The Assassin's Creed franchise and its characters of colour.
r-stern submitted to medievalpoc:
In regard to the second edition of MedievalPOC’s Fiction Week and the recent ruckus caused by the announcement of Assassin’s Creed Unity, I will dedicate this submission to this series of video games by Ubisoft. Because of their progressive stance and use of unusual settings, these games deserve our attention and might not feel out of place on this blog. They have, of course, a fair share of people of colour as playable characters: 4 out of 8.
Also, my apologies, this is a long post. I couldn’t upload correct pictures for all the character, so each name goes with a link to the Assassin’s Creed Wiki related entry.
A little explanation of the plot first. In this series, the player embodies Desmond Miles, a young American waiter (who can be considered multiracial, as we’ll see) who relive the memories of his ancestors, thank to the Animus, a futuristic machine, most of them being Assassins. In this game, the Assassin Brotherhood (inspired by the real life Hashishins) is a group who seek to protect Humanity’s freedom and bring enlightenment, mostly against the Templar Order, who considers Humanity as wicked and works to control it to “protect peoples against themselves”. In this war, technological artifacts left behind by a mysterious civilization are instrumental.
As it is expected, the first episode in this series is set in the Holy Land during the third Crusade. The protagonist is an Assassin named Altair Ibn-La’Ahad, making him the first Arab video game hero to my knowledge*, it’s also worth noting that, while his father Umar was Arab, his mother, Maud, was Christian (Arab, Greek or Frank, we do not know). This game render beautifully the multiethnic aspect of the 12th century Palestine and Syria. Peoples in the streets of Damascus, Accra and Jerusalem have various skin tones, from white European (prominent in Accra, then held by the Crusaders) to Black. The players can hear characters speaking in various languages: English, French, German (for the Crusaders), Turk and Arab (For the Saracens), and hunt down their Templar enemies among both Crusaders and Saracens. It’s worth noting that, back then skin colour wasn’t a factor of discrimination as it is today, and the slurs directed toward Altair in combat are religion-based such as “infidel” or “kaffir” (the historical Assassins were an Ismaelite sect and in-game, they are pretty much irreligious).
The second game, and its expansions (Brotherhood and Revelation), have the Italian Ezio Auditore da Firenze as the main character, during the Renaissance. Since ACII and Brotherhood are set in Italy, people of colour are virtually absent of these games. They were present IRL however, especially in Venice that Ezio visits. Brotherhood, set in Rome, have a wider set of skin tones for NPCs, but still doesn’t include character that could be deemed as PoC according to modern categories in Italy (but would in the US). Revelation is a different deal, since it makes us follow an aging Ezio in the Ottoman Empire, and especially its capital city: Constantinople. The setting is really diverse, and Ezio interact with characters of diverse origins, who are Turk, Greek, Italian and even Sudanese and Romani (for the Templars Odai Dunqas and Mirela Djuric). The Romani of Constantinople are Assassin’s allies (save for Mirela) and can be hired to distract guards and civilians, which is a little stereotypical. Last but not least, Ezio’s death have been portrayed in a short movie: Assassin’s Creed Ember, in which appears a young Chinese female Assassin, Shao Jun seeking the old man’s wisdom to rebuild her brotherhood in China.
The term of people of colour and the question of racism (once only mentioned), became way more relevant in the group of Assassin’s Creed games set in the 18th century: Assassin’s Creed III, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation and Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and its DLC Freedom Cry. These game are all set in the Colonial Americas (North-Est colonies, Louisiana and the West Indies) during the time when racism based on skin colour took its modern form. As such, I think that these games are really important in the matter of representation and treatment of racism in modern media.
Ratonhnhaké:ton/Connor with Achilles Davenport.
Ratonhnhaké:ton (to his Mohawk tribe or Connor to the colonials and adorable puppy baby to tumblr) his a half-British (from his father Haytham Kenway, who’s played at the start of the game) and half-Mohawk (from his mother Kaniehtí:io) Assassin. While none of the characters’ lives could be called “happy”, Ratonhnhaké:ton’s is particularily tragic. At age four, he is assaulted by a Templar who engage in a racist tirade while chocking him. Later, his village is burned and he see his mother dying before his eyes. This traumatic episode followed him during his whole life, and was his motivation for becoming an Assassin and fighting the Templar alongside the Patriots. During all his time among the Colonials, Ratonhnhaké:ton is confronted to racism whether directed at him (he’s often called names such as “savage” of “half-breed”) or others like his mentor Achilles Davenport, who is a Black man of Caribbean descent and the one who give him the nickname “Connor” to better blend into the colonial society. Since he has a very strong sense of justice, he’s often calling out other characters about this issue, notably Founding fathers as Samuel Adams and George Washington. Despite being seen through Ratonhnhaké:ton’s naive point of view, the American War of Independence isn’t idealized in this game, and its problematic sides are clearly exposed. In Assassin’s Creed III, PoC can be seen in any place, in the cities or the Frontier, be them Afro-Americans or Natives (notably, Ratonhnhaké:ton’s tribe). As the game progress, the player have the opportunity to expend a little community around his homestead. Among the people who join it are a couple of Black farmers: Warren and Prudence. I think it’s worth noting that the emblematic role of the American pioneer domesticating and cultivating the once “savage” land was given to these characters in this game.
For this game, Ubisoft did quite an effort to stay the most true to the Native’s culture and language, as well as avoiding cultural appropriation. A whole community of Mohawk/Kanien’kehá:ka people was hired as cultural consultants and voice actors and Ratonhnhaké:ton himself was voiced by Native actor Noah Watts (although he’s from the Crow nation and was assisted by a Mohawk for correct pronunciation).
Wallpaper of Aveline, by Natla Dahmer.
While slavery remains a background issue in Assassin’s Creed III, it is more central in Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation. The heroine of this game is Aveline de Grandpré, born in 1748 from a wealthy French merchant (Philippe Olivier de Grandpré) and his placée bride, Jeanne, in New-Orleans. As a result of her double upbringing, Aveline is a cultured young lady (knowing how to dance and play harpsichord), a shrewd businesswoman much like her father and a deadly fighter, able to take down several soldiers at once and faring her way through the Bayou. Her multiple heritage allows her to display different personae in order to carry on her missions: as a Lady, a Slave or an Assassin. Even though she’s free, Aveline holds a strong stance against slavery and does her best to help marooned slaves or punish cruel masters. Her mentor, Agaté is way more apathetic about this issue despite being a former slave. She encounter also several others Black individuals who don’t always share her views about slavery such as George Davidson, enlisted in Lord Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment (a Black British regiment), Baptiste, the leader of a Voodoo cult and others who accepted to join a digging site in Mexico against promise of a better treatment rather than liberty. In a latter DLC, she’s aiding a Patience Gibbs, the young leader of a slave revolt in Rhodes Island (and possibly a queer character also).
As it was stated: “Aveline is such an envelope-pusher: a black, female, French-speaking protagonist in this world of stereotypical white males, she represents a major step forward for diversity in games.” We need more heroine like her in video games.
In Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, the protagonist is Edward Kenway, Ratonhnhaké:ton’s grandfather, a Welsh pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy. Since the game is set in the West Indies, there is plenty of PoC, mainly Afro-Caribbean characters, who are often part of pirates’ and privateers’ crews and bounded to the plantation that the player can raid. One of the most important secondary character in this game is Edward’s babysitter quartermaster and friend: Adéwalé, a former slave of Yoruba descent born in Trinidad who joined Pirates after he murdered his own master. Adéwalé is an impressive individual: self-taught, courageous (but not reckless as his friend) and principled. While it takes a good share of the game for Edward to mature and get rid of his selfishness, Adéwalé is quickly attracted by the Assassin’s cause and ideals. Among them, are present people from all ethnic backgrounds, such as the Mayan mentor Ah Tabai, the Taino Assassin Opía Apito or the Maroon leader Antó in Kingston. Of course, racism is frequently displayed by several characters in this game as in the formers, and its consequences are not hidden.
It becomes much more central in this game’s DLC (now available as a stand-alone), Freedom Cry. In this, the player controls Adéwalé, in 1735, 13 years after Black Flag’s events. As he is washed ashore in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), he is confronted to the most brutal slavery of the West Indies (much more than in New-Orleans of even Jamaica) and to his own past as a slave he always tried to flee. As Adéwalé offers his help to the Maroons, lead by Augustin Dieufort and aided by the brothel owner Bastienne Josèphe, the player is given the opportunity to free slaves from their tormentors, plantations or even slave ships. This game is one of the most brutal and grim of the series, a mission aboard a sinking slave ship is particularly heart-breaking. As for Assassin’s Creed III, Ubisoft hired several Haitians such as La Troupe Mackendal to perform music themes in creole.
Adéwalé and Bastienne had a son together who fathered Eseosa, an Assassin who supported Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian revolution.
Assassin’s Creed is a franchise who displayed several strong character of colour portrayed in a way that avoid stereotypes. This is the reason why this leaded to complain about the new Assassin’s Creed Unity’s apparent lack of diversity, even if promotional posters such as this one seem to indicate that women and PoC will be as present in this game as they were in Paris during the French Revolution.
Some characters of this franchise, especially Ratonhnhaké:ton, Aveline and Adéwalé suffered from backlash that often borderlined on racism on several internet sites. Ratonhnhaké:ton especially is often accused of being “dull” and “emotionless”, stereotypes often attributed to Native Americans, despite the fact that this character is probably the most kind and emotionally open of the Assassins. In several discussions and Youtube’s comment I have seen complains of white players about the “abusive” depiction of character of colour instead of white ones, some even stating that they won’t play these games because of the character’s race…
As such, I thought that this series is a good element in the video game industry and a progressive franchise with well-written and likeable characters. It certainly deserves the attention and the high standards of its fans who are wary of its evolution.
*correction by crazedbittnah
