martin

Videophobia

Videophobia has a very interesting and relevant premise that promises to tackle both contemporary problems, such as the spread of revenge porn, and perennial ones like the objectification of women and the underprivileged position of Japanese from Korean ancestry. Though all of this is shown through small and well thought out details, such as the fact that the government uses Ai's Japanese name, while everyone else - her Japanese one. This type of dual existence is something that many Koreans living in Japan experience. As interesting the premise is and as good many of the observations about contemporary Japanese society might be, narrative-wise the film is somewhat weak. This becomes even more apparent in the second half where the majority of Ai's choices seem to be somewhat random and illogical. This is most apparent in her final decision which seems to be taken from a desire to fit into Japanese society as much as from the trauma from the leaking of the sex tape.