Sometimes the internet sucks. I mean really, really sucks. I’m not talking trolls or political messages, necessarily; I’m just talking the sheer volume of idiocy we all have access to. Everyone with an internet connection has an immediate source of (what should be correct) information to attack any problem, solve any bar bet, or resolve any conflict. Has this solved any of our problems? Or even made us the slightest bit smarter?
Please don’t misunderstand me; I’d sooner wear a tight corset 24/7 than go full Luddite, but damn when society sucks –and right now, it sucks a lot- doncha feel like the internet is abetting if not instigating?
The scene is a Japanese high school classroom with students anticipating their teacher. As suddenly as he arrives, he is arrested on “obscenity” charges (whatever that means). Basically, there’s a sex tape being circulated in which the participants are said teacher and a student. Uh oh.
For you youngsters playing at home … do not make sex tapes. I cannot emphasize this enough. They’re bad enough as advertisements of your junk, moreover, simply, and especially for kids: if you don’t make a sex tape, then no unfriendly eyes will ever see your sex tape. I wish didn’t have to spell this out. Two teens who didn’t get the memo are Hitomi (Urara Matsubayashi), and Hiroki (Atom Mizuishi). Their sex tape actually does not surface, thankfully. However, Hitomi looks a great deal like the girl having sex with the teacher on film. Uh oh.
At first, this is sort of a laugh. A not-funny-in-the-least laugh to be certain, but a “laugh,” a non-issue. Before long, however, every student has seen the video and feels obliged to share an uniformed and oft hurtful opinion about it. At his point in the narrative, Hiroki introduces Hitomi to his friends … who are hanging out in the adult section of a video store.
Lesson #2: do not befriend people you meet in the pornography section of a video store. I don’t know why I have to explain this one, either, but apparently I do. The reason is similar to the reason you shouldn’t seek new friends in bars – while the people you befriend may well be salt-of-the-earth grandmasters of life, the one-and-only thing you can infer about them at the moment is they have chosen to drink alcohol in public, which is a lousy basis for a friendship. Porn section denizens … (shakes head).
Far as I can tell, at this point in the narrative, Hitome has changed her name to “Hit-on-me,” cuz once every teen peer of yours thinks you’re part of a porn video, that opens the door for all manner of stupidity.
The Hungry Lion, clearly a metaphor for the rumor mill beast – an entity which is fierce, aggressive, and perpetually unsatisfied – is quick and eager to point out that Hitome is not the girl in the teacher video. My question is, “So what if she were?” Does that give any peer the right to harass Hitome over her sexual experiences? I’m not sure if that makes a stronger or weaker point. I mean, suppose the peers got a hold of the sex tape between Hiroke and Hitome? That doesn’t justify treating Hitome as some sort of entertainment machine, either. Bottom line, one way or another, is that The Hungry Lion is a monster – it attacks relentlessly and without thought or consideration, Hitome be damned. I’d have like to see Hitome fight back, but fight what exactly? And is she defensive because she knows a real sex tape does exist? And at the end of the day, does that really matter?
The editing of this film was piss poor. The Hungry Lion had an annoying habit of doing an end-film extended blackout following every.single.scene. Not only did this grow old fast, it made a 78 minute film feel like it went over two hours. As resolute as it made every scene, this was not a good choice and it distracted a great deal from the point of the film: that even in the internet age, rumors are stupid and potentially dangerous.
A tale that should have been filled with joy
About a coed whose peers weren’t so coy
The question does vex:
When it comes to sex
Who’s more open than a pubescent boy?
Not Rated, 78 Minutes
Director: Takomi Ogata
Writer: Takomi Ogata
Genre: “How was school today?”
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: #metoo
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Rumor mongers
