The Peruvian donkey from Hokkaido

[Clemente Carlos]

Thanks Aaron,

I feel a little dismayed, though. I had thought this(Roshinante story)
was an extraordinary story. It had pulled at my heart strings and the
show had won
me over. But now I feel as if I have been cheated. I think they should
have some regulations or a disclaimer stating what the viewer is
witnessing
is purely entertainment not a documentary. Roshinante for me had been
a heart warming story. What a shame.

Carlos




---Aaron Gerow <gerow at ynu.ac.jp> wrote:
>
> In another incident that poses questions concerning not only
television 
> ethics, but also the relationship between fiction and documentary in 
> contemporary Japanese media, one of the weekly magazines revealed
that 
> Roshinante (I'm using just the direct romanization of the Japanese),
the 
> donkey made popular through the TV show _Denpa shonen_, was in fact
born 
> and bred in Hokkaido, not in Peru, as the TV show emphasized in
dozens of 
> episodes.  
> 
> This would not be much a problem were it not for the fact that _Denpa 
> shonen_, like other shows such as _Urinari_ (by the same producer),
has 
> gained its tremendous popularity through a kind of "reality TV"
(though a 
> different one than the US brand) in which talento are made to endure 
> difficult "real-life" assignments.  In Roshinante's case, the comedy
team 
> Doronzu, after completing their hitchhike trek from the southern tip
of 
> South America to Alaska with no money, were made to travel from the 
> northernmost tip of Hokkaido to southern Kyushu with, again, no
money and 
> a donkey to boot.  Much was made during the several month trek that 
> Roshinante was from Peru and that the donkey would be returned once
it 
> was over.  The Peruvian "owner" even appeared at the end to try to
take 
> her back, after, of course, Doronzu and the audience had developed a
deep 
> affection for her.  Roshinante has been so successful that her "hair 
> nude" photo book has sold 200,000 copies.
> 
> Much of the success of the series lies in its borrowings from 
> documentary.  The treks are usually shot in 8mm video or with a small 
> digi-cam, mostly by a single cameraman or sometimes by the talento 
> themselves.  You thus get the requisite hand-held camera shots, poor 
> sound, grainy images, etc.  It also relies a lot on the
phenomenological 
> perception of reality: that the hardships and the situations are
real.  
> Elements of entertainment style are mixed in, such as comedic
voice-over 
> narration and titling of dialogue, but it is clear that those who
watch 
> the series latch on because they perceive "real" emotions and
situations. 
>  Much of this is fueled by supplementary texts like the diaries of
the 
> talento which are published as the treks go on (all of which are 
> best-sellers).  These peripheral goods should be mentioned, because
it is 
> in part this reality effect which has led to the successful sales of 
> these goods (another _Denpa shonen_ creation, the down-and-out band 
> Something Else, recently hit number one on the charts).
> 
> The formula has bred such huge hits as Saruganseki's trek across
Asia.  
> But even with that case, there were charges of fakery, as it was
found 
> out that the comedy team was flown across danger areas (war zones,
etc.) 
> and thus did not make it across by themselves with no help.
> 
> Nihon TV's response then and with this case is that the program is an 
> entertainment show, not a documentary, and thus that they have the 
> liberty to fiddle with things.  But clearly, as is evident from 
> complaints from viewers, that is not how much of the audience sees
this.  
> Since this is not the first incident, the Ministry of Posts and 
> Communications (do I have that right?), has said it will investigate.
> 
> The incident poses a lot of issues: What is the place of "reality" or 
> documentary in contemporary Japanese TV?  How does entertainment 
> programming connect to "reality" programming and is there an ethical 
> line?  Why are contemporary viewers seeking reality in TV not in 
> old-style documentary, but in precisely controlled entertainment
shows?  
> What are we to make of the clearly calculated multi-market 
> commodification of TV shows and of the "reality" within them?  
> 
> Any comments?
> 
> 
> 
> Aaron Gerow
> Yokohama National University
> KineJapan list owner
> For list commands: send "information kinejapan" to 
> listserver at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> Kinema Club: http://pears.lib.ohio-state.edu/Markus/Welcome.html
> 
> 

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