Television on KineJapan

[Michael Badzik]

A while back Aaron Gerow wondered:

>But maybe there is some interest in discussing TV.

I was hoping so, although the response so far has been rather 
underwhelming. But before this thread dies I would like to plead 
its case.

As best I can tell, there are few serious studies of Japanese 
television available in English. I looked in the eight volume 
Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan to see what they might say about 
television, and found just a few facts, dates and dollars mostly, 
and some bland generalizations. Of course the entry for film is 
nine pages long, with many additional pages under the separate 
entries for various directors and actors. The small number of 
interpretative (as opposed to descriptive) writings on television 
that I have been able to find are usually disappointingly shallow 
and casually dismissive. Even on this mailing list some members 
have mentioned research they are doing in a number of fairly 
obscure areas of Japanese culture, but not one person (in the five 
months I have been on this list) has said that they are doing any 
work related to television. There is, however, certainly plenty of 
room for original investigation and new insight on the subject.

So why is television worth looking at? Despite what you may have 
heard, there are quality programs that appear from time to time. 
Also, the ease and frequency with which actors, writers, and 
directors move between film and television make it difficult to 
ignore; the television work done by the director Iwai Shunji, 
actors Sanada Hiroyuki, Toyokawa Etsushi, and Itami Juuzo, writer 
Mitani Koki, (to say nothing of Beat Takeshi and a host of others) 
cannot go unobserved in any significant examination of their 
careers. And finally, the huge acceptance of television by the 
Japanese people of itself makes it an important subject, as it 
has become both a leader and follower of current and future 
trends and ways of thinking (and television certainly affects 
ways of thinking).

And so, if there is interest, what subjects might be discussed? 
Both Aaron and Dick Chalfen have given some good suggestions here, 
to which I would like to add a couple more that I would enjoy 
seeing covered:

1. What are the natural methods of form and expression in 
television drama? A small screen is quite different from a large 
one, and a theater is quite different from one's home, and so 
television drama in Japan very quickly developed a style quite 
distinct from that of film. One style that did (and still does) 
influence television is that of the radio drama, which also 
emanates from a small box in one's home. Both depend on an 
up-close and immediate style of presentation to keep the 
listener/viewer from turning away. The movie made to be seen on 
a large screen in a quiet theater has a larger threshold before 
distraction, and can thus have more long shots and quiet 
moments - though this is changing as movies depend more on video 
and less on theatrical release for revenue.

2. How do television and film interact with each other? Recently, 
a large number of movies have been released to theaters that were 
produced by television production companies. Is this having any 
kind of a profound effect on the industry? Of course this is not 
an entirely new trend, as Tora-san, if you remember, actually got 
his start on television.

I am aware of other places on the internet for fans of Japanese 
popular culture and that they probably are the best places for 
much of what might be discussed about television. But if there is 
a better forum for discussing the questions above, please direct 
me to it.

Thanks for your patience,

Michael Badzik
mike at vena.com