idol – Together With Japan https://jp.learnoutlive.com 日本と共に Fri, 09 Nov 2018 10:32:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8 48482484 Thoughts On Japanese Idols, In General https://jp.learnoutlive.com/thoughts-on-japanese-idols-in-general/ Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:32:10 +0000 https://jp.learnoutlive.com/?p=1322 Continue reading ]]> Just A Few Thoughts

I was reading up on Japanese Idols, which, believe it or not, isn’t something I normally get into whatsoever. I’ve been focused on other areas and, well, I avoid anything that smacks of obsession like some people have. All things in moderation. Anyway, I had a few thoughts.

The role of the classical idol singer was to present an idealized feminine image, both in a carefully scripted private life and an equally carefully scripted public life. Honestly, the more I read that section, I was thinking back to geisha (who I’ve written about). In other words, you’re being presented with a beautiful girl who you’ll never have for yourself; she’s a fantasy (from your perspective), you know it’s a fantasy (barring serious mental illness), and that’s really OK with you. You’d rather have an element of fantasy in your life than not.

Of course, culture has rapidly evolved since the 70’s (when the idol phenomenon began). What people view as “ideal” has changed a lot and, more to the point, it’s not all one thing. That’s where you have new genres that have sprouted up, with things like rock music and even rap taking important places in music culture.

We shouldn’t look far past the word itself. An idol is something to be put on a pedestal and idolized. It’s not “reality”; it’s art. So long as people accept it as such and ride with it, we’re doing fine. Over that line and we have problems.

Like I put in the title, these are general thoughts. If I have something to say about a specific idol sometime, I’ll let you know, but I’m not the kind of guy who’s an online stalker wannabe, so I’m not a details guy in this area. – J

P.S. I scaled my blogging way back because I was experimenting with writing fiction. While my skill is far from “bad”, there’s still no realistic way I have the time and support network to make money at it, either, so I’m shelving it once again. Expect more blog posts as inspiration and need strikes. My fingers want to write, though. – J

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