Choosing Illusion: Mediated Reality and the Spectacle of the Idol in Kōji Shiraishi's Shirome

Speaker: Lindsay Nelson (Lecturer, Center for Global Communication Strategies, The University of Tokyo)
Date and time: December, 15 2016 (Thur.), 5:00-6:00PM
Venue: Seminar Room, 2F, Bldg. 101,Komaba Campus, The University of Tokyo
Language: English

Abstract:
This article examines questions of mediated reality, authenticity, and fandom in the context of two distinct media spaces: Japanese pop idol culture and found footage horror films. These two worlds are linked by the concept of the ‘mutual agreement’ (o-yakusoku)—an agreement between fans and creators that certain illusions of intimacy and reality will not be questioned. In the found footage horror film Shirome, which stars the pop idol group Momoiro Clover Z, we see how this ‘mutual agreement’ serves to empower fans (who can feel a sense of protectiveness as the idols they worship are terrorized) and uses the trappings of reality (cheap camera work, performers working without a script) to create a fictional world that nonetheless feels authentic to viewers. Ultimately, Shirome is an example of what happens when the institutions of government, family, and religion lose their power and are replaced by transnational, transmedia communities that openly embrace their illusoriness.

Organizer: The Global Japan Studies Network (GJS), University of Tokyo
Co-organizer: Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo
Contact: gjs[at]ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

For details, please see GJS's Website

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