What is fantasy? 什麼是幻想？
I have this tendency to take note of the most random things. (A cursory glance at my photo albums should show that readily enough) A few months ago, while skimming an internet forum, I noticed a piece of news regarding the Japanese pop group "AKB48". Since who the group is isn't particularly relevant to the point of this post, I'll just say that they're a rather typical J-pop band, its main appeal coming from the aesthetic cuteness of its members, and the fact that it's a huge group. This post is mostly about reality and media.
我發現平常走在路上的時候，最沒名其妙的東西總是比較容易吸引我的注意力。（看我最近去東京拍的照片大概就知道了）幾個月前偶然看到一篇關於日本AKB48團體的報導，使我對媒體與真實有了一些想法。（其實這篇跟AKB48本身沒有什麼特別關係）
Anyway, the news said that AKB48 had digitally created a new member for the group, "Eguchi Aimi", a CG-generated composite of various band member's most positive visual attributes. Now, this may not be particularly interesting itself, but what is worthy of exploration is our reaction to this.
報導理說AKB48團體選了她們團裡面最漂亮的六位妹妹們的特徵，數位合成了一位「江口愛実」的歌手。這本身雖然不常見，但比較有趣的是我們聽到這種新聞後的直覺反應。
"Oh, she doesn't exist. How weird."
「喔，原來她是數位合成的，好怪喔。」
This was a rather typical response, and my first response as well upon learning of this. This is why we caution against becoming too involved in fictional stories right? They're just characters in a book/movie/video game. They don't really exist. But then I thought about it a little while longer, and a random thought occurred to me. It's quite likely that the average heterosexual male would find this girl attractive, or at least cute. And that isn't actually as weird as it *might* sound. After all, plenty of people swoon over Justin Bieber, despite having only seen him in a video.
我想這種感覺應該滿常見的，我當下也是這樣想。不能太沉迷於數位世界裡不就是因為要預防這種假象嗎？這些小說／電影／電玩理的角色不是真的！可是後來想一想，又覺得這點還挺有趣的。我想大多數異性戀的男生會很理所當然的認為江口挺正的 - 很多人也覺得小賈斯汀很帥、雖然只曾在電視上看過他的樣子。
"But Justin Bieber is a real person."
「可是小賈斯汀是真人啊」
In what sense is he real, and why does it matter? For most of us, he is just as unattainable as Eguchi Aimi. Most people in Japan know she doesn't exist, but that's also completely irrelevant. These singers, dancers, actors, politicians, those who talk to/at you through a screen (I'd say the word "interaction" does not work here, as it's very one-way) - aren't actually connected to you either. It is precisely because it's a one way connection that what they say, sound, and look is is fake. The image is created to induce certain emotions in the viewer, and different images (or sounds, etc) will elicit different responses. It's the same thing with fast-food commercials. That the food advertised doesn't actually exist in that form doesn't matter, from the perspective of getting people interested in your restaurant. The actual subject of the image is non-participatory, but simply a prop.
實際一點來講，他跟江口差別在哪裡呢？對絕大多數的人來說，他跟江口一樣都是塑造出來的。這些透過螢幕跟你「互動」（其實這好像也不太能用「互動」這個詞來形容，因為基本上是單方面的溝通）的歌手、舞者、演員、政客跟你其實並沒有什麼連結。所塑造出來的形象目的是使觀眾有特定的情緒反應，而不同的影像（或聲音，等）會引起不同的反應。電視廣告理的麥當勞跟真正的麥當勞跟本就是完全不同的東西，但這已經不是重點了 - 因為目的只是引發你「肚子餓，想去麥當勞」的慾望罷了，拍出來的那些食物只是道具。
Essentially, "Justin Bieber" is as much of a CG-composite as "Eguchi Aimi".
意思是說，小賈斯汀跟江口一樣都算是「CG合成動畫」。
So no, it's not odd to be attracted to Eguchi Aimi, at least any more than it is to be attracted to Justin Bieber, or Emi Takei, or whomever. (I just chose these names because they're widely known - it doesn't necessarily reflect upon my personal taste, I hope.) Whether or not they exist is secondary, because what draws you to them isn't, in most cases, reality, but your own fantasized projection onto them, and that is never real. The key here is that it's a one-way connection, from them to you. It won't be you-to-them, though social media like Twitter throw a potentially interesting wrench into things, but nothing significant so far, as all that kind of thing (Artist's Facebook sites, etc.) are all carefully designed to project a certain image or message anyway.
所以覺得「江口很正」並不是很奇怪的一種想法吧，至少是不會比喜歡小賈斯汀、武井咲等明星奇怪。（我只是隨機挑幾個比較多人認識的名字而已，未必反應出個人喜好，哈）他們實際存不存在是其次，因為你也不認識真正的人，而是塑造出來的投影，再怎麼真也是一種幻象。一定都是他們對你，而不是雙方流通 - 不過我必須承認，有了Twitter這種社交網站之後可能多少有些雙方向的溝通，但這種社群網站上的帳號也都很小心的在維護形象。
They don't know you exist. You, as a person.
他們不知道你，這個人，的存在。
At any rate, that's why I found Eguchi interesting, because she helps us think about what "real" means in the first place, particularly in the context of advertising, media, PR, and politics.
總之，我覺得江口愛実這件事情還滿有趣的，因為她促使我想一想什麼是「真實」，尤其是在媒體、宣傳、和政治的世界裡。
我發現平常走在路上的時候，最沒名其妙的東西總是比較容易吸引我的注意力。（看我最近去東京拍的照片大概就知道了）幾個月前偶然看到一篇關於日本AKB48團體的報導，使我對媒體與真實有了一些想法。（其實這篇跟AKB48本身沒有什麼特別關係）
Anyway, the news said that AKB48 had digitally created a new member for the group, "Eguchi Aimi", a CG-generated composite of various band member's most positive visual attributes. Now, this may not be particularly interesting itself, but what is worthy of exploration is our reaction to this.
報導理說AKB48團體選了她們團裡面最漂亮的六位妹妹們的特徵，數位合成了一位「江口愛実」的歌手。這本身雖然不常見，但比較有趣的是我們聽到這種新聞後的直覺反應。
"Oh, she doesn't exist. How weird."
「喔，原來她是數位合成的，好怪喔。」
This was a rather typical response, and my first response as well upon learning of this. This is why we caution against becoming too involved in fictional stories right? They're just characters in a book/movie/video game. They don't really exist. But then I thought about it a little while longer, and a random thought occurred to me. It's quite likely that the average heterosexual male would find this girl attractive, or at least cute. And that isn't actually as weird as it *might* sound. After all, plenty of people swoon over Justin Bieber, despite having only seen him in a video.
我想這種感覺應該滿常見的，我當下也是這樣想。不能太沉迷於數位世界裡不就是因為要預防這種假象嗎？這些小說／電影／電玩理的角色不是真的！可是後來想一想，又覺得這點還挺有趣的。我想大多數異性戀的男生會很理所當然的認為江口挺正的 - 很多人也覺得小賈斯汀很帥、雖然只曾在電視上看過他的樣子。
"But Justin Bieber is a real person."
「可是小賈斯汀是真人啊」
In what sense is he real, and why does it matter? For most of us, he is just as unattainable as Eguchi Aimi. Most people in Japan know she doesn't exist, but that's also completely irrelevant. These singers, dancers, actors, politicians, those who talk to/at you through a screen (I'd say the word "interaction" does not work here, as it's very one-way) - aren't actually connected to you either. It is precisely because it's a one way connection that what they say, sound, and look is is fake. The image is created to induce certain emotions in the viewer, and different images (or sounds, etc) will elicit different responses. It's the same thing with fast-food commercials. That the food advertised doesn't actually exist in that form doesn't matter, from the perspective of getting people interested in your restaurant. The actual subject of the image is non-participatory, but simply a prop.
實際一點來講，他跟江口差別在哪裡呢？對絕大多數的人來說，他跟江口一樣都是塑造出來的。這些透過螢幕跟你「互動」（其實這好像也不太能用「互動」這個詞來形容，因為基本上是單方面的溝通）的歌手、舞者、演員、政客跟你其實並沒有什麼連結。所塑造出來的形象目的是使觀眾有特定的情緒反應，而不同的影像（或聲音，等）會引起不同的反應。電視廣告理的麥當勞跟真正的麥當勞跟本就是完全不同的東西，但這已經不是重點了 - 因為目的只是引發你「肚子餓，想去麥當勞」的慾望罷了，拍出來的那些食物只是道具。
Essentially, "Justin Bieber" is as much of a CG-composite as "Eguchi Aimi".
意思是說，小賈斯汀跟江口一樣都算是「CG合成動畫」。
所以覺得「江口很正」並不是很奇怪的一種想法吧，至少是不會比喜歡小賈斯汀、武井咲等明星奇怪。（我只是隨機挑幾個比較多人認識的名字而已，未必反應出個人喜好，哈）他們實際存不存在是其次，因為你也不認識真正的人，而是塑造出來的投影，再怎麼真也是一種幻象。一定都是他們對你，而不是雙方流通 - 不過我必須承認，有了Twitter這種社交網站之後可能多少有些雙方向的溝通，但這種社群網站上的帳號也都很小心的在維護形象。
They don't know you exist. You, as a person.
他們不知道你，這個人，的存在。
At any rate, that's why I found Eguchi interesting, because she helps us think about what "real" means in the first place, particularly in the context of advertising, media, PR, and politics.
總之，我覺得江口愛実這件事情還滿有趣的，因為她促使我想一想什麼是「真實」，尤其是在媒體、宣傳、和政治的世界裡。
Comments
Post a Comment