Viewing Racism Through Skyrim

                  Skyrim is a land of blatant racism and bigotry, especially against elves and beastfolk. The player is confronted with these topics in an effort to build the history and tensions of the world in a more believable way and it does add what feels like a living history to the game, as many forums have discussed extensively online. No one however, seems to have discussed Skyrim's role as a game that not only promotes an equitable stance on vastly different races and reveals players’ inherent aptitude for seeing past negative racial biases, but also teaches us how fundamentally juvenile racism in all of its forms truly is, and that it negatively affects all parties involved. The open-minded, blank-canvas approach that players take to fantasy races in games is fundamental to the development of more understanding worldviews that allow players to gain the most from their playing experience and can translate into their real-world interaction with different peoples. 

A list of all playable races in Skyrim. Image courtesy of Mark Ryan.

                    Race is not a deciding factor for eventual play styles or game outcomes, but it is important that the player gets to choose between them so that they can feel as if they are more invested in the identity that they have chosen for themselves. This in turn will allow them to empathize more with the prejudices against their characters' races. In Skyrim, the player is asked to choose a race right from the beginning, with very little to go on besides some minor benefits to the various races’ proficiencies at certain things in the game. Nords get a bit of a resistance to the cold and Bretons are better at using magic, but these boosts don’t matter tremendously in the long run, because a player can increase the levels of any attribute to be equal or far above any other race’s simply by practicing. Some may be better than others at certain things right from the beginning, but no one is incapable of anything that others are capable of, and many veterans encourage new players to choose without regard to the skills of each race. 

                    Now, to expand on the idea that player choice in race has an effect on the player; the character's race can tell us something about the player when they decide it. What exactly does it tell us? If players choose their character to represent them in game as their avatar, a comparable real-world equivalent might be the candidates they elect to represent them in office in American politics. There is a clear statistical bias in voters towards candidates of their own race. Interestingly enough, in Skyrim, there is a statistical trend more towards diversity than homogeneity. Argonians, the exotic lizardmen from foreign swamps, are far more popular than Imperials, arguably the most relatable race to the demographic that makes up a majority of the US (Skyrim Races). Why would players choose to represent themselves as something so alien? They see that the character is alien, but they don’t hold all of the negative stigma against different races that they hold in real life. They view each race as an equally valid option rather than limiting themselves to the races closest to them as people do in real life. This is because in real life people are biased by the different socializing forces around them and cannot actively change bodies (and their associated roles) between their own race and another as one can do by playing multiple characters in Skyrim. This singularity of experience among people in real life often fosters a stunted view of equality because they are not normally well practiced at seeing situations from others’ points of view and must rely on the social situation they find themselves in based upon their own race and social standing. In Skyrim, a combination of the lack of initial socialization which allows players to enter with little bias for or against any particular race from the onset and the ability to change races at will allow players to both see that others are not much different than themselves and to realize how petty it would be to negatively stigmatize any one race for the minor differences that there are between them. 

               After that initial choice, players enter a rich world filled with believable characters who repeatedly compound the idea that racism is not beneficial to anyone involved. Key to the world's believability is the friction between the races in the game. High-Elves are snooty and look down on all others. A particular faction made up of High-Elves, the Aldmeri Dominion, is openly contemptuous of other races and, if the player does not act suitably subservient to them when confronted, will even become violent. The Stormcloak faction is made up of Nords, the native race in Skyrim, and they believe that all other races should get out of their country. They are often portrayed as rough-around-the-edges types, rude and boisterous to boot. The Khajit in the game are nomads who, because they are foreigners from distant lands with strange customs, are not allowed even within city limits. The player can find them outside city walls, where they try to keep warm against the ever-present chill. They greet the player warmly regardless of race, though they do delight in seeing another Khajit if the player chose to be one. All of these groups show that those who allow racism to decide their opinions of others cause conflict and misfortune for all involved. The player is hardly able to avoid sympathizing for the lovable Khajit, hating the obnoxiously pompous Aldmeri Dominion, and cringing whenever the Stormcloaks call for the eviction of every inhabitant of Skyrim that can’t claim Nordhood. It teaches players about the multifaceted nature of racism and further teaches them that everyone who elects to play a part in demeaning another person for their unalterable attributes is causing only conflict and misery. No one is happier for the use of racism to justify their actions, only temporarily absolved of their own guilt.

              Skyrim acts as a mediator between players and their inherent biases in real life by allowing them to see the effects of racism on hypothetical races through a lens unclouded by prevalent personal bias and negativity. In this it shows us that, on a basic level, humans do not behave in a racist manner but must inherit the behavior from a socializing force when they are growing up in one role rather than being able to swap between multiple to mitigate the formation of a singular superior race in their thoughts. When people really get down and think about it, hating Orcs doesn’t make much sense. After all, the only difference is skin color and a +10 buff to heavy armor. That’s nothing to hate them for.

Works Cited

Ryan, Mark. “Skyrim Races—Popularity Ranking.” IGN. IGN Entertainment, Nov. 13, 2011. Web. Sept. 30, 2013.

Turmer, Oli. "Does Race Really Matter in Skyrim?" Skyrim Hub Community. N.p., 22 Nov. 2011. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.