Now that I have covered the drinking culture in Japan, I bet you are asking yourself how I can possibly top that this week.
A few weeks ago, during my Senior Seminar class, my partner and I did a presentation on Japanese media. While I was doing research, I uncovered some very interesting facts about that box that we’ve all come to know and love: the television.
That said, the Japanese media is pretty much what you would expect when comparing it to the U.S. Just like us, they rely on the media to receive information and for the majority of their entertainment as well. I’ll spare you from the percentages, but I’ll admit I was very surprised to discover that the majority of the Japanese population said they could not think of what to do without it.
Another little tidbit that I found interesting was that the Japanese actually do take their media seriously. People generally watch it every day and, like in the U.S., tend to have a specific time during the day when their favorite shows are on. The main thing that makes it so different is was how it’s presented.
One of my favorite shows while I was in Japan was the comedy duo Downtown’s Gaki no Tsukai, which humorously translates as “This Ain’t for Kids.” Gaki no Tsukai is a Japanese variety show that is primarily hosted by Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masatoshi Hamada, who are both known for their sarcastic and short-tempered persona. One of my favorite programs of theirs, held around New Year, involves the two trying to make others laugh, but if they do, they get punished, usually in the form of being whacked in the buttocks.
While it does seem weird to some, it was really amusing to see what situations the performers would get into to make them laugh, from showing monkey pictures of Hamada to a game of Russian roulette where everybody gets Thai Kicked.
However, this doesn’t mean that the Japanese have a twisted mindset of what counts as entertainment. Japan is a very strict, socially controlled society, which leaves little opportunity for people’s more expressive feelings to be released. When they a watch a show where they see comedians acting outrageous or being put into surprising situations, it allows for a release of these emotions in a positive way.
Admittedly I didn’t watch a lot of shows while I was there, but one of the other things that I noticed about Japanese entertainment was just how silly some of their variety shows can be.
For example, while I was staying with Yuka’s parents in December, her father was really into Gaki no Tsukai like me and often recorded programs on their DVR for me to watch with him later. One of these actually involved a Japanese comedian born to an American and Japanese parent, neither of whom spoke any English at all. Despite this he took a trip to New York, and even though he looked like an average American, he was constantly placed in humorous situations brought about by his inability to speak English. I particularly remember him trying to order an “aged steak” while not understanding that it was just the name for a type of meat.
In between my laughter with Yuka’s family I realized that it wasn’t mean spirited it all. It was simply making light of a humorous situation that we can all relate to.
Maybe that’s what we need to understand most: context. Humor is subjective between culture, and whether you are in the in-group of the society or not, it is important to remember to keep an open mind when encountering another culture.
