What's your boggle?

Watching "Demolition Man" the other night, that superbly written and geniusly acted Sly Stallone film about a cryogenically incarcerated cop running after a now-reanimated but previously cryogenically incarcerated super criminal with lots of guns and witty one-liners, I realized that the film is actually a ridiculously accurate portrayal of Japanese society (minus the guns and witty one-liners). It is a spot-on microcosm of Japanese society in general

Factoid 1: in the film, the mayor (chief) of the city, all important people and much of the regulars in the city all wear almost authentic-looking kimonos, just like in Japan (at least, traditionally)

Factoid 2: the most important thing for the people in the movie (other than the protagonist and antagonist who are of course violent, heroic maniacs) is harmony (the entire society in the movie is dedicated to the preservation of harmony above all else), just like in Japan

Factoid 3: everyone in the movie addresses each other without using personal pronouns, instead preferring the use the person's full name, just like in Japan

Factoid 4: everyone in the film has a tragically flawed character trait of angelic naivety, just like most people in Japan

Factoid 5: the society in the film shows itself to be truly in need of saving, and the only one able to accomplish this saving is the heroically violent protagonist, just like the West's view of Japan (after all, the movie was made by rich white men from the West...righteous imperialism will never die...)

Factoid 6: the speech used by everyone except the protagonist and antagonist is flowery, polite ridiculousness where everything (even inner dialogue) is voiced, just like in Japan

Factoid 7: everyone is always smiling in the film (at least when they're engaged in communication with another person), just like in Japan

Factoid 8: the society in the film shows itself to be easily overwhelmed and dominated by a few aggressive and domineering individuals, and winds up desiring to mimic such aggression, just like with many of the foreigners living in Japan

Factoid 9: in the film, the female lead (and others) have a completely irrational nostalgia for pre-2000 American paraphenalia...random objects randomly placed make them feel cool and hip, just like many people and most restaurants in Japan (not to mention the fashion of practically everyone under the age of 30)


CONCLUSION: 'Demolition Man' was clearly written with Japanese society in mind...the resemblances are uncanny...if you want an easy-to-understand general overview of what it might be like to be in Japan, I advise you to watch this film...it is of course Hollywood, and so it's not really representative of the entire population here in the Land of the Rising Sun, but I was astounded by how much it does seem to portray Japanese society on the whole