OK why does Ophelia look black in this game?

[wpreisig]

Can some explain why Ophelia is black looking when the rest of the hamlet cast is white?
Ps: Othello does not count he is from a different play and is not from Denmark

[GivingTree]

Ophelia looks black because she is black. More precisely she is mixed race, as only her mother was black. Laertes is also mixed race.

[spiritedrinoa]

The creators did a fantastic job of creating a variety of representation for ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. In Hamlet, we are never outright told that Ophelia IS white.

In Ophelia's case, as you play through the various time loops, you learn about her particular family's circumstances, and there are several references throughout that make it clear that Ophelia and Laertes are often "othered" in Elsinore because of their heritage.

In addition to Ophelia and Laertes (and their mother who is dead), Horatio and Guildenstern are also not white. In a scene on the boat between Guildenstern and Hamlet, if you listen in, their conversation touches on this fact.

[ChiPsiUp]

If you play through the game, you learn a few things about Ophelia's background. Specifically, they mention that her mother was a commoner maid that her father the Duke fell in love with and married.

Several other people also mention that she looks "moorish", which was a term back in the middle ages to describe various muslims and people of arabian descent. This would explain her darker skin.

[venus]

Originally posted by cbrinkmann1981:

Originally posted by wpreisig:

Can some explain why Ophelia is black looking when the rest of the hamlet cast is white?
Ps: Othello does not count he is from a different play and is not from Denmark

Because the developers realized that by making a black character black, it would piss you and the other racists off. They deliberately sat down and decided to go after you, to get under your skin. It has nothing to do with the fact that Ophelia is and always was depicted as a Moor.

Ophelia isn't generally depicted as black outside of this game. You're probably confusing her with Othello. She's actually overwhelmingly usually depicted as a redhead.

Having said that I personally don't mind her race being different for this game. It works with the story and provides some interesting depth to her and Laertes. The conversation between her, Guilda and Hamlet on the boat is a particularly interesting touch.

[Saraneth]

In a conversation with Othello, he tells you that you look Aethiopian, and in one of the epilogues, you return to your mother's homeland of Navarre.