FFVII also marked a step forward for Final Fantasy in a way that is less commonly recognized: it contained the first black playable character.
Up until that point, every FF character had been white or, in a few cases, racially ambiguous. Part of this might have been due to the fact that every FF game before FFVII had been set in a European-themed setting, but this is kind of a copout, especially considering the sheer amount of unique characters in FFVI. I'm sure many people were excited when they found out that FFVII would finally include a black person. Likewise, I'm also sure that these same people were very disappointed when they found out that said black person was Barret, a loud, foul-mouthed, stereotypical cross between Mr. T and Jules Winnfield.
Up until that point, every FF character had been white or, in a few cases, racially ambiguous. Part of this might have been due to the fact that every FF game before FFVII had been set in a European-themed setting, but this is kind of a copout, especially considering the sheer amount of unique characters in FFVI. I'm sure many people were excited when they found out that FFVII would finally include a black person. Likewise, I'm also sure that these same people were very disappointed when they found out that said black person was Barret, a loud, foul-mouthed, stereotypical cross between Mr. T and Jules Winnfield.
I pity the fool who thinks this is fair representation.
Now, I haven't actually played FFVII, so I wouldn't be completely justified in going on a long-winded rant about Barret. I would, however, be more than justified in going on a long-winded rant about Wakka, a character in Final Fantasy X, which I'm currently playing.
Wakka is to Latinos what Barret is to black people; he's the first one of his kind in a Final Fantasy game, and he's also a complete stereotype. Now, Wakka is never explicitly labeled as Latino (largely because the planet Earth doesn't exist in the FF universe, and therefore neither do Central or South America), but he doesn't have to be -- his voice tells you everything you need to know. Just watch this video for an example of what some of Wakka's dialogue sounds like. It's from very early in the game, so there aren't any spoilers or anything.
Now, video games generally aren't known for quality voice acting, but Wakka brings this standard to an entirely new low; I mean, I'm pretty sure whoever did his voice was told to do his best impression of Carlos Mencia doing his best impression of Strong Bad. His voice isn't the only stereotypical aspect of his portrayal though: he's tough but not very bright, he's deeply religious, and if you're still not sure what race he's supposed to be, he even has darker skin than everyone else in FFX (except for maybe Kimahri). And if you think that I'm just over-analyzing things and looking for stereotypes where none actually exist, just take into account the fact that everyone else I know who's played FFX has the same opinions about Wakka that I do. Plus, my descriptions and that one cutscene really don't do justice to Wakka's portrayal. If you want to actually see what I'm talking about you should really play FFX for yourself and make your own observations. Even if you've already played FFX and disagree with me, play parts of it again with these thoughts in mind and you'll see that at the very least, Wakka's darker skin and accent serve to make him ambiguously "ethnic" (I've also heard people describe Wakka as an "islander" stereotype), and his simplistic worldview serves to make him ambiguously "different." Maybe Squaresoft created all this ambiguity to avoid making the same mistake they did with Barret. After all, I don't think anyone has written anything else about Wakka in regards to his portrayal the same way that people have about Barret.
Now, if you're expecting me to continue on this long-winded rant, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I actually want to write about why I forgive Squaresoft for their portrayal of Wakka. Yes, that's right, I forgive them. I do so with reluctance, but also for several good reasons. One is that Wakka's portrayal is remarkably consistent with Cedric Clark's theory of the four stages of media representation. Clark has argued that oppressed groups tend to go through four different stages of representation in popular culture. In the first stage, nonrecognition, members of said group are never seen anywhere in popular culture; according to the producers of mass media, people from this group simply don't exist (for example, the absence of black people in FF I-VI). In the second stage, ridicule, people from this group are shown, but they are ridiculously stereotyped, often for comedic effect (Barret definitely existed in this stage). In the third stage, regulation, members of this group are portrayed as people who protect the social order, such as police officers or soldiers (it could be argued that Barret simultaneously existed in this stage as well; after all, he was a soldier in FFVII, and was one of its heroes). And in the fourth and final stage, respect, members of this group are, well, respected, being shown frequently and in a variety of ways, both positive and negative (I don't think any group has reached this stage yet in Final Fantasy games). I would argue that Wakka occupies a similar space to Barret in relation to these four stages; while he occupies ridicule, being stereotyped as well as the butt of jokes at times, he also occupies regulation, being one of the heroes of FFX - after all, his job title in the game is "guardian." So while Wakka's portrayal is not the best it could be, it is still, according to Clark's theory, progress. That said, Squaresoft still has a long way to go in this process, and I won't continue to forgive them unless I see some totally non-stereotypical dark-skinned people in future FF games.
The second reason I forgive them is the context in which Wakka was originally portrayed was undoubtedly different in Japan. While Japan does have a substantial Latin American immigrant population, the stereotypes that I observed in Wakka, such as being "tough" and religious, are stereotypes that I know from American media. The argument that racism exists in a different context in Japan has been brought up before in debates about FFVII, as well as other games such as Loco Roco. Loco Roco is a particularly interesting example because its stereotypes are drawn from blackface caricatures, some of the most racist products of American popular culture, but also ones that have frequently been appropriated in Japanese popular culture. There has been an interesting exchange between American and Japanese popular culture that has been occurring for decades, and it has gone something like this:
Step 1. America creates racist caricatures of black people and exports them to other countries, such as Japan.
Step 2. These images surface in Japanese popular culture, where, devoid of cultural and historical context, and in a country that doesn't have a large black population, people don't really get offended by characters like Mr. Popo.
Step 3. These images get exported back to America, where by now everyone considers blackface racist, and people become offended.
Now, people often have a hard time distinguishing which images in Japanese popular culture are derived from blackface caricatures, so the outcry in America is usually small, but sometimes it results in images being changed in American versions of anime and video games, such as with the pokemon Jynx. Other characters, such as Barret, are not derived from the same caricatures, but they do show the same process, where stereotypical images of black people from American popular culture are reproduced in Japan and then given back to an American audience that takes issue with some of these images. Because Wakka's portrayal is more ambiguous, and with a different ethnic group, I don't know if this argument applies in the same way. Wakka is obviously reminiscent of stereotypical images of Latinos from American popular culture, but he could also be a product of prejudices against the Latin American population in Japan. But within the fact that I don't know as much about who Wakka's supposed to represent or what racism is like in Japan lies another one of my arguments: I don't even know if Wakka was stereotypical in the original Japanese version.
I would argue that the most stereotypical aspect of Wakka's portrayal is his voice; if Wakka was just some tough, dark-skinned religious dude who talked the same as everyone else in FFX, I don't know if I would immediately jump to the conclusion that he was a stereotype. This aspect of his portrayal is completely the fault of the American localization staff; when translating the game, the American staff had to hire voice actors to do Wakka's voice, so Wakka definitely sounds different in the original Japanese game. I looked up who did Wakka's voice in the American version, and it turns out it was John DiMaggio, a white guy who did the voice for Bender in Futurama. Needless to say, he obviously put on some kind of accent to do Wakka's voice. Because of this, while I forgive Squaresoft for Wakka, I can't forgive the American localization staff. If Wakka was originally based on stereotypical media images, then the localization staff should have known what effects these images would have when being shown again in America. And if Wakka was portrayed differently in the original version and was turned into a stereotype for the American release, well then shame on the localization staff.
That said, I have one more reason to forgive Squaresoft for their portrayal of Wakka. This reason is probably the most interesting and even paradoxical one: the developers did attempt to address the theme of racism elsewhere in the story of FFX. They actually did this using Wakka, but instead of being on the receiving end of the racism, he is entirely on the giving end. (Warning: Spoilers begin here). Throughout the game it is revealed that Wakka is incredibly, blatantly racist against the Al Bhed, an oppressed ethnic group within the FFX universe. This racism is a result of Wakka's blind faith to Yevon, who I assume is the god of his (and most of the people in FFX's) religion. Yevon forbids the use of machines, and the Al Bhed society is completely dependent on them. Plus, before the timeline of FFX starts Wakka's brother died in a battle the one time he decided to fight with Al Bhed machines. And to top it all off, the Al Bhed keep kidnapping Yuna, the summoner who Wakka is charged with protecting. A while after it is revealed that Wakka hates the Al Bhed, an Al Bhed named Rikku joins the cast of playable characters. Because everyone else knows how racist Wakka is, they decide not to tell him that Rikku is an Al Bhed, and, needless to say, he doesn't have any problems with her. But, needless to say, when it is revealed that Rikku is an Al Bhed, Wakka doesn't hesitate to go on a racist rant about why he hates the Al Bhed and how he no longer trusts Rikku. I haven't finished the game yet, but at the point where I am now, it seems that Wakka's interactions with Rikku are beginning to turn him around and make him not hate the Al Bhed anymore. (Spoilers end here). So, as you can tell, there is an obvious message about racism in one of the subplots of FFX.
The message is undoubtedly a positive one: don't hate an entire race of people because of your religion or because of your interactions with a few people of that race. Unfortunately, this message is pretty simplistic. If someone didn't already feel this way before playing FFX, then not only have they probably not been educated very well, but their opinions probably won't change after playing FFX. Plus, the fact that Wakka is the racist one in FFX only contributes to the fact that he is portrayed as stupider than everyone else. The developers of FFX tell us on the surface that we shouldn't hate people, but beneath the surface they enforce stereotypes that could potentially cause hatred.
That said, I still forgive Squaresoft for Wakka because he does mark a step forward for Final Fantasy, and also because they did attempt to address racism in FFX. Plus, Wakka's stereotypes could just be the fault of the American localization staff. If I really wanted to find this out, I could play the original Japanese version of FFX, but I really don't feel like doing that right now; I'm already a long way into the American version, which despite everything I have complained about is a very good game. It's got an interesting story, sweet graphics, fun battles, and one of the most innovative character customization systems I have ever seen. In all honesty, from what I've played of it so far, Wakka's portrayal, which definitely could have been better, is really the only thing I don't like about FFX. That said, I hope that Square continues to progress along the four stages of representation.
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