Resident Evil 5 Comments by Dan Whitehead

@coomber

Lol... I'd love to know who you write for... guesses anyone? It's got to be a right-wing rag of some description.

Again, like so many other on this thread, you are basing your opinions of Africa on the media... you even fucking said it yourself - you know journalists who have been to Africa? Right, and where do they get sent? Where interesting stories that sell copy are to be found. And what makes interesting stories to the press? Suffering and misery. Is the whole of Africa like that? Of course not. Anyone who has ever travelled though Africa themselves will tell you that.

This game will surely be a massapiece!

@Burzum09

Good grief, I said that I found it distasteful - I was expressing my personal opinion and I made that perfectly clear. I didn't say that no one else should play these games, or that they should be banned.

On the point of whether I can accept that RE5 can be seen as racist, well on the evidence I've seen so far I believe objectively it isn't, and that people who find it so are probably a small minority for whom the 'imagery' has some personal connection with racism that is not of the game itself

I don't believe it's a racist game, but it absolutely, categorically makes use of imagery that is racist in origin. The white woman being dragged away by black men and then "tainted" is a classic and recurring motif of colonial racist propaganda. That's a matter of historical record, not personal belief. For such a scene to be used, with no apparent narrative context, in a work of mass market entertainment in 2009 is very surprising.

Mr Whitehead seems to be holding something back though so we'll just need to wait and see, perhaps there is a motive beyond what is described in the article which will explain the fact that this came up again in such a big way.

It's very frustrating, because until the game is out there and people can see the particular elements in Chapter 3 that Capcom doesn't want revealed, we can only have half of this debate. Suffice to say that I sought a lot of opinions before writing this article, from friends and colleagues, black and white, some of which were dubious about the game's racial content, some who didn't see a problem with anything in the trailers and demo. Every single one of them was stunned, shocked or at least taken aback when I described this part of the game.

And I believe that the "danger" (such as it is) of using this sort of imagery in games is that it does nothing to shake off the stigma that videogames are the puerile, dim-witted adolescent cousin of the real entertainment media, lacking in tact, depth and meaningful content.

If, as I predicted, the mainstream media does pick up on this, or if some organisation like the NAACP makes a statement, or Kanye West gets on stage at an awards show and declares that videogames don't care about black people, then these images are going to be put under intense scrutiny and we - as gamers and as an industry - need to be able to hold back on our kneejerk defences of our hobbies and livelihoods and come up with an explanation as to why the muscular white hero of the latest blockbuster game is literally stamping on the faces of grunting animalistic black Africans.

Because saying "Oh, it's OK, because these Africans are evil monsters" really doesn't work in the real world.

Dan,

I do have a lot admiration for you, as you will write a article and then read the comments made by posters and then post reply. Its what makes Eurogamer that much better than its other its competitors.

If Fox can make a shit-storm out of the so called sex in Mass Effect I shudder to think whats to come when this is released.

The white woman being dragged away by black men and then "tainted" is a classic and recurring motif of colonial racist propaganda. That's a matter of historical record, not personal belief. For such a scene to be used, with no apparent narrative context, in a work of mass market entertainment in 2009 is very surprising.

This reminds me a bit of the recent advertising campaign by Tchibo and Esso in Germany where the expression "Jedem den Seinen" was used. It was not deliberate but shows extreme historical ignorance of the responsible people.

@ Gaol

"On the point of whether I can accept that RE5 can be seen as racist, well on the evidence I've seen so far I believe objectively it isn't, and that people who find it so are probably a small minority for whom the 'imagery' has some personal connection with racism that is not of the game itself "

And there, I think, is the problem. The answer to "Can this be envisaged / painted / described as racist" cannot be "I, objectively, don't think it is."

I doesn't matter what you, personally, believe. The debate is surely whether a racist argument would have a putative leg to stand on if, as Dan says, Mr West or Oprah made this their issue de jour. To be honest, I could probably write you the Mail's headline for its centrepiece spread right now.

Don't make me do it, though. I'll feel dirty all day.

@m0thr4

Well you've got me on the first point of definition. But the second one refers to discrimination and antagonism, which are active manifestations of hate., which was exactly my point.

I certainly did look up the definition, and pasted a part of it. Have I ever acted in these pages as someone who states thing without believing them to be fact? Clearly my source material is lacking and I hold my hands up on that count, but please don't accuse me of not trying to research before commenting.


Regardless, I still think my point about accusations of racist being used out of term still stand. Statements like "the only people who think this game is racist are racists themselves" is only one stop away from the hitler accusation (wiki it). It is nothing but subterfuge and is a barrier to mature debate.

I think at the root of it all, you and me are in agreement. But these pages are always about people taking sides rarther than actually learning anything.

@DanWhitehead

Your last post was the best of the thread so far I think. In particular,

"Because saying "Oh, it's OK, because these Africans are evil monsters" really doesn't work in the real world."

I agree, as I said before, that I don't think the game is racist but I do believe (from what I have seen thus far) it is ignorant. But by some definitions (something I have learned today) the ignorance in itself is enough to mean the game IS racist. Complex [sic].

@coomber

As a journalist, I know people who have been to Africa to cover stories of genocides that are being carried out as white, liberal apologists moan about a computer game. Parts of Africa have a reputation for being savage because they are. It's not racist to say that.

If someone were to make a game that seriously tried to explore and contextualise the violence in modern day Africa, something along the lines of Darfur is Dying, then I'd be all for it. But let's not pretend that Resident Evil 5 is some serious documentary where cultural verisimilitude is important. It's a game in which you fight a giant bat-scorpion.

@kangarootoo

Have I ever acted in these pages as someone who states thing without believing them to be fact?

Absolutely not, and if I jumped on you a bit hard, I apologise.

@Burzum09
"To argue that a white person cannot kill a black person in a video game is thoroughly racist."

It worries me that after reading the article and comments here, you think that is the argument being discussed here.

It worries me because, one day, if not already, you will be eligible to vote.

Where was the media frenzy surrounding Assassin's Creed (where the protagonist is ultimately a Middle-eastern Muslim executing white Christians)? The hypocrisy is astounding.

Again, it staggers me that you missed the media frenzy surrounding Assassin's Creed. I can only assume that you have very recently arrived on this planet.

@guernican

"And there, I think, is the problem. The answer to "Can this be envisaged / painted / described as racist" cannot be "I, objectively, don't think it is." "

Not quite what I meant. I was saying that *from an objective point of view* I don't see how it can be argued that what we've seen so far is inherently racist. You admited as much yourself earlier by saying it was quite possible for me to not see the racism because (as you presumed, corectly or incorrectly) I had been brought up without exposure to racist propoganda etc. In other words the racist connotations are actually due to a viewer's particular experience. But lets not go into subjective/objective semantics just yet, lets wait for the final release and see what Capcom are hiding.

And fairplay to Dan Whitehead for replying to comments here It's a touchy subject, not just the racism, but the idea that the mainstream press and/or PC crowd don't need another excuse to kick videogaming.

@Burzum09

Good point, well made. I find myself agreeing with you 100%.

You have quite eloquently described my precise feelings toward the perceived racism in this game. Hypocrisy is absolutely the right word to use in this situation. It seems that the type of violence in the game would be perfectly acceptable if the protagonist was not a beefy, white American guy and the violence was directed at anything other than Africans.

I have said it before in this thread and its worth repeating again, any racism in this game is a function of the players own need to point out that white guys hurting black guys is a bad thing and a need to be seen to point out any and all racism, whether it exists or not.

That being said, I haven't had the privilege of seeing the previously mentioned overtly racist scene in Chapter 3 of the game so I cannot really comment on that but as Dan Whitehead said, 'It's a game in which you fight a giant bat-scorpion.' and taken in that context, I cannot lend any credence to people saying the game is racism from my experience playing the demo.

However, I am willing to admit that narrow minded individuals in the press or those with an agenda will find the game a valuable weapon in their fight against video games.

I genuinely see no racism in Resident Evil 5, nor did Resident Evil 4 encourage anti-Spanish sentiment.

With all due respect, you've not actually played Resident Evil 5. You've seen the trailers and played the demo. There is material in the game, some of it mentioned in detail in the article, that is harder to dispute.

The fact that you're clinging to the "Resident Evil 4 wasn't racist against the Spanish" suggests that you don't really understand the nature of the criticisms. Spanish people have never been stereotyped as sub-human. Africans have. For many, many decades black people were constantly and consistently portrayed as a lesser species than white people. That sort of cultural baggage doesn't get left behind overnight, and when you take a game in which you fight against a local population turned into savage monsters and transplant it onto African soil then these issues can't help but come to the fore. The only way Resident Evil 4's depiction of the Spanish would be comparable is if the Spanish villagers behaved in ways that were stereotypically assigned to Spaniards.

And the argument has never been that it's not OK for a white hero to kill a black person in a game. That's a straw man that lets you deflect the conversation into the nebulous world of "political correctness". The criticism is specific to this game, and the way the Resident Evil concept can't help but take on racial aspects when applied to a poor African location. That the game contains specific scenes that blur the lines between normal Africans and the savage monsters, and uses the classic racist scenario of the white woman snatched by black thugs, just makes this reading even harder to ignore.

"I don't see any racism, so anyone who does see racism must therefore be racist" is circular logic at its worst.

"The inability to move and shoot at the same time was originally because of technical limitations, but with the game now an over-the-shoulder co-op shooter more in the style of Army of Two or Kane & Lynch, the decision to stick with the rigid run, fast turn, shoot, repeat approach to combat seems more bloody-minded than creatively inspired. "

*Sigh*

This isn't supposed to be Gears of fricking War, it's supposed to be a claustrophobic and scary experience; not being able to shoot and move proves this. Resident Evil 4 had the balance perfected, but since co-op has killed this game I guess it doesn't matter anymore.

To anyone intending to buy this game as a single player sequel to RE4, don't. The AI ruins the game, with only co-op with another player elevating the game to the usual co-op Halo/Gears of Wars thrills.

I am very dissatisfied with this game, and become increasinly angry at the twats who demanded this game ever needed co-op. Yes, those same people who think the likes of Fallout 3 need "TEAM SLAYER LULZ".

*Sighs*

@Razorus

While we're here, any other huge continents you'd like to generalise with equally epic sweeping statements?

"an explanation as to why the muscular white hero of the latest blockbuster game is literally stamping on the faces of grunting animalistic black Africans."

Because the "Africans" (who actually come in variety of races & colours) are infected with a virus which has turned them into killing machine monsters with tentacles spewing out of their mouths.

"The only way Resident Evil 4's depiction of the Spanish would be comparable is if the Spanish villagers behaved in ways that were stereotypically assigned to Spaniards."

You mean for example, a Spanish guy turned up on a moped and tried to seduce your girlfriend. No wait that's Italians.

/Perhaps I am racist after all. Gets coat.

"It worries me that after reading the article and comments here, you think that is the argument being discussed here."

Enlighten me. What IS the argument being discussed?

I really don't see how I can explain it any more clearly than Dan did in his article, or than anyone else has discussed here already. If you genuinely don't understand after reading all of that, then there really is no hope for you.

The examples Dan gives sound disgusting and racist.
Won't be buying.

Will be writing in to mainstream newspapers.

I have to agree with Crofto's defence of the control scheme (though not his point that co-op breaks the game) but otherwise what an excellent article. I finished my own preview last night, and shamefully made no mention of the game's casually stereotypical content, even those segments which ram it down your throat. To reiterate, the incident with the white blonde woman is given absolutely no narrative context or justification - it's there purely to create a sensation, to tap into a history of racist imagery with which many players, I suspect, will be sadly over-familiar.

Where was the media frenzy surrounding Assassin's Creed (where the protagonist is ultimately a Middle-eastern Muslim executing white Christians)? The hypocrisy is astounding.

Altair's bio might claim he's native to the Middle East (it doesn't say that he's a Muslim, as far as I recall), but the man looks and sounds as white as a Macdonalds milkshake. Nor are the people he executes solely white Christians.

Dan is in a very privileged position, being able to play the game without having to give any money to Capcom. His opinions are therefore very valuable here.

Post release, there's going to be a bit of a Catch-22 for those who argue that the game has racist overtones: if they have played the game, they'll be accused of lining Capcom's pockets against their better judgement, and if they haven't they'll be told that they're in no position to comment on a game they haven't played.

The demo was properly unimpressive. Everything from the graphics to the stunningly awful controls to THE RACISM. I was mehed and outraged equally.

"This isn't supposed to be Gears of fricking War, it's supposed to be a claustrophobic and scary experience; not being able to shoot and move proves this"

Utter tosh. Its the same heinous lie that gets wheeled out everytime a ResEvil game turns up with a sub-standard control interface.

There are plenty of horror games out there which prove that proper controls do nothing to harm a sense of horror or indeed a sense of claustraphobia. Silent Hill 1 and 2 were WAY scarier than any Res Evil game has ever been, and the controls in those games - while basic - were perfectly functional.

@Feanor

"Because the "Africans" (who actually come in variety of races & colours) are infected with a virus which has turned them into killing machine monsters with tentacles spewing out of their mouths"

You haven't been reading this thread, have you?

@Burzum

I understand your point, but I still feel that being over-sensitive is counter productive.

But since you've not actually seen the elements in question, how do you know I'm being over-sensitive? Surely a kneejerk defence of "Nope, can't be racist" is no better than the people who, as you say, condemn the game due to pre-conceived ideas?

What if it was set in Liverpool and the zombies were trying to burgle your house? What sort of reaction then?

I don't believe racism can be committed in any art form, because I think racism has to be directly inflicted onto one person/group of people from another person/group of people. 60s America saw genuine racism, people actually suffering for the colour of their skin, blacks being refused food at restaurants, having to give up seats on buses for whites. That racism because a person is being treated as second class because of their race.

I don't think the people of Africa will suffer directly, or even indirectly, from anything that is in Resident Evil 5 or any other video game. Therefore, I think the term "racism" is being misused on this thread.

That's not to say I agree with Capcom's decision to pick a specific location though. Just because it's not, in my opinion, racism, doesn't mean it can't be perceived as offensive.

Coming back to my Liverpool question. Replace that with where ever you stay, and pretend Capcom had set it there and, as I understand they've done in Resident Evil 5, imposed specific stereotypes of your home and its people. Would you find that offensive? I believe the vast majority of us would. So I guess that's the real issue here surely.

I was feeling all elated last night because I finally managed to defeat the man with the chainsaw in the Resident Evil 5 demo. But then I read this article.

Firstly, the controls. I haven't got any problems with the movement/shooting controls. I've been playing Resident Evil games since the PSone original. However, since Capcom seem to be evolving the series, I really feel that at the very least, some more up-to-date (move+shoot) controls should be provided as an option. But if not, I'm fine with them as they are.

Now, as for co-op, I haven't got any problems with the game including co-op for those who want to use it, but thanks to the need for co-op to have a real-time inventory and the variable A.I. of Sheva, the single player just seems broken.

Even with the shortcuts and ability to swap items around, the real-time inventory far too fiddly. As for Sheva, she annoyed the piss out of me. If she hadn't been included then I may well have defeated the man with the chainsaw much sooner, but as it was, I kept dying because of Sheva screwing things up for me. It seemed to make very little difference whether I sent her off to attack or told her to stay with me. Swapping items with her mid-battle is a joke. It wouldn't be so bad if she didn't pick stuff up without asking. Reading the article seemed only to confirm that she remains a problem through other parts of the game.

I am also not sure I like the sound of the vehicular chase sequences, but that's just because I'm not very good at those sorts of things. Judging by the demo and this article, the game seems to contain very little of what made me a fan of the series in the first place.

If, during single player, Sheva was invincible or simply had more control options, such as 'keep out of danger' or 'wait there' then that would help enormously. If they could also have the game pause when in the inventory or are swapping items with your partner, then this still could be a purchase for me.

As it is, I think I'm going to have to give this game a miss. It will be the first time I missed a Resident Evil game from the main story. Perhaps the full game will improve things for me - but so far, that isn't looking very likely.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I nearly forgot the most important thing.

NO MERCHANT - NO SALE, STRANGER!

Because saying "Oh, it's OK, because these Africans are evil monsters" really doesn't work in the real world.

Why doesn't it? Examples of African brutality were laid out, and you are saying that it doesn't matter because of perception. It's a sad day when perception overtakes fact. If Kanye West jumps up and says games don't care about black people, I will be perfectly happy to dismiss his opinion as readily as I dismiss anyone who rates perception higher than fact.

The game designers are free to set their game in Africa. They are free to make their zombies black. It makes for an atmospheric setting. If they want to have a white woman dragged off by blacks - zombies or not - then they should go right ahead. To make an issue out of it is to perpetuate these issues of race. It's part of this particular story, and it creates mood.

The argument against this seems to be that because of centuries old propaganda, we should display blacks in games in a uniformly positive light. It is just that sort of embarrassing shuffling around the issues that raises awareness of the very thing you are trying to lessen.

This utter nonsense being spouted about having to have first-hand experience of things to know that they are so is also playground logic. But then 'hot topics' like racism will always bring out poorly argued points of view. It's a fact that several African nations/tribes are bloodthirsty and brutal. If someone wants to set their game to this backdrop that should not raise any eyebrows.

But of course it does.

I feel bad.
When I play this and I'm shooting the bad guys, I feel no pang of remorse or regret.
Am I a racist?

@MattDamon

"I don't believe racism can be committed in any art form, because I think racism has to be directly inflicted onto one person/group of people from another person/group of people."

And does an entire race of people not qualify as a group of people?

I am seriously struggling to see where you got the "racism cannot be commited in an art form" from. A lot of what is said about modern art is that the intent behind the work is as important as the work itself. So if a piece of art has racist intent behind it (which I am not suggesting the game does btw), how does that not make it racist? How does "being art" except it from being classified as racist if it meets all other criteria (whatever they might be)?


"I don't think the people of Africa will suffer directly, or even indirectly, from anything that is in Resident Evil 5 or any other video game. Therefore, I think the term "racism" is being misused on this thread."

Well whether or not black people will suffer indirectly is a hugely complex discussion. I could easily suggest that some of the scenes discussed could reinforce nagative stereotypes and beliefs held by a minority of people who view the game, which in turn could affect the way they behave in future situations where race is a factor (or could make race a factor in future situation where it would otherwise not be). If the discussion is to be had at all I think it rather deserves more than "I don't think..." before one side of the debate is dismissed out of hand.

I might suggest that some of the comments seen so far (about how Africa is the most uncivilised place on earth) demonstrate just how the images being discussed are reinforcing the currently held opinions of some. Could that reinforcement not cause indirect suffering to the "people of Africa"?

"The argument against this seems to be that because of centuries old propaganda, we should display blacks in games in a uniformly positive light. It is just that sort of embarrassing shuffling around the issues that raises awareness of the very thing you are trying to lessen. "

No. The argument seems to be that if you're creating something which has direct visual parity with, and is immediately reminiscent of, racial stereotyping that still goes on and was generally prevalent far, far less than a century ago, you should expect some controversy around it.

Oh, to be untroubled by a moral conscience. Or to be 13 again.

@the_inchworm

I'm not sure exactly the "fact" you describe exists in this discussion. Surely matters of this type are ALL about perception?

Or is this a case of "fact" being the part that you feel is correct, and ill-conceived perception being the basis of opposing opinions?


That last question was a bit cheeky I know. I'm just doing my devil's advocate thing :)

I think capcom should just tackle this head on in an adult manner and just make everyone in the game hold hands and start singing "heal the world" by Michael Jackson. That should clear everything up.

The preview does seem negative, but the demo was a blast!! I guess this game will just have to be played on co-op to get the most out of it....

As for the racism argument, I must admit, the site of a muscular, clean cut white man, stomping on the head of a black man, turning it to mush is a little disturbing... but in fairness, some parts of Africa really are that bad, gangs and worse, I on't go into it, because it really is too horrible to discuss, I'll just say "long sleeve or short sleeve"

+

it must be remembered that the game is being developed in Japan, by Japanese people, slightly less aware of the raciist conotations their game would suggest, theres not many black fols in Japan, it's their choice of a white lead that is most worrisome, if it were Ada instead of chris it wouldn't be so bad

@kangaroo

"And does an entire race of people not qualify as a group of people?"

So you claim an entire race can be depicted in an art form?

"I might suggest that some of the comments seen so far (about how Africa is the most uncivilised place on earth) demonstrate just how the images being discussed are reinforcing the currently held opinions of some."

So there's no violence in Africa? Nigerians have been kidnapping oil workers and killing them on a near daily basis. That's fact!! But violence happens everywhere. Why should Africa be exempt from being a setting? When GTA4 was set in New York did anyone complain that New Yorkers were being portrayed wrongly? It actually seems like you are trying to inflict positive-racism. Which despite it's connotations of being a good thing, is still racism!!

When GTA4 was set in New York did anyone complain that New Yorkers were being portrayed wrongly?

GTA4 didn't portray the entire population of New York as blood-crazed savages hellbent on tearing you to pieces.

Yeah, I have, kangaroo. I just disagree with you. Smug prick.

"GTA4 didn't portray the entire population of New York as blood-crazed savages hellbent on tearing you to pieces."

GTA 4 didn't have a virus in it that turned the people into tentacle-spewing monsters.

"GTA4 didn't portray the entire population of New York as blood-crazed savages hellbent on tearing you to pieces."

Even if it had, NuYoikers would probably have taken a certain amount of pride in that.

@DanWhitehead

OK. So in that context, how big of an African location are we speaking of in Resident Evil 5? How many people inhabit that location? And does any character in the game get killed purely on the basis of the colour of their skin?

"All it will take is for one mainstream media outlet to show the heroic Chris Redfield stamping on the face of a black woman, splattering her skull, and the controversy over Manhunt 2 will seem quaint by comparison."

All it will take is to show the black "woman" with tenatacles coming out of her mouth prior to Chris stamping on her. They could even show the exact same thing happening to one of the many non-black enemies in RE 5 who you don't mention at any point for some strange reason.

I'm actually depressed enough to stop reading this thread.

Dan, I strongly suspect that if people haven't got what you're saying by now, they're just not going to.

GTA 4 didn't have a virus in it that turned the people into tentacle-spewing monsters.

This is the sort of literal approach to the issue that really doesn't hold water outside of the rather insular gaming world. Much of the imagery used in this game has a long and ugly history, and that weight of history can't be counteracted just by saying "But they're not really Africans, they're monsters who used to be Africans". It's a facile distinction that suggests an inability to consider subtext separately from text.

If someone make a movie in which hundreds of evil demon bankers are trying to steal all the money, gold and jewels in the world, and the bankers are all big-nosed Jews, having the director declare "But they're really demons who used to be Jews" doesn't make the concept any less racist, just as the fact that some Jewish people actually do work in finance doesn't make the fiction any more appropriate.

And does any character in the game get killed purely on the basis of the colour of their skin?

Not in the chapters I played. Just because Chris Redfield isn't constantly muttering racist epithets as he guns people down doesn't stop the specific imagery of the white-woman-stealing African savage from being racist.

They could even show the exact same thing happening to one of the many non-black enemies in RE 5 who you don't mention at any point for some strange reason.

I mentioned the image of Redfield stamping on a black woman because a) it was one of the images that really made me uncomfortable, whether she's a monster or not and b) because that's precisely the sort of image that the mainstream media would seize upon. The point isn't that this is better or worse than Act Of Violence X perpetrated on Person Y, but that it's the sort of image that can easily lead to trouble for the games industry.

So, yes, there are a couple of lighter-skinned faces in the throngs. It's hardly the multi-racial rainbow some are painting it as though. Most of these exceptions look North African rather than caucasian. And, once again, the larger issue isn't that the enemies are mostly black people. There are specific scenes that make use of classic racist iconography, and these images would be problematic regardless of the African setting or the percentage of light-faced enemies to dark in the main gameplay.

Very interesting thread, and as some have mentioned pretty depressing in some respects.

I don’t see how you can take a position of “this is not a problem” when 200 odd posts have been debating just that. If iconography like that used in the game was not an issue we would not be having this debate. The fact may be that you do not find it in any way morally dubious but it is clear that a good proportion of posters do. Are their opinions invalid because they run counter to your own?

I think Dan has argued very clearly and cogently for his remarks, as have others. Personally I haven’t played the full game so have no view on it being overtly ‘racist’ but I do think it displays a fairly fundamental level of naivety on the part of Capcom not to stop and consider how this might be received.

What's facile is you comparing a realistic game like GTA 4 to a zombie/infected shooter like RE 5. You see subtext where you want to see it, just as you see controversy coming for RE 5 because that's what you want to happen.

The racism debate is completely moot. Here is what will happen:

A lot of inflammatory news articles will be published. Some generic black celebrity-of-the-week will stand up and decry a game she/he has never seen as being indicative of endemic racism in our society, except, they wont say it quite as eloquently.

Capcom will probably not even bother responding to any of the criticism.

The game will not be banned, and the newspapers will forget all about it. A week later, they'll replace the story with some kind of imaginary space-virus that turns people into muslims which later self destruct in a shower of MRSA. Oh, and the vaccines the government developed? They cause down syndrome. Somehow.