neomarxisme

Casual readers of my essays and articles would probably assume that my doom-and-gloom pessimism about the current state of Japanese pop culture (see "Lamenting the Death of Trend in the Land of the Rising Sun" in The Fader Sept/Oct issue) stems from some deep, grumpy disappointment with Japan related to 1) the eventual disillusion with Japan that every foreigner faces once he peels back the surface and takes a look at the rot underneath and 2) the lack of interest in "new" cultural products coming from the gradual accumulation of knowledge about cultural history (i.e., once you know the references, the revivals seem boring). I concede both points, but there is also the distinct possibility that Japan has objectively become "less cool." In other words, the Japanese public buys fewer products respected by the culturally elite than in the past, and therefore, these products are less visible.

The whole "Japan is cooler than the West" idea stems solely from two facts. One, Westerner's casual observations that the average Japanese person dresses with more attention to trend and fashion than the average American on European. (The sample may be skewed, however, because foreigners usually go to Tokyo and not Gunma-ken.). Two, the Japanese boast a higher rate of consumption for products which are considered underground, critically acclaimed, or out of the mainstream.

So, "Utada" aka Utada Hikaru is about to release her English-language record EXODUS in America, which is obnoxiously being referred to as a "debut album." The single "Easy Breezy" is definitely the most irritating song I've heard in ages, and its main refrain alone - "You're easy breezy/ and I'm Japaneezy" - has set back Japanese-American relations by twenty to thirty years. (The next single will feature something like a pun on "cool" and "coolie.") Her makeup in the video is some kind of mock-Asian-American fashion, totally alien to japan - like an Iranian putting a red dot on her forehead to appeal to the "south Asian" market.

Everyone in Japan is on the edge of their seats: will she do it? Will she actually become a star in America??!? Can she finally beat Sakamoto Kyu's record with "Sukiyaki"?

Well, of course not.

Every couple of years, someone like Matsuda Seiko feigns like they are "trying" for stardom in the United States, and the Japanese collectively hold their breath until the lackluster results trickle in.