posted
Since no one had made a post on this yet, I decided to do so, as it's a recent, and rather well documented attempt at anti-black revisionism. In short, the Assasssin's creed game decided to have a game centred in Japan where the male lead is Yasuke(a non-fictional historical figure) and the female lead is Naoe (a fictonal historical figure).
Obviously, it didn't take long for racist revisionists to claim that Yasuke was not a samurai, but actually a retainer, but in reality retainers were a type of samurai, so not only is this statement redundant, it also shows how little they actually care about educating others on Japanese history.
Overall, this situation highlights how even to this day, successful black africans in history will remain a debate. It also highlights how valuable this site is when it comes to discussing it, as it seems some of these racists edited Yasuke's wikipedia page to serve their needs.
I'd really recommend these two links for those who want to learn more about the case:
Another interesting thing is that the Japanese have made games that have featured Yasuke before, such as Samurai warriors 5, so I highly doubt that they take offense to him (though I could be wrong).
Lastly, correct me if I am wrong, but I don't recall there being a huge controversy when this game came out.
BrandonP Member # 3735
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I just think the controversy is silly since Yasuke is an actual historical figure, which is a lot more than can be said of a lot of the stuff in the Assassins Creed franchise. A lot of these anti-woke protestors can be just as whiny and easily triggered as the social justice warriors they complain about.
Archeopteryx Member # 23193
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Yasuke´s name has also indirectly been brought up in regards to the new TV series Shogun which takes place somewhat later in time. Because of an online article who questioned why there are no Black people in the series a debate started which also came to include Yasuke.
posted
According to this article maybe some of those who protest against Yasukes role in the game are most irritated over the fact that the main male protagonist is not Japanese but a foreigner.
As one debater put it:
quote:“Ubisoft has never made a game with a male East Asian protagonist,” one fan said on X, replying to a post from Assassin’s Creed about the new game. “Do they hate East Asian males?”
Maybe this can lead to questions about if Black people are overrepresented in Western media compared with groups like East Asians, South East Asians, Indians (from India) or Middle Easterners.
Djehuti Member # 6698
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Black vikings, black samurai, etc. Blacks are being used as pawns in a DEI tokenization agenda to warp and destroy other cultures.
BrandonP Member # 3735
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Moved to Deshret.
Ibis Member # 23674
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quote:Originally posted by Archeopteryx: According to this article maybe some of those who protest against Yasukes role in the game are most irritated over the fact that the main male protagonist is not Japanese but a foreigner.
As one debater put it:
quote:“Ubisoft has never made a game with a male East Asian protagonist,” one fan said on X, replying to a post from Assassin’s Creed about the new game. “Do they hate East Asian males?”
Maybe this can lead to questions about if Black people are overrepresented in Western media compared with groups like East Asians, South East Asians, Indians (from India) or Middle Easterners.
This isn't the first instance of the male protagonist being someone of foreign ancestry though. Assassins Creed Origins featured Bayek, who is a Medjay as it's protagonist. Now to avoid a race controversy, everyone here should know that the Medjay were an ethic group that were initially foreigners outside of Egypt with origins in Northern Sudan, who got accepted into Egypt overtime. However, It doesn't change the fact that the Bayek was of foreign ancestry, similar to Yasuke.
Ibis Member # 23674
posted
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: Black vikings, black samurai, etc. Blacks are being used as pawns in a DEI tokenization agenda to warp and destroy other cultures.
I am not so naïve as to think that their aren't ulterior motives behind this decision. However, I think we can reasonably make an exception in this case, as we do know that Yasuke's existence is non-fiction.
Ibis Member # 23674
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quote:Originally posted by BrandonP: Moved to Deshret.
Hetheru's corner seemed fitting, as this is pertaining to a video game franchise, but I can see why this was moved as the controversy has evolved into a debate over Yasuke's existence and place in history.
BrandonP Member # 3735
posted
TBH, if there really are cynical reasons behind Ubisoft choosing Yasuke to be their next AC protagonist, they're probably related to marketing. All these AAA game studios care more about their bottom line than anything else.
the lioness, Member # 17353
posted
quote:Originally posted by Ibis: Since no one had made a post on this yet, I decided to do so, as it's a recent, and rather well documented attempt at anti-black revisionism. In short, the Assasssin's creed game decided to have a game centred in Japan where the male lead is Yasuke(a non-fictional historical figure) and the female lead is Naoe (a fictonal historical figure).
Obviously, it didn't take long for racist revisionists to claim that Yasuke was not a samurai, but actually a retainer, but in reality retainers were a type of samurai, so not only is this statement redundant, it also shows how little they actually care about educating others on Japanese history.
I wouldn't call it a "well documented attempt at anti-black revisionism."
I would call it some people making negative comments on it on the internet
I read the story at the Time link, not much of a story
Make any historical drama. Then as usual hundreds or thousands of random people, fans, etc make good and bad comments on the interwebs
you're a news writer, clip several of the bad comments and in 30 minutes you have a "news" story and have earned your keep as a writer for the moment
"Assassin’s Creed Fans Slam Decision to Include Black Samurai in Feudal Japan Story"
I wouldn't call it anti-black revisionism because the racial murmurings and fidgeting did not develop into a revision, where something significant was revised, changed
The article could be re-tilted
"Nobodys on the Interwebs Moan and Groan about about historical Black Samurai character in Assassin's Creed video game"
posted
YouTuber Metatron has made a video about Yasuke:
quote:On this video we are watching and reacting to the trailer of Assassin's Creed Shadows. This trailer has created a lot of controversy and backlash with people attacking and insulting each other over the protagonist being a Black African man. What is the real history about this? Let's talk about it.
Many people are getting really upset about this game, particularly in Japan as Japanese gamers are feeling left out when compared to previous Assassin's Creed games which always features a protagonist from the same area as the setting.
Even though these feeling are absolutely justified, it's also important to not overswing and reach incorrect conclusions such as some people mentioning that there was never a Black African man in Feudal Japan, which is historically incorrect.
Let's talk about Yasuke, let's watch the trailer and see if the way they represented him in this game is in any way coherent with the historical record and most importantly let's ask the hardest question of all...Was Yasuke a samurai?
I wouldn't call it a "well documented attempt at anti-black revisionism."
I would call it some people making negative comments on it on the internet
I read the story at the Time link, not much of a story
Make any historical drama. Then as usual hundreds or thousands of random people, fans, etc make good and bad comments on the interwebs
you're a news writer, clip several of the bad comments and in 30 minutes you have a "news" story and have earned your keep as a writer for the moment
"Assassin’s Creed Fans Slam Decision to Include Black Samurai in Feudal Japan Story"
I wouldn't call it anti-black revisionism because the racial murmurings and fidgeting did not develop into a revision, where something significant was revised, changed
The article could be re-tilted
"Nobodys on the Interwebs Moan and Groan about about historical Black Samurai character in Assassin's Creed video game"
The revisionist aspect of the controversy is the fact that people spent time out of their day to edit Yasuke's wikipedia page, and fill it with incorrect information to suit their needs.
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