i guess things have come to the point where i have to mention beginner. -------------------------------------------------------------------------
id start with my little opinions of AKB.
AKB's been trying very hard to stray away from the usual idol group, of teenage youth and charm and whaddya not.
in certain ways, i appreciate the direction that producer Akimoto Yasushi has given to the group, one that challenges the opinion of society's idols.
Majisuka Gakuen, for instance, could break the image of the girls (i guess?) because they're really not portrayed exactly as well, nice girls, but gangsters.
associating idol groups with violence aint what mainstream groups would do. did morning musume attempt that? im not too sure, heh.
and i appreciated the stance they took on "Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou/軽蔑していた愛情"
(its subbed :D ) which was about.. well, social problems, suicide, teenage bullying, expectations.
[ AND im getting to my main part of the post, pardon my lengthy-ness ]
so, Beginner is AKB48's new single thats coming out soon, and like most singles, they do sell with the PV (promotional video)
quite expected, the song/video has broken away from the mainstream tradition.
the pv features the girls playing a game with characters that are linked to themselves. its kind of futuristic, and the producer Nakajima Tetsuya wanted the PV filled with message “The meaning of ‘living’ throughout pain”
here's a short commercial of the intended to-be-released pv
which really didnt feature the violent parts. that included "splitting a head into two", "pierced in many directions and vomitting emerald blood"
and the quite famous part of the song featuring a 20sec scream (by acchan) as she severed her arm in the game
the video (presumably) did not feature like gore directly/explicitly, but had brought across the idea indirectly. yet its still quite discomforting.
unfortunately, or either which not, there was direction by the record company to take away the video and feature a full dance clip instead, which totally removed the violent elements.
[PV] AKB48 - Beginner (Dance Version)
is it society's conservative pressure crushing in on them?
i read this interesting article written by a fan online who touched on the concept of idolgroups.
i particularly liked an observation/statement made, which mentioned "(Usually) when artists are becoming more popular, they will start to avoid making pieces that conveys a certain message"
and cited an interesting examples of how GLAY's statement of "No war" during the Iraq conflict incited much flame and controversy. and hence the music industry is generally populated with easy listening love songs.
Citing cases of how many teenagers are so ignorant, such as the middle schooler scalding a homeless (child) with boiling water to watch the "amusing" reaction, the writer applauded the PV as being suitable to ring an alarm for this spoilt generation.
find the full article discussing Beginner on journal.akb48.org/?p=15237 [ its not a hyperlink, please copy it and paste in your browser ]
i guess i quite liked the idea of singers and idol groups pushing boundaries as to what they can achieve.
in this case things are starting to really feel grey, really controversally grey like a GP essay.
in fact the link i provided felt like a semi-developed expository on the controversy of idol groups.
i didnt exactly favour Heavy Rotation's direction, and Beginner's path was also a tricky choice to make. but i appreciate the meaning intended, so im half looking forward to catching the actual pv.
well, somewhat. cos im scared of gore and seeing yuko being pierced or kojiharu sliced and diced isint my exact. cup of tea.
