Batsu Crosses Borders
Human Tetris, as in the Nintendo game. Slip ‘n’ Slide bowling. Diaper-wearing contestants spinning around in cribs and tackling an obstacle course. These stunts are trademarks of Japanese game shows – and they are about to be introduced to American television viewers.
Audiences in Asia have long been familiar with these Japanese-style games. Variety shows like “Super Trio Series” in Hong Kong, which began in 1995, have enjoyed wide popularity for their silly contests.
Now it is the Americans’ turn to humiliate themselves for cash and prizes.
Read on to the International Herald Tribune’s article about how batsu games (roughly translating to “punishment and humiliation games”) a phenomonen previously unique to Japanese TV (I think), have inspired programs with a similar flavor in the US.
While entertainment at another person’s embarassment or failure is probably pretty common cross-culturally, I do wonder if there is a reason why this type of programming emerged first in Japan, and has become so popular there. Time will tell if the formula is as successful here in the USA.
June 24, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Good question: Why DID these shows emerge first in Japan?
Maybe because social pressure is so strong over here, so the stakes are really high when you’re competing in front of groups of other people, alone and exposed for all to see. (Though a lot of them are all in good fun, and people don’t seem to be that heart-broken when they lose.)
No real clue, but I find it interesting that there seem to be an incredibly wide VARIETY of these kinds of shows.
Just last night there was a show in a shopping mall, where volunteer shoppers had to strap a helmet with a curved plate on their heads and try to ‘catch’ a falling balloon. Another show in the same mall had shoppers put a ping-pong ball in their mouths and try to blow it? shoot it? throw it? the farthest.
Rather harmless stuff. So there’s a range, from odd to wacky to what-the?!?-is-THAT?
Maybe it’s jusst that the crazy costumes and language barriers accentuate the differences, making them seem even MORE kooky than American game-shows we grew up on…