Zeitgeist - Footnotes
1. Manzai (漫才) is the Japanese term for comedy duos, where there is a straight man called a tsukome (ツコメ), and a funny-man called a boke(ボケ). The roles of straight-man and funny-man aren't exact parallels with English comedy duos, but that's the basic idea. back
2. Candid Camera was a famous show that set up situations that were embarrassing or awkward that ordinary people would walk into, and the humour was derived from seeing their reactions. In North America, maybe else where, the term "Candid Camera" has become synonymous with shows that expose, embarrass, or exploit unsuspecting people. back
3. The other is a guy named Torihada Minoru (鳥肌実 ) who portrays himself as a hard core right wing nut for ironic effect.back
4. Rakugo (落語), is a very stylized form of comedic story telling, where a performer kneels down on a square cushion and tells narrative stories, with particular emphasis on conveying characters through and gestures. back
5. In Japanese it's called the Monbushou Kagakushou (文部科学省 ), and is also known by the acronym MEXT. back
6. I have friends who work at Japanese networks who have informed me that basically the government is explicit that it will wield it's power to revoke broadcast licenses if it finds some content questionable. But those friends have asked to not be named and speak off record, so I can't say it's a confirmed fact. But that's cool, because it makes me feel like I'm some kind of Bob Woodward style investigative reporter with "sources". back
7. The Newspaper (ザ・ニュースペーパー ) actually got a little more play on television than usual recently because they just celebrated their 20th year anniversary. Former prime minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi made an appearance at one of their events, which indicates that even if The Newspaper aren't on TV as much as other comedians, they are known in political circles and aren't just some fringe group. back
8. (吉本工業 , Yoshimoto Kougyou ) "Yoshimoto" is a family name, and kougyou means "industry", so it could be translated as "Yoshimoto Industries". It started in the early 1900's as a theatre in Osaka, but exploded in the latter half of the twentieth century to dominate the Japanese comedy scene. In Japan, Osaka, by the way, is reputed to be a source of comedians and comedy. back
9. The relatively few number of major broadcasting companies has also been an influence in the substandard fare of Japanese television content, beyond comedy. back
10. In Japan, being a "talent" doesn't refer to ability or innate nature like it does in English. In Japan it has become a catch-all term that refers to anyone who does anything in the entertainment industry. Most "talents" in Japan do a variety of different things, like acting, singing, interviews, game shows, commercials, and whatever else, and rarely, if ever, display "talent" in the sense of the original English meaning. back
11. Although the market realities indicate that stupid humour are going to remain prevalent in Japan for a long time coming, recent poll data indicates something I've long believed, which is that there is a large segment of the population that is disenfranchised from what's available on television. In June 2008, the goo research group (the brand name is always lower case) conducted a survey of 1,014 Japanese people of various demographics, asking "what was there too much of these days" . The number one item that the survey respondents have had enough of was "stupid celebrities". back
12. There's a little room, as no environment is ever completely homogeneous. back