Among the list of things that never happen to me: waking up to Sean Connery in a butler's uniform holding a tray of hot tea and freshly baked bread, or getting an invitation for tea with Queen Elizabeth, I should include going to bed at 1:45am and waking at 5:25am. When the last part includes "of my own accord" it's even more of a rarity which is why this day should be remembered and recalled as one of the great and strange days of my life. Why am I awake? I'm not someone who voluntarily submits to four hours of sleep. My body has never told my brain, "You've had four hours. That's enough. Rise and shine." I decide I will blame Miley Cyrus.
I've had a rough several days. Nothing earth-shattering but grating, difficult, angst-inducing crap has kept me hitting the phones (I have several) and attempting to put out fires. I'm tired. My usual work routine of reviewing various news outlets and the like has most definitely informed me something happened on television in the US and that Miley Cyrus was involved. That said, I had too much to do to read any of the articles or comment on the multitude of Facebook posts that discussed what she did and what she wore. This means until this morning I had no idea what people were talking about. Nor did I care.
But, when I wake up at ungodly hours where, on any other day sleep fairies are holding my hand through dreams of pure bliss, clearly there is a reason. Today I allowed myself to get caught up on this whole Miley Cyrus thing.
Another reason I've not bothered to stay informed about what others can't stop talking about is this: Miley Cyrus is not news in Japan. I've heard nothing about what evidently happened at this award ceremony/show from my Japanese or foreign friends here. Perhaps none of my friends in Japan know Ms. Cyrus. Perhaps none of my friends in Japan like her. Perhaps what goes for music awards shows in the US are so (insert favorite adjective here) it's too easy to ignore them in Japan. "Oh, that's America," a commentator might say, and then that would be that, pretty much killing the story right there. It's easy to ignore what doesn't get coverage, assuming if it doesn't warrant mention then it must not matter.
But, (again) because I am awake and I shouldn't be I take this as a sign to fill my hours before my eyelids get heavy I decide to watch and read. "Stay informed," I tell myself. "It's better to know and not need this information than to not know and look stupid." Or so my logic goes at 6:15am.
So, I did. I read the articles (there are many) and watched the videos (how many cameras were there?) and even looked into who the guy was that was singing (really terrible suit). Here's what I take away from why-is-this-news event. Granted, I'm sitting here across the Pacific going on four hours of sleep, but even so, I offer my observations in the following way. First, the consensus seems to be outrage over what she did. Okay. It was over the top, but so are Madonna and Lady Gaga. I'm not sure Ms. Cyrus should get higher (or lower) marks for what she did when it's already been done before. This begs the question, "Why is this news?" Second, why is no one talking about this guy? His terrible suit aside, no one seems to see the part on the video where he's grinding her as much as she is him. Why are we crying "Bad girl" but not "Bad boy"? Which takes me to his song. I can't hear what he's saying (the man mumbles) so I googled this video/song and aside from getting the gist there are again scantily-clad women walking back and forth on the screen I still couldn't understand what he was saying. So, I googled the lyrics to his song. If you haven't, you should. Perhaps the outrage needs to be over what he's suggesting he'll do in his song and not what some young woman was wearing or how she was dancing.
None of this explains why there's been neither interest nor coverage in Japan over Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke, their collaboration on stage, his song, her dance, his role in her dance, etc., etc., etc. Maybe in Japan, this just isn't newsworthy. Maybe producers know no one will care. I've certainly not heard Robin Thicke's song (honestly, read the lyrics) played on television, or in department stores, or heard his name mentioned here in Japan at all this summer (the song is evidently quite a hit in the US?), so maybe this man is also not worthy of mention? Maybe what goes for outrageous behavior by foreign "artists" is such a norm in Japan that clogging the airwaves with this performance/scene isn't necessary. Then again, maybe no one in Japan knows who Miley Cyrus is. Maybe no one cares.
All this on four hours of sleep. For whatever it's worth.
No comments:
Post a Comment