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style="font-family: monospace;">I think a lot of it is the sheer and
enduring popularity of Freddie Mercury in Japan. He’s an extremely
beloved figure here, I’d say ranking no lower than John Lennon; there
are references to him in comics, cartoons, etc... I don’t think that
nostalgia for the golden age of Queen was more relevant here than
anywhere else. The screening I attended was full of young-looking, many
of whom (to judge from overheard conversations afterwards) didn’t know
much about Queen beforehand, but they all knew and loved Freddie.<br><br>I’d
say this also explains the "satisfaction" thing: People wanted to have a
good time watching the spectacular story of Freddie Mercury, with
colorful period detail (costumes!) and a bunch of great songs (if you
like Queen) they mostly knew. And that's exactly what they got.<br><br>--Matt<br></span><br><span>John
Junkerman wrote:</span><br><blockquote
cite="mid:CAH-ugOUj7Sd_orCZa_dO2riepKLg1BmvuTs3YPEQUYKs++CH5g@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite"><div dir="ltr">I haven't seen the film yet, anticipating
feeling the same way Aaron did, but I was talking about this at a
bonenkai last night. A friend pointed out that Queen's initial
popularity was in Japan and then it spread throughout the world (I
haven't verified this), and many of the audience are middle-aged women
who became fans during that time. So nostalgia may be a factor. Also the
応援上映 participatory screenings are quite an event, it seems. There are
cine-complexes that are running it on all screens, and the release of
other films has been delayed as a result. I'm planning to take in one of
the oen joei, just out of sociological interest. </div><br><div
class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr">On Sat, Dec 29, 2018 at 11:12 AM
Gerow Aaron <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:aaron.gerow@yale.edu">aaron.gerow@yale.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote
class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px
solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div style="overflow-wrap:
break-word;">On our last day in Portland, the family and I went to see
Bohemian Rhapsody in the theater. I am not really a Queen fan; in fact
my main interest was trying to think why this was such a huge hit in
Japan. As of today, it’s made $55 million at the Japanese BO (with
predictions it will go over $70 million), with Japan being the film’s
third biggest non-US market (the South Korean BO numbers are higher, but
it opened there earlier). <div><br></div><div>I did not like the film
that much, for its mythification of Freddie and predictable direction,
but I wonder why it has not only made a bunch at the Japanese BO, but
also came in number 1 in Pia’s satisfaction survey for all of 2018. </div><div><br></div><div>My
inclination is to look at both its melodrama and its depiction of
family—and the promise of mass unity—but I was wondering what others
think, or what others might have written about this.</div><br><br><div>
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style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div>Aaron Gerow<br>Professor<br>Film
and Media Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures</div><div>Director
of Graduate Studies, Film and Media Studies</div><div><span
style="text-align:-webkit-auto">Yale University</span></div><div>143 Elm
Street, Room 210<br>PO Box 208324<br>New Haven, CT 06520-<span
style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px">8324</span><br>USA<br>Phone:
1-203-432-7082<br>Fax: 1-203-432-6729<br>e-mail: <a
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target="_blank">aaron.gerow@yale.edu</a></div><div>website: <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.aarongerow.com" target="_blank">www.aarongerow.com</a></div><div><br></div></div></span><br
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clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr"
class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">John Junkerman<div><a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:jtj53213@gmail.com" target="_blank">jtj53213@gmail.com</a></div><div>2-18-6
Ehara-cho, Nakano</div><div>Tokyo 165-0023</div></div></div>
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