Japanese Poverty Porn

Never heard of Pirate Bay?

After a few annoying weeks without a stationary computer, I'm finally back with a brand new up-to-spec computer. The biggest challenge to updating the blog is the choice as to whether spend the precious minutes I have to myself playing Sniper Elite V2 on the computer or to write a post...

One thing that struck me the other day as I was watching TV while cooking dinner for Mrs. Sunshine and a very ungrateful Toddler Sunshine was how Japanese TV-channels have a thing for shows of what I would like to call "Poverty Porn". The format can be either a fly-on-the-wall typish documentary with commentary from the compulsory celebrity panel or it can be a reenactment with commentary from the compulsory celebrity panel.

The basic outline for these Poverty Porn shows are following (or retelling) the hardships of a family down on it's luck and how they struggle to make do in Japan. Usually there's some twist on the person documented, like a divorced mother with 5+ kids (or for sadder cases; a widow), a younger person with a baby thrown out from the family home and whatnot. These shows come up from time to time and are not reserved for the public service channel of NHK but are primarily shown on the prime entertainment networks during close-to-primetime hours.

I find the shows somewhat fascinating but confused as to what the actual point is supposed to be as there's rarely any form of real conclusion or message behind them (at least for most of them as far as I've gathered) but just wallowing in the misery of the people followed. I did encourage Mrs. Sunshine to watch these shows when she felt it was tough to juggle Baby Salaryman and Toddler Sunshine while I'm away as she could at least think "well, I'm nowhere as bad as those folks" and that might be the real purpose of Japanese Poverty Porn?