Evidence I think about these things FAR too much.

[fencer_x]

Secret Box As a Metaphor for Being Forced Out of the ClosetI realize it's pretty fruitless to write this essay up now, when hardly anyone's actually seen the show and thus wouldn't really be able to fully grasp everything I'm pointing out. But I dunno, I can't wait until December to post this, so I'll do it now, and maybe people will come back to

Comments

[umbrellaofdoom]

I suppose that's one way to look at it. From your description, I don't see it, but it's a matter of opinion. All depends on what we want to see in a show I guess. Though, I find it difficult to believe that four Japanese guys would write a play that is suppose to be about being gay, mostly because of the atmosphere of actually being openly gay. It seems rather risky to go making social commentary like that. I've been told in countless classes for my scriptwriting program to expect a lot less freedom in what we write the second we step out of Canada, and I know Japan is no exception. So to write something focusing on a subject that would be so personal and revealing seems like taking a huge risk, one I don't know if *pnish* would take...
Like said, just a matter of opinion though.

PS - I sent the email, and sent a copy to you to make sure it went through. Did you get it?

[fencer_x]

Though, I find it difficult to believe that four Japanese guys would write a play that is suppose to be about being gay, mostly because of the atmosphere of actually being openly gay.

Hence the comment at the end that it was probably one big coincidence that happened to be in the right place at the right time for me :) It was certainly damn fun to write, though XD

And yes, I got the email! Was confused and worried at first til I saw the CC was to me AND the Japanese address ♥ sankyuu~~~

[umbrellaofdoom]

Oh good. I'm overly paranoid over my Livedoor account. I really need to get me a YahooJapan account... Anyways, yeah, still paranoid because there's no name on it and I worried it would be put as spam. So hopefully they DO read it. XD

Hee, I emailed Wasshi. Kinda. Sorta. I'll keep telling myself that.

[fencer_x]

And of course by, "comment at the end," I naturally meant, " reply to another comment in a completely separate post," but you knew that XD;;

[iverin]

Well, I think everyone will agree that it's going to be interesting to see this! I know I dig some good ol' fashioned analysis. I was having the same thoughts as Becca, i.e. that it would be very risky. But it's not uncommon to make political statements/social commentary in media. If they were intentionally doing that, wow, good on them! Probably could be taken any number of ways, it seems...

At any rate, absolutely related to this: Have you ever read anything by Michel Foucault? If not, I know of a few things from him that you might be interested in. Not light reading by any stretch--his style is incredibly dense and technical--but there are some really good watered-down versions of his theories that make sense to people who are NOT professional psychologists and the like.

[iverin]

Aaaaand I totally blanked and forgot to give my actual opinion of what you wrote. I like that you've looked at some imagery and things like that, stuff people wouldn't necessarily see unless they were looking for it or have some sort of hunch.

What I'd like to comment on is what you said about ambiguity regarding sexuality. I think, to a certain degree, that you are ABSOLUTELY correct. Especially for the younger set of pop groups/idols (say, that target the 15-25ish range in females), you see so much of the ambiguity of sexual preference. However, arguably, it's an age thing. I see a lot less of it in older idols on the pop scene, and even less in the movie/theatre scene. There are J-rockers who still push that sexual ambiguity as hard as they push their gender identification ambiguity well on into their 30s (and they pretty much want to be avant garde anyway). I haven't seen it as much in the older set, the 30s and up. When idols get older and they want to settle down, there comes an age threshold when the fans will stop

[fencer_x]

Very good points, all of those--and I didn't think about it at first, but you're absolutely right about their age being a factor. Not only ARE they more likely to settle down the older they get (assuming they're either straight or feeling pressure to marry), fans ARE less likely to care

[iverin]

Re: fans. That's what I was thinking, too. But in the grand scheme, it's only four years. I guess, really, it would depend on what age they (the fans) were when they started out. (Oh gosh, I'm not trying to nitpick...) My professor a few semesters ago actually made fun of me for liking Tenimyu at my age and had some of the exchange students back up that it was a "kid" thing. While I know that's not true, I think it is true that the newer actors are attracting a younger demographic... WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PNISH. *dies from tangent, sorry* Anyway, yes, they have grown up a bit with these guys and their increasing popularity. But what I mean about growing up with them, really, I was thinking even longer-term. I hate to reference JE, but look at SMAP's fanbase, or even KinKi. (Or I can even cite V6... or TOKIO. The commonality between these, why I'm naming them, is married or engaged members and the supportive reactions I've seen. Compare this with the highly negative reactions to the 20-year-olds dating anyone.)

[galadriel_1013]

First, I just have to say that reading your essay really made me nostalgic for the English classes I used to take where we'd have discussions like this all the time