TV | Japan Probe

Posts Tagged ‘TV’

Haircuts around the world

In the process of traveling around the world, NTV’s “Itte Q” forced assistant directors and other staff members to place themselves at the mercy of local barbers:

Each man was given what the barber thought would look best. The results varied greatly, especially since they went to high class hair stylists in some countries and cheap local barbers in others.

Which haircut was the coolest?

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11 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - October 11, 2009 at 8:26 am

Categories: Japanese TV

Drugs are bad, nnnnnnnkay

Image courtesy of The Mainichi Daily News

Watching the hysteria over this story about celebrity Noriko Sakai’s drug use (Check out the Mainichi Daily News article here), I keep thinking about how unbelievable this would be in my own country, the U.S.A.

Try to imagine so much being made of Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, Charlie Sheen, the list of drug-crazed celebs goes on and on.

Seems to be a couple of things going on. First, us Americans seem desensitized to this. If we gave a shit about every celeb who turned to drugs, we’d have no time to talk about anything else (to a certain extent this is the case now). Second, Americans love to watch the car crash–drugs tend to make the spectacle of people’s lives falling apart that much better. Third, drugs have long been tightly controlled on the island-nation of Japan. As a result, people here appear to be very naive about drugs. . .marijuana is just as bad as heroin in many people’s eyes. So, the conversation is just in a different place. Last, there seems to be a kind of satisfaction here in Japan that comes with casting a moral gaze down upon celebrities. They are judged very harshly.

I personally feel sorry for Sakai having to air her dirty laundry like this. Remind me not to become famous in Japan.

Would love to hear other thoughts on drugs, celebrity, and mass communication in Japan.

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Contributor Bio: I am a doctoral student of environmental anthropology currently living and conducting research in a mountain village in Nagano. In my research I explore modernity as it is expressed in a rural mountain community. Specifically I look at national management structures, as well as social discourses, related to forests and probe the impacts these have on local human communities. I have lived and worked in Japan for 5 years. My interests also include Buddhism, literature, music, and mountaineering. Read more at my personal blog: In the Pines.
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