episode 2 M-1 and movies (*I did not see the final)
They are not good with silence at work and will listen to music or leave videos playing while they work.
Even though it is a video, if I look at the images, I can't do my job, so I try to choose something that can be conveyed only by ear, and I listen to it rather than watch it.
The content is not too interesting, not too boring, but still interesting... I go back and forth, but the important thing is to make the content most distant from the work I am working on at the time. The important thing is to make the content the most distant from the work at hand, so I work while listening to things that would surprise people if I told them. I prefer to keep my hands and head as separate as possible.
It is also important to keep the length of the message as long as possible, because it is troublesome to change the message and get lost in the process. For example, a very long apology press conference is ideal, and although it may seem inappropriate, my work efficiency improves every time there is an incident.
In my days of constantly searching for videos to work on, I came across "M-1 Grand Prix 2nd Round All Stories," a collection of all the manzai stories from the 2nd round of the M-1 Grand Prix 2020 that was available for a limited time, and I watched, or rather listened to, all of them in their entirety, and even watched quite a bit of them while I was away from my work.
The total time is quite long since 500 pairs including the seeded pairs passed the first round and the duration of the video is 14 days. I am appalled at myself, but I made progress with my work, so I guess it's all right.
I have not watched the finals of this year's M-1 Championships, despite the fact that I have been writing about it for a long time. I am not looking forward to M-1 itself every year, and even though I am writing this, I have not seen the final of this year's competition (or rather, I am in the middle of writing this at the same time as the final day).
In case you are interested in the second round, I'll list the comics who were interested in the second round,
My Sweet Memories, Dr. Heinrich, Tenchi Consommé Tornado, Gyobu, Kid, Tsumiki, ZUMA, Petrafort, Yoshida Tachi, Delmabange, Off, Ozora Mode, Carboy Jr. Ponpoko, Ankouz, Pablo Gakuen, Suteki dana, Ginbei, Tin Crow, Synchronicity, Vacuum Jessica, Kaname Stone, Boyfriend, Zouzakura, GAG, Nekonisuzu, Linear, Diamond, Shimash Records, Nandemo desu? Yes Acorn RPG, Karatachi, Smoked, Otogibari, Boru Juku, Samurai Slice, Oswald, Aigel, Tokibutsu, Tanuki Gohan
The fact that Oswald was the only one to make it to the finals, despite the fact that the list is endless, should give you an idea of how weak I am in the field of comedy.
Listening to many of them, I noticed that the topic of movies often appeared during their comic dialogue.
While this year's most talked-about films ("Blade of the Demon" in this year's competition), "Back to the Future," "Titanic," "Always: Sunset on Third Street" and other all-time best films with high recognition were treated like standard fairy tales such as Momotaro, two films that appeared several times in the entire comic dialogue were of strange interest to the audience. However, two works that appeared several times in the entire manzai were strangely interesting to me.
The two are "Benjamin Button: A Strange Life" and "Kirishima, Shibukatsu Yamerutte yo.
Benjamin Button" was released in 2008 and "Kirishima" in 2012, both of which were topical films at the time, but why are these two films, which have been out for some time, being treated multiple times?
Benjamin Button" is about a man who is born as an old man and becomes young as he grows up, a subject that, come to think of it, could have been shot by Christopher Nolan rather than David Fincher (incidentally, not a single pair of comic actors mentioned "Tenet," the hottest film of the year). (Incidentally, there was not a single pair of comic storytellers who mentioned this year's hot film "Tenet").
Here's what was actually dealt with in the comic strip,
1.
A "Who's the old woman, let's make her young again!"
B "Benjamin Button!"
(Charming Fried Rice)
2.
A "Now, let's go to karaoke, izakaya, and get together in front of Hachiko."
B "Benjamin Button party? Don't play back the plan of the party in reverse or some other bizarre party.
(Panther Mammoth)
It would be enough to say that the word "Benjamin Button" itself has a nice ring to it, but I think it is the film's unique plot that makes it extremely comic.
However, I personally cannot deny that this film does not go far beyond the "strangeness" of the story's plot, and it seems to me that it is a bit of an outlier.
Even with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the lead roles and a solid supporting cast including Tilda Swinton, Mahershalalal Hazbaz Ali of "Moonlight" and a young Elle Fanning, the film is somewhat reserved, perhaps because of the sensitive issues involved even at the time, It seems to me that the film only traces the surface of the story.
Furthermore, when I watch the film now, rather than the contrast between Brad Pitt, who is gradually getting younger, and Cate Blanchett, who is getting older, the film only highlights the conflict between analog and digital technology, which, combined with the poor CG technology of the time (youth = CG and aging = special makeup), makes the film less emotionally engaging. I can't get emotionally involved in the film. If a few more decades pass, this film may become a cult film with a strangeness more like Lynch's than Nolan's.
Kirishima~" on the other hand, is only mentioned in conversation rather than functioning in the midst of the bokeh and tsukkomi during the manzai material (I wish I could quote it, but the video of the second round has just ended with the final broadcast, so I was unable to check again), but just mentioning its name made me listen in.
As with Benjamin Button, this may be due to the naming sense that makes us want to call out the name as a comic dialogue.
Another major reason is the format of the "comic comedy.
A manzai konbutsu refers to a konbutsu that is told within a manzai, but unlike a konbutsu by a konbutsu master in which the story is set from the beginning, a manzai konbutsu always provides a bird's-eye view of the konbutsu's narrative.
This perspective is directly superimposed on the narrative structure of "Kirishima~" in which the filmmakers are depicted in the film and refer to the film itself.
As a topical film with the same story structure, "Don't Stop the Camera," which was probably the subject of many comic dialogues around the year of its release, could have been used as a subject even today, but was not found as far as we could hear this time. Perhaps "Don't Stop the Camera" itself contains so many elements of laughter that it is difficult to incorporate it into a comic story.
Apart from that, perhaps there is a part of "Kirishima~" where the emotional aspect of the work echoes the heat of the manzai.
Stelzer! Hacksaw Ridge!" The duo's heroic performance, as they stood with a nonchalant expression in front of the silent audience, overlapped with the members of the film club in "Kirishima Bukkatsu Yamerutteyo yo" (Kirishima: I'll Quit Club Life), and was quite hot. The courage of the duo named "Shukumei," who stand with a blank expression in front of the silent audience, overlaps with the members of the film club in "Kirishima bukatsu yamerotte yo.
By the way, GAG was personally the funniest person at this year's M-1 Grand Prix 2020.
PROFILE
Born in Tochigi Prefecture, graduated from Tokyo Zokei University. He has been designing mainly graphics for movies, exhibition publicity materials, and books. Major works include "Paterson," "Midsummer," and "Tabi no Owari, Sekai no Hajimari" for films, "Shuntaro Tanikawa" and "Moomin" for exhibitions, and "Birds/Banana Yoshimoto" and "Small Boxes/Yoko Ogawa" for books.
