Tokyo, Procrastination
Published on November 14, 2007 By momijiki In Entertainment
I can't stand the recent trend in TV shows which features eating contests or people eating enormous amounts of food. I don't know why it is such a big thing here. I never really enjoyed it, but lately I find these shows truly offensive.

The latest offering in the gluttony celebration is a woman in her early twenties (I think). She is a "gal" and maybe 95 pounds soaking wet. Her little TV schtick is to have eating contests with huge grown men. While flicking through channels today I saw a caption that said she ate enough serving of meat to feed 16 people. I didn't stay on the program.

Some context might be helpful here. A "gal" is a kind of Japanese girl sub-culture. Usually they wear lots of make-up, dye their hair brown, wear really short skirts or clothes that are supposed to cute (and tarty?). In age they range from junior high to young twenties. They are not well-known for their intelligence or articulation. Maybe, for some, it is part of the act. Some "gals" grow up, go to university and get jobs.

Maybe it is amazing that this slim girl can eat so much food, and I suppose that if she has her moment of celebrity and makes some money from it then good for her. I can't really appreciate it as a talent. This young girl isn't the only one to make some kind of living off this. It's disgusting to watch people eat way, way,way more than they need to not because they are hungry but to entertain others.

What I find even worse is that most of the time people are just shoving food down their throats and not even able to really taste or enjoy it. I was talking with a friend of mine who has strong Buddhist leanings and she mentioned the idea of being mindful of what one eats. Programs or contests like this are exactly the opposite. Mindless.

Comments
on Nov 14, 2007
What the producers will do for entertainment uh? To think that there are people out there who enjoy watching these types of shows, much the same in the US. I like watching some reality and game shows, but if it doesn't make sense to me, if it is mindless, I'm not watcing it! Just the thought of someone that tiny eating all that meat makes me gag!
on Nov 14, 2007
Yea, she is the one that had the Hot Dog eating championship for a couple of years.  She lost this year because she broke her jaw (or something like that).
on Nov 14, 2007

I have one thing to say to them, "Baka!"

~Zoo

on Nov 14, 2007
Wish I could eat that much and be 95 pounds. That'd be cool.
But at the same time, I like the taste of food way too much to just scarf it down. I savor every last bite. MMMMMMmmmmmmm.
on Nov 15, 2007
The japanese have always had weird tv shows


Yeah, and then there's late night tv here. I don't even know where to begin on that

I have one thing to say to them, "Baka!"


Cho baka.

Yea, she is the one that had the Hot Dog eating championship for a couple of years. She lost this year because she broke her jaw (or something like that).

believe it or not, I'm pretty sure that was a different chick

What the producers will do for entertainment uh? To think that there are people out there who enjoy watching these types of shows, much the same in the US. I like watching some reality and game shows, but if it doesn't make sense to me, if it is mindless, I'm not watcing it! Just the thought of someone that tiny eating all that meat makes me gag!

And it's not just the mindlessness of it that bothers me. It is so wasteful.

I can imagine that in a couple of decades food (especially non-synthetic) will be pretty valuable and shows like this will horrify people.

My grandfather was a farmer and we had a conversation one time about this Canadian government program in the 70's called LIFT that payed farmers not to grow wheat in order to raise wheat prices globally. My grandfather said that a lot of the farmers of his generation were ethically opposed to this program because some saw it as a moral obligation to provide food.

I see those stupid shows as a slap in the face to people who produce food (no appreciation) not to mention the people who don't have food.
on Nov 15, 2007
believe it or not, I'm pretty sure that was a different chick


Really? There is more than 1? Damn!