Japanese Culture

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by willx

None of us really care much about the girl. I care about her none at all. Everyone is here to make judgements upon a society and niche subculture we know nothing/little/moderate/a lot about!

Actually we all already do. It is just that every of us hold a different perspective.

In the entertainment industry, three things are always present :

1. Money
2. Fame
3. Power

As it is an industry and business, someone has to give something, which then attracts people with the abovementioned three. And such people are split into two camps - the socially acceptable and socially unacceptable. Depending on who is the one funding it, the tenets the seekers are required to adhere to will be entirely different - some being more liberal while others being more strict.

A trend I see is that being strict generates more cash, but is has a shorter lifespan - as a person in finance I think you know that there is a limit on how much you can milk a cow before it runs dry.

You can't squeeze a pair of boobs and expect to be smothered to near death by it every day - there will come one day when it will no longer be as firm and plump as it was.

Originally Posted by GenjiChan

I'm not saying she is owned but being owned. Fans has their taste but that doesn't mean she has to follow and do everything the fans wants. I meant when you step on the stage you already start selling you self and you're private life and love.. Lolss..

Did she wish to become an idol? why she sings on the stage on the tv?

Moment of regret? She was sold a dream after all - something she probably didn't realise that she wouldn't like when her life priorities changed.

[willx]

Originally Posted by Ridwan

I was kept awake by the haunting thought that I would be wasting time sleeping instead of arguing with people on the internet

[kramerica]

Was Aya Hirano an idol? Or just a voice actor? Because if it's the latter, then I'm really miffed as to why she got all the flak.


I think I would die of laughter if some Japanese girls form a new "idol" group and purposely get into scandals. And their name can be translated into something that resembles "NTR48."

[Ridwan]

I don't usually like NTR, but I wanna see that.

[Kudryavka]

Originally Posted by kramerica

Was Aya Hirano an idol? Or just a voice actor? Because if it's the latter, then I'm really miffed as to why she got all the flak.


I think I would die of laughter if some Japanese girls form a new "idol" group and purposely get into scandals. And their name can be translated into something that resembles "NTR48."

She is a voice actor as well as a singer. Her popularity makes some of her fans idolize her like the girls of AKB48 are.

So yeah, as far as fans go she is pretty much an idol.

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by kramerica

I think I would die of laughter if some Japanese girls form a new "idol" group and purposely get into scandals. And their name can be translated into something that resembles "NTR48."

No, I'll get mad... It's ridiculous and bull****. Have them make porn instead. I'll buy their first time...

[KiraYamatoFan]

Nothing like good old controversy to have some fame around. After all, artists are known to break down walls and call out injustice in different ways. *evil grins*

[RRW]

Guys what happens here

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by RRW

Guys what happens here

It's about idolizing minor (<18 years) idol and publicity....

[Master Assassin]

Originally Posted by GenjiChan

It's about idolizing minor (<18 years) idol and publicity....

And some of us making fun out of the topic in general.

[DonQuigleone]

Regarding this case, I don't think it's ethically right for any contract to stipulate "no dating". They're basically asking these young teenaged girls to live like priests (worse even, like monks...). And you know what, priests have a pretty bad record of keeping up with celibacy. These girl's are asked to sell young innocent love for a living, is it not surprising that they fall in love too?

Furthermore, many of these girls enter the idol industry at a very young age, and they put in huge amounts of hours in order to "live the dream". They're too young to reasonably perceive the consequences of the contract.

And when they're in the business long enough, invariably they'll fall in love, and then they'll be faced with the tough decision of either quitting their job, or repressing their emotions. And let's not forget, giving up their job is a tough choice for these girls to make. They don't have many skills applicable to "normal" jobs. I'd say a lot of girl's from these idol groups end out in the water trade.

I don't envy their decision, and I don't think they should be made to make that decision. Idols need to have lives too. And you know what? For giving up all semblance of a private life they don't get paid much. It's a cruel industry that builds itself on broken adolescent dreams.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by DonQuigleone

Furthermore, many of these girls enter the idol industry at a very young age, and they put in huge amounts of hours in order to "live the dream". They're too young to reasonably perceive the consequences of the contract.

And let's not forget, giving up their job is a tough choice for these girls to make. They don't have many skills applicable to "normal" jobs.

California has very stringent labor laws that require the studios to have tutors on set for children acting in films with a minimum number of hours devoted to education each work day (four I think, but I haven't looked lately). Does Japan have similar laws that require schooling for girls performing in groups like AKB48? There's no mention of the girls in AKB0048, one of whom is ten, going to classes or being tutored, but obviously that's not a good indicator of the actual state of labor laws governing young performers in Japan.

In Shion no Ou 13-yo Shion announced that she was not intending to go to high school in order to pursue her career as professional Shougi player. Some of her friends were surprised, but no one seemed to think that she might be better off finishing school first.

[Kudryavka]

It's bad enough for paparazzi to get paid to intrude on the personal lives and privacy of stars. But for people to judge others for having relationships??

I don't care how famous they are, humans need their privacy, and others need to respect that. Unless they have Kardashian or Honey Boo Boo levels of "I'm fine selling out my entire life as long as I get PAID!", in which case, that's what they want. >_>

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

California has very stringent labor laws that require the studios to have tutors on set for children acting in films with a minimum number of hours devoted to education each work day (four I think, but I haven't looked lately). Does Japan have similar laws that require schooling for girls performing in groups like AKB48? There's no mention of the girls in AKB0048, one of whom is ten, going to classes or being tutored, but obviously that's not a good indicator of the actual state of labor laws governing young performers in Japan.

In Shion no Ou 13-yo Shion announced that she was not intending to go to high school in order to pursue her career as professional Shougi player. Some of her friends were surprised, but no one seemed to think that she might be better off finishing school first.

Well that's kinda different, because in Japan high school is not mandatory, so you don't have to go if you really don't want to.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Kudryavka

I don't know what the ten year old is doing, though. I am interested.

She's an anime character; I doubt we'll ever see anything about her receiving an education.

[Kudryavka]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

She's an anime character; I doubt we'll ever see anything about her receiving an education.

Wasn't he referring to an actual member of AKB48???

Oh sorry, I didn't notice the "00".

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

California has very stringent labor laws that require the studios to have tutors on set for children acting in films with a minimum number of hours devoted to education each work day (four I think, but I haven't looked lately). Does Japan have similar laws that require schooling for girls performing in groups like AKB48?

Depends. Is the Californian law based on the kids not going to school?

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

There's no mention of the girls in AKB0048, one of whom is ten, going to classes or being tutored, but obviously that's not a good indicator of the actual state of labor laws governing young performers in Japan.

You're using an anime about an "illegal" organization to see how it is in Japan? Absurd.

[kramerica]

Originally Posted by GenjiChan

No, I'll get mad... It's ridiculous and bull****. Have them make porn instead. I'll buy their first time...

Lol that's the point. They set themselves up as idols, only to get snatched away It'd be the most rage-inducing girl group ever.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

Depends. Is the Californian law based on the kids not going to school?

They're not in school if they are working on a movie set. The studios must pay for tutors with whom the kids meet each day. This has been true in Hollywood for many years. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that pressure from the Screen Actors Guild played a role in getting such a law passed. Most kids who appear in movies do not continue as professional actors, so making sure they have an education and skills beyond acting is important. One such example is Academy Award nominee Justin Henry who eventually attended Skidmore and now is a business executive.

I'd bet the AKB48 girls don't belong to any unions or engage in collective bargaining. Am I wrong?

You're using an anime about an "illegal" organization to see how it is in Japan? Absurd.

You know, if you could get past your obvious dislike for me, you'd notice that I said it was an anime. I was simply asking whether the absence of any indication that the girls in that show receive any education beyond singing and dancing was indicative of the actual state of Japanese labor law as it covers young kids in the performing arts.

I'm done responding to you now, Sumeragi.

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

They're not in school if they are working on a movie set. The studios must pay for tutors with whom the kids meet each day. This has been true in Hollywood for many years. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that pressure from the Screen Actors Guild played a role in getting such a law passed. Most kids who appear in movies do not continue as professional actors, so making sure they have an education and skills beyond acting is important. One such example is Academy Award nominee Justin Henry who eventually attended Skidmore and now is a business executive.

Quite a different system from Japan. Child actors are required to attend an minimum amount of school days, to the point there is no need for a separate tutor. I actually find the "not going to school to the point of needing a tutor" situation to be absurd and indicative of the problems with the US entertainment industry.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I'd bet the AKB48 girls don't belong to any unions or engage in collective bargaining. Am I wrong?

I'm pretty sure that unions have no place in the particular setting, although obviously there is collective bargaining. Frankly, I've always considered unions in the context of the entertainment system as more of a interest group rather than true unions of the industrial sector.

PS: I'm anti-union in general, so I tend to look at unions in a negative light.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

You know, if you could get past your obvious dislike for me, you'd notice that I said it was an anime. I was simply asking whether the absence of any indication that the girls in that show receive any education beyond singing and dancing was indicative of the actual state of Japanese labor law as it covers young kids in the performing arts.

And my problem with your example is that the anime is set in the mid 21st century, in an interplanetary society that cannot be compared to anything of current Japan. If you used examples such as Nakagawa Kanon from The World God Only Knows, I might be more open to your example.

Specifically to your question: See the first part of this post.

For your information, I do not have any dislike for you. I only have problems with the blatant individualism superiority I tend to see quite often in Animesuki discussions, regardless of whoever says it.



PS: The way you're constantly trying to apply a local situation to Japan is really a form of bigotry, although not necessary in the negative context. I know one tends to see things in the view of their experience, but from how I see it, you're trying to cookie cut things to fit what you know and what you experienced. You need to be more open-minded about this instead of what you've been posting so far.

[Solafighter]

I always liked reading this thread but please skip this idol crap.