Using autoethnographic methods to reflect on my initial experience with Honmadekka will allow me to understand Japanese cultural experience. By drawing from, and expanding on my personal experience I will uncover common cultural assumptions and how they affect our understanding.
“the world of Japanese game shows is best known as a technicolored whirlwind of half-naked bodies, sadomasochistic physical challenges, and the occasional whimsical bunny rabbit head. In short, any reasonable person would assume they couldn’t be real.” (Huffington Post)
Game shows first begun when television broadcasting in Japan started in 1950.To begin with, these game shows were ‘tame’, but became more complex as time went on.
Takeshi’s Castle (launched 1986) was the first Japanese game show to receive global syndication. This show’s contestants were regular people (unlike the celebrities that compete in most other Japanese game shows), and the show was produced to look like contestants were forced into competing; creating the first of many global misconceptions- that these shows were torturous.
Shortly after, the clash of Japanese cultural representations emerged. Japan was portrayed as almost ‘prude-ish’ with their censorship/banning of R-rated films, whilst on the contrary there was an abundance of sexually explicit pornographic game shows.
As evident by the sheer number of articles, youtube comments and popular opinions, Western countries have interpreted Japanese game shows as “crazy”, “wacky” and “weird”. These shows are stereotyped as weird shows in which producers force contestants to do strange things purely for the audience’s benefit. Before having watched any Japanese game shows myself, I bought into the stereotypes and assumed that these crazy shows were an accurate representation of Japanese culture. The premise of all the Australian game shows I have watched was everyday people completing tasks to win money. As I watched Honmadekka I was confused as to what the point of the game was, and why the contestants were all comedians.
Looking back, I am now able to see how my personal experiences have shaped my initial response to Honmadekka (and Japanese game shows in general). Whilst I didn’t initially understand the comedic elements of the show, I didn’t understand that the show is purely for entertainment- as unusual as this may seem, there doesn’t have to be a winner in Japanese game shows. I have now come to understand that the very unusual Japanese game shows are not common, and certainly not appreciated by the large majority of Japanese people. Looking back has enabled me to realise that while Orientalism still exists, there will still be attempts to stereotype and ostracize Japanese cultural products- and Western interpretations cannot always provide accurate representations.
“Even though shows featuring physical punishment and nudity were popular, there were also plenty of Japanese people outraged by them.”(the Atlantic)
In my initial observations I highlighted the way in which the women were laughed at, patronized and lusted for. I questioned the way in which the game show portrayed women’s worth, their roles and possible objectification. Above all, I wandered how this sexism could exist within a contemporary society.
Japanese women are portrayed as submissive within a patriarchal Japanese society (Boscaro et. al). My reaction serves to highlight this ‘Western/foreign’ (mis)interpretation that exists and is perpetuated by the media.
Hofstede’s Power Distance value dimension shows that Japan is a borderline hierarchical society (however, not as hierarchical as most other Asian cultures). This means that they are conscious of hierarchical power and status, but this does not dictate all behaviour. Generally speaking, Japanese people believe that all individuals in society are not equal, but this unequal power distribution is not expected and accepted by all. This can be applied to the position of women within society, enabling us to understand that if women are treated as unequals of lower status; this is not widely accepted.
Whilst Orientalism still exists within the mass media, there will continue to be attempts to ostracize Japanese cultural behaviour. Some Western responses to Japanese game shows are constructed to stereotype Japanese culture. Although Japan is a socially conservative society with somewhat pronounced gender roles, the reality that exists within Japan is very different from the enduring stereotypes that are presented within Western media. Although women may presented and interpreted as submissive, they are self-determined individuals much the same as in Australia.
The fetishing and sexual stereotyping of East Asian women is rooted in violence and war, and this continues to be reimagined by mainstream media and entertainment. Although this game show may not be feeding into the fetishes and sexual stereotypes of East Asian women, my reaction stemmed from my previous experience with these misrepresentations in Hollywood films the past.
“Harajuku Girls is all about Japanese girls dancing silently behind Gwen Stefani, who took in a whole diverse Japanese culture, and barfed up submissive Japanese women who never speak.” [see article here]
Throughout my childhood Hollywood film and media portrayal of Asian women as an “exotic, Oriental feature in the background” – now when I view texts with Asian women in them I am unconsciously thinking back to my experiences with these texts and overthinking to the point where I imagine these objectifications and patriarchal representations where they may not even exist.
I originally thought the representation of women was backward and concerning, but a comparison with Australian game shows indicates remarkable similarities. Within Australian game shows (e.g. Deal or No Deal) women are often objectified, and used for their looks. The way in which I reacted to Honemadekka shows that I have distanced myself from Japanese culture and given in to common cultural stereotypes. I have shown this by disassociating myself with the representations that also exist within Australian game shows.
Looking back I can re-examine aspects of the film that re-enforced my position as a cultural outsider. Whilst watching the game show I was very confused as to why they were focusing on using behaviour to “seduce” the men.
After much research I have now come to understand that Japanese people have a very different style of communication. According to Hall’s cultural dimensions Japan is a high context culture, meaning they use much non-verbal communication and Japanese people often have reserved, inward reactions.
Kopp explains it perfectly:
“Western communication style relies heavily on words. We expect communicators to be clear, precise, and skilled in expressing themselves verbally. We value people who have good presentation skills and are good at discussing and debating… Japanese communication relies less on verbal manipulation, and more heavily on non-verbals. Words are important, but so are body language, gestures, tone of voice, facial expressions, posture, and non-word sounds“
Japanese people use silence as a communicative technique and generally avoid physical contact with people they do not have close relationships with (familial or friendly) (Oknen 2016). Whilst Western styles of communication value verbal self-expression, Japanese styles of communication value the implicit messages expressed through non-verbal communication. As a rule, people have less control over the non-verbal messages they send and it is therefore a more emotional response, valued highly among high-context cultures like Japan.
This explains why my understanding of flirting, comedy and communication in general was challenged. Having now done further research, I can see that the non-verbal behaviours demonstrated in the game show are highly significant. By showing her armpit, carefully adjusting her leg placement and posture, the woman was indeed “using her behaviour to seduce” (without any of the negative connotations that I initially drew from this phrase).
Having being socialized and educated within a low-context culture I can understand my initial confusion and misunderstanding. I can now see that my own culture dictated the way in which I would experience this Japanese culture. Only able to draw from my experience and internal valuing of explicit, verbal communication I was unable to completely understand the intentions of the characters or comedic elements of the game show. With hindsight, I can see that my expectations have been constructed by the communication styles I’ve been exposed to. Looking back I can see how this has affected my entire experience with the game show.
Unlike my initial reaction to many elements of the game show, my commentary of Kato’s features was simply descriptive. This shows that I can relate, and am familiar with the casting of beautiful women on game shows.
The parallels between my reaction to men obsessing over Kato (incredibly beautiful by Japanese standards) and the casting of beautiful women in Australian game shows highlights the universality of the pursuit for the societal definition of beautiful. Japanese women desire to be thin, pale-skinned and achieve the perfect even-toned soft, poreless skin. Contemporary manifestations of Japanese beauty stem from history; the working-class would be tanned, whereas the nobility would have pale skin. Whilst Japanese women are striving to achieve these standards, Australian women are obsessed with achieving the perfect tanned, slim physique.
As I look back on this remark I can see similarities between the Australian (or ‘Western’ more largely) ideas of beauty. Whilst Japanese ideals of beauty may be different that those in Australia; Japanese women (like Australian women) are engrained to believe that a slim figure is desirable (Miller 2006). It appears that the obsession with ‘thin’ is a global epidemic, permeated by the global existence of capitalism.
By comparing the idealizations of feminine beauty, it is now evident that there are patterns that transcend national boundaries. My personal comparisons show that despite the differences between Japanese and Australian culture, women all over the world are striving to embody their society’s standard of beauty. Like this article, Honemadekka is a reminder that standards of beauty affects women all over the world, and this is not limited to those living in the West. Women feel pressured to look a certain way, as defined by society and mass media. My reaction to Honemadekka’s Kato and connections with Australian representations proves that this is a global issue that transcends cultural boundaries.
With research, I can see that my original response feeds into contemporary issues. There are many misinterpretations of Japanese culture saturating the Western media, influencing popular opinion- especially those uneducated in Japanese culture. Whilst watching the film I distanced myself from the characters and the comedic purpose. I was originally amazed that the representation of women could be so backward, but after further research and comparison I can see that Japanese women are treated not unlike Australian women. Given the history of Orientalism, it is not uncommon that I reacted critically to the game show episode. I hadn’t been exposed to these Japanese culture or communicative styles before watching the film, and this explains why I held my original views. Whilst I did connect my experience with watching Australian game shows throughout my childhood, I unconsciously chose only to think critically about the Japanese cultural product.
Everyone has different assumptions about the world we live in, and it is by analysing our responses that we’re able to clearly see this. It is through the process of autoethnography that I am able to see my response to a Japanese cultural product as a reflection of my cultural identity.
References:
Boscaro A, Gatti F, Raveri M, Rethinking Japan: Social sciences, ideology & thought, pp. 164-173
Hofstede G 2001, Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. Second Edition, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications.
Oknen 2016, http://www.onken.com/classroom/internationalmanagement/Japan/Nonverbalcommunication.html
The Atlantic 2013, http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/11/the-misunderstood-history-of-the-wacky-japanese-game-show/281825/
reneeschwarze 