But you’re right, maybe the show was trying to have it’s cake and eat it too.
Feeding hogs is profitable. All it takes to marginalize criticism of that profiting from predictably feeding hogs is a thin veneer of "historical accuracy" or "satire" or "this isn't condoned, just given a lot of full frontal emphasis for entertainment purposes. We in no way want you to actually enjoy watching this oh so shocking edgy scene that was designed for entertainment purposes."
I think in this case it's more from a misplaced sense of directorial priorities... like the show is really messy and definitely has problematic elements, but it doesn't come across as insincere in its criticism of idol culture/the entertainment industry. I get the feeling it was "how do I make this death scene as impactful, dramatic and narratively satisfying as possible?" rather than "let's feed the hogs the suffering porn they crave", but when the subject is the murder of a young woman... well, yeah, idk what the right way to portray that on film is. (And, well, fucking internet weirdos will read the former as the latter because art doesn't mean anything to them unless they can jack off to it. Fuck. Otaku delenda est.)
but when the subject is the murder of a young woman… well, yeah, idk what the right way to portray that on film is
Cutaway. Don't show the wound. Don't spray blood everywhere. Don't specifically focus on coughing up blood.
Cutaway shot of the attacker making the blow. Reaction shot of the witness. Then do death scene without a focus on the injury itself. You can probably get away with having the light fade from their eyes without it being grotesque because of everything else, which is a shot that honestly works well with the sparkle eyes utilised in the art style to signify the aura she gives off. That shot has a reason to exist. The others don't other than to make porn out of suffering.
well, yeah, idk what the right way to portray that on film is
If profit wasn't a motive, a PSA about otaku culture being violently pathologically toxic could have been made without the fictional worldbuilding overlay, I suppose. The message might not be received well and might not be necessarily entertaining, but that wouldn't be the point. :edgeworth-shrug:
Disclaimer: I haven't actually seen it and I have no intention to see it because it certainly sounds like an otaku focused (criticism supposedly, but also pandering for profit, sounds like) version of the kind of entertainment I already dislike and have been saturated with in previous years against my will because it was sort of impossible to exist in public and participate in conversations without hearing about the latest :awooga: :libertarian-alert: :hypersus: on Gambo or the like.
“how do I make this death scene as impactful, dramatic and narratively satisfying as possible?”
“let’s feed the hogs the suffering porn they crave”
I dare to suggest, from my position of not having watched it, that it may be possible that both goals were intended, and both were met. The entire point of the product was profit, or else it wouldn't have been made, after all.
I dare to suggest, from my position of not having watched it, that it may be possible that both goals were intended, and both were met. The entire point of the product was profit, or else it wouldn’t have been made, after all.
I dare to suggest, from my position of not having watched it, that it may be possible that both goals were intended, and both were met. The entire point of the product was profit, or else it wouldn’t have been made, after all.
Disclaimer: I haven’t actually seen it and I have no intention to see it because it certainly sounds like an otaku focused (criticism supposedly, but also pandering for profit, sounds like) version of the kind of entertainment I already dislike and have been saturated with in previous years against my will because it was sort of impossible to exist in public and participate in conversations without hearing about the latest on Gambo or the like.
It's mostly a show about the two kids working in entertainment and being actors on reality shows, singers, etc. Then later on a mystery progresses.
spoiler
There aren't any violent shocks like what is in the first episode. It critiques otaku culture and the entertainment industry by showing the characters navigate those things (online harassment, paparazzi, having to maintain a certain public image, etc). Not a violent shock factor program like Gambo
More spoilers
Like for example the manga does not have a part with Ruby being taken advantage of by a man in the industry. She goes to someones house to talk and is photographed on the way out so the narrative arc is trying to prevent that story from being published. But here it comments on the state of the entertainment industry and what happens to young women without making us watch Ruby go through that
Feeding hogs is profitable. All it takes to marginalize criticism of that profiting from predictably feeding hogs is a thin veneer of "historical accuracy" or "satire" or "this isn't condoned, just given a lot of full frontal emphasis for entertainment purposes. We in no way want you to actually enjoy watching this oh so shocking edgy scene that was designed for entertainment purposes."
:capitalist-laugh: :brrrrrrrrrrrr:
I think in this case it's more from a misplaced sense of directorial priorities... like the show is really messy and definitely has problematic elements, but it doesn't come across as insincere in its criticism of idol culture/the entertainment industry. I get the feeling it was "how do I make this death scene as impactful, dramatic and narratively satisfying as possible?" rather than "let's feed the hogs the suffering porn they crave", but when the subject is the murder of a young woman... well, yeah, idk what the right way to portray that on film is. (And, well, fucking internet weirdos will read the former as the latter because art doesn't mean anything to them unless they can jack off to it. Fuck. Otaku delenda est.)
Anime feminist actually has a pretty good review going over what the show does right/wrong from a feminist perspective.
Cutaway. Don't show the wound. Don't spray blood everywhere. Don't specifically focus on coughing up blood.
Cutaway shot of the attacker making the blow. Reaction shot of the witness. Then do death scene without a focus on the injury itself. You can probably get away with having the light fade from their eyes without it being grotesque because of everything else, which is a shot that honestly works well with the sparkle eyes utilised in the art style to signify the aura she gives off. That shot has a reason to exist. The others don't other than to make porn out of suffering.
If profit wasn't a motive, a PSA about otaku culture being violently pathologically toxic could have been made without the fictional worldbuilding overlay, I suppose. The message might not be received well and might not be necessarily entertaining, but that wouldn't be the point. :edgeworth-shrug:
Disclaimer: I haven't actually seen it and I have no intention to see it because it certainly sounds like an otaku focused (criticism supposedly, but also pandering for profit, sounds like) version of the kind of entertainment I already dislike and have been saturated with in previous years against my will because it was sort of impossible to exist in public and participate in conversations without hearing about the latest :awooga: :libertarian-alert: :hypersus: on Gambo or the like.
I dare to suggest, from my position of not having watched it, that it may be possible that both goals were intended, and both were met. The entire point of the product was profit, or else it wouldn't have been made, after all.
Yeah, that's entirely fair. :deeper-sadness:
This is precisely what I think.
It's mostly a show about the two kids working in entertainment and being actors on reality shows, singers, etc. Then later on a mystery progresses.
spoiler
There aren't any violent shocks like what is in the first episode. It critiques otaku culture and the entertainment industry by showing the characters navigate those things (online harassment, paparazzi, having to maintain a certain public image, etc). Not a violent shock factor program like Gambo
More spoilers
Like for example the manga does not have a part with Ruby being taken advantage of by a man in the industry. She goes to someones house to talk and is photographed on the way out so the narrative arc is trying to prevent that story from being published. But here it comments on the state of the entertainment industry and what happens to young women without making us watch Ruby go through that