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[User 73706]

This is a very interesting thread. I must have missed the first iteration.
Anyway, can someone, perhaps the topic creator, please explain the above, specifically in regards to Marcus Fenix? I'm confused.

We actually expanded on Fenix's situation earlier ITT: for the sake of last year's discussion (the role of the protagonist, not necessarily the individual character), Fenix wasn't a perfect fit because he could just as well be another shade of Tyran or female and it ultimately wouldn't affect the driving principles behind the game. However, as applied to this thread (characters themselves, not necessarily their roles in the game's makeup), it was brought to my attention that Fenix is actually a good example of this because coming from a different heritage / planet would mean he'd either likely be dead or not acknowledged for the positive repercussions of his actions. It was also a good springboard to drive home the point that I'm not perfect in terms of staying up-to-date with the lore on every game out there, and that this isn't just a thread to bash white characters. I learned something, people ITT are learning things, it's a healthy two-way street.

I'm probably going to add an extra footnote regarding situations like his in next year's OP to expand a little further than that, or even allow for both trains of discussion independent of one another.

 

[Fury451]

Back to the original topic of this thread, I feel that Bioshock Infinite justifies Booker being who he is very well.

Firstly, being a white guy allows Booker to blend into Columbia society in the early sections of the game before everything starts popping off. But more importantly, given that (major late game spoilers)

Spoiler

Comstock is Booker from an alternate reality, it's important that Booker is a white former-US cavalryman because that later plays into Comstock's ideas of racial superiority, and Comstock's ideas of white and American exceptionalism are completely ingrained in Columbia's identity. Bioshock Infinite simply wouldn't be the same game if Booker was anyone but who he is.

This is partially correct, but leaves out a key point. It is subtly implied (heavily if all logs are collected and the story is closely followed) that Booker Dewitt is

Spoiler

part Native American. The Booker(s) from the realities that reject baptism (and never become Comstock) are so tormented already (prior to sacrificing Elizabeth for debt) due to the heinous scalping and massacres he committed at Wounded Knee to cover the accusations from a general about his heritage. He earns the nickname "The White Injun" or something g to that effect from his men. What this implies about Comstock's general behavior towards race has deeper meaning once it's all put together.