/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Having been a weeaboo for about a year and a half, I have gradually become aware of some of the exploitation idols experience.

One abuse, one that is also known to be present in the k-pop industry, is the micromanaging that talent agencies impose on their idols. According to Mariko Oi of the BBC, idols are "bound by strict rules on how to be idols" and "many are not allowed to date and getting married requires permission". Ian Martin of the Japan Times says that they are not allowed to date because "by dating, idols are ruining fans’ fantasies", which would be bad for the talent agencies because they "are not just selling music, they are selling a fantasy narrative". One more infamous incident of the idol industry micromanaging the lives of idols was when "Minami Minegishi [pictured] from popular girl band AKB48 shaved her head and wept in apology, after breaking management firm rules by spending a night with her boyfriend" (Oi).

Mariko Oi made note of another incident of talent agency abuse, this time with the boy band SMAP. They "bowed deeply in a sombre apology on their weekly programme SMAPxSMAP" just because they were "trying to leave their agency, Johnny & Associates". She noted that some "saw the similarity between SMAP members and Japan's so-called white collar salarymen, unable to disobey their employers".

With knowledge of some of the abuses of the idol industry, do you find it harder to enjoy idol music or J-Pop in general? To be fair, Western musicians are well known for experience a fair amount of hardships, often because of the practices of the companies they work for. However, Western musicians generally have more freedom, both in how they make their music as well as how they live their lives. I personally am not a particularly big fan of idol music, largely because it just seems 'fake' to me, but I'm not sure if knowledge of idols' exploitation really makes much of difference to me.

Sources:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/02/01/music/akb48-members-penance-shows-flaws-in-idol-culture/#.XVhDLuhKg2x
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35368705

>>21122546
gomaki dyed her hair when she was 13
she had to use black hair spray for school
>>21122650
if that whats the girl wants maybe they are okay

not again!

>>20231716

Aguri is discovered to have a 50 yr old boyfriend and has shamed her agency and family and shaves her head à la AKB