The-Magic-Sword
Small Ball Archmage
I think you guys are having a correlation and causation issue, the way orcs are described don't necessarily match the way racists describe people of color and indigenous people because Orcs are deliberately coded as such, they match because racists describe their targets using 'monster' words in the first place to justify hurting them. The depredations of Orcs historically are more inspired by say, real world atrocities like the Mongol Invasions (Tolkien in particular refers to his Orcs as Mongols outright), which do reference real world people of color, but not exactly in the way critics generally utilize in their arguments because it doesn't support the power dynamics they're attempting to establish for them to be a cultural memory of horrific oppression manifesting in the zeitgeist of history-- they also bring industrialization for instance, and their main fortress is in the north (Angmar.) If you take it to its logical conclusion, particularly considering Tolkien's views and experiences, and his desire before his death to write a follow up story about the redemption of the orcs, they come across like a corrupted enemy ala the Germans in both world wars.
I think that the early DND authors give them more problematic elements when working out their culture though, specifically when they make them specifically tribal, specifically 'primitive' and give them 'shamans' and such, and sort of rip them away from 'us but corrupted by dark magic and turned into monsters' to 'naturally terrible and uncivilized.' This is a little diluted by parallel representations that are at least nominally better-- in other words you have more on the nose analogs being used that aren't as pejorative. e.g. the early game had Hobgoblins with Samurai Armor in 1977... but it also had an official Samurai option for the heroes as early as 1976? Dragonlance features a positive (but certainly stereotypical and reductionist) depiction of a Native American inspired culture in 1984, and while I can't find a source, I believe Greyhawk had a human depiction much earlier?
That strain of 'primitive orc' was then adopted by Warcraft (which then becomes bastardized in to Warhammer), but then used to soften the depiction into a "noble savage" pretty quickly (Warcraft 3), which then intertextually comes back to us in DND as authors wanted to make them more sympathetic and appealing, I think, before being deconstructed by the current movement-- but the current movement simplifies the history a lot to fit it's conception of the past it's fighting against, which you can definitely see in the handful of pundit pieces that went viral on this subject, which simplify this push and pull to the idea of direct coding.
There's also the separate issue of the idea of simulated immoral activity as reinforcing real immoral activity here, last I checked the prevailing literature is that, for example, "Numerous studies have shown no connection between video games and violent behavior; the American Psychological Association state there is little to no evidence connecting violence to video games, though do state there is an increase in aggression that can result from playing violent video games." (Wikipedia) with aggression here, to clarify the seeming contradiction, seemingly referencing competitiveness and outspokenness. In other words, playing such a game doesn't necessarily cause harm by making anyone more racist. The need for empathy is more in terms of how the depiction might make someone feel targeted itself by mirroring elements of their own life or heritage in a pejorative, targeted way, but ironically, that would suggest that building the connection and awareness of harm is itself harmful, in the same way that Trigger Warnings are harmful by priming the victim to experience harm.
I think that the early DND authors give them more problematic elements when working out their culture though, specifically when they make them specifically tribal, specifically 'primitive' and give them 'shamans' and such, and sort of rip them away from 'us but corrupted by dark magic and turned into monsters' to 'naturally terrible and uncivilized.' This is a little diluted by parallel representations that are at least nominally better-- in other words you have more on the nose analogs being used that aren't as pejorative. e.g. the early game had Hobgoblins with Samurai Armor in 1977... but it also had an official Samurai option for the heroes as early as 1976? Dragonlance features a positive (but certainly stereotypical and reductionist) depiction of a Native American inspired culture in 1984, and while I can't find a source, I believe Greyhawk had a human depiction much earlier?
That strain of 'primitive orc' was then adopted by Warcraft (which then becomes bastardized in to Warhammer), but then used to soften the depiction into a "noble savage" pretty quickly (Warcraft 3), which then intertextually comes back to us in DND as authors wanted to make them more sympathetic and appealing, I think, before being deconstructed by the current movement-- but the current movement simplifies the history a lot to fit it's conception of the past it's fighting against, which you can definitely see in the handful of pundit pieces that went viral on this subject, which simplify this push and pull to the idea of direct coding.
There's also the separate issue of the idea of simulated immoral activity as reinforcing real immoral activity here, last I checked the prevailing literature is that, for example, "Numerous studies have shown no connection between video games and violent behavior; the American Psychological Association state there is little to no evidence connecting violence to video games, though do state there is an increase in aggression that can result from playing violent video games." (Wikipedia) with aggression here, to clarify the seeming contradiction, seemingly referencing competitiveness and outspokenness. In other words, playing such a game doesn't necessarily cause harm by making anyone more racist. The need for empathy is more in terms of how the depiction might make someone feel targeted itself by mirroring elements of their own life or heritage in a pejorative, targeted way, but ironically, that would suggest that building the connection and awareness of harm is itself harmful, in the same way that Trigger Warnings are harmful by priming the victim to experience harm.
