EDITOR STEVEN CHUA THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 14 2013 4 Attempted rape scene strikes a nerve The latest Tomb Raider game has Langara questioning if sexism has been taken too far By WARREN JANE scene depicting an attempted rape in the new video game, Tomb Raider, has sparked a irestorm of controversy. The title is a reboot of the video game series bearing the same name, and was released March 5 for PlaySta- tion 38, Xbox 360 and PC. In one part of the game, a man cor- ners the protagonist of the story, Lara Croft, and leans in and starts groping her. The scenario was showcased last year as a teaser for the game’s release, and has since been a lightning rod for debate on sexism in video games. When the scene was released, the Trans sitcom a first for TV & web A Langara graduate is directing a series about a transgendered character By KELC] NICODEMUS Langara College film graduate A: setting out to create what she alls the first ever transgender sitcom. Amy Fox is producing what could be a six-part television series called The Switch that focuses on the trials and tribulations of a transgender woman. Fox says The Switch, which has a short pilot episode featured on kick- starter.com, is “a magical transgender comedy.” The show will be hosted on Video On Demand, and on the web. The show’s transgender roles are played by transgendered actors as well, Fox said. “Comedy comes out of something you feel passionate about,” said Fox, who said she wants to make people laugh, but show them how discrimina- tory the public can be towards the transgender community. The show focuses on Sti, who lost her job because she told her coworkers she is transgendered. About 26 per cent of transgendered people polled by the National Trans- gender Discrimination Survey in 2009 said they lost their jobs because they are transgendered. The main character of the show is played by Jelaine Domaine Javier. “She is out and articulate and funny,” said Fox. Javier describes her character as a smart and unlucky 27-year-old who has recently come out as trans and loses everything as a result. Javier said Sti displays similarities to her actual personality and that some of the moments her character encounters are close to her own. “T would say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” she said. Javier said she was surprised when she got the role of Si. “Tm really blessed,” said Javier. Susan Chiv, writer and production co-ordinator for The Switch, said “There really should be a word that captures exciting and scary, because it’s both of those things.” game’s executive producer, Ron Rosen- berg of Crystal Dynamics, said it was an attempted rape in an interview with gaming blog Kotaku, but the studio lat- er denied the claim. “One of] the character defining mo- ments for Lara in the game, which has incorrectly been referred to as an ‘at- tempted rape’ scene is the content we showed,” said Crystal Dynamics studio manager Darrell Gallagher in a media release. “Lara is forced to kill another human for the first time . . . sexual as- sault of any kind is categorically not a theme that we cover in this game.” Whether or not the scene is of an at- tempted rape, Lara Croft still gets beat- en, bruised and kidnapped throughout the course of the game. This has left gamers wondering if these occurrenc- es are plot devices or a symptom of thinly veiled sexism in the gaming in- dustry. Arts student Matthew Hetherington said he would still play the game in spite of its questionable content. “It’s misogynist, but that doesn’t mean it’s untrue,” he said. However, not everyone is able to look past the violence however. “Tt’s not necessary and it propagates rape culture and normalizes and makes it more of an acceptable thing,” said ac- counting student Rachel Empson. Langara instructors have clashing views on whether the scene is appro- priate or not. Nancy Pollak, a Langara women’s studies instructor, questioned why male characters aren’t treated the same in video games. “Are male characters ever threat- ened with sexual violence by other men? My guess would be no,” said Pol- lak. “Would guys want to play a game in which their avatars were at risk of rape?” On the other hand, psychology in- structor Shirley Louth believes the controversy surrounding the scene is unnecessary — it’s not any more graphic than many R-rated movies. There’s no proof that games cause psychological trauma, she said. Taking it too far? NIGHT TRAP So gory that the video game rating system known as the ESRB was founded after its release. GRAND THEFT AUTO THREE The first game that allowed players to have sex with a prostitute. Needless to say, many parents were up in arms after they found out about it. SCREEN SHOT COURTESY OF CRYSTAL DYNAMICS In the game’s most controversial scene, Lara Croft is cornered by an aggressor who gropes her and attempts to sexually assault her. By JACQUELINE LANGEN among the latest to join the You- Tube Internet dance phenome- non known as the Harlem Shake. The Harlem Shake is a comedic web video trend that went viral last month. Originally created by a group of teen- agers from Queensland, Australia, it has since expanded globally and been recreated by the masses. Each video follows the same routine. A person dances amidst a crowd of people going about their day-to-day activites to the beat of the Harlem I angara nursing students are Shake, a song created by Baauer, an electronic artist. After several seconds, the bass drops and everyone starts dancing while clad in costumes. Brothers Mitchell and Cody Vong, who are both in the nursing program at Langara, created their own version in the nursing simulator room. Mitchell Vong said the video was made to help break the ice in his department. “It was more a social event created for fun so that the nursing students from different terms could get together and meet one another,” he said. The video consists of approximately 15 nursing students dancing in an ar- ray of Halloween costumes. Langara business marketing in- structor Stephanie Koonar explains the Harlem Shake is a trend that caught on because of its humour and spontaneity. “Tt’s easy to produce and post. Re- search suggests videos that go viral are ones that cause an emotional re- sponse,” she said. Koonar believes the trend will eventually die down and something else will soon replace it. YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT After a masked man dances to Baauer’s tune in a room filled with students, the beat drops and everyone shifts into party mode. Langara nurses bust a move with the Harlem Shake The viral Internet YouTube sensation has spread into the nursing department’s simulator room DISSECT a trend OVER 13,000,000 hits appear when you search “Harlem Shake” on YouTube. FILTHY FRANK seems to be the first poster of the viral video. IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE to the real Harlem Shake, say many critics.