The problem Jim is that there are certain things that are legitimate social issues, and those that are not. What we're seeing with things like the "Hitman" trailer is people making noise and trying to get attention simply for the sake of making noise and trying to get attention. The complaints about that trailer don't even have a consistant point.
The complaint about the trailer is that it shows violence against women, women who are wearing sexy outfits. The problem is that when you look at the entire issue you can't argue against what your seeing there without being a massive sexist, and effectively hamstringing any point you set out to make to begin with.
Women have spent decades fighting against the whole idea that they need to be sheltered, protected, and put up on pedestels, and can't even be shown doing anything violent or action packed. Indeed, ironically, this went along with ideas that women should always be demure and dressed conservatively, a lot of the first works of feminism were about women doing exciting things, wearing sexy outfits, and otherwise not conforming to that traditional stereotype.
Today we've seen a lot of "action girls" dressing up for combat, throwing and taking punches, and doing all of the same crap that guys have been doing over the years. Fundementally what we're seeing in this trailer is simply a bunch of "action girls" portrayed as the bad guys. Unlike a lot of politically correct works, where inevitably the director arranges for the female bad guy(s) to have a cat fight with other female characters, it was pretty much played straight and the protaganist just waded in and treated the gun toting female baddies like they would anyone else. If anything it's quite empowering, and shows women being treated as equals. It's fundementally no differant than some female protaganist doing the same exact thing to a bunch of dudes, wehich we've ALSO seen, and a lot of those dudes might very well be wearing outlandish costumes, and showing off unusually well developed muscles which are very similar to what we're seeing here with the builds of our lady assasins and their choice of costume... most of which are basically dressed like "The Black Widow" under their habits.
Given Jim's mention of video games fighting games, I'll also mention that the physically idealized women IN those games are treated like the guys are, sure they can get beaten up and brutalized, but are also capable of doing the same thing in return. The idea here within the fantasy is them being able to do the same exact things that they guys are doing, with gender more or less being tossed out the window along with things like comparitive height and weight (in a fighting game a Midget can take down a Giant, totally at odds with things like "weight classes" and why they exist). I mean sure, you might beat up Ivy Valentine, but if you DON'T do it what is she going to do to you? She's fully capable of winning (and has probably stomped us all), and what's more is conceptually wandering the world intentionally picking fights with people (for reasons loosely explained by the game's lore and her backround... just like all the other characters).
At any rate, those who have a problem with this trailer are basically argueing that women should be portrayed a demure, submissive, conservative. They should be put up on platforms and sheltered from everything for their own good. After all it's the whole issue of women running around doing all of this crap in fantasy that raises questions like this. If you can have a girl running around with guns trying to kill people (as the good guy or bad guy) it only makes sense that others are going to try and do the same thing back when they object.
Fundementally there is nothing wrong with that whole scene, Hitman has always been kind of over the top with some wild stuff going on in the backround. It has a stealth focus, but 47 is also a badarse in a straight fight. Right here we've got a bunch of bad girls in a similar vein to an evil "Charlie's Angels" or Tarintino's "Deadly Viper Assasin Squad". They are in the process of wrecking havoc with military scale weapons, when Agent 47 intervenes, what is he supposed to do say "oh gee, it's a bunch of girls so it's okay if they do that?".
Really the only way you can object to this in a violence perspective is to say that women shouldn't be involved in violence at all, and that's your sexism right there.
I'd agree with Jim's point about alternative viewpoints, and the growing nature of video games, but the thing is that you DO have to show some degree of common sense, if you give everyone this kind of attention, it just means more and more people with increasingly less valid opinions, are going to sound off to get their five minutes of fame as well.
What's more, by taking stuff like this seriously in the gaming media it hurts the industry as a whole, the industry is very much an "all or nothing" creature. You just not going to see games with over the top premises where things like this go on, and increasingly fewer and fewer female heroes and villains because of the industry becoming concerned about having
them subjected to violence.
Now granted the kind of over the top action genere that leads to things like scantily clad assasins in nun costume... your basic high camp, is not for everyone. Attacking it as some kind of affront to feminism, and giving that point of view attention when it doesn't hold up to examination very well is detrimental to pretty much everyone, since it's doubtful that the people bringing the complaints even believe what they are saying given how self-contridictory it happens to be.
If anything treating your "action girls" like pretty much anyone else in one of these games, which is what happened in the Hitman trailer, is actually a huge victory for feminism when you get down to it. The girls are all obviously girls and dress and act quite feminine as opposed to being pseudo-men who are women only by technicality, they act professionally within the context of the setting and the high camp of the whole set up, and they neither ask for, or receive quarter. As a bunch of knock down bad guys, they get demolished by the hero like we'd expect from this kind of cinematic.
Oh and as far as the whole "punch her in the stomach" thing, understand it's fantasy. When we're dealing with this kind of thing we're ignoring gender differances and how improbable these situations are to begin with. Sure, in real life there are a lot of concerns over doing something like that, but in the context of a video game she's being treated just like anyone else. I'll also be honest in saying that in some of these situations I really wouldn't give a crap (nor should anyone). If Ivy Valentine seemingly wants you dead, or you have a bunch of girls with guns trying to murder you, your going to fight back and do whatever it takes. Sure Agent 47 could have been a gentleman about it and the whole scene could have been re-done to show special consideration, but arguably that would be contrary to the whole idea of women being presented equally in these things. The lady thugs were treated like any other thugs in an action production....
but this just tasteless exploitation.
