Won't Miss #26 - Idols (reflection)

I wonder when the first annoying teen musician first appeared on the scene. Was there some pretty boy cave man who wow'ed the post-pubescent girls with prominent brow ridges? Perhaps it all began with the advent of the first mass media. I think that the first one that I can think of was Enrico Caruso. Though I am old, I'd like to make it clear that I was not actually present during his years of incredible popularity. That's no only because he was in Europe during most of his performing years, but also because he died 43 years before I was born. In this day and age, Caruso would have never cut it as an idol in either Japan or America because he was not "cute". While a perfectly fine looking fellow, he didn't have doe eyes and full pouty lips.

Here in the U.S., my exposure to idols is limited to strolling past the school supply sections of some stores and seeing Justin Bieber's mug plastered on notebooks and binders. In Japan, I saw a lot more of that sort of thing, and I don't mean more junky fodder for "Beliebers", but rather just a lot of wide-eyed nymphettes and girly-boys. Part of the reason for that was that I lived in a city so I saw more product and advertising, but another is that "idols" in Japan aren't just for the younger set. They're also there for adults, particularly men, so there's a wider audience for such fodder.

I really don't miss seeing the endless, almost identical parade of similar-looking boys and girls that comprised the "idol" set in Japan. 

Will Miss #267 - Audrey Hepburn fixation

Okay, she's not Audrey Hepburn, but don't the hat and hair remind you of her style? And she is one cute little girl.

The first time I came to Japan in 1988, I didn't know much about the culture or people. Frankly, I came to Japan the first time to visit my future (American) husband who just so happened to be working here. I had much more interest in him than Japanese people or culture. While I was enduring the 14-hour-plain ride home after the best month of my life and sobbing that I had to leave the love of my life behind for another 3 months while he finished out his contract, I watched the movies being shown on the plane. One of those movies was "Roman Holiday". I couldn't understand why they were showing a movie made in 1953 and wondered why the airline was so cheap showing an antique movie. It turns out that they chose it because the Japanese are crazy for Audrey Hepburn. There are a lot of theories as to why the Japanese are so nuts for her, but most of the people I've asked and who talk about her on the internet say it is because of her beauty, style, charm, and elegance.

I will miss this curious fixation with this particular, arguably less than universally iconic, actress.

Will Miss #252 - Japanese versions of Western icons

 Click to see a larger version.

Growing up in America, I grew accustomed to seeing certain figures look a certain way. Ronald McDonald, for instance, always has a similar physique regardless of the model or actor under the make-up and in the costume. Any iconic character that has been around for awhile tends to assume a particular image and it's always interesting seeing the Japanese versions of them. Ronald McDonald is smaller and slimmer in Japan, and in the picture of the DoCoMo (NTT's mobile phone service) ad above makes it look like Darth Vader has really lost a lot of his  muscular bulk and now is looking decidedly more petite (note the shoulders, neck, and legs and the relative proportions). On first glance, you don't necessarily notice exactly what is wrong, but you do feel that something isn't quite right.

I'll miss seeing these Japanese versions of Western cultural icons.

Will Miss #150 - different movie names

One of the more interesting aspects of life in Japan is seeing how Western movies have had their names changed to make their themes more clearly understood. More often than not, the name change is pretty straightforward like "Ratatouille" was changed to "Remy's Restaurant". Sometimes, they're a little less direct and strip the nuances from the title like "As Good As It Gets" becomes "A Romance Novel Writer".

I'll miss seeing the changes made to movie titles for the Japanese audience and trying to work out what the rationale was behind them.

Will Miss #78 - pop cross-cultural promotions

I love seeing Western pop culture icons like the Simpsons being used in Japan to promote things. Part of this is the familiarity, but a bigger part of it is the sense that I'm seeing something special which I wouldn't see in similar promotions back home. This probably harks back to my days of collecting Japanese releases of the rock band KISS. Even though the music was the same, the packaging and presentation was unique and in Japanese which made it much cooler than the stuff back home.

I'll miss these pop cross-cultural promotions and the sense that I'm seeing something cooler just because it's on display in Japan.