1994 Otaku documentary is a time capsule

Stereotype

I just watched the 1994 French documentary Otaku: fils de l'empire virtuel on Netflix. I gotta say it was one of the stranger docs I've watched in my life. Which is saying a lot since most of my movie watching is dedicated to documentaries. Why is this so strange? Well, it was filmed in 1994 and about an emerging subculture in Japan.

The film is there at the very beginning of Otaku culture. Common Japanese on the street are asked what they think of Otaku and very few are able to give an answer. They were that unfamiliar with the term at the time. Even the Otaku that were interviewed were more like proto-Otaku. They seemed to have an idea what it meant for them to be Otaku, but they were more interested in just doing what they do rather than have labels put on them. Kinda like the hipster.

I've come across some comments from self-described Otakus from America, and there were many who had a hard time getting through the film. They thought it was boring or represented Otakus poorly. Which I have to agree with. This film is a little slow and filled with strange cuts and shots. And the narrator moves from a distant POV to a first person narrating her journety in Japan. Something really only for those who are interested in documentaries, Japanese cultures, or cultural studies.

And I can see how modern day Otakus would find the representations as offensive. The Otakus featured here are often lonely, super obsessed, and unemployed adult children. Is this because the film-makers sought only these kind of Otakus out or is it because these were the beginning stages of what he wide array of Otaku culture would grow out of? I can't answer that. The thing with documentaries is we only see what the camera captured and what the editor decided to leave in. And that's fine. I think it's far better than Otakus talking about what it was like in 1994. That would be even a smaller sliver of the emergence of this culture.

Go check this out at Netflix. It's a pretty good watch for nerds like me who enjoy seeing subcultures represented. And for something a little more modern and Japanese, I would recommend Japanorama from the BBC and Jonathon Ross. Or for a Japanese look at Otaku, check out the anime Genshiken. If you've got any more suggestions let me know. Finally, here's one of the two clips I could find from the film itself.