Over the Edge + September 28, 2005 Arts and Entertainment 9 a ALL pVD! MANTRA FILMS INC. Girls Gone Wild advertises for young, innocent college girls. Should such com- panies be welcome on university and college campuses? Over the Edge thinks not. ERIC SZETO THE UBYSSEY (UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA) VANCOUVER (CUP) — You've seen the ads. With titles including “Daddy's Little Girls” and “Island Orgy,’ popular film series Girls Gone Wild travels to col- - lege and university campuses across North America in search of women willing to bare all for the cameras, but when the company announced it would be returning to Canada to do a second tour, it received a less than welcome re- sponse, As soon as Dalhousie University got word that Mantra films Inc, the parent company of Girls Gone Wild, was do- ing scouting for a shoot in the begin- ning of September, it issued a campus- wide email cautioning students to be wary of any filming going on. The Sept. 2 email read, “A prob- lematic commercial company will be in Halifax this Frosh Week. They are well known for using alcohol and cheap gifts, often T-shirts and hats to take advantage of women students. The company’s reported practice is to get inebriated students to sign a permis- sion contract that gives the company the right to take images of the students, including nudity, and then to sell the resulting videos commercially.’ A groundswell of public outrage resulted. According to an itinerary provided to The Ubyssey by Mantra films, the University was nowhere to be seen on the list of locations shot, as Dalhousie had persuaded them to film elsewhere. “They seem to target young female students who have been drinking and dre at their most vulnerable. We made it clear... we would not welcome this company here and if they came to cam- pus we would ask them to leave,’ said Charles Crosby, Media Relations Man- ager at Dalhousie University. Bill Horn of Mantra Films rejected that notion and explained that the Girls Gone Wild Series uses discretion when filming their subjects. It gets an unfair label, said Horn. “If somebody ‘is too intoxicated we don't film them,’ said Horn. “Certainly sometimes alcohol is involved.” - It was the overwhelming success of the first tour that brought Girls Gone Wild back, said Horn, adding that it was completely coincidental that film- ing occurred during frosh week. ’ “T would like to say that we were that smart but it really was based on the fact that we really wanted to get back as soon as possible,’ said Horn. Other locations on the list included Montreal, Edmonton, Ottawa and Vancouver, including an Aug. 29 date at UBC. This was news to UBC Public Affairs Director Scott MacRae. Both he and Alma Mater Society President Spen- cer Keys said they were unaware of the tour coming to UBC. Crosby isn't too surprised.“They tend. to keep things pretty fluid and secretive. With the protests they've encountered it makes sense for them to keep it quiet until they roll on into town,’ he said. Universities Not Wild About Girls Gone Wild UBC Professor of Sociology and An- thropology Becki Ross doesn’t know what the bellyaching is all about. She believes that underneath all the unrest, lays a deeper seeded issue about sexual- ity in our culture, “What is the difference between Girls Gone Wild and striptease shows at Brandi’s and the Cecil Pub? The Girls Gone Wild tour targets universities -and._ university students—unlike their professional stripper-sisters, female co- eds otherwise presumed to be chaste, studious, virginal, innocent, good girls’ who are well-dressed, passive sexual re- cipients, and monogamous; said Ross. She added that‘girls are not socialised to be sexual agents in our culture.’ Horn noted that the company’s other series, Guys Gone Wild, has encoun- tered no moral outrage. “Guys? It’s alright. That's where I think that double standard really rears its head. People don't think that young women can make conscious intelligent decisions for themselves and I think that's unfortunate,’ Horn said. Gender isn't at the heart of the prob- lem, exploitation is, said Crosby. “Women are more liable to encounter issues of whether or not they feel safe, and that seems to be the reason the women's groups are taking the stand they are,’ said Crosby. “That said, we wouldn't be any more keen if they came to Dalhousie to try and film a Guys Gone Wild video. Wed prefer our stu- dents be left alone, period.’ ‘Crossing the Line’ Premieres VERONA BLACK / MAGGIE GILBERT STAFF WRITER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF On September 16, Crossing the Line: A Primer on Harassment, an awareness video on harassment produced by the UNBC's Women's Center, premiered. ’ A 24 minute production geared toward not only students but “everyone who interacts with other people, said Cindy Hardy the Harassment and Disctimin- ation Officer for UNBC who appeared in the production to explain the differ- ent legalities of harassment. The video was created during the summer by Womens Centre Coordin- ator and producer of the video, Sarah Boyd-Noel, with local film maker Stephen St. Laurent as the director. A group of willing Prince George actors joined the two to make up the cast of the video. Research for the film was done by Boyd-Noel and St. Laurent over last yeats spring semester and the filming completed by St. Laurent’s lo- cal film company, Ouroboros Digital. Funding came from the VP Academic and the Northern Health Authority, The video was filmed all over Prince George and discusses common harass- ment issues as well as issues that affect UNBC students and faculty specific- ally. Several of the scenes were derived from experiences.of harassment that occurred at UNBC. The intention of the film was for it to be used in Universities and Colleges alike as a way to make people aware of not only when they themselves are being harassed but how their own ac- tions may constitute as harassment. It is meant not to solve harassment, but to educate people on how it affects indi- viduals in their every day lives. The evenirig of the premier began with a few introductory speeches by Boyd-Noel, VP Academic, Howard Brunt, St, Laurent and Hardy before the showing of the film. The true peatls of wisdom came at the end of the feature, when the audience was encour- aged to participate in a discussion. By the natural tendencies of premiers the audience usually consists of those people that have a vested interest in what is being shown and are thus, pas- sionate. The discussion showed real life; it exemplified humanity outreaching to humanity to make a change. People spoke of their own battle with harass- ment and this changed harassment from something that was only men- tioned at company staff meetings as a way to avoid lawsuits to something that was teally going on in the real world. “The discussion ranged-from what improvements can be made to the film, to using the film as an educational tool for workshops” stated Women's Centre Board Member Belinda Li,“It was great to have the feedback.’ This was the first public viewing of Crossing the Line but it was not the first time it has been shown on campus, as most of the students who attended orientation know. Plans for the movie are to distribute the movie for a nom- inal. cost of $35 to any non-profit or- ganization, as well as a possible sequel depending on how well the original goes. NORTHERN WOMEN’S CENTRE Campus Coffee House On Friday September 30, the Northern Women’s Centre and UNBC Health & Wellness Centre will be hosting a Campus Coffee House in the UNBC cafeteria from 5pm to 9pm. Local artists will be singing, performing music, and reciting poetry. Chili and beverages will be served. The best part is that admission is free! Performers are still needed for the event. If you are interested, contact Sarah Boyd-Noel at the Northern Women’s Centre or e-mail empower@unbc.ca.