5/31/2012

Is this the sickest video game ever? Hitman trailer sparks outrage over graphic violence and sexualisation of women

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The new Hitman: Absolution trailer has been branded "grotesque" and "misogynistic" for showing gun-toting, PVC-clad nuns being killed in a bloody hail of bullets



A controversial new video game featuring gun-toting, PVC-clad nuns being killed in a hail of bullets has sparked outrage on Twitter.
The eagerly anticipated Hitman: Absolution – Attack of the Saints has been slammed for its graphic violence and sexualisation of women.

The trailer shows hitman Agent 47 stripping off his bloodstained clothing in a motel bathroom while a group of nuns march off a school bus parked outside.
The nuns strip off their robes to reveal skin-tight PVC suits, complete with suspenders, high heels and fishnet tights while they carry an arsenal of weapons.
A violent fight breaks out where each nun is graphically killed in a hail of gun fire and bloody combat.

Agent 47 is shown breaking one woman’s nose as her bloodied face cracks in slow motion before he uses her as a human shield to absorb machine gun fire.
Another assailant tries to choke him with rosary beads before he kills the final nun, a close up shot showing him closing her dead eyes.

The explicitly violent trailer has been attacked on social networks and blogs, with angry users branding the video game “misogynistic” and “disturbing”.
One blog on the International Gaming Network website condemned the trailer as “grotesque and tacky and actually quite dangerous”.
Keza MacDonald wrote: “The latest Hitman Absolution trailer pairs gratuitous violence with sexualised imagery to create the most troubling piece of marketing material I think I’ve ever seen.
“It’s obviously designed to shock, but the effect isn’t thought-provoking or emotional – it leaves you feeling uncomfortable, mildly disgusted, and wondering what kind of warped conception Hitman’s marketing team has of what gamers want to see.”



Other gamers and angry viewers took to Twitter to slam the gruesome trailer.
Alistair Rolleston wrote: “That Hitman trailer is everything wrong with the games industry. Utterly disgusting.”


Matthew Hanson posted: “The Hitman trailer is shocking. Not only misogynistic but reinforces every negative stereotype for gamers.”
Jamie Stanton added that the “S&M nuns” were more “juvenile than misogynistic”.
Hitman: Absolution is set to be one of maker Square Enix’s big attractions at next week’s E3 games expo in Los Angeles.
The final game is scheduled for release on November 20 this year on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.








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