Is the elder scrolls series racist? and does it imply certain things in our world?

[Dorian6]

I don't think it's really racist, more that the different races in elder scrolls have different values and upbringings.

Imperials favor diplomacy and craftsmanship

Redgaurd society is based more around physical ability

Nords live in the frozen north and, therefore must be hardier in order to flourish in such a harsh climate.

And then there's the matter of the Argonians, the Elves, the Orcs, etc

They're completely different species, not just differing members of the same group (asian, white, black etc) and would naturally have abilities that would differ from their human counterparts.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

If it's racist for anthing it's because the Khajit are Rastafari stereotypes, fight the imperial powa, and spend their time getting wasted on Skooma.

That being said, 1. No, and 2. No.

 

[latenightapplepie]

Nah. It's a fictional universe with some interesting, yet slightly tenous, links you can make with our own. You're reading into it a bit much.

 

[Erana]

The game has its own lexicon of racism; that's what makes it so plausible, socially.

 

[Shapsters]

It's not easy being greeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!

In that same game you can also play a cat-person or a lizard man... oh, sorry, that was sexist. I mean Lizard *person*, my mistake.

Hehe welled played!

Honestly, who cares?! Is there really any denying that black people are better at sports than whites, and is it a bad thing? And what does it matter if a video game has racial stereotypes?

And again... who cares!?

 

[WolfThomas]

The fact that black people are different species could be interpreted badly.

I find it odd that no ones interbreeds with different races, for example Nords, Bretons and Imperials are all descended from the same stock who came from an icy continent. The nords resembling them the most, their descendants who settled the midlands and Bretons being those who interbred with elves.

All the elves (Altmer, Bosmer, Dunmenr formally Chimer) and the orcs (Orsimer) share the same ancestors in the Aldmer.

What would be cool is if you could choose mixed heritages in your characters, like a half nord half breton, a balanced battlemage.

 

[Nieroshai]

Redguard is actually derived from Bloodguard, a race in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, who were black and a race of warriors dedicated to guarding that world's Council of Lords.

 

[Acaroid]

to start off i would like to say iv only played Morrowind and Oblivion in TES series. i loved them both however,

does it seem racist to you how the classes are? as in the imperials are good leaders and have high social skills and rule over the land, or how the redguards(those with dark skin) are gifted in running and fighting but in thier description it says they prefer to be adventurers instead of soldiers because they dont like taking orders. so the white man rules everything and has conquered the other races, and the black man is a skilled warrior and is a naturally gifted runner. was this on purpose as in it reflects our world in a fantasy world?

this just kinda made me think about it, im not saying i think its racist but i feel its worth a discussion. Thoughts?

What is funny in the game, is that is does touch on the ideas of racisim, depending what area etc you are in depending if people like you or not depending on race.

But in life different races do have different attributes and pointing out those differences isnt rascism, it is judging and chaning your attitude to those people because of differences is (IMO). It is frowned apon (stupidly) but there are scientists who study the genetic differences between races. So i see the different races in the game having different attributes isnt racsist, just showing us the different default attributes the races have.

 

[RetiarySword]

High elves are good with magic, but shit at everything else like health, running, attacking, damage resistance. They are tall and have an odd skin complexion.

!!

Could it be that the high elves represent nerds who don't get out that much?!

 

[Kurokami]

to start off i would like to say iv only played Morrowind and Oblivion in TES series. i loved them both however,

does it seem racist to you how the classes are? as in the imperials are good leaders and have high social skills and rule over the land, or how the redguards(those with dark skin) are gifted in running and fighting but in thier description it says they prefer to be adventurers instead of soldiers because they dont like taking orders. so the white man rules everything and has conquered the other races, and the black man is a skilled warrior and is a naturally gifted runner. was this on purpose as in it reflects our world in a fantasy world?

this just kinda made me think about it, im not saying i think its racist but i feel its worth a discussion. Thoughts?

I call it immersive, its realistic and I gotta say, the bandits/vampires/raiders etcetc are generally my favorite people on that account as they seem the least ignorant... (their allies tend to be multicultural) Its a good thing the emperor died at the beginning of the game, lest I finish the job myself. =D

 

[tologna]

It's racist because cats are drug addicts! D:<

In any case, I don't view it as racist. It is more based off of stereotypical views of different people and countries. The Imperials aren't based off of "whites", but rather the Roman Empire. Likewise, the Bretons are the French, the Nords are the Norse, and the Redguards are more "Arabian" than they are "African".

edit:*whoops* nevermind.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Yes, it's totally racist.

The problem is, of course, that it's racist to its races rather than yours. That's Feudalism for ya.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

You know, this was something I was wondering just the other day while playing World of Warcraft. Dwarfs are better with guns, Humans have higher spirit, Tauren are skilled with Herbalism. This is all well and good, but if this was a real world example, would it be stereotypically racist?

If WoW had a Kenyan race would they be faster? If Japanese was a race would they be better with technology? I may be delving too much into it, but games like WoW have all these racist and sexual under tones (females are all half the size of the males with huge perfect breasts and wide hips) that if placed in the real world would be considered bad taste and old fashioned.

I don't know, I think I am delving too deep.

 

[Video Gone]

It's racist because cats are drug addicts! D:<

In any case, I don't view it as racist. It is more based off of stereotypical views of different people and countries. The Imperials aren't based off of "whites", but rather the Roman Empire. Likewise, the Bretons are the French, the Nords are the Norse, and the Redguards are more "Arabian" than they are "African".

You win the discussion, good sir.

 

[Woodsey]

No, it's not racist.

The world feels more realistic because there are prejudices against each race - and since Cyrodiil comprises mostly of Imperials, they're going to have some not very nice things to say about some of the 'lesser' races - the lizard people for example (forgotten the name!) are the equivalent of immigrants. They're given abuse by some characters because they've got a different culture.

You're point about Imperials being white is irrelevant - I'm 95% sure you can make an Imperial who's black, and the same for making a white Redguard. Besides, the Nords are white, and they aren't high and mighty.

 

[Ryuk2]

It's not racist. The white man has conquered the world (Napoleon, Hitler, Jonas Brothers).
I know some black people and i would agree that they don't like to take orders and they are great runners. Is that a bad thing? It could be a compliment too. They run fast, fight good and they are too friendly to conquer the world. There where black guards in the game too.
Everybody seem to be racist against those with blue skin and red ayes BTW and even that was with a reason.

 

[Alex_P]

Useful word to know when discussing fantasy: "racialism".

"Racialism" is a term for racial essentialism -- the belief that human beings fall into clearly-categorizable races, and that those races have indelible innate characteristics like racial personalities and talents.

"Racism" in its modern usage denotes racial essentialism plus hierarchy: the idea that the races are different and that some are better than others.

So, take Robert E. Howard's work, for example. Race really matters in Conan stories. Howard's big on describing the fundamental characteristics of Cimmerians vs. Stygians vs. Aquilonians vs. Picts vs. whoever. Reading a handful of his stories, I really feel like it's not just culture but also biological heritage that is supposed to be giving the characters their definitive traits. But, besides a lot of rah-rah about how awesome Conan is, there's not much hierarchy -- people often end up being different without really being better. (That said, I'm sure there are areas where he slips up. If that man can write Vale of Lost Women, it's quite possible he can lapse into super-hardcore racism, too.)

The nice thing about having that other word is that we can describe things that buy into this whole funky set of beliefs about races without necessarily equating it to the bad stuff people have built on top of it.

I think Oblivion and its ilk, with the way they do the different flavors of humans, are definitely racialist. Racist? Dunno.

-- Alex