parents basically pimping there daughter to pervs in Japan.....
felt quite sorry for her when she was reading her demographics on youtube
Males 40-45 watch her videos the most
That was a different girl (Gemma I think) who although older than Beckii seemed much more vulnerable and sadly appeared to have been just dumped by that horrible manager.
I'm watching this now and I really don't get it. I don't see what the Japanese (or anyone) sees in her. She doesn't seem to have any talent (especially not dancing) and there are thousands of people who post videos of themselves dancing on Youtube, some of them actually good.
I dont really know anything about Japanese culture, but it was said in the program that Beckii was (to Japanese eyes) a personification of the manga cartoon ideal - big brown eyes, clear skin, pointed chin and soft wavy hair. The dancing, singing were just incidental from what I could tell.
It could be that the older male demographic weren't looking at her in quite the sexualised way we are assuming - rather in a 'living cartoon' hero worship kinda way? Theres that whole cosplay subculture too she seems to have hooked into, but maybe she doesn't even realise it.
I'd be interested in some actual Japanese view point on this.
Anyway it seems Becki's dad is quite delusional about his daughter's potential - even in Japan I doubt her appeal will last...
I'm watching this now and I really don't get it. I don't see what the Japanese (or anyone) sees in her. She doesn't seem to have any talent (especially not dancing) and there are thousands of people who post videos of themselves dancing on Youtube, some of them actually good.
"Well ALOT of over 40s japanese men see something in her..." and im not about to finish that lewd sentence.
But yeah, no arguments there. I can honestly hold my hand up and say I have never heard of her. Sorry for giving this thread more exposure with this bump.
I did notice all the people surrounding her in the streets of japan was quite varied not just old and young men.
Oh and if her dad thinks she can break out in the west he is mad she isn't particularly an amazing dancer and think it only works for her in japan due to her look.
Everybody involved knew exactly what was going on and yeah it is a bit seedy especially to us in the west. I suppose that given such an innocent activity seems to stir the emotions of older Japanese men I can see why they allowed her to continue doing it.
She is somewhat shielded from the pervs although I wouldn't let them contact my child directly but I do kinda understand why they tried to milk this. She seemed happy doing it and assuming her parents are looking after her money she'll have a great financial start to adulthood when she's older & they've lost interest.
I noticed this especially when she said she didn't really want to keep in contact with the older man who was sending her gifts, and that she only communicated with him because it was what her parents wanted.
Didn't she her mum had told her to "keep him playing" i.e. string him along for all he's worth?
I personally don't 'get' or enjoy Manga/the cartoon aspect of Japanese culture. It's very difficult to see things through "their" eyes if you don't understand the culture. To some extent I can understand why people see a 14 year old girl posing and feel it's 'wrong' however I have to admit, I didn't think there was anything wrong with it. I thought those pictures were very cute and the outfits were too (but then i'm a girl and like cute clothes). I think we've become too accustomed to seeing 'perversion' in everything and project that fear. I actually didn't see anything sexual in them at all (nothing was on display etc.). I agree with one of the posters who say that she represents an ideal rather than a sexual image. I understand the demographic results were creepy but i'm pretty sure that if you look up the demographics for any young girl singers, actresses etc. you will unfortunately find similar results.
Baffling as to why the Japanese latch onto stuff like this. She can’t sing to save her life though. Still, never stopped most of the other shite that clogs the charts.
Her father is deluded and I don't think he understands the Japanese market very well, there is a huge difference between the Japan and Western market and I think he is getting ahead of himself and shouldn't be pushing her Japanese manager away if he wants her to have any sort of "fame".
There are loads of great J-Rock bands and musicians out there that are popular in the UK with the niche market that is available but don't really make it "big", so I highly doubt that Beckii is going to make it as big as her dad thinks, though he really doesn't come across well in the programme.
I think Beckii comes across as wanting to enjoy her 15 minutes and to enjoy visiting Japan but her dad comes across as pushy and someone who is more interested in the Western market, possibly because of money.
Good post.
The dad came across in such a bad light on this program, firstly he was utterly delusional about his expectations of what his Beckii can achieve in the Western market, it's total fantasy on his part and shows a clear lack of understanding of why Beckii is famous in the first place, by trying to push Beckii towards the Western market he risks biting the hand that feeds them.
Secondly his obsession with money is what seems to be pushing him, maybe it's the way the program portrayed him but it seemed quite clear he viewed his daughter as some sort of gravy train for himself. At one point he mentions the money it might make for them and has to correct himself and change what he said to what it might make for Beckii, he repeatedly states that it's just for her and he just came across as somebody trying way too hard to convince everybody he isn't looking to make a buck for himself, I think his (non) Joke about it being for her but if she wanted to buy him a car and pay off his mortgage he would be happy says it all :rolleyes:
I dont really know anything about Japanese culture, but it was said in the program that Beckii was (to Japanese eyes) a personification of the manga cartoon ideal - big brown eyes, clear skin, pointed chin and soft wavy hair. The dancing, singing were just incidental from what I could tell. It could be that the older male demographic weren't looking at her in quite the sexualised way we are assuming - rather in a 'living cartoon' hero worship kinda way? Theres that whole cosplay subculture too she seems to have hooked into, but maybe she doesn't even realise it.
I'd be interested in some actual Japanese view point on this.
Anyway it seems Becki's dad is quite delusional about his daughter's potential - even in Japan I doubt her appeal will last...
Another post I agree with, especially the part in bold.
It's all too easy to look through Western eyes and say it's weird, creepy and pervy and obviously there is an element of that involved but probably not to the levels us as westerners think, it was mentioned in the program but it's different for them in Japan, it's not really like that and just about that for them, their culture is just totally different and what might seem weird to us really isn't for them. When you see Beckii on the streets of Japan she is being mobbed by people of all ages, mostly it seemed to be younger girls and teenage lads.
Anyway I think Beckii seem like a nice, intelligent girl who seemed even at 15 to have a far better grasp of the situation than her dad and her mum who also seemed quite happy to milk it, hopefully he doesn't push her down dead end alleyways and just allows her to enjoy her life and her stardom in Japan for now as she seemed to really enjoy it all.
Just randomly switched this on. About a 14 yr old girl from the Isle of Man who is an 'internet sensation' in Japan.
Mother laughing about some Japanese man who sends her gifts and has 'befriended' the family.
"He knows they can't be boyfriend and girlfriend... there's quite an age gap... but he does like her a lot"
Yet she encourages her daughter to stay in contact with him. WTF?
Unbelievable...plus the tag "superstar" is exactly what is wrong with the media's treatment of "celebrity" culture...in no way, shape or form is this girl a "superstar"...she maybe an internet success (which will end very soon and she'll return to oblivion) but do the Producers/BBC3 seriously expect us to treat her the same as say Michael Jackson?
The dad came across in such a bad light on this program, firstly he was utterly delusional about his expectations of what his Beckii can achieve in the Western market, it's total fantasy on his part and shows a clear lack of understanding of why Beckii is famous in the first place, by trying to push Beckii towards the Western market he risks biting the hand that feeds them.
Secondly his obsession with money is what seems to be pushing him, maybe it's the way the program portrayed him but it seemed quite clear he viewed his daughter as some sort of gravy train for himself. At one point he mentions the money it might make for them and has to correct himself and change what he said to what it might make for Beckii, he repeatedly states that it's just for her and he just came across as somebody trying way too hard to convince everybody he isn't looking to make a buck for himself, I think his (non) Joke about it being for her but if she wanted to buy him a car and pay off his mortgage he would be happy says it all :rolleyes:
Another post I agree with, especially the part in bold.
It's all too easy to look through Western eyes and say it's weird, creepy and pervy and obviously there is an element of that involved but probably not to the levels us as westerners think, it was mentioned in the program but it's different for them in Japan, it's not really like that and just about that for them, their culture is just totally different and what might seem weird to us really isn't for them. When you see Beckii on the streets of Japan she is being mobbed by people of all ages, mostly it seemed to be younger girls and teenage lads.
Anyway I think Beckii seem like a nice, intelligent girl who seemed even at 15 to have a far better grasp of the situation than her dad and her mum who also seemed quite happy to milk it, hopefully he doesn't push her down dead end alleyways and just allows her to enjoy her life and her stardom in Japan for now as she seemed to really enjoy it all.
I reckon those scenes may have been a bit misleading though, as I'm not sure how many of those people in the streets actually knew who Beckii was. It seems that her singles haven't actually been successful. A lot of those people might have just been aware that she was "famous" because she had a camera crew following her around. I reckon it was that, coupled with her appearance, which meant a lot of those people were mobbing her. My Japanese friend told me a couple of years later that the first time she met me, the first thing she thought was how much she loved my pale skin! That sort of look is very appealing over there.
I do think its important not to judge immediately because it is a very different culture, but I still think some of the stuff she did was a bit borderline. And her parents are dreadful, anyone could see that!
You could well be right Katielou, I have no idea how big a following she actually has in Japan, clearly she has fame there and some sort of following but how big I have no clue.
Talking about the pale skin thing, have you ever noticed how all the girls in these animes that the Japanese Idolise and pin up as perfection don't actually look very Japanese, or Asian at all, they all have big round(ish) Disney style American eyes and pale skin.
From the impression I get here, she isnt really very talented. I've seen a clip (maybe Danjo or another one), good on her for having the courage to do it and she seems to enjoy it It's kinda kooky/cute but I don't think she's super-talented or "Oh that is amazing dancing"
I dont want to be rude about her though so I'm sorry if its taken that way.
I think the lyrics are something like:
Boys, girls, theyre not really listening
Boys, girls, theyre back at the shop
I reckon those scenes may have been a bit misleading though, as I'm not sure how many of those people in the streets actually knew who Beckii was. It seems that her singles haven't actually been successful. A lot of those people might have just been aware that she was "famous" because she had a camera crew following her around.
You're exactly right. Take for example that one shot of some Japanese guy giving her a quick hug. His face was so unimpressed it just looked like the producer behind the camera went AH GO ON, GIVE ER A HUG
From the impression I get here, she isnt really very talented. I've seen a clip (maybe Danjo or another one), good on her for having the courage to do it and she seems to enjoy it It's kinda kooky/cute but I don't think she's super-talented or "Oh that is amazing dancing"
I dont want to be rude about her though so I'm sorry if its taken that way.
Same I feel guilty about saying she shite because I feel sorry for her. It's just so embarrassing.
That was a different girl (Gemma I think) who although older than Beckii seemed much more vulnerable and sadly appeared to have been just dumped by that horrible manager.
Manager seemed the most level headed adult involved. Gemma flew over and nearly had a breakdown and he flew her back the next day and let her do filming back in the UK.
Manager seemed the most level headed adult involved. Gemma flew over and nearly had a breakdown and he flew her back the next day and let her do filming back in the UK.
Yep I don't see a problem with the Japanese Manager. He seemed to know the market she could target and tried to make the best of that, he always seemed fairly open and nothing he did came across as overly exploitative.
Beckii's dad on the other hand seemed to think she was going to be the next Madonna.
Yep I don't see a problem with the Japanese Manager. He seemed to know the market she could target and tried to make the best of that, he always seemed fairly open and nothing he did came across as overly exploitative.
Beckii's dad on the other hand seemed to think she was going to be the next Madonna.
Yeah, I started off a bit sceptical about the manager but in the end he seemed pretty level headed. Gemma just couldn't seem to cope with it, not pursuing it further with her is actually the kindest thing to do.
Comments
felt quite sorry for her when she was reading her demographics on youtube
Males 40-45 watch her videos the most
That was a different girl (Gemma I think) who although older than Beckii seemed much more vulnerable and sadly appeared to have been just dumped by that horrible manager.
It could be that the older male demographic weren't looking at her in quite the sexualised way we are assuming - rather in a 'living cartoon' hero worship kinda way? Theres that whole cosplay subculture too she seems to have hooked into, but maybe she doesn't even realise it.
I'd be interested in some actual Japanese view point on this.
Anyway it seems Becki's dad is quite delusional about his daughter's potential - even in Japan I doubt her appeal will last...
"Well ALOT of over 40s japanese men see something in her..." and im not about to finish that lewd sentence.
But yeah, no arguments there. I can honestly hold my hand up and say I have never heard of her. Sorry for giving this thread more exposure with this bump.
Oh and if her dad thinks she can break out in the west he is mad she isn't particularly an amazing dancer and think it only works for her in japan due to her look.
She is somewhat shielded from the pervs although I wouldn't let them contact my child directly but I do kinda understand why they tried to milk this. She seemed happy doing it and assuming her parents are looking after her money she'll have a great financial start to adulthood when she's older & they've lost interest.
Didn't she her mum had told her to "keep him playing" i.e. string him along for all he's worth?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmclGYYmnr4&feature=player_embedded
Good post.
The dad came across in such a bad light on this program, firstly he was utterly delusional about his expectations of what his Beckii can achieve in the Western market, it's total fantasy on his part and shows a clear lack of understanding of why Beckii is famous in the first place, by trying to push Beckii towards the Western market he risks biting the hand that feeds them.
Secondly his obsession with money is what seems to be pushing him, maybe it's the way the program portrayed him but it seemed quite clear he viewed his daughter as some sort of gravy train for himself. At one point he mentions the money it might make for them and has to correct himself and change what he said to what it might make for Beckii, he repeatedly states that it's just for her and he just came across as somebody trying way too hard to convince everybody he isn't looking to make a buck for himself, I think his (non) Joke about it being for her but if she wanted to buy him a car and pay off his mortgage he would be happy says it all :rolleyes:
Another post I agree with, especially the part in bold.
It's all too easy to look through Western eyes and say it's weird, creepy and pervy and obviously there is an element of that involved but probably not to the levels us as westerners think, it was mentioned in the program but it's different for them in Japan, it's not really like that and just about that for them, their culture is just totally different and what might seem weird to us really isn't for them. When you see Beckii on the streets of Japan she is being mobbed by people of all ages, mostly it seemed to be younger girls and teenage lads.
Anyway I think Beckii seem like a nice, intelligent girl who seemed even at 15 to have a far better grasp of the situation than her dad and her mum who also seemed quite happy to milk it, hopefully he doesn't push her down dead end alleyways and just allows her to enjoy her life and her stardom in Japan for now as she seemed to really enjoy it all.
Yes perfectly normal. And nothing wrong with him obsessively following your 15yr old daughter. OMG.
Unbelievable...plus the tag "superstar" is exactly what is wrong with the media's treatment of "celebrity" culture...in no way, shape or form is this girl a "superstar"...she maybe an internet success (which will end very soon and she'll return to oblivion) but do the Producers/BBC3 seriously expect us to treat her the same as say Michael Jackson?
I do think its important not to judge immediately because it is a very different culture, but I still think some of the stuff she did was a bit borderline. And her parents are dreadful, anyone could see that!
Talking about the pale skin thing, have you ever noticed how all the girls in these animes that the Japanese Idolise and pin up as perfection don't actually look very Japanese, or Asian at all, they all have big round(ish) Disney style American eyes and pale skin.
I honestly thought she was gonna be really good but i'm surprised by how awful she is. She can't sing or dance. Seriously WTF?
I dont want to be rude about her though so I'm sorry if its taken that way.
I think the lyrics are something like:
Boys, girls, theyre not really listening
Boys, girls, theyre back at the shop
Er, what?
You're exactly right. Take for example that one shot of some Japanese guy giving her a quick hug. His face was so unimpressed it just looked like the producer behind the camera went AH GO ON, GIVE ER A HUG
Same I feel guilty about saying she shite because I feel sorry for her. It's just so embarrassing.
Manager seemed the most level headed adult involved. Gemma flew over and nearly had a breakdown and he flew her back the next day and let her do filming back in the UK.
Boys, girls, theyre back at the shop
Huh?
Yep I don't see a problem with the Japanese Manager. He seemed to know the market she could target and tried to make the best of that, he always seemed fairly open and nothing he did came across as overly exploitative.
Beckii's dad on the other hand seemed to think she was going to be the next Madonna.