[KineJapan] Bohemian Rhapsody in Japan

[John Junkerman]

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.

On Sat, Dec 29, 2018 at 11:12 AM Gerow Aaron <aaron.gerow at yale.edu> wrote:

> 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).
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
>
> Aaron Gerow
> Professor
> Film and Media Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
> Director of Graduate Studies, Film and Media Studies
> Yale University
> 143 Elm Street, Room 210
> PO Box 208324
> New Haven, CT 06520-8324
> USA
> Phone: 1-203-432-7082
> Fax: 1-203-432-6729
> e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu
> website: www.aarongerow.com
>
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-- 
John Junkerman
jtj53213 at gmail.com
2-18-6 Ehara-cho, Nakano
Tokyo 165-0023
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