Tokyo Pop

Rock’n’Roll as an international language is important in the film Tokyo Pop (1988, Fran Rubel Kuzui). The importance of Rock’n’Roll, especially American popular songs, help I believe to build a bridge between western ‘rebellious’ culture and traditional eastern culture. I feel that in this film it shows also that Rock’n’Roll is also as a vehicle of escape from tradition.

In the film Wendy, an American singer, goes to Japan in hope of turning around her unsuccessful music career but ends up like most gaijin (foreigner) women working in a escort club dressed like the American cowgirl singing the traditional American popular folk song ‘Home on the Range’ which in Japanese eyes is as American as you can get. She later sings this song again but with a punk rock twist with a well known Japanese band X. The Punk Rock era dealt with anti-social and rebellious behaviour against tradition. When the camera cuts to a shot of the audience they react in a punk manner of know-it-all poses. By absorbing this style by singing ‘Home on the Range’ it slaughters a traditional American song. I think it is ironic in this film that the music that is played or heard from America is mainstream popular music which is rather traditional and accepted in established societies but the songs from Japan such as X and Papaya Paranoia are in the genre of punk and sound unconventional. This goes against assigned cultural assumptions that American is the rebellious culture while Japan is still conventional and traditional. Other influences of punk rock scene are seen in the clothing of Wendy. We first see Wendy in Japan dressed in a micro mini-skirt, boots and a leather jacket with her close-cropped peroxide hair all screaming to the audience that she is the rebellious character.

While in Japan she meets a Japanese man, Hiro whose band covers American Popular songs such as Elvis Priestley’s ‘Blue Suede Shoes’. He wants to be like the American music legend, Frank Sinatra. Even with this fascination with American Popular culture, he still holds traditional values telling Wendy the Western way of doing things such as being loud, pushy and up front is not the way in Japan pointed obviously when they try to get a record contract. He thinks that since she is not Japanese she does not understand that you have to be respectful and follow the proper channels to get it. Wendy not understanding this replies “why do you have to be so Japanese.”

Other cross cultural characters include a kimono-clad elder who like the youth of Japan try to escape tradition by hiding behind a wall decorated with a blow up poster of the Beatles reminiscing about the good old times of the Boogie Woogie after WW2. This was a period in Japanese history where there was a huge upsurge of American Popular culture especially music and dancing style.

The ending of the film demonstrates the final understanding of cultures. Wendy leaves Japan after becoming the most famous gaijin singer and feels she can do no more. She wants to become a true American star. She also feels that she is holding Hiro’s band back from its potential because all the record producers see is a gaijin led band as a a mere promotional gimmick. The end duet between Hiro and Wendy shows this connection that the two cultures have for each other with cut shots of Wendy singing in America and Hiro still in Japan.