i stumbled upon this documentary the other day, and i simply couldnt resist watching it considering it's based in osaka and is about host clubs. it won the Best Documentary Feature Award at the 2006 Edinburgh Film Festival, and basically provides a glimpse into the world of host clubs through interviews with the hosts at Cafe Rakkyo. It focuses heavily on the owner of the club and supposed "number 1" host* in town - Issei - and his clients, and woah.
it's a great show and i strongly urge everyone to watch it, but beyond that i dont really know what to say about it actually. there are so many reviews about it online (which i read after watching it, actually. good ones can be found here and here), each with a slightly different take on the show. it's definitely extremely interesting as it covers a whole range of issues - how much hosts earn, how they interact with their clients, how they operate to earn a living, how hard they work, etc - but it left me with very mixed feelings.
the basic job of a host is to make his clients feel good and "sell dreams", and doing that involves lots of lying, sweet talking and essentially him telling his clients what they want to hear. women spend obscene amounts on their hosts - even though the basic charge is only USD12 an hour - and the really surprising discovery is that many of these women who visit host clubs are prostitutes, cabaret girls, soap land masseurs, etc (you basically cant afford to visit host clubs on a regular basis unless you're in that sort of trade). even though both host and client are in the business of selling themselves and telling lies to customers, many of the women still professed their love for their host, saying that they want to marry him and so on. and the irony is that many of these women either have boyfriends or visit other host clubs (where they probably say the same things too!).
as with any interview, you can never know the extent to which the interviewee is telling the truth and how much they're playing to the camera. there was this scene where Issei talks about this particular client whom he particularly dislikes, and he describes her as being manipulative and freaky. he told the camera that what she said in the interview is directed at him to manipulate him, as she actually told him that he'll cry when he watches the entire interview due to her responses. issei himself confesses that he tells lots of lies - and his clients lie too of course - and due to the nature of his job, he sees all sorts of women, he becomes numb to lying, he tries not to feel guilt that he's earning the money that clients obtained by selling their bodies ("you cant survive if you feel guilt"), he's probably emotionally damaged and cant have a proper relationship even though he really wants to and so on.
it just makes you wonder how much of what he's saying is the truth, and how much of it is something he panders to the camera to evoke a certain feeling and response. after all, that's something he does on a daily basis, and it's his skill at doing so that earns him his livelihood! i am, however, inclined to take a sympathetic view (of the hosts, that is; unlike this particular reviewer), and i feel that this film can very much be viewed as one that reveals one way in which love has become commodified, and the extent to which life, love and affection have become somewhat twisted and warped in this era (two more good reviews are here and here). i also very much feel that the director Jake Clennell has done a great job of bringing out the irony revealed in the interviews - it's just so, so ironic - and the entire documentary is simply fascinating.
i really wish i could do a better job of talking about this film - bear in mind that this definitely cannot be considered a review of it per se - but i know i dont have the capability, and besides, so many people have done a far better job than i can. however, i do feel that this is an extremely good documentary and everyone should watch it because it's so captivating and raises so many questions. why do people want to be hosts? (to earn money perhaps) why do they want to continue in this job even though there are so many cons to it? (probably cos the money is good) why do women who are hurt in their everyday jobs continue in those jobs so that they can spend money to purchase fake affection? (i have no clue, as the whole idea is seems very warped to me, in a sad way) how do hosts actually feel about their jobs? do they continue being hosts for roughly the same reasons their clients continue with their regular jobs - which they dont like?
i do think that documentaries should inform and interest, and considering that this film has raised so many questions - in someone who's very shallow and doesnt think too deeply, haha - it definitely has succeeded! it also makes me want to walk around namba and dotonburi more often - at night - to see these guys in action - "touting" themselves on the streets like an average prostitute - to gain a better idea of what goes on in osaka when i'm usually at home in front of my computer.
i also ramble on too much** - it's late, i'm tired and i'm pretty confused at this point (as i always am with late-night blog posts combined with heavy-ish material) - but yes. i do really most strongly encourage everyone to watch it. honestly, if there's one thing you watch this week, this month or this year, watch THIS. it's easily and quickly available on i-s-o-h-u-n-t, and i promise that you'll be intrigued and affected by this film. on a closing note, all those people who're going to do their honours or ism research should also watch this, as a prep course to start them thinking about interviews and all the intersubjectivities involved!
*: dont judge the hosts and this show by how they look! after all, as one of the host said in the film, it's not that much about how good looking they are, but how skillful they are at talking and making the customers feel good.
**: there is actually a lot more i want to discuss about this show actually, but you cant do that when you're doing a blog post on something (and when what you could write about based on the material in the film could possibly constitute an essay or dissertation of sorts)! there're just so many things to talk about regarding this show, one of them being the portrayal of japan/osaka. for example, how i'm always a little surprised by the things that actually occur in this country, regardless of how aware i am of the extent of the sex and sex-related trade here. and like how, for a country that's so well known for conformity and uniformity, there's in truth a huge range of people, things and events, as well as an amazing amount of variety. and also things like the amount of drinking and smoking that goes on here.. and like how although the image of japan is one that's very clean (in more ways than one), there's actually a rather dirty side, and part of the charm of osaka*** - especially when compared to its neighbours kobe/hyogo, nara and kyoto - is that it's different, edgy, dirrrty and grungy.
***: if you havent realised by now, i do really like osaka very much. i know i always say that i love kobe and that it's gorgeous and lovely, but i really like osaka. i'm sure part of it is due to the sense of place developed from living here, but osaka is indeed very interesting****. it just has so much vibrance and so much variety. i will talk more about this some day.. it's still too early in my time here now.
****: i also consider it an offence that lonely planet gives osaka so little credit. same goes for kobe!!
0 comments:
Post a Comment