The team pop idol craze is a phenomenon
unique to Japanese culture. A troop of young girls all colour coordinated and
choreographed preform whimsical pop songs for their feverous
fans that are mostly men. The fans don’t buy tickets to the shows but win them
in lotteries before the performances. They are armed with glow sticks, custom designed outfits for their favourite idol and shout
out the names when they have a solo line or come to the front of the stage.
Raise Your Arms and Twist centres on NMB48
the idol group based in Namba, Osaka. The group is made up of 60 girls raging
from ages 15-21. They are the least popular of the 4 main groups in Japan with
AKB48 out of Tokyo being the gold standard. NMB are kind of a triple A
affiliate with a few girls making it up to the big leagues on occasion to
perform with the major league squad.
The songs the girls sing and their
performances are secondary to the intense battles that go on back stage,
between girls and the different teams. The narrative focus on a few of the main
members the contrast between the two founding members Captain Sayaka Yamamoto
and Vice-Captain Ayaka Okita being the most intriguing. Both girls joined the
group at its 2010 start. Yamamoto rocked to stardom being picked for the
prestigious Sembatsu team that gives the opportunity to
perform in a video for a group single right away. She also has the longest lines at the groups fans handshake
sessions. An odd ritual where fans line up for the chance to hold hands with
their favourite idle for 8 seconds (timed by Security) while they tell them
how great much they love them.
Okita despite being on the squad for 5 years and a role model for the
later generations had never been picked for a Sembatsu team. Every aspect of life on the squad is
scrutinized. If you get lead on a song, make it to the centre of the front row
on stage or have long lines at the handshake events. The competition all leads up to the yearly General Election
where fans vote for the best idol in the land by buying CD’s to obtain codes that's punched into your
mobile phone to vote.
Director Atsushi Funahashi narrows his
vision on the aspects of the pop idol life that really effect the girls mental
stability. Many leave home at 15 or 16 to go to these teams. They are drafted
based on their skills which can lead to disappointment. Being back row or not
selected for a Sembatu team often results in tears from inconsolable team
members. Even the ones that make it onto a team and into a video are yelled at by male video directors or
team managers for not being happy enough or perhaps for something private in their personal life.
The most intriguing study is that of rising team
star Ririka Sutou. The idol game seems to come easy to her as she has a song
written for her and is centre stage seeming right away.
She open the film on a boat floating on a river in a gritty area of
Osaka reading Nietzsche while stating she wants to be a philosopher. She is
very self-aware knowing that while she is doing this gig she does not have
control of her individual self as she quotes John Stuart Mill.
The Japanese pop idol culture is one that
is not scene or translates to Europe or North America. The team members base their self-worth
on where they fall in the hierarchical pecking order of the system. Top ten in the yearly general election
and centre stage of an AKB48 Sembatu group single being the pinnacle. If you can get there it could lead to
Graduation which means potentially television presenter roles, a solo singing
career or perhaps modeling. The
most popular idols have endorsement for clothing, food and make up
products. The film could have
talked more on where the money all goes considering they had over 3.2 million
votes for the June 2015 General Election which translates to that may CD singles sold or how the girls get
compensated. The production
is an in depth look into a unique subject that builds personalities that the
viewer truly wants to root for making it a film I can highly recommend
**** Out of 4.
Raise You Arms and Twist | Atsushi
Funahashi | Japan | 2016 | 90 Minutes.
Tags: Pop Idol, Osaka, NMB48, AKB48,
Nietzsche, Tokyo, Sembatu, General Election, Video, Hit Single, Fans, Handshake
Event, Big Sis Saya.
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