Tuesday 30 June 2015

Representation of ethnicity in the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Even in a fantasy world, the issue of representation of ethnicity is still applied. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim allows the player to adventure through the land of Skyrim with their own created character and a race of their choosing. However, the races in Skyrim aren't exactly the same as they are in real life. For example, you can choose from a selection of elf races, High Elves, Wood Elves, Dark Elves or Orc. But can also play as a human if you wish. 3 of the races that are human have white skin while only one has black skin.
In the game, the province of Skyrim is inhabited by a human race called the Nords which are notoriously racist to other races; claiming that "Skyrim belongs to the Nords." We are forced to live in this society where you constantly get racial slurs aimed at you such as "dark skin."
There is a race that you can play as called Khajiit which are cat like creatures, and they are not allowed in the cities of Skyrim because they are portrayed as stereotypical gypsies. The guards are sometimes reluctant to let you in the cities if you are a Khajiit because they have a reputation of stealing and setting things on fire.
Skyrim is not a racist game, however it deals with a lot of issues to do with racism by incorporating them into the game, such as racist insults.

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