Grand Theft Auto Car Named for Critical Prof
By Drunken Intellect (Chief Contributor) Tags: sex, irony, aggression, criticism, video games, Grand Theft Auto
1:21 PM
A professor who has made a career of criticizing video games gets played when she becomes a part of the game.
Karen Dill is an uptight professor who hates video games. Karin Dilettante is a sporty hybrid sedan in the latest edition of Grand Theft Auto.
The former, an associate prof at Lenoir-Rhyne College in North Carolina, has spent years studying the connection between gaming and aggression, but this was the first time she was actually featured in a game – particularly in a game that she has criticized for its vulgar sex and stereotyping.
Told of the honor, Dill said, “I was kind of like, whoa, they actually do care about video-game research.”
I think she may have missed the irony.
Not surprisingly, Dill has long been the target of gamer loathing. Tim Smith, the editorial director of a video-game database, is high on the list of her detractors. He believes that links to aggression could be found in any number of things, including reading Shakespeare plays. It’s true – that King Lear does make me want to break stuff.
But even with all the hate coming her way, Dill takes the news of her namesake in Grand Theft Auto lightly. According to the article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “she was just relieved she wasn’t a prostitute.”
Maybe she has a sense of humor after all.
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