The Office American version quite moving from time to time.

 

So I have been watching The Office American version at last, as it is being streamed on Netflix in Japan.

I am a great fan of Ricky Gervais, and I enjoyed The Office U.K. version thoroughly. As many people would agree, The Office is arguably one of the best comedy shows ever made, in its creative juxtaposition of the comic and tragic, somewhat reminiscent of Shakespeare. 

I have naturally watched some episodes of The Office American version now and then, mostly on international flights, but have not viewed the series systematically until now.

I had my own trepidations, but the American version has actually turned out to have some fine points. 

Particularly interesting is the fact that perhaps in the U.S., there is not such a layer structure between the comedians and the "ordinary" people. The comedian (in this case the boss in the office) is also a member of the mediocre society. In the U.K., on the other hand, the comedian is probably superior in intelligence and dramatic grasp of life, a tradition carried by Ricky Gervais himself, although in an implicit style compared to, for example, Stephen Fry.

The fact that everybody is on the same board with equal humbleness makes The Office American version quite moving from time to time.

A comparison of the Chinese Dream with the American Dream

 

I have recently repeatedly heard news coverage of the Chinese Dream pushed by President Xi Jinping. In the Japanese media, the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Civilization is a phrase heard often, in relation to the Chinese Dream.

It would be great if the peoples of China would be able to enjoy the growth of the society in terms of economy or otherwise. On the other hand, it is hoped that diversity and individual freedom would be able to enhanced in China in the years to come.

In today's youtube posting I make a comparison between the Chinese dream and the American dream, with the latter more focused on the diversity of opinions and the individual freedom to pursue happiness.

Differences between the American and Chinese dreams.

When people split into twitter and parler

In today's youtube posting I discussed the permanent ban of Mr. Trump from twitter and its implications.

I fear that there is a danger that the platforms would split into physically defined echo chambers. Up to now, echo chambers did exist, but they were subsets on a single platform, such as twitter.

When people split into twitter and parler, for example, there would be an increased danger of more absolute segregation of people and opinions.

Youtube: Twitter vs Parler: Danger of platform-defined echo chambers

Review of Uncertain exhibit by Tasuo Miyajima @tatsuomiyajima @scai_bathhouse

The Uncertain exhibition at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE in the downtown area of Tokyo is a great leap forward into the brave new world by one of the world's greatest contemporary artist, Tasuo Miyajima.

https://www.scaithebathhouse.com/en/exhibitions/2020/11/Uncertain/

The art gallery, owned by Masami Shiraishi, is a cultural icon itself, being a converted public bathhouse close to the Tokyo Geidai (Tokyo University of the Arts) and The University of Tokyo in the Yanaka area of downtown Tokyo.

The new exhibition shows Miyajima's hallmark digits, but this time as a collection of paintings, oil on canvas.  The effect of bringing the LED numbers back into the realm of old school paintings, with twists on the canvas shapes and installations, is simply stunning. The 7 canvases are arranged in such ways so as to represent a particular digit, with the unused canvas lying in a ceremonial manner on the floor. Miyajima suggests a relocation of the canvases, based on the fate of specially designed dice telling which digit to install. 

For Tatsuo Miyajima, a graduate from the department of oil paintings of the Tokyo Geidai, this is perhaps the first venture into the venerable method of oil painting in his long and productive career. The result is an inspirational and poignant statement on the relation between the abstract and concrete, the ephemeral and permanent, and between the certain and uncertain in this time of great vulnerability for the human race. 

There are series of works with LED digits on white cloth, a statement perhaps on the co-existence of our organic self and the increasingly ubiquitous digital technology.

Photo Myself in front of the SCAI THE BATHHOUSE art gallery in Yanaka, Tokyo.

Dai Fujikura's @daifujikura Armageddon in Tokyo, simply a triumph.

The world premier of Dai Fujikura's opera, A Dream of Armageddon, at the New National Theater Tokyo was an utter triumph.

Fujikura, a London-based composer originally from Japan, put the short novel by H.G. Wells into sublime music. It reminded one of the Karesansui Japanese garden traditions, an apotheosis of which is the famous Ryoanji Temple rock garden, once visited by Queen Elisabeth II. Against this backdrop of this abstract expression of the world at large, Fujikura's music occasionally brought fresh breaths of astonishing vivid colour of life. 

The opera starts with a cappella chorus, a rarity in the genre. It ends with the solo of a boy soprano, who is one of the soldiers of the power that be. Fujikura accomplished the magic of matching the grand finale of Wagner's Gotterdammerung with a single "amen" at the very end, giving the audience a deep sense of redemption.

The libretto by Harry Ross, a long-time friend of Fujikura, used words in a sparing and inspirational way. The minimalist lyrics gave the impression of great Matsuo Basho haiku poems, which, in resonance with Fujikura's music, left an unforgettable image of an alien but strangely familiar dystopia.

Kazushi Ono, who is also the artistic director of the New National Theater Tokyo, showed his maestro skills with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, who achieved the difficult task of putting this complexly rich contemporary music into reality.

The singers did their jobs superbly well. The character of Johnson sung by Seth Carico left a particularly persuasive effect. 

The production was simply beautiful, creative talents led by Lydia Steier successfully made this world premier of A Dream of Armageddon into a historic event.

There would be two more performances of this masterpiece. 

https://www.nntt.jac.go.jp/english/productions/opera/a-dream-of-armageddon-2020.html

Now that the Osaka referendum is over, perhaps we need a referendum of Japanese comedy next.

The Osaka referendum on whether or not to abolish the City of Osaka and give rise to new integrated government system was a big news in Japan yesterday.

The Ishin party (Japan Innovation Party) pushed forward the plan, and lost the popular vote by a small margin.

Osaka is known as the laughter capital of Japan, with comedians from Yoshimoto dominating the media. The political turmoil surrounding the referendum would have been a golden opportunity to make comedy, with the colorful personalities of Mayer Matsui and Governor Yoshimura providing vivid materials.

So it is really weird, to say the least, that there is a total absence of comedy dealing with situations running up to the referendum, especially in the mainstream media such as television. Instead, the Yoshimoto comedians are largely seen as endorsing the policies put forward by the Ishin party, which dominates the local government.

Rooting for politicians without making comedy out of them, let alone criticizing them, does not seem to be within the job description of comedians. The status quo of "comedy" in Japan, especially those associated with Yoshimoto, is strange, to put it mildly. 

Now that the Osaka referendum is over, perhaps we need a referendum of Japanese comedy next.