Japanese Reality Show

In the lecture of Nov 16, we have discussed about reality show. It reminded me of a Japanese reality show called ‘Ainori’, in which six ordinary male and female were picked up and travel around the world together with a small car, called ‘love wagon’. The purpose of this traveling is to find a destined partner though the stay, and participants are required to go out with someone every day, writing diary about their feeling to the members in the wagon. When they fell in love with someone, he or she has to ask the person to finish their travel, and go back to Japan together.

I think this program well dramatizes the reality of falling in love and drive audiences to sympathize with the member’s love affairs. As there are basically only three guys and three girls in the wagon, they often crush on a same person, creating a drama or huge regret of losing someone if they miss the chance to ask going home together in a right timing. In the meantime, audiences know who likes who, through their diary, which helps us entertain with someone’s supposedly, real love. There are also commentators who always make fun of the gap between what is happening there and the member’s own perception about their relationship, which highly characterize the shame part of the participants as Professor Kalmar mentioned in the class.

What I find it interesting is that there are always certain arranged roles of the characters that never happen by chance, such as person who never fell in love with in his life, or someone who is usually player but suddenly become so pure, or someone who have super technique to make person fell in love with.

People always argue who is the best girl/guy, as if they were real friends, though which the members will be half celebrities. There are always controversies if it is a real love or if the members are really ordinary people because some of them were actually possible singers, actors, or models. However, even though it is doubtful if it is real, this program was so popular and ran over ten years, and after an interval, they revived lately. Everyone accepted the lie part of the program, forgive the fake of it, and take it for granted without resisting it.

Also, there is a famous previous participant who became successful through the show. She was famous for her popularity among guys with cutest technique, and now she became one of the number one access gainer of her blog in Japan, getting lots of money though her photo essay, collaboration with fashion line, or their exposure in media. My point is, even though she got fame though the reality show, she sustained her fame though her common-woman qualities, compared with other celebrities. I think what her popularity reflects is that not only people expect the fame to be democratized, people even want celebrities to be common, close, friendly like positions which are not so different from their lives. Even celebrities who seem like the only class in recent world were expected to stay close with the middle class value, as this participant was.