Tokyo Idols

I saw this film at a doc festival and here's what I took away in my notes....not so pleasant... The film to me was a glimpse and commentary on the Japanese pop idol culture. Alongside the performance aspect is the social engagement side...managed interaction events between the fans (mostly men) and the younger (under 20) girls. This a marketed and controlled industry with the "fans" voting in competitions for the next big thing. Borne out of recession times it gave people something to socially "cling" to. My final note was "one screwed up society". Judge for yourself.

Will spark jealousy in Western Karens and those stuck with Western Karens.

I bet people do not surmise that the director is likely a femcel who sports short hair. And I say this not even knowing her.

To hate on a whole class of talent and despise nature, natural attraction and love for the opposite sex takes some kind of a temerity and that kind of temerity manifests itself in the form of a so-called documentary here.

For the rest of us normal, natural and seeing people: The film depicts idols (Japanese pop stars) who are attractive, sport healthy body types and work on their talents and for their audiences 24x7.

The film tries on a line of attack. It fails. No montage can stand in the way of beauty.

3/24/18. A disturbing look (there's no other way to put it) at the very popular Japanese cultural phenomenon -J-pop Idol Rio teen girl band. The band is not disturbing, but the fans sure are, made up mostly of mid-aged men ogling these young girls, an odd collection of male groupies who seemed to be too old for this kind of adoration. Oh, well, you have to watch this to believe it.

"Tokyo Idols" is a documentary about the very young (10 to 18 or so, generally speaking) Japanese girls who become pop singers and cultural "icons" to a segment of Japanese society, in particular certain men aged about 30 to 50. These girls are pretty, cheerful, energetic and very much conditioned to want to please their fans. While this sounds creepy, and in some ways is creepy, the world of these idols is very controlled - the singers will have "handshake" meetings with their fans, for example, but the men are only allowed to shake the girls' hands and there are "minders" standing behind the men and forcing them to move from one idol to another after a set number of seconds has passed. So the girls are relatively safe in what could be a very dangerous situation. This film primarily follows Rio, a relative elder in the scene given that she's 19 as the film begins, 21 at the end of it. The filmmaker, Kyoko Miyake, is very gentle with all the characters; even when you think some of these men are terrible, she always treats them with respect and dignity and, in the end, the viewer is more likely to feel sorry for them than anything else (well, except the young man who is only interested in girls around the age of 10 - they "no longer interest" him when they get older than that). It's a really interesting glimpse into another Japanese phenomenon, complete with commentary from journalists, sociologists and others who have a stake in the culture; well done.

An interesting glimpse to businesses, market, culture and a demographics by the accounts of the people on it. The documentarian is barely there, never to be heard. However the camera speaks by moving portraits of the people and the city. The comments of the executives are cold and brash compare to the hype and alacrity of the young women they work with, as well as the melancholic hope evident in the fans. Overall the documentary conveys a portrait of isolation and loneliness, a glimpse of how patriarchy and market can exploit both genders most sublimes human characteristics.