This comments section is further proof that a lot of this community has no understanding of race whatsoever and really needs to listen to marginalized people instead of doubling down on telling people what they should or shouldn't be offended by. Stay classy, y'all!
Exactly, and hopefully this shitshow of a comment section maybe makes people realise that this shouldn't be on YouTube. Imagine the waterfall of racism that would be that comment section; I don't imagine GB wants that on their more public presence (not that I speak for them).
Homage and parody don't require the newer material to be 100% accurate. Neither forms are a method of historical preservation - 80's cop shows, despite whether they threw around racial epithets or not, aren't going to disappear without Beat Cop. Ideally, they should be looking at the source through a modern lens, and that includes the language used and stereotypes represented. Sure, there's a chance that the game uses the casualisation of slurs and racially-charged imagery to make a point (and ideally it would) but the tactless way it's handled and presented at the start, as well as the ham-fisted disclaimer at the start make me think that no, they don't have a grasp on the intricacies required to do so. Instead, it appears to entirely be played off as humour, and I want to hope (possibly against hope) that we've moved past the shock-comedy equivalent of someone walking in the street and yelling "NI**ER" at the top of their lungs.
The disclaimer that it's all in good fun simply doesn't land with this taken in mind. As mentioned, homage, parody, or whatever you want to call it requires more than just carbon-copying the source material, especially with invective that have changed in the 35+ years since the source. Trying to pass racism and stereotypes off as "it's just a joke" simply seems lazy and a cop-out considering how intricate incisive comedy is required to be, because if it doesn't land it presents a whole bunch of uncomfortable questions. Given that art is rarely if ever able to be apolitical coupled with the current political climate, it's either a complete misunderstanding of zeitgeist by the developers, a huge swing-and-a-miss on humour, or something more sinister. Whatever it is, it's not good.
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