Weird Penguin doll from "Lost in Translation"

[broostaroo]

Any ideas as to what the hell this thing is, When Bill Murrays in the hospital. Is it like a famous character or something.

Thanks chaps.

broo.

[Taro Toporific]

Any ideas as to what the hell this thing is, When Bill Murrays in the hospital. Is it like a famous character or something.

Sheeee-it that "Weird Penguin doll" ya talkin' 'bout is from somewhere in your parts in the Old World, you know "PINGU." ID don' got the DVD at the moment, Capt Japan or someother FG got borrowed it. I assume it was a PINGU fetish item which was all the rage 3-5 years ago here. Ya got pix?

Does anybody else know what that "Weird Penguin doll" looked like.


BTW...
"broostaroo"??
My iPod has gotta "boostaroo"

Anyway, ALL HAIL LORD FG!

[Caustic Saint]

Looks more like an owl to me:



But I still have no idea what it is. Maybe just a pillow instead of an actual character?

[canman]

Did anybody see the letter to the Japan Times attcking the movie and its take on Japanese. I'm really surprised how insulted many people are here in Japan. Now I guess I can't speak from experience since I still haven't seen the movie, and if the powers that be have their way I never will, but come on people its only a movie, relax. Here is the letter,
"Disappointing view of Japan

I recently saw "Lost in Translation" and must say that I was offended by it. The first shot of the film -- of a woman's butt -- shows director Sofia Coppola's view of Japan.

The Japanese characters are portrayed as inferior to the Americans (Bob Harris played by Bill Murray and Charlotte played by Scarlett Johansson). Indeed, the Japanese come off as two-dimensional, cartoonlike creatures. At one point Charlotte asks Bob why the Japanese can't pronounce "L" and "R"? Yet the main characters don't even attempt to speak a word of Japanese even though they are in Japan.

Coppola's portrayal of Japanese women was disturbing. Bob demeans them with his condescending tone and remarks, saying thank you to their private parts, etc. It's surprising that a female director made this film. Coppola seems to view Japanese women as inhuman. In fact, none of the Japanese characters was portrayed as having feelings. This view is the norm for many Americans, but its inclusion in a supposedly artsy film gave me an unpleasant surprise. Rave reviews, awards and Oscar nominations notwithstanding, I do not like seeing my people serve as a cheap object of mockery for someone's career advantage.

The main characters were two bored and boring, privileged but empty Americans who could afford to stay in the most expensive hotel in Tokyo and yet felt trapped. Who can sympathize with a man who earns tons of money from a commercial but thinks it's a very hard and unrewarding job, or with a woman who can travel freely and still complain? Their problems were so out of touch with those of most people.

Love should transform people, make them better, make them shine. This film was striving to show the birth of compassion between two lost souls. But after falling in love, Bob and Charlotte did not shine; their world and worldview remained almost as ignorant and they seemed as two-dimensional as before they met. I feel more emotion watching trains pass in New York City than I did watching Coppola's characters fall in love.

YOKO AKASHI
New York

[mercutio]

Indeed, the Japanese come off as two-dimensional, cartoonlike creatures...

<snip>

...worldview remained almost as ignorant and they seemed as two-dimensional as before they met. I feel more emotion watching trains pass in New York City than I did watching Coppola's characters fall in love.

I wonder if the author of this letter realized the irony of complaining that movie is hateful towards japanese because the japanese were portrayed as cartoonlike and "two dimensional", then complaing that the move was pooly written and the main characters sucked because there were ignorant and two dimensional.

They should just realise that noone was being hatefull to the japanese... the movie just made all the characters look about the same... There was nothing in that movie directed at making the japanese look bad.

of course, I still contend there wasnt much in that movie... except perhaps a remedy for insomnia

[Captain Japan]

Did anybody see the letter to the Japan Times attcking the movie and its take on Japanese. I'm really surprised how insulted many people are here in Japan. Now I guess I can't speak from experience since I still haven't seen the movie, and if the powers that be have their way I never will, but come on people its only a movie, relax. Here is the letter,

This same letter appeared on the Japan Today site. Not sure what she is trying to do by sending her "review" out to a bunch of outlets...

Static like this coming out of the US by Japanese ex-pats reminds me of the Nicholas Kristoff situation. He was the bureau chief of the NY Times a few years ago and practically got run out of town for the stuff he wrote. A group of Japanese ex-pats in the US wrote an entire book debunking his articles. They thought his coverage was was too eccentric and not a representative example of real life in Japan.

Check out this link

His topics were (as I recall) loveless marriages, chikan on the subway, etc. Crazy stuff for Japan, right?

For Lost in Translation I thought the prostitute scene was out of context (though it could have very easily been put into context) but most everything else was pretty ordinary. I guess what people like Yoko want is Last Samurai-type nonsense, right? What a fucking bore...

[Taro Toporific]

Nicholas Kristoff situation...
His topics were (as I recall) loveless marriages, chikan on the subway, etc. Crazy stuff for Japan, right?...

Nicholas Kristoff's "loveless marriages, chikan on the subway, etc." stories were just fine if a bit trite. However his suck butt, I-love- Japanese-culture book is the biggest pile of crap written in the 90s. Just seeing Kristoff's name make me wanna puke he was so lame about his "my daughter goes to Japanese school and it is the best on earth." Liar.

[Captain Japan]

Nicholas Kristoff situation...
His topics were (as I recall) loveless marriages, chikan on the subway, etc. Crazy stuff for Japan, right?...

Nicholas Kristoff's "loveless marriages, chikan on the subway, etc." stories were just fine if a bit trite. However his suck butt, I-love- Japanese-culture book is the biggest pile of crap written in the 90s. Just seeing Kristoff's name make me wanna puke he was so lame about his "my daughter goes to Japanese school and it is the best on earth." Liar.

Taro, I think you're mixing him up with Washington Post bureau chief of the same period. I forget his name. Correct me if I'm wrong. You are right, though, that guy's book was a serious pile of crap.

[Taro Toporific]

Nicholas Kristoff situation...
His topics were (as I recall) loveless marriages, chikan on the subway, etc. Crazy stuff for Japan, right?...

Taro, I think you're mixing him up with Washington Post bureau chief of the same period. I forget his name. Correct me if I'm wrong. You are right, though, that guy's book was a serious pile of crap.

Alzheimer's Moment!
Hmmm. Was the Washington Post bureau chief that published that I-love-Japan book in Japanese first before it dripped like leaky bucket of nightsoil as a 13-copy run in English?

[Captain Japan]

Nicholas Kristoff situation...
His topics were (as I recall) loveless marriages, chikan on the subway, etc. Crazy stuff for Japan, right?...

Taro, I think you're mixing him up with Washington Post bureau chief of the same period. I forget his name. Correct me if I'm wrong. You are right, though, that guy's book was a serious pile of crap.

Alzheimer's Moment!
Hmmm. Was the Washington Post bureau chief that published that I-love-Japan book in Japanese first before it dripped like leaky bucket of nighsoil as a 13-copy run in English?

It is this pile of shit: Confucius Lives Next Door by TR Reed.

Get the barf bags ready if anyone (who's been in Japan more than two hours) attempts to read this sucker.


He used to let similar shit fly as a correspondent for Morning Edition on National Public Radio.

Kristoff on the other hand always makes for an interesting read.

[kamome]

I finally got to see LiT the other day. I think it's true that Japanese people were portrayed as 2-dimensional, but it's for a good reason. The story was being told from the point of view of two FOB gaijin who don't know anything about the country.

Actually, there were scenes where Bill Murray and what's-her-face are singing karaoke and partying with Japanese people. It was a pretty honest portrayal of a night out on the town in Japan, I thought.

[plaid_knight]

Indeed, the Japanese come off as two-dimensional, cartoonlike creatures

Japan's a society that was controlled by the military for hundreds of years. They developed rigid protocols for dealing with people.

It's not that the Japanese are two-dimensional, it's that it takes a long time to get past the surface and really know them. I have rarely met friends as generous, loyal, and and as kind as the Japanese friends I have.

[broostaroo]

hahaha.

yep thats an owl alright.

I described it as an owl to someone and they corrected me and said it was a penguin, I havent seen the film for a few months so I assumed I was wrong... haha. fun.


Broo.

[Captain Japan]

Sheeee-it that "Weird Penguin doll" ya talkin' 'bout is from somewhere in your parts in the Old World, you know "PINGU." ID don' got the DVD at the moment, Capt Japan or someother FG got borrowed it. I assume it was a PINGU fetish item which was all the rage 3-5 years ago here. Ya got pix?

Taro, I've still got it. Also still got the Last Samurai barf-fest. Waiting to pass them on to GuyJean. Just let me know when you want them back and I'll make the arrangements.

[Naniwan Kid]

That letter from the paper is rather misleading. I guess you could call the Japanese "characters" 2-dimensional mostly because there are no Japanese main characters. No individual Japanese occupies more than a few minutes of screentime, so naturally they won't be fully developed. Hence they become 2-dimensional. Name someone you have had a brief business relationship with that wasn't anything more than 2-D. And the comment about saying thank you to women's body parts? She doesn't mention that the scene is in a strip club, and the woman is a stripper bent over upside down. It sounds like this woman had her mind made up before she even saw the movie.....