BBC Four: Hidden Japan

[Taurus]

Just a heads up for anybody in the UK: BBC Four are currently running a strand of programming called Hidden Japan, consisting of short films, documentaries and movies about Japan. More information here.

[andamanislander]

Looks awesome. I'm so mad they don't let people download it from outside the UK!

What a gip...

[Taurus]

That is annoying. You might be able to find some of the stuff on youtube eventually, I guess. If I had a recorder I'd copy it and make it available, but unfortunately I haven't.

[Javizy]

Thanks for the heads up. Already missed the first one though. I'll have to see if it's on iPlayer or something.

[andamanislander]

Hey Javizy,

Anyway you can capture the iPlayer version and put it up on YouTube!? I'm doing to see this thing...

[Belton]

The words of the day are quite fun.

Outside UK and not paying the licence fee, if you can find a UK proxy you can probably get at them. The same way Hulu is blocked by IP for non-US computers but can be gotten around.
It's also a huge cat and mouse game as the beeb try to block the proxy addresses.

In search of Wabi Sabi
the lesser known Theroux is naive in Japan. Shibuya and Japanese youth wouldn't have been top of my list as places to find out about wabisabi and aesthetics of Japanese Art.
Another Isn't-Japan-Strange program. ゲッ

[Taurus]

I really liked In Search of Wabi Sabi and, bizarrely, so did my wife (she usually hates anything about Japan on British telly). I liked the way that this guy was looking for a definition of something that, almost by definition, is beyond definition. I thought it provided an interesting way in to some of the more intriguing aspects of Zen, like the emphasis on change and evanescence, and the belief that following rituals without understanding them eventually leads to some form of understanding. I thought there were some very interesting conversations - with one of the haiku group, for example, or with the Polish monk who seemed to be attempting to convey the notion that Wabi Sabi can't exist as Wabi Sabi in Poland; it becomes something else.

I also liked it because it conveyed some of the bewilderment that you experience the first time you arrive in Japan. And actually, I think he resisted the temptation to go down the 'crazy Japs' route. When he went to the maid cafe, for example, I thought he did so in a spirit of enquiry and interest, rather than attempting to lampoon something that is easily lampoonable.

[Belton]

Maybe I'm too aware of the artificial and shallow nature of TV documentary.
At least it wasn't Kelly Osbourne.

I had fun complaining at the screen at any rate.

I couldn't shake the image of Louis Theroux and weird Americans.
I'd prefer a documentary without the need for someone to mediate the experience so obtrusively.

[Harv]

My only complaint about this Japanese season is that they've already shown quite a lot of the programs before during a similarJapanese season in 2007. There are some new shows though and I enjoyed 'In search of wabi sabi' although it did leave me with the impression that wabi sabi needs to be experienced to be understood and you can't really tell others what it is.

It has already be shown but Kikujiro is an enjoyable film. The Kawasaki Candidate and Gohatto are very interesting and enjoyable too.

Btw if you have sky or some other digital satellite receiver in europe you can get NHK world. On sky it's channel 516. You'll probably have to tune it in manually if you don't have sky, you can find it at 28.2°E, 11681 V, 27500, 2/3. There aren't a huge amount of programs in Japanese but there are some interesting programs about Japan.

[Taurus]

Maybe I'm too aware of the artificial and shallow nature of TV documentary.

There is that - maybe it could have done with a companion piece, that explored some of these issues more fully.

At least it wasn't Kelly Osbourne.

There is that, too - although I did quite enjoy the bit where she went into the school.

I'm assuming that I won't be able to get NHK World via BTVision...

[Javizy]

On a similar note, did anybody see the show about living as a maiko with that Gail bint? The concept was ridiculous: she's disillusioned with the modern dating world, so will living the life of a maiko for a week help her find a man (it was part of a series where she tries various things)? Despite that, it gave quite an interesting insight into the lifestyle, and cleared up some misconceptions about geishas. I found a lot of it very surprising to learn, if not shocking in places. It was also pretty funny seeing Gail dressed as a maiko, kind of like Frankenstein if he'd been dead a week.

[Taurus]

That one really did annoy me! Dawn Porter! I think she went in with a sneering cultural superiority that diminished her ability to uncover any real insights.

I thought that by going inside as a Geisha she did tease out some interesting aspects the Geisha life, but she never really got to the bottom of the issue of sex because she never ditched her own preconceptions (eg. her inability to view Japan as anything other than some sort of extension of her own experiences - hence her comparisons to Blackpool etc.). I also thought she came pretty close to abusing her hosts' hospitality and geniality a lot of the time.

[Belton]

While there is something to be said for an external viewpoint of a culture I'm not really interested in the viewpoints of B list celebs or daughters of Hollywood directors.

The Japanese can tell their own stories. Good documentaries don't need an external voice.

I saw a very good doc on BBC a while back about a Maiko-san, and what that decision entailed. Or the doc about a man running for election in a minor ward. Or the one about Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors. Or if you want weirdness the one about the photographer Araki. Those were well made and credited the viewer with some intelligence.

If it is going to be an outsider I'd like to hear from the likes of Lisa Darbly or Donald Keene.

[Taurus]

Or the doc about a man running for election in a minor ward.

That was very good - and it's on again as part of this Hidden Japan season, I think: The Kawasaki Candidate.

[Javizy]

That one really did annoy me! Dawn Porter! I think she went in with a sneering cultural superiority that diminished her ability to uncover any real insights.

I thought that by going inside as a Geisha she did tease out some interesting aspects the Geisha life, but she never really got to the bottom of the issue of sex because she never ditched her own preconceptions (eg. her inability to view Japan as anything other than some sort of extension of her own experiences - hence her comparisons to Blackpool etc.). I also thought she came pretty close to abusing her hosts' hospitality and geniality a lot of the time.

Ah, yeah. I kept getting her name confused with Gail Porter. She is very annoying. It wasn't the most enlightening piece of journalism, and I agree about her attitude, which created some awkward atmosphere at times. Still, compared to the kind of documentaries already mentioned, it at least tried to be serious and explorative, she's just not very good at what she does

I didn't know the girls who do it lived like that, even today, and sacrifice so much, for what to me doesn't seem like the worthiest of causes, given the bigger picture of 21st century life. There are 100 ways it could have been done better, but since it was all new to me, I found it quite interesting (through all the cringing and annoyance).

I liked the series on the History Channel about the reign of the Tokugawas. They can't really go wrong relaying the facts of history I recommend that if you haven't seen it, it covers some key historic figures and events that I'm guessing every Japanese person would know.