added orange as an accent color to separate him from Ryu. He also shortened the beard into something more realistic. He also did away with the overt technology the fighter relied on. Rashid was an expert at parkour, he was exceptionally quick, agile, and athletic. These things did not necessarily make him a dangerous fighter. He supplemented his strikes through technology. Hidden in his boots, and costume were tiny engines that created whirlwinds. In his original look he wore a large backpack to power these devices. The new costume got rid of these things.

His keffiyeh, the traditional headscarf was previously large, and puffy. This was swapped out to a visor head wrap with a long orange headband. His green viewfinder was ditched, as he was not a Sayan from Dragon Ball Z. His shoulders were now covered, there was no sign of the straps that had randomly criss crossed his arms. His smart devices were now integrated into his gloves. His sandals used to be plain looking, but were now stylized more like sneakers with electronics. Mr. Hashimoto pulled Rashid’s design into the 21st century, tried to leave the fairy tale elements out, while still making it unlike any traditional Arab costume. It followed the rules that went into the costumes of the other classic characters. After all Ryu, Chun-Li, and Guile’s costumes looked authentic, but only pulled a few cues from actual uniforms. His work should be studied in greater depth by anyone looking to create, or update a library of fighters.

Street Fighter 6 was evolving with the times, and pushing for a more diverse cast, without losing their unique eye. The Mysterious Assassin, and the Witch of Islam may have been the inspiration behind Rashid, and Azam, however they more directly influenced the creation of F.A.N.G. in SFV, and A.K.I. in SF6. We will look at how in the next blog. I hope to see you back for the next entry. If you are a long time fan of Final Fight, or Street Fighter then I would like to hear your impressions of SF6. If you have never played any game previously then tell me your experiences in the comments section please. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!