Movielogr

Rating: 7 stars

Tags

tokyo Japan culture idol performance fandom obsession teenager parents

All movies seen on 07/23/2019

View on: IMDb | TMDb

Tokyo Idols (2017)

Directed by Kyoko Miyake

Documentary | Music

Overview

This exploration of Japan’s fascination with girl bands and their music follows an aspiring pop singer and her fans, delving into the cultural obsession with young female sexuality and the growing disconnect between men and women in hypermodern societies.

Length 88 minutes

Actors

Rio Hiiragi | Yuzuha Oda | Masayoshi Sakai

Viewing History (seen 1 time)

Viewing Notes

Having recently watched Shusuke Kaneko’s LINKING LOVE, which is all about the reignited idol culture in Japan during the early 1990s, I figured it was time to finally watch this documentary on modern idol culture. I’ve been hesitant bc of how the premise has framed this piece of Japanese culture. And I was correct in how this doc presents the material, from a western viewpoint.

It may have a Japanese director but this effort was entirely funded by UK/Canada co-production. Most of the staff (translators & handlers aside, it was filmed in Tokyo after all) are non-Japanese.

So yeah there’s a lot of creepiness not just in the subject matter but in how this doc is structured. I have a lot of thoughts about this but not sure I can articulate them here. May come back to add more after I’ve gotten some space from this.

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