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May 13, 2005
Mortal Kombat Generation?
If there is a Mortal Kombat Generation, I am definitley a part of it. I remember when the SNES version was labeled "too bloody," "too realisitic," and "too disgusting" by parents, and "way super cool" by my peers and myself. I saw the movie, I saw the second movie, and I definitley listened to the soundtrack 20+ times a day.
With acception to Mortal Kombat Mythologies, I am a steady player of the console games. MK: Deadly Alliance was weak in my opinion, but a push in the right direction. I briefly played MK: Deception this past winter break, but have recently really gotten into the 'Konquest' mode, trying to get new characters to play.
This 'Konquest' mode follows the story about a boy named Shujinko, training to fight in Mortal Kombat. It's half RPG, half MK fighting. It's very tedious and gets boring very quickly. Yet, 20 minutes into this game, I was surprised to note a few of the missions.
One of the very first missions you run into, within a few minutes, I found a bit offensive, as a Korean-American. Since I can't take screenshots with the xbox, I have to make some stick figure drawings in Photoshop CS. See below.
That is right. Someone dies because he ate bad kimchi (and I wasn't quick enough to find him medicine apparently). For those who are not in the know, kimchi is a spicy side dish (banchan) from Korea made of napa cabbage or horse raddish with dozens of different varieties. It is also known as a cure for SARS. Just kidding.
I think I was offended once or twice more, but I remember this incident vividly. The mission is to find a girl's missing dog. You find the dog, but... in... um, pieces. See below.
Yes, the girl's response was like that. Sad, and then happy. I don't know but I think this is a bit offensive. Especially since another fighting character, named Bo' Rai Cho (on a sidenote, I think he's supposed to be Korean too), is a drunk, fat idiot.
Bo' Rai Cho's MK moves include "Drinking Punch," "Drinking Wine," "Drunken Leg," "Twist Of Lime," "Crushing Grapes," "Staggering Steps," "Drunken Sumo," "On The Rock," "Puke," "Cheap Shot," and others. I don't see myself as an overtly-sensitive person, but when I feel that something is perpetuating Asian-American stereotypes, it kind of hurts. Especially since video games are targeted to a younger audience. A child can see stereotypes over and over again and just see them as fact.
Kobra, the generic caucasian male of the game has generic names for all his MK fighting moves. "Windmill Kick," "Face Punch," "Side Elbow Strike," "Double Flip Kick," "Dual Fist Uppercut."
Is Bo' Rai Cho more fun to play as? Is it funny to watch him puke all over himself and the floor, or 'fart' his way off the floor after he dies the 1st round and is back for the 2nd? Is he funny because he is Asian? Would the names of his moves be funny on a fat, caucasian male fighter? Would a fat, caucasian male fighter be in Mortal Kombat? Or is Bo' Rai Cho acceptable as fat and drunk, because he's Asian, and of course all Asians know kung-fu?
I don't know... But these are the type of things that run through my head. Just thought I'd ponder outloud.
Posted by Stacy on May 13, 2005 04:13 PM | Filed In: Video Games
Comments
Not sure if this is true or not - but my dad claims that when he was in Korea (during the 70s) one of the indicators for a perfectly hot well-ripened kimchi was that the flys overhead would fall dead. Supposedly then, it would be perfectly fermented and ready for consumption. He swears it's true - my mom's swears he's full of shit.
Posted by ian ashley at May 14, 2005 02:05 AM
hah...i rmember when my cousins first got Mortal Kombat on SNES. we had to conserve playing time b/c we had this theory that if we overplay it early enough, we could end up getting bored with it. lame
Posted by jahan at May 14, 2005 11:58 PM
