Tokyo Vice, Biased？
I recently watched Tokyo Vice on Netflix.
This movie is literally an underground film set in the metropolis of Tokyo. It begins with a young American named Jake joining a prestigious Japanese news publisher. It was intriguing.
It was kind of new for me to see foreign actors performing in Tokyo, and moreover, delivering their lines in Japanese (of course, mostly they talk in English with Japanese actors). I'm very happy to hear that Season 2 will be streamed on WOWOW starting this spring.
Reminds Me Of Tokyo Drift…
I mentioned earlier, 'It was kind of new for me to see foreign actors performing in Tokyo, and moreover, delivering their lines in Japanese.' It reminds me of having the same feeling when I watched [Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift].
I found that it was released in 2006. What left an impression on me in this movie is the word 'Gaijin (外人).' While it means 'foreigner' to Japanese people, '外人' literally translates to 'outside person,' akin to 'alien.' It's a term that I dislike due to its xenophobic connotation.
However, the disliked term also appeared in Tokyo Vice. I wondered why, considering it's a movie released in 2022. I initially thought it might be a stereotypical work, but it turns out the movie is set in 1990s Tokyo. That made sense. Therefore, it wasn't entirely outdated. While the term remains unpleasant, I felt that the attitude towards different cultures in 1990s Tokyo wasn't significantly different from that in 2000s Tokyo.
Bye!