"Kyojin To Gangu" ("Giants & Toys") is a very insightful film that manages to tackle two serious social problems at the same time--and does it with comedy. The first problem is more a Japanese problem--the way that corporations in Japan have become cut-throat and all-consuming. It appears that following the death of the militarists at the end of WWII, this spirit of competition has back taken up by large companies--who see business like Napoleon saw the rest of Europe! The second problem is the vacuousness and fleeting nature of fame. This is timely not just in 1958 but even more so today, as we have achieved depths of shallowness that would put the 1950s to shame! The film begins with World Candy Company. While they are one of the leaders in the industry and have brisk sales, in this world of corporate warfare, this isn't good enough--their two nearest competitors must be obliterated! And one rising star in the company has a marketing idea when he sees a very peppy yet ugly-toothed young girl--he'll make her a star and then sign her to represent World. Now I was confused by this cute lady. You'd THINK someone with terrible teeth would not only NOT be adored by the public but would make a terrible spokesperson for a candy company. But, the man turns out to be correct--if you market the heck out of someone, no matter how pointless they might be, the public are like sheep and will adore her. This is every bit as true today as it was in the 50s--perhaps even more so. As the lady becomes more and more and more famous for NOTHING, it's interesting to see how this impacts the executives at World--who, in a couple cases, start coughing up blood due to the pressure to win.
Interestingly, while Kyoko was 100% fake and created by marketers, after a while, the sweetness and peppiness that made her endearing began to wear off. And, in its place, was a certain crassness and vacuousness. In the process, this malleable lady suddenly wasn't so cooperative and malleable any more. It seems like the plan might be backfiring. What's to become of World's desire to rule the candy world? This movie was interesting because although it was very, very cynical, it managed to also be humorous and light at the same time. This helped the film quite a bit--as did the look of the movie and advertising campaign. While you would never think of the films together because they are so different in many ways, the 2011 American film "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" would be a great film to see along with "Giants & Toys". It just happened by chance that this was exactly what I did--and each enhanced the other as they both have a lot say about advertising and the public.
Interestingly, while Kyoko was 100% fake and created by marketers, after a while, the sweetness and peppiness that made her endearing began to wear off. And, in its place, was a certain crassness and vacuousness. In the process, this malleable lady suddenly wasn't so cooperative and malleable any more. It seems like the plan might be backfiring. What's to become of World's desire to rule the candy world? This movie was interesting because although it was very, very cynical, it managed to also be humorous and light at the same time. This helped the film quite a bit--as did the look of the movie and advertising campaign. While you would never think of the films together because they are so different in many ways, the 2011 American film "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" would be a great film to see along with "Giants & Toys". It just happened by chance that this was exactly what I did--and each enhanced the other as they both have a lot say about advertising and the public.