Pokemon Black & White
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- Poliwag Kid
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- Administrator
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The way I see it, anyways, is that Black represents the futuristic side of the world, while White represents the past side. I don't see it as racist at all, but that's just me. I don't think GameFreak made it racist at all on purpose either, simply that Black and White are opposites, but need each other at the same time, which is what the games imply and show.
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- Poliwag Kid
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- Poliwhirl Teenager
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Slix is probably onto something with the future vs. past comparison, and I would also point out that the main connotations of black and white in the context of the Pokemon versions is clearly not race, but rather outlook and morality. The saying "seeing the world in black and white" refers to seeing everything in extremes, for example, good or evil. In-game character N, at one point declares that he will separate black and white so that they will be clearly distinct.
Pokemon of course didn't go the controversial route of labeling either black or white as the "evil" one, and instead represented their extremes though the concepts of truth and idealism. Both of these are good things, and of course the final battle of truth vs. idealism (i.e. the player's last battle against N) is notable in that neither side is evil, and rather the issue is the N's side is misguided in thinking that such morals can (or should) be completely distinct.
Pokemon of course didn't go the controversial route of labeling either black or white as the "evil" one, and instead represented their extremes though the concepts of truth and idealism. Both of these are good things, and of course the final battle of truth vs. idealism (i.e. the player's last battle against N) is notable in that neither side is evil, and rather the issue is the N's side is misguided in thinking that such morals can (or should) be completely distinct.