Excellent video. Strange that someone who's worked hard and amassed a following of over 250,000 people is considered lower than "celebrities" and "personalities," who's role amounts to walking around a street pointing at tedious bullshit and repeating the words "incredible", "amazing" and "delicious" in increasingly higher pitched voices.
I just arrived in Japan as an English teacher and have thought about this. You had so many well formulated thoughts and reasons for why the industry was not for you. Thank you Micaela!
Im like you, I don't really react to things in Japan because things are just "normal" to me now. On TV I'm always forced to put on this fake persona where I think everything is amazing in Japan, like I've never seen a sushi in my life before. I have had good experiences but most of it isn't real and just isn't me when I do tv work
Really happy to hear that you are on to better and greater things. I think you hit the nail on the head with all of the points you just stated. Really loved your quote about how people can really connect with you on RUclips as opposed to being some public figure on TV. Very inspirational video.
I work as a filmmaker and although I am Japanese, working with Japanese media people has been the most painful experience of my career so far. I have a less stressful time in Hollywood... so good for you for making this video. :)
Same! I did graphic design for almost a decade (back in school to respecialize now). It's amazing how many people act like they're doing you a favor when asking you to do work free, and even get offended if you say you don't do freebies or point them to your office to get a quote. Not to mention that you generally aren't even allowed to take independent contracts if you're employed by an agency. I'd imagine most of these issues exist in any creative medium.
Me too! People are always asking me to do things for free, or to give them free stuff, in return for exposure, which in reality doesn't always mean a lot. I love what I do but need money to live! :-)
the reason why youtube is become more popular than tv for some is because it for the most part is real. we don't mind watching other people blog about their life, share their feelings because sometimes we don't have the chance to talk to people this way.
This is a great and necessary video. A therapeutic way of letting it go. You have arrived...again! Your world is reopened, walk through and move forward. Can't wait for more of your real energy!
I been following your vlog for a few year. I think the reason i like watching them is because you are very down to earth and dead honest. We get to hear what you feel that. Good luck and do what ever you love !
I'm so glad you shared this so candidly, and it's wonderful that you're so passionate about making videos. Personally, I agree: I would much rather have total control of what I'm putting out into the world, creatively, than have a director chose my personality and edit me into the character they wanted
I can sooooo relate!! "Can you write a song about our product for this TV commercial and sing in it too? Oh... it's no pay of course.. because we'll be giving YOU exposure and you're going to sell lots of CDs!"
Now that I've watched this to the end.. Thank you for sharing your story and journey with us! We love you for who you are and I'm So glad you are free and can be yourself again.
Hey, I remember you made an opening theme for runnyrunny999 and once I almost went to a show you had in or near Kawasaki. >.< Anyway, I always thought you had a nice singing voice. Have a nice day!
Hi Kate! How is your Grandmother? She is so sweet. We (everyone at our house) are hoping to see another video with her. You have a great singing voice and we all throughly enjoyed watching your videos. Because of the collaboration video you did with Micaela, we "discovered" you and then subscribed to your channel. You are always so nice to the people you collaborate with.
Thank you Richard, I just found out last night my grandmother had a stroke. :-( I am praying for her right now and would appreicate your prayers for her too.
I worked in a Japanese company once and about the "hazing," yes I do agree that Japan is a very stratified society where your rank/position means a lot and when you are on the bottom, people above you take it as a license to be rude to you, to haze you, and generally to be assholes and because you are below them you can't do anything about it.
this is very true. i work at a factory and received the same treatment. unfortunately for them my filipina warrior blood doesn't let assholes get away with being assholes.
Thank you for this video! You just confirmed a lot of my suspicions and my research about Japanese media. I've been inside the video game, theater and music industry on and off, and if you are just a consumer, the rule of thumb is: NEVER LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN! Once you see the media industry (movie, TV, music, games, etc) from the inside, the magic falls apart almost instantly. Behind every amazing movie, TV show, play, concert or song, there is the sweat and tears of countless people, who's only purpose is to give you exactly what you want. All that, without letting you see just how much pain and suffering goes into even a minute of joy and fun you receive from any of these outlets. It's all fake. A huge, all-encompassing, never ending lie! And the funny thing is, most people don't know about it, because the system is built that way. This is all true worldwide, but the Japanese media has it's own peculiar practices. The biggest thing, what Micaela also mentioned, is being underpaid, underappreciated and undervalued. This is part of the industry, but in Japan it's also being enhanced by Japanese culture, which puts a rigid-hierarchy, uniformity and tradition above everything. You'd think that designed-by-committee stuff would rather come from China, but that's not the case, in fact it's way worse in Japan, they are just better at hiding it. The best example of this is the Idol industry. In Japan it's not enough to do your job well, but you have to do it in a particular way. There is no room for improvisation or personal touch....or anything really. Either you do exactly as you are told and HOW you are told, or you're out. If you are just starting out, don't expect....anything. Appreciation? Respect? Getting paid? Nope, nope and barely enough to stave off starvation. You are a tool, a cog in the machine, and working overtime putting in 120% is not only appreciated but expected. Basically whatever career you wanna pursue in Japan, the first few years you are going to eat fucking dirt, be constantly criticized, scoffed at and work until you pass out, day after day. All that, just for the slim chance that someday, maybe someday, you gonna get promoted or get discovered, etc. In Japan, nothing is given to you, you have to earn your name with your own blood and tears and years of your life. If you are a foreigner, that sadly stands double or triple for you. Micaela didn't get paid or even get mentioned at the agency, because she was so new, she didn't prove herself yet and top of all that she had the unfathomable audacity to be a foreigner, all of which makes her the equivalent of a discarded ramen cup in terms of respect and recognition. Yep, that's how it goes. The only people who truly benefit from all the work and drive of everyone at the company are the top of the top bosses, producers, managers and CEOs. That's Japanese work ethics for you. The widespread and total exploitation of people to keep them in line just a smidge below their breaking point. The sky-high suicide rates kinda make sense now, huh? The only exception might be teaching English, because the Japanese realized they suck at that big time, and they actually have to put on a gritting smile and pretend to care about the foreigners they hire to do it for them, but there are many horror stories even about that, so...the point still stands I guess. As for the impostor syndrome, it's basically a result of all the above. The Japanese have a rigid, ingrained picture of what all foreigners are like: They don't speak Japanese, they are rich, dumb, loud, obnoxious, ignorant, lazy, careless, they know absolutely nothing about Japan or it's culture and therefore for them everything in Japan must be like skipping through Pink Unicorn Rainbow Paradise. And as a foreigner, nothing you can say or do will change that. If you are hired to play a foreigner in any media, like Micaela on TV, you are expected to play this role, to a tee. Be surprised at EVERYTHING, be mad hyper, excited and grin like an idiot "omigosh, is that cup ramen?! AAH, is that a bento box? KYAAAAA!". You are not hired to be who you are, you are hired to play "the role". That's what the public is expecting, and entertainment media is all about giving people just what they expect. That's why Micaela felt so misrepresented, because she was. No one cares about who you are as a person, only the fact that you are not Japanese, therefore you are a unicorn, and you are expected to act according to the stereotype, all the time, every time. If you spend a considerable amount of time in Japan, meeting new people will still be a gamble if they gonna start asking questions like "can you use chopsticks? Can you eat raw fish? Have you ever been to karaoke? Oooh, do you know what this is (points to totally mundane object)? etc.", even if you've been living there for years. Your immediate friends and community might get used to you given time, but not everyone. Just because you look like a foreigner, strangers will still expect you to act like one, and if you don't, they will be quite perplexed, but it's safe to say you won't be able to get rid of your "fresh off the boat" tag. Ever. These are just some of the reasons why don't see many foreigners in TV or media in Japan.
shalom1948hellyeah Don't put words in my mouth! And don't try to spin my comment into some sort of racist rant, that's not what I said at all and you know it. First of all, I described the entertainment industry as a whole, not just Japanese TV, and I only detailed how it is even harder to "make it big" in Japanese entertainment than some other countries. I never used racial terms of white, black or anything else, I used foreigner, as everyone non-Japanese. And the reason I haven't detailed things in the US or other Asian countries is because this video is not about those countries, it's about Micaela's adventure in the Japanese media, and THAT'S IT! I don't care about how different ethnicities are represented in the US or anywhere else, since that is NOT the topic here. And I can't fathom where you got the idea it's a "hysteria" about overprivileged white people being underrepresented. Learn to friggin read first before start spewing your racist SJW nonsense.
I agree with you. I dealt with a lot of those things everyday while living and working in Japan, even though I didn't work in the entertainment industry. I had to laugh though, how many times I met people that were, like you said, "do you know how to use chopsticks?" or "you use chopsticks so well." Of course being the wise ass that I am I would always say "can you use a fork?" or "wow you can really use a knife and a fork really well." Now that I am back home, I'm working at a Japanese exchange program part time, many of my students and clients are really shocked when they come to the LA or NYC for the first time to live here as see the sheer variety of people and how different we are compared to the stereotypes. I almost cried one time when I asked my student why he wants to stay in the US and not go home to Japan and he said: "I have freedom, I can be me and do what I like to do and people accept me for that." I have a lot of Japanese friends like that, that want to break out of that bondage, whatever field of work it may be, and want to work abroad. As for Japanese companies, you're right on as well. I was a translator and translation checker (I have a JLPT N1) but because I was a foreigner, they wouldn't let me touch any direct translations as I was told I am not Japanese so I wouldn't understand. They only allow me to correct already translated works, which were mostly awful or machine translated, and then my bosses would come up to me after I worked my ass off all week (60+ hours a week plus some weekends) and tell me that my English isn't correct. Says the guy who can't speak ANY English. Zangyou and Karoushi were two words that I learned the meaning of well. Besides that though, working in those kinds of companies, the Japanese staff were treated about the same: told your work is shit, that you're stupid and a failure, you need to work more for less or no pay, verbally berate you or sexually harass you if you were a woman and so on. But, all the negative stuff aside, I had some amazing times, the friends that I made there are amazing people because they treated me treated me like a normal person, not like an animal at the zoo or an invalid at the sanitarium. P.S. I think that hypocrisy of the Japanese is that they think that their culture is so special that anyone that itsn't Japanese can't enjoy or understand it. Meanwhile, as much as they try to be more international oriented, the Japanese have little to no understanding of other cultures outside of the gross stereotypes you see on TV and in movies. Actually, there is a few good scenes in the movie Tanpopo, by Juzo Itami, about this. I'm not sure if you have seen it or if you can find the scene on youtube, but you should try and watch the movie anyway it's pretty good. Anyway, sorry for the long message.
nohara kun Thanks! But can we really blame them for being this way? I mean, Japan is one of the most homogeneous countries on this planet, with 98.2% of the population being native Japanese, as we know, historically they have a tendency to shut themselves off on their island, and put out the "Do not disturb!" sign. Don't get me wrong, it kinda worked for them so far, they've created one of the most unique cultures on this planet, but that uniqueness has it's price. Namely, alienating themselves from the rest of the world. You can call that cultural preservation, but also xenophobia and reluctance to change. It's kind of a double-edged sword. They could preserve their cultural integrity in face of the torrential global community and western civilization, however their incredible stubbornness to stick to woefully archaic and totally arbitrary rules and traditions is slowly destroying them. A culture, that tied itself to the mast of the sinking ship while trying to appear as the magical wonderland to the outside. They have the right idea about a lot of stuff, but they fail on the execution by focusing on all the wrong things. A nation of pretense, they value keeping up appearances above actually accomplishing stuff. Everything has to look perfect, has to looks beautiful, elaborate, unique and exclusive. Everything has to be just so, as our forefathers did it, even if all the fluff has absolutely no practical purpose at all, or better yet, even being extremely detrimental. Even if a lot of things in Japan could be made much better, streamlined and altogether better for everyone, they are incredibly reluctant to change. "This is how we always did it, it works, so why are you trying to upset everyone? Just do as you are told and be quiet!" With a collective mentality like this, it's understandable how hard this is. I mean, in a nation so uniform, trying to be unique is an uphill battle. They think the only way for someone to rise above the crowd, how Daft Punk put it, is to be "harder better faster stronger". No one cares about you as an individual, just your actions. If it's work, then you need to work twice as much as everyone else, twice as hard for twice as long. Do everything perfectly or beyond perfectly. (This is where Zankyou loses it's meaning and Karoshi gains it's own.) This is where their tendency to make everything into an art form comes from. If it LOOKS very complicated, very elaborate and very hard learn, it must be better than the regular stuff, right? That's how you become a revered master of the craft, whatever it might be, even if the needlessly elaborate and overcomplicated ceremonious BS doesn't add anything to the finished product, it makes it LOOK special, and in turn, makes YOU look special. And in such a uniform society, being special means everything. Even if it means putting everyone else down, thinking that standing on other people rises you above them. This isn't just a problem in Japan, it's just way more apparent.
I`ve been to different countries around the world and hardly seen any asians on their TV. Some western countries even portray asians as ugly effeminate nerds in their shows. In the US, asian actors can only get good roles when an asian company sponsors the show. In the west, black and whites rules the entertainment industry.
I have no experience with being popular or well-known like you were but this video really cheered me up when I didn't even realize I was so lost and confused. I've always been insecure and worried about the forceful expectations and judgments from others even after I ignored them and, for years, that blinded me from finding what I want to do and what I enjoy doing. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience. It gave me the determination to try whatever and take proper chances, without losing myself in assumptions and criticism of others
I love the content of this video. Your experience is very beneficial. The portrayal of foreigner's on TV sometimes is blatantly racist let alone a different version of the person. Hopefully will save other people from the same problem of people being made to work as a slave purely for "exposure". This is why I have steadfastly said "I never want to be on Japanese TV" but mostly because being famous in Japan would leave you without any privacy. Good job Micaela. Thank you.
I wanna see that video about all the different types of ramen! But in all honesty, I did notice a slight change from last year to this year, you seem more pleased with yourself and happy, and it reminded me of why I started watching your channel. The Japan experience is amazing and all, but it's even better when your host is also enjoying themselves.
Girl, you had me tearing up a bit. I know we don't talk to each other anymore, but I remember years ago how we used to chat frequently and I really really was inspired by your motivation to do everything and try anything. And you've always been such an honest person, so thank you for that. Keep on doing what you love (if only I could be as blessed as you!), I and many others will be here supporting your videos.
When you look through the comments it really put things in perspective. So many of us have experienced this in one way or another - myself with modeling when I lived in Japan. There really is a feeling of being an animal in a zoo.. and it's not a pleasant feeling.
+xein89 I saw Britney Spears in Vegas last year and it was such an experience, talk about being an animal in a zoo--she was walking around barely lip syncing to her own songs and the front crowd was so obsessed with taking photos they were watching her through their smartphone screens... Fame is such a twisted thing. They're not there for her, they're there for the idea of her, to be able to say they're at a Britney Spears concert, take their photos, post them on social media. She seems to know this, considering how few fucks she gives when it comes to performance. She's drained. She's over it. But to sit in the back row and watch it all, it was so fascinating, and really really depressing.
I was in Japan for 6 years. I know it's super hard to work with Japanese and they will make you feel you're wrong. I hate their working culture. Now I am in Canada and my life is 10000000000 times better than when I was in Japan.
Wow, this is the first time I've ever been second. Interesting video. I hear that the entertainment industry in Asian countries are tuff. That's sad that you did all those amazing things but you didn't gain anything financially.
It's okay, my RUclips channel did pretty well during that time (although not necessarily due to "exposure") and I was able to get a few sponsorships with brands that helped a lot! (Even though everyone hated the sponsored videos--sorry.)
hey I really liked the cheese in the curry one I thought that was pretty funny ahahaha *not funny as in laughing at you or anything* just liked it ahahaha
I liked the curry one too! It was actually educational. I can think of two that made me cringe when I hit "publish", but I don't think I'm allowed to tell you which ones. :p
Micaela ミカエラ aye, aye, hold up a minute!!! ya can't just leave us hanging like that T^T It's like telling someone "I've got a secret but I'm! Not! Telling xP LUL
When I first started doing art professionally I had job offers all the time where they'd ask me to work in exchange for credit or "experience". "It'll give you something for your resume!" they'd say. Several wanted me to work on feature films with differed payment, meaning "We can't afford to pay you now but if our move sells will pay you." 4:30 This totally reminded me of Bill Murray's Lost in Translation Suntory scene.
Thank you for being so honest and sharing your experience with you. I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you and that you had to struggle with the aftereffects, but I'm really happy to hear you're slowly doing better. :)
I can relate it. Japanese people notice it So, people getting leave watching TV. TV staff say "It's performance(for fun)" but I'm tired such "Performance". They should know Honesty can be touching hearts of people. I'm happy about you still like Japan(maybe?) however you had known a such part of Japan.
Gordon Graham Yeah, It's just talking about ramen or bento. I should get relax, maybe. haha:D ...But It would be much more better than controlled information that TV tells Japanese "Who cares"
Crow Richter Aha, I also think there are good and bad things about every country. And everybody has each sense what is good or bad for oneself. "Stereotypical" is convenient to get foreigner image. Normally people can adjust image to real. But many Japanese has not so many chance to get know foreigners in real, then it might make misunderstanding. I know audience needs to think about that. And I think TV/media should care that too. Meantime, internet gives me chance to know personal opinion from the world just like this small talking. It's interesting. Well, you are interested in japan is interested in foreigners?! That's good. I was surprised when I knew some countries have a study "Japanologie" :)
Thank you Micalea for this video, I think it may help to open people's eyes that TV is not so great and shiny as it seems to be. As a reward for such a great video I translated the whole video into Polish, I hope it will help some people from my country to watch this and understand its message :) Have a nice day!
Micaela ミカエラ No problem, I will try to translate your videos more regularly :) I watch all of them anyways so no problem, there are a lot of Polish people interested in topics you cover so I may help them also :)
Hey you. Glad you did this. I have nothing but respect for you. That hazing that happens... thought it was only me. It killed me to hear how unworthy I was, how this other person was better. You are the best, keep smiling.
TV is so 20th century, I didn't like my TV experience either as I was asked to repeat myself or they wanted to put words into my mouth. They wanted me to say stuff like "I love you Japan". Keep tubin and be yourself
haha so many people are like "After RUclips you could probably go into TV or something!!" and I'm like what, no... no nonono. I think we've turned down just about every TV offer we've received, other than a couple that were specifically about our channel. TV/movie "celebrity" personalities often seem like they're constructed (especially the more extreme ones), even in America. I get the feeling that to make it in that kind of industry you have to be willing to be a permanent public actor. Like Colbert, or Teller from Penn and Teller, or even Gottfried (that's not his real voice!) And that's great for people who like doing that! But it's kind of the opposite of vloggers where followings are built around your genuine personality and lives (ideally). I know there are some foreign talents in Japan who have their own images, but I wish there wasn't so much "omg Japan is so crazy and amazing let me read this list of my favorite things about Japan that the director just made up and handed to me." I think it's great that you talked about this, so people can get an idea of what working in TV is actually like. And I'm glad you've been getting back into regular vlogging!! ♥ We're going to come visit you in Fukuoka asap :D
+Rachel & Jun please do, I saw so many people recommending it to you in your second channel vlog. Come check it out, eat food with me, see if you like it :)
+Rachel & Jun Also yeah, Hollywood is another tangled web of illusion and delusion. People used to judge me for going to music school but being so obsessed with Britney Spears, but knowing what I know, and having a taste of the industry, hearing songs like Overprotected, Lucky, and watching the video for Everytime, you can see that there were so many hints of truth about her lifestyle, they foreshadowed her public breakdown, which I also empathize with. Shaving her head bald was her attempt to take back control of her life, by destroying something that defined her public persona. Unfortunately when that much money is invested in a brand she can't just shake off the title. As far as I know she's still under conservatorship, she's forever being punished for trying to take back her life.
The myth of exposure of prevalent in a lot of industries, there's so much of it in web design/photography especially. "Just think of all the work you'll get for your portfolio!" It still happens and people prey on students or fresh graduates. It's sad. Thanks for making this video!
5年前にミカエラさんの留学アドバイスの動画を観て影響されてから、ようやく先週からオーストラリアに留学しています！ ミカエラさんは僕が初めてチャンネル登録したRUclipsrでずっと僕のインスピレーションとモチベーションです！！ミカエラさんのおかげで新しい世界に足を踏み出すことができてます！！ I've been watching your channel for 5 years and just so appreciate all of your videos and any work you've created. They always motivate me and let me believe that I can do what I want to do. So I couldn't be happier and more proud of you that you've been through the mess but still, you made it up to this point and can say that was a great experience after all. BIGGEST LOVE FROM AUSTRALIA!! :]
I don't work in media. Far from it. But none of that surprises me. Japanese TV/media is the pinnacle of superficiality. Everything is scripted outright or yarase. Once you accept it, it's fine to watch, if you're into mind numbing stimuli. The convenience store experience is a perfect example of how foreigners in Japan have to fit a mold, and the media narrative has to support the viewers' confirmation bias; otherwise it makes them uncomfortable. It's hard to blame the producers; they're just making the product the public wants on the limited budget they have.
Micaela I am so grateful to have seen this video. It feels like a lot of things get rebound together. I was not really recognizing you through your apparitions on TV and it made me feel a bit like some more distance between you and your viewers had been put. However I kept watching you because I was (and I am still) attached to you. Thank you for sharing this with us, I feel like I can finally let go those feelings and embrace a new start. You look like you feel better and better after each videos lastly and I am happy for you. Love you ! Jessica
Thanks for the interesting video, Micaela! I can totally relate to your point of view. I've once been shortly interviewed during a trip to Tokyo. They were shooting some material for tourist spots in the Asakusa area. So they asked me why I found those fake meals they sell in Kappabashi so interesting. I said (in English) they are really useful especially to tourists because you can just point at what you want to order in a restaurant and because you also get an idea of how it will look like. In the end some Japanese guy was dubbing over it, dumbing it down to "it's amazing that Japanese technology is able to create something like this." So yeah, that was a real bummer.
Nice video and some excellent points in there. It's funny, I am aware of the photography/artist "exposure" trap, but for some reason I hadn't extended that to RUclips. Thank you for taking the time to make this!
I haven't watch the TVs show that you are in it, but I think that you make a good decision. At least you can decide what you shoot and being yourself. I really like you videos. It makes me know more about the Japan, or Fukuoka.
+Micaela ミカエラ I have been to Fukuoka after watching your videos, also visiting some places which you introduced in the videos, like the ohori park. Such a nice place that makes me want to visit Fukuoka and 九州 again!頑張ってください、ずっと応援しています!
Heya, I'm... not even sure how I stumbled upon this video, but holy crap. You go, girl. I've seen this sort of exploitation in other creative fields outside of Japan, and of course in various circles in Japan as well. You spoke so well on this issue: The realities, from the heart. Thumbs up, big support. I'll check out your other videos. Keep keeping it real!
Was given opportunity to appear on TV to talk about my 'life' as creative foreigner live in Tokyo. When meeting with the director like your case, she try to curate my life what's better for the viewers and ended up looks like not part of me. I ended up reject the offer after 10 minutes of the meeting, unless they give me what I want to show to the viewers. Things ain't went well and they found another fella who are more eager to appear on tv. Yup~~~
There's that program that approaches gaijin at the airport. If you are interesting enough, they feature you and follow you around. If they ever catch me at the airport, I was thinking of making up a bs story and wasting their time :P
I was picking up my family from the airport one day when they approached me. Rude as heck, "インタビューOK?" and then using plain Japanese with me. Seriously?
Micaela, thank you so much for sharing this with us. I'm kinda also going through this phase of trying to find myself again and so I really feel related to this video. Thank you for making me feel like I'm not alone in this :) Your honesty is very encouraging. Love you! ❤️
One of your best videos yet. Very thoughtful and informative. I never really liked your sponsored videos. Glad to see your back in control of your content. Fan since 2011...... 🤗
Wow Micaela, I had no idea you were in so many Japanese TV shows. I feel bad for you having to go through all those negative experiences. I am glad that you did not let that negatively affect your perception of Japanese people, Japanese culture, or Japan in general. Also, it seems like these past 8 months or so you have been finding yourself and what you truly want rather than trying to meet everyone's expectations. This might sound silly, but you and your situation kinda reminds me of Yuna from Final Fantasy X. Dunno if you've played the game to understand what I mean haha. But anyways, I think finding congruity in your life (big word I know, but it basically means living your life in a way that aligns with your core values) is a big priority for you right now. I think it is great that you are doing that. I support you every step of the way!
Thank you for sharing Micaela! I'm sure it must've been a challenge to get this video out. But thank you for staying true to who you are and not letting anyone else dictate who you are/become.
Hi. I'm a cat Instagramers and I totally understand. A lot of media contact me ask to be on a TV show or a magazine, but basically, I don't get paid. One time, a TV crew came to my house to trying to shoot my cats. But cats are very sensitive and they usually need some time to get use to the guests, but they start making huge noises and ask me to put them in a pot (they were trying to do nabeneno), play with the toy, and all of the stuff they want to shoot.Of course the interview didn't go well and they left without with only few footage. Anyways, I don't like TV too.
+RubyEve12 once a director came to my house and saw my dog and said "can you put him somewhere during the shoot--I don't want him making any distracting noise " I was like 😑
whaaaaat!? That's so impolite! Now whenever I watch TV and read the magazines, I feel this is mostly "Yarase" and I really have to be carful to find out the truth.
same here! I only watch cable TV! Anyways, thanks for replying to a total stranger! I came across your video and I felt I really wanted to leave comment when I watched because I totally understood what you meant! Just subscribed so I'll be checking all of your other videos! ミカエラちゃんありがとう😄
Seeing this video makes your sometimes depressed tweets make sooo much more sense. I don't know if a lot of your fans realized how much stress you were under. You do you girl, be happy! We've been subscribed to you for a bajillion years, so we support ya no matter what.
+Micaela ミカエラ haha no problem! youre not a mess, just were in a messy situation. Now that youre free whats the first thing youre gonna do? :P come to my halloween show? ;)
+suplex11 also I'm still with the agency I joined four years ago, that manages RUclips business, but they also know not to go accepting every little offer that comes our way.
Are you talking about sponsored videos? You should be glad youtubers can get sponsors so they can make $$$¥¥¥ so they can continue making wonderful videos!
Welcome back. This video is what your eyes were saying during your "tv period", and it's nice to hear you finally say it. Now the difficult process of rediscovering your own identity. But you seem extremely self-reflective and quite perceptive, so I'm sure this experience will just reinforce who you really are and will make you more comfortable with life in general. Good luck with the process in the meantime.
I really admire how brave you are posting this video! Few people could expose the truth behind the mainstream, you know, this happens in every part of the world. I really admire how you decided to be honest to yourself, and not to be one more product of the TV. We'll be supporting you here in RUclips!
I haven't heard much good things about the entertainment industry in Japan. It seems that upper management tends to reap most of the rewards from their talent. I was pretty shocked to here some of the estimated salaries that these j-pop idols and mainstream singers make. It seems like such a pittance compared to their Western counterparts. It seems to me in Japan you really have to have a passion for your artistic profession since you aren't going to be compensated well for it, monetarily.
very few Japanese (or Korean) stars are truly independent, since they join companies or talent agencies that manage their contracts etc the legendary PSY for instance only found success after his mid 30s.
You are a brave and insightful woman to come to this point before you reached 45! I admire your courage to share this with us. I support you (by watching and enjoying your videos) as you move back to sharing the real you with us.
お疲れ様でした！ Glad you stayed true to your own voice and quit. Try not to think of it as failure, rather as a learning experience. Find the positives and let that make you better. 自分もYTしようかなぁと思ってる。At least you're DOING it. Keep on kicking butt and taking names! 頑張ってね！
I've had some experience in the Japanese TV and film industry. I used to do some occasional work as a paid extra. Maybe sometimes I'd have a line or two. At first it was interesting, but it soon became apparent how nasty and messed up the business is. Sometimes jobs were easy. You could be done in an hour and be paid around 10,000 yen. Other times though you'd be tied up on set or studio all day, and I actually do mean all day ( 16 hours one day) but still be paid the same amount. Whenever you asked about what time you could expect to leave, most crews would get really angry with you. Thing is though, as an extra or bit part actor, you're not doing this full-time. You often need to be somewhere else. You know, to make a living. Working conditions and pay steadily got worse. Many TV networks in Japan will be grudged to give you a bento if you're working all day. But as bad as it could be sometimes, Japanese extras were treated way worse. On one popular TV drama shoot, myself and the other foreign extras were bussed to and from the nearest station and the location ( it was quite far). The Japanese extras however were not paid at all. They got treated like crap all day and were told to walk back to the station. It was the middle of summer too. I did a few days shooting for another drama on TBS. It featured one of the SMAP guys. The director was a complete asshole. He was large for a Japanese guy and he was clearly used to being bigger than most people around him as he would just shout and bully everyone on set. Sometimes physically. I saw him push one of the Japanese extras around. She was almost what you'd consider elderly. Not quite, but close. Completely unacceptable. I never had any problem with him. I swore to myself that if he started giving me shit, I would walk. I didn't need the job, it was just casual work I'd do in my time off. Anyway, the finished product was god awful. Like, I've seen high school students produce better. It wasn't long afterwards that I decided I don't want to be associated with such garbage. That director wouldn't be able to work outside of Japan, and I'm sure the same can be said for a lot of people in Japanese film and TV. The finished product is often of a very poor standard. Even a big budget NHK drama featuring Ken Watanabe, who I got to spend a day working with, turned out to be very wooden and poor in the end. Watanabe is a great actor, but even he couldn't polish their turd of a script. The funny thing about my stint doing film and TV work in Japan was that for the entire time I never owned a TV and would only occasionally watch the stuff I was in to see how it was. The look on people's faces in Japan when you tell them that you don't watch, or even own a TV is classic. TV worldwide is generally poor, and TV in Japan is some of the poorest TV there is. If it's not just a stream of variety shows with vaccuous "Talentos" doing the most inane shit, it's people eating. Eating in the studio, eating in someone's house and eating in someone's restaurant as a thinly veiled commercial. Then there's the increasingly nationalistic/Japan is number one at making some banal crap/foreigners are amazed by Japan type of programming that is becoming worryingly more common. The fact that audiences lap it up too makes me increasingly worried for Japan's future.
This is really good, you are starting to figure things out for yourself, especially after seeing your videos on your second channel where you talk about not being yourself lately. Great to see the progress, keep it up!
As a Japanese, it's just sad to hear your story, and all the things you have experienced by being on a Japanese TV, it's SO ridiculous. They just made you do the things they want to make for the viewers, but not the things you want to say about. I've heard some rumor about Japanese TVs, but I did not know if it was true or not. Watching your video definitely helped me understand how Japanese TVs work even I do not want to believe every single TV company is the same. I totally agree with you, and I think you got the point. Thank you so much for sharing this.
I'm feel glad that you found that having a life is more important, can't imagine how difficult is for you pretending something that you're not. For that you earned my subscribe. Good luck!
I am happy that you stopped selling out. I sorry to sound harsh, but being a gaijin on Japanese TV means that you will reinforce stereotypes of foreigners within Japan instead of portraying a realistic view. This harms _all_ foreigners living in Japan, and that's why I incredibly appreciate your youtube stuff, cause that's showing a _realistic_ foreigner....
Life always takes us through high paths and low ones, and it's never easy for anyone. Especially when you've been forced down one that you thought you'd enjoy but ended up not. Impostor syndrome is also hard to break away from but I'm glad you've been able to pull away from it! I've been watching your videos for about 5 years and it makes me so happy to see that you've grown as a person and a creator and I really look forward to the content you put out. Keep going!
To be honest, I did notice a difference with your videos over time. I certainly don' t mind sponsored videos, or reviews, but even when you were smiling, you just weren't the same. I stopped watching, but would check in once in a while. I almost didn't click on this video, but I'm glad I did. I'm glad to see you just freely talking. This is the real liveliness of you personality that started me watching in the first place. I look forward to more! Even if you do review products, if you can keep your spirit and let it shining through - I'll be watching. I'm proud of you.
Excellent video.
Strange that someone who's worked hard and amassed a following of over 250,000 people is considered lower than "celebrities" and "personalities," who's role amounts to walking around a street pointing at tedious bullshit and repeating the words "incredible", "amazing" and "delicious" in increasingly higher pitched voices.
I can always count on Abroad in Japan for a good video comment~! 😂
i always read your comment in a cynical tone.
Avoided watching Japanese TV - don't care for random dickhead Tarentos trying a new dinner and telling everyone how delicious it is - zero fucks given
Leanna Belle Eh. TV in general, in most of the first world, sucks.
Lol! Good one!
I just arrived in Japan as an English teacher and have thought about this. You had so many well formulated thoughts and reasons for why the industry was not for you. Thank you Micaela!
Are you on JET? Because i'm in the exact same boat
The new JETs are here! Will your school use you as a human recorder or let you do real lessons? You never know what you're gonna get. Good luck!
Foreign English teachers in Asia are losers.
^^^ dislike & disagree. I've met some really cool people in the month I've been here! Good experience so far, can't complain
People who call people losers online are losers.
Im like you, I don't really react to things in Japan because things are just "normal" to me now. On TV I'm always forced to put on this fake persona where I think everything is amazing in Japan, like I've never seen a sushi in my life before. I have had good experiences but most of it isn't real and just isn't me when I do tv work
kimdao TV here in America isn't any better. In fact, television in most of the first world sucks.
最近の日本のテレビは、日本文化や技術を無理矢理他国より”優れている”って見せつけているような番組が多い気がするなぁ。。。気のせいかな。。。
Really happy to hear that you are on to better and greater things. I think you hit the nail on the head with all of the points you just stated. Really loved your quote about how people can really connect with you on RUclips as opposed to being some public figure on TV. Very inspirational video.
I work as a filmmaker and although I am Japanese, working with Japanese media people has been the most painful experience of my career so far. I have a less stressful time in Hollywood... so good for you for making this video. :)
As an illustrator I can relate to soo many of these points!
Same! I did graphic design for almost a decade (back in school to respecialize now). It's amazing how many people act like they're doing you a favor when asking you to do work free, and even get offended if you say you don't do freebies or point them to your office to get a quote. Not to mention that you generally aren't even allowed to take independent contracts if you're employed by an agency. I'd imagine most of these issues exist in any creative medium.
Me too! People are always asking me to do things for free, or to give them free stuff, in return for exposure, which in reality doesn't always mean a lot. I love what I do but need money to live! :-)
So much truth in these replies
the reason why youtube is become more popular than tv for some is because it for the most part is real. we don't mind watching other people blog about their life, share their feelings because sometimes we don't have the chance to talk to people this way.
This is a great and necessary video. A therapeutic way of letting it go. You have arrived...again! Your world is reopened, walk through and move forward. Can't wait for more of your real energy!
Childish nationalism is something that we should have distance. Your video means a lot to us.Thanks for telling truth.
ぼくは、あなたのこういう所が大好きなんだと思いました。自分で考えて自分の気持ちに正直な所。これからも応援します！！
I been following your vlog for a few year. I think the reason i like watching them is because you are very down to earth and dead honest. We get to hear what you feel that. Good luck and do what ever you love !
外国人「日本ってマジ最高！」「日本人が考える商品ってほんとスゴイ！」
…無理やり言わせてるような番組ばかりでウンザリ。
日本がすごかった時代とか、どんだけ前の話なんだよ…って感じですよ（笑）
あらゆる日本企業が落ちぶれている状況に危機感を覚えないのでしょうか??
+motoyama 落ちぶれちゃいないよ、グローバルイノベーター2015世界の有望企業top100社に日本は40社で、世界最多2年連続。
2位米35社、3位仏10社、
今に始まった事じゃないよ、TVなんてそんなもの。
電通は癌だけど、一時期はバカみたいに韓流ってww、お笑いが流行れば下らないお笑い番組にウンザリ、商売なんだからTVなんて、ハイエナみたいなもんじゃない？それだけ視聴率が取れる、今迄無かったジャンルに視聴者受けが良いのでしょう？
やるだけやったらそのうちネタも尽きるか、パターン化した筋書きに飽きるんじゃない？ 大衆の趣向だってそんな事の繰り返しだし。
白人に褒めさせるホルホルね。。。
それで勘違いしちゃう日本人がいるんだよなぁ
２０年デフレで苦しんで国力低下していいことないからちょっとでも気持ちよくさせる番組としてあるわけだよ。
テレビ局にも問題があるが、そもそもホルホルを求め過ぎる大多数の日本人にも問題がある。
ちなみにホルホルとは「外国人に褒められる事によって、メチャクチャ気分が良くなる状態」のこと。
結構中毒性が高い。
一般的な日本人は自分自身が誇れることは何もない、才能もない。だから褒められることもない。
劣等感を抱いて生きているわけ。それを解消するのがホルホルよ。
外国人が大げさに日本人のことを褒めてくれる！まるで自分が褒められているような気がする！
ホルホルホル～ッ！ってな。
ちなみにホルホル大好きな日本人は、外国人が嘘ついて褒めてくれているなんて考えはないから。
本気でこの外国人は日本がスゴイって思ってるんだなぁ～、そんな日本人である私もスゴイッていう認識。
当初テレ東が、日本の製品が輸出先でどう使われているかを調査する番組は名番組だった。それをフジとか変なのが真似したら一気におぞましくなった印象。
＋hara asa 「大多数の日本人」がホルホルを求めるているなら、さぞホルホル番組の視聴率もスゴイことになっているんだろうな～。紅白超えてるのかな？何せ大多数の日本人だから！
それはあるよな
やたら外国人の反応を気にするしさ
自分が褒められてる気になるんだわな
ネットよりは見てるでしょ
TVを見ないって人も、実は見てる人多い。。見てないくせに最近の芸能人の名前とかキャラとか知ってるし。みんななんだかんだで見てんだよ。
I'm so glad you shared this so candidly, and it's wonderful that you're so passionate about making videos. Personally, I agree: I would much rather have total control of what I'm putting out into the world, creatively, than have a director chose my personality and edit me into the character they wanted
日本のテレビ局は「テレビに出れて嬉しいだろ？」と、時代錯誤な上からの態度をいつまで続けるのか…。
ミカエラさんは、タレント活動をやめて良かったと思います。動画がとても面白く、興味を持てますからね。日本のテレビは、ミカエラさんの言っていたような事が多いと感じます。特に最近は多いです。普通の外国人にもそのような事をさせているようで、イヤですね。昔は知りませんでしたが、今はインターネットですぐにわかるので、もっと誠実な番組作りをして欲しいと思います。
I can sooooo relate!!
"Can you write a song about our product for this TV commercial and sing in it too? Oh... it's no pay of course.. because we'll be giving YOU exposure and you're going to sell lots of CDs!"
Now that I've watched this to the end.. Thank you for sharing your story and journey with us! We love you for who you are and I'm So glad you are free and can be yourself again.
Hey, I remember you made an opening theme for runnyrunny999 and once I almost went to a show you had in or near Kawasaki. >.< Anyway, I always thought you had a nice singing voice. Have a nice day!
That's awesome!! Was it Powers II? :-D Thank you for coming out to the show! It means a lot to me.
Hi Kate! How is your Grandmother? She is so sweet. We (everyone at our house) are hoping to see another video with her. You have a great singing voice and we all throughly enjoyed watching your videos. Because of the collaboration video you did with Micaela, we "discovered" you and then subscribed to your channel. You are always so nice to the people you collaborate with.
Thank you Richard, I just found out last night my grandmother had a stroke. :-( I am praying for her right now and would appreicate your prayers for her too.
Well said ❤️ Thanks for making this video
"Being in a Japanese convenience store is like being in a theme park" WTF!? Funny. But also WTF!?!
日本のテレビ業界の酷さは以前から耳にしていたけれど、具体的に聞くとすごい
世界なんだなと怖くなる。普通の人が簡単に、別人に人格を変えられてしまう。
カナダ出身の元歌手、HIMEKA さんも業界の怖さ、陰湿さを指摘していた。
日本の闇の部分を知ってしまって、日本に来た事を後悔していたのを思い出してしまった。
I worked in a Japanese company once and about the "hazing," yes I do agree that Japan is a very stratified society where your rank/position means a lot and when you are on the bottom, people above you take it as a license to be rude to you, to haze you, and generally to be assholes and because you are below them you can't do anything about it.
this is very true. i work at a factory and received the same treatment. unfortunately for them my filipina warrior blood doesn't let assholes get away with being assholes.
That's horrible... :/
Thank you for this video! You just confirmed a lot of my suspicions and my research about Japanese media. I've been inside the video game, theater and music industry on and off, and if you are just a consumer, the rule of thumb is: NEVER LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN!
Once you see the media industry (movie, TV, music, games, etc) from the inside, the magic falls apart almost instantly. Behind every amazing movie, TV show, play, concert or song, there is the sweat and tears of countless people, who's only purpose is to give you exactly what you want. All that, without letting you see just how much pain and suffering goes into even a minute of joy and fun you receive from any of these outlets. It's all fake. A huge, all-encompassing, never ending lie! And the funny thing is, most people don't know about it, because the system is built that way.
This is all true worldwide, but the Japanese media has it's own peculiar practices. The biggest thing, what Micaela also mentioned, is being underpaid, underappreciated and undervalued. This is part of the industry, but in Japan it's also being enhanced by Japanese culture, which puts a rigid-hierarchy, uniformity and tradition above everything. You'd think that designed-by-committee stuff would rather come from China, but that's not the case, in fact it's way worse in Japan, they are just better at hiding it. The best example of this is the Idol industry. In Japan it's not enough to do your job well, but you have to do it in a particular way. There is no room for improvisation or personal touch....or anything really. Either you do exactly as you are told and HOW you are told, or you're out. If you are just starting out, don't expect....anything. Appreciation? Respect? Getting paid? Nope, nope and barely enough to stave off starvation. You are a tool, a cog in the machine, and working overtime putting in 120% is not only appreciated but expected. Basically whatever career you wanna pursue in Japan, the first few years you are going to eat fucking dirt, be constantly criticized, scoffed at and work until you pass out, day after day. All that, just for the slim chance that someday, maybe someday, you gonna get promoted or get discovered, etc. In Japan, nothing is given to you, you have to earn your name with your own blood and tears and years of your life.
If you are a foreigner, that sadly stands double or triple for you. Micaela didn't get paid or even get mentioned at the agency, because she was so new, she didn't prove herself yet and top of all that she had the unfathomable audacity to be a foreigner, all of which makes her the equivalent of a discarded ramen cup in terms of respect and recognition. Yep, that's how it goes. The only people who truly benefit from all the work and drive of everyone at the company are the top of the top bosses, producers, managers and CEOs. That's Japanese work ethics for you. The widespread and total exploitation of people to keep them in line just a smidge below their breaking point. The sky-high suicide rates kinda make sense now, huh? The only exception might be teaching English, because the Japanese realized they suck at that big time, and they actually have to put on a gritting smile and pretend to care about the foreigners they hire to do it for them, but there are many horror stories even about that, so...the point still stands I guess.
As for the impostor syndrome, it's basically a result of all the above. The Japanese have a rigid, ingrained picture of what all foreigners are like: They don't speak Japanese, they are rich, dumb, loud, obnoxious, ignorant, lazy, careless, they know absolutely nothing about Japan or it's culture and therefore for them everything in Japan must be like skipping through Pink Unicorn Rainbow Paradise. And as a foreigner, nothing you can say or do will change that. If you are hired to play a foreigner in any media, like Micaela on TV, you are expected to play this role, to a tee. Be surprised at EVERYTHING, be mad hyper, excited and grin like an idiot "omigosh, is that cup ramen?! AAH, is that a bento box? KYAAAAA!". You are not hired to be who you are, you are hired to play "the role". That's what the public is expecting, and entertainment media is all about giving people just what they expect. That's why Micaela felt so misrepresented, because she was. No one cares about who you are as a person, only the fact that you are not Japanese, therefore you are a unicorn, and you are expected to act according to the stereotype, all the time, every time. If you spend a considerable amount of time in Japan, meeting new people will still be a gamble if they gonna start asking questions like "can you use chopsticks? Can you eat raw fish? Have you ever been to karaoke? Oooh, do you know what this is (points to totally mundane object)? etc.", even if you've been living there for years. Your immediate friends and community might get used to you given time, but not everyone. Just because you look like a foreigner, strangers will still expect you to act like one, and if you don't, they will be quite perplexed, but it's safe to say you won't be able to get rid of your "fresh off the boat" tag. Ever.
These are just some of the reasons why don't see many foreigners in TV or media in Japan.
shalom1948hellyeah Don't put words in my mouth! And don't try to spin my comment into some sort of racist rant, that's not what I said at all and you know it. First of all, I described the entertainment industry as a whole, not just Japanese TV, and I only detailed how it is even harder to "make it big" in Japanese entertainment than some other countries. I never used racial terms of white, black or anything else, I used foreigner, as everyone non-Japanese. And the reason I haven't detailed things in the US or other Asian countries is because this video is not about those countries, it's about Micaela's adventure in the Japanese media, and THAT'S IT! I don't care about how different ethnicities are represented in the US or anywhere else, since that is NOT the topic here. And I can't fathom where you got the idea it's a "hysteria" about overprivileged white people being underrepresented. Learn to friggin read first before start spewing your racist SJW nonsense.
I agree with you. I dealt with a lot of those things everyday while living and working in Japan, even though I didn't work in the entertainment industry. I had to laugh though, how many times I met people that were, like you said, "do you know how to use chopsticks?" or "you use chopsticks so well." Of course being the wise ass that I am I would always say "can you use a fork?" or "wow you can really use a knife and a fork really well." Now that I am back home, I'm working at a Japanese exchange program part time, many of my students and clients are really shocked when they come to the LA or NYC for the first time to live here as see the sheer variety of people and how different we are compared to the stereotypes. I almost cried one time when I asked my student why he wants to stay in the US and not go home to Japan and he said: "I have freedom, I can be me and do what I like to do and people accept me for that." I have a lot of Japanese friends like that, that want to break out of that bondage, whatever field of work it may be, and want to work abroad. As for Japanese companies, you're right on as well. I was a translator and translation checker (I have a JLPT N1) but because I was a foreigner, they wouldn't let me touch any direct translations as I was told I am not Japanese so I wouldn't understand. They only allow me to correct already translated works, which were mostly awful or machine translated, and then my bosses would come up to me after I worked my ass off all week (60+ hours a week plus some weekends) and tell me that my English isn't correct. Says the guy who can't speak ANY English. Zangyou and Karoushi were two words that I learned the meaning of well. Besides that though, working in those kinds of companies, the Japanese staff were treated about the same: told your work is shit, that you're stupid and a failure, you need to work more for less or no pay, verbally berate you or sexually harass you if you were a woman and so on. But, all the negative stuff aside, I had some amazing times, the friends that I made there are amazing people because they treated me treated me like a normal person, not like an animal at the zoo or an invalid at the sanitarium. P.S. I think that hypocrisy of the Japanese is that they think that their culture is so special that anyone that itsn't Japanese can't enjoy or understand it. Meanwhile, as much as they try to be more international oriented, the Japanese have little to no understanding of other cultures outside of the gross stereotypes you see on TV and in movies. Actually, there is a few good scenes in the movie Tanpopo, by Juzo Itami, about this. I'm not sure if you have seen it or if you can find the scene on youtube, but you should try and watch the movie anyway it's pretty good. Anyway, sorry for the long message.
nohara kun Thanks! But can we really blame them for being this way? I mean, Japan is one of the most homogeneous countries on this planet, with 98.2% of the population being native Japanese, as we know, historically they have a tendency to shut themselves off on their island, and put out the "Do not disturb!" sign. Don't get me wrong, it kinda worked for them so far, they've created one of the most unique cultures on this planet, but that uniqueness has it's price. Namely, alienating themselves from the rest of the world. You can call that cultural preservation, but also xenophobia and reluctance to change. It's kind of a double-edged sword. They could preserve their cultural integrity in face of the torrential global community and western civilization, however their incredible stubbornness to stick to woefully archaic and totally arbitrary rules and traditions is slowly destroying them. A culture, that tied itself to the mast of the sinking ship while trying to appear as the magical wonderland to the outside.
They have the right idea about a lot of stuff, but they fail on the execution by focusing on all the wrong things. A nation of pretense, they value keeping up appearances above actually accomplishing stuff. Everything has to look perfect, has to looks beautiful, elaborate, unique and exclusive. Everything has to be just so, as our forefathers did it, even if all the fluff has absolutely no practical purpose at all, or better yet, even being extremely detrimental.
Even if a lot of things in Japan could be made much better, streamlined and altogether better for everyone, they are incredibly reluctant to change. "This is how we always did it, it works, so why are you trying to upset everyone? Just do as you are told and be quiet!" With a collective mentality like this, it's understandable how hard this is. I mean, in a nation so uniform, trying to be unique is an uphill battle. They think the only way for someone to rise above the crowd, how Daft Punk put it, is to be "harder better faster stronger". No one cares about you as an individual, just your actions. If it's work, then you need to work twice as much as everyone else, twice as hard for twice as long. Do everything perfectly or beyond perfectly. (This is where Zankyou loses it's meaning and Karoshi gains it's own.) This is where their tendency to make everything into an art form comes from. If it LOOKS very complicated, very elaborate and very hard learn, it must be better than the regular stuff, right? That's how you become a revered master of the craft, whatever it might be, even if the needlessly elaborate and overcomplicated ceremonious BS doesn't add anything to the finished product, it makes it LOOK special, and in turn, makes YOU look special. And in such a uniform society, being special means everything. Even if it means putting everyone else down, thinking that standing on other people rises you above them. This isn't just a problem in Japan, it's just way more apparent.
If you don`t like japan then why are you using a japanese username ?
I`ve been to different countries around the world and hardly seen any asians on their TV.
Some western countries even portray asians as ugly effeminate nerds in their shows.
In the US, asian actors can only get good roles when an asian company sponsors the show.
In the west, black and whites rules the entertainment industry.
I have no experience with being popular or well-known like you were but this video really cheered me up when I didn't even realize I was so lost and confused. I've always been insecure and worried about the forceful expectations and judgments from others even after I ignored them and, for years, that blinded me from finding what I want to do and what I enjoy doing. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience. It gave me the determination to try whatever and take proper chances, without losing myself in assumptions and criticism of others
日本のテレビ業界は、ほんとに最低なトコ多いと思うよ。あとある程度の「演技」を求められますよね？
「憧れの日本に来てハッピーな外国人の女の子」を演出したかったら、ミカエラがどう思ってても、そういう流れでやって欲しいって言ってくると思う。最近、日本在住の外国人がよく日本のテレビに出てて、「どこまで本心で思ったことを言ったりやったりしてるのかなー」と不安になることがあります。台本とかあって無理に、言いたくないことでも言わされてないのかなーとか(*´Д`*)
本人達がギャラのためって、割り切ってるならいいんだけど。ミカエラがやりたくもないことをやめて、元の生活に戻ったことはとても良かったことだと思います( *´ω`* )
あと名誉ある立場を与えられても（kawaii区長とか）、やっぱり、ギャラの問題などは先にキッチリ話し合っておくべきですね。そういう行政も絡んでくるような立場だと、相手が勝手に「ボランティア意識」でやってくれてる、と勘違いしてる場合もあるかも？？
同感です。自国発信のメディアが海外の人が自国のマイナスイメージ発言をゼロにする、したくなるのは自明かもしれませんね。僕も昨年大学在学中に長くカナダにいましたが日本とは違う文化、人々の考え、行動に面白く驚かされました。そこに個人がプラスに思うかマイナスに思うかは人それぞれでその考えに他人が干渉するべきではないと思います。日本のメディアはあまりにも自分の都合よく編集を加え現実を歪曲していることは現実だと思います。
Vídeos. be planta. vs zomvyes
自分の都合よく編集どうのとかはアメリカだろうがカナダだろうが同じだけどね。ヤラセだとか台本通りとかも同様に。
外人だからとかそういう問題でもないでしょ。ミカエラがあれこれ言っても普通の若いアイドルやらタレントやら発言は切られたり編集されちゃってるんだからね。結局テレビも会社と同様、支配下の元でやりくりしてるだけだから。恨むのならこの糞社会を恨んでくれとしか言いようがない。日本のテレビっていうけどアメリカのテレビだって同じことやってるよ。結局どこの国とかじゃなくてテレビ全般ｋｚなのが真実なところ。日本の何が悪いって言い続ければ余計ミカエラ自体が日本人から嫌われるだけ。ＹＯＵＴＵＢＥでべらべらと日本の悪いところを言うのはミカエラには悪いがＩＱが低いことになるよ。
***** そうかなー？世界のメディアのレベルの、すごい詳細までは知らないけど、クソ番組も多ければ、素晴らしい番組も制作してると思うよ？特に先進国であれば（まー多くは欧米だけかもだけど）
でも日本にはたまーに良い回はあっても、番組自体にはクソしかないでしょ？NHKでさえ。もうBS関係に期待するしかないのが日本のテレビ番組の現状です。
これは日本の放送法の問題なども大きな原因があると思いますけど。
あと、日本は今、2020年のOPに向かって円安も手伝って訪日観光客が増えて、「外国人」を取り上げる番組で視聴率が上がったり話題になったりする例があったので、続々と「外国人」に特化したコーナーや番組が一気に増えたのは事実だと思います。
なので、在日の外国人（特に見た目的にも欧米人的な人）と、普通の日本のアイドルを同一視で語るのはまた別の問題だと思うけど。
ただ、テレビや雑誌・新聞など、メディア全般が、たくさんのカット数やインタビュー記事を先に取っておくものっていう、後で編集でカットすることありきで取材などするのは、全世界共通かもとは思いますけどね。
あとミカエラに限らないけど、欧米から来て注目が少し集まったりした時点などで、その後も自分の存在感に価値が置き続けられるかどうかっていうことに過剰に「当たり前」みたいに思うのはまた違うかなっていうのは思いますね。
特別扱いされて当然だっていう優越感みたいな気持ちを持って、それがないと不満を覚えるのは甘いかなって思う。
まーでも、単なる個人の動画での愚痴レベルなので、いいのでは？あまりそういうのが続いたり、誇張されるようなると良い感じはしませんけどね。
I love the content of this video. Your experience is very beneficial. The portrayal of foreigner's on TV sometimes is blatantly racist let alone a different version of the person. Hopefully will save other people from the same problem of people being made to work as a slave purely for "exposure". This is why I have steadfastly said "I never want to be on Japanese TV" but mostly because being famous in Japan would leave you without any privacy. Good job Micaela. Thank you.
I wanna see that video about all the different types of ramen! But in all honesty, I did notice a slight change from last year to this year, you seem more pleased with yourself and happy, and it reminded me of why I started watching your channel. The Japan experience is amazing and all, but it's even better when your host is also enjoying themselves.
I love this sort of video! Thank you for telling us about the behind the scenes with TV. It was really eye openning.
Girl, you had me tearing up a bit. I know we don't talk to each other anymore, but I remember years ago how we used to chat frequently and I really really was inspired by your motivation to do everything and try anything. And you've always been such an honest person, so thank you for that. Keep on doing what you love (if only I could be as blessed as you!), I and many others will be here supporting your videos.
もっと知られるべき、見られるべき動画
When you look through the comments it really put things in perspective. So many of us have experienced this in one way or another - myself with modeling when I lived in Japan. There really is a feeling of being an animal in a zoo.. and it's not a pleasant feeling.
+xein89 I saw Britney Spears in Vegas last year and it was such an experience, talk about being an animal in a zoo--she was walking around barely lip syncing to her own songs and the front crowd was so obsessed with taking photos they were watching her through their smartphone screens...
Fame is such a twisted thing. They're not there for her, they're there for the idea of her, to be able to say they're at a Britney Spears concert, take their photos, post them on social media. She seems to know this, considering how few fucks she gives when it comes to performance. She's drained. She's over it.
But to sit in the back row and watch it all, it was so fascinating, and really really depressing.
完全に日本に馴染んでいる海外の人に、「日本凄い！」と言わせる番組が増えて嫌気がさす。
そう、他国人にも愛国心があるのに、日本を絶賛しながら他国をけなすことは見にくいです。
I was in Japan for 6 years. I know it's super hard to work with Japanese and they will make you feel you're wrong. I hate their working culture. Now I am in Canada and my life is 10000000000 times better than when I was in Japan.
This is your best video ever Micaela. Thank you so much for sharing this. Respect to you!
Wow, this is the first time I've ever been second. Interesting video. I hear that the entertainment industry in Asian countries are tuff. That's sad that you did all those amazing things but you didn't gain anything financially.
It's okay, my RUclips channel did pretty well during that time (although not necessarily due to "exposure") and I was able to get a few sponsorships with brands that helped a lot! (Even though everyone hated the sponsored videos--sorry.)
hey I really liked the cheese in the curry one I thought that was pretty funny ahahaha
*not funny as in laughing at you or anything* just liked it ahahaha
I liked the curry one too! It was actually educational. I can think of two that made me cringe when I hit "publish", but I don't think I'm allowed to tell you which ones. :p
Micaela ミカエラ
aye, aye, hold up a minute!!! ya can't just leave us hanging like that T^T It's like telling someone "I've got a secret but I'm! Not! Telling xP LUL
TV番組って・・・もうオワコンなんで、RUclipsrとして新しいメディアを作る為に
独自性を持って動画を作った方が面白いものが出来ると思いますよ。
仮にやっとの思いでTVに出たとしても数秒とか・・・都合の良い所だけ切り取って
使われるんで、RUclipsになじんだクリエイターやパフォーマーから見たら
不満が溜まるのは当然だと思います。
私自身も見飽きたTVのワンパターンよりもネットで新しい面白いコンテンツを
探している状態なので、そういった人達は多いと思います。
私は日本人です。日本のテレビ局は東京でもたったの8局しか無いんですよ。海外の方が聞いたら驚くでしょうね。政府関係者にて権利を独占されているのが理由です。増やす事が許されていないんです。
ニュースもバラエティも全て、日本のテレビ番組はディレクターによる演劇なんです。
自身に都合の悪い事は放送しないんです。
その上、テレビを持ってるだけでNHK受信料払えって言ってくる。こちらとしてはあのような偏向したテレビ番組見たくも無いんですがね。この間も韓国のTHAADの配備にしても、中国に配慮してるのか「監視」英語だとwatching...
テレビ局は何故、中国からの核抑止になる事を中国自体が嫌っているとなぜ、報道しない。
テレビ局も変わらないなら、テレビを私は壊すよ😅
世襲、縁故で繋がってる仲良し既得権グループが独占してるからな、日本のメディアは。広告も。
政治も。あそうくん、こいずみくん、あべくんもみんなおじいちゃんがやってたからやれてるわけだからな。
大企業ですら世襲だからな。トヨタとかも１代目の孫がやってるしね社長を。まあ、違うのもあるけどさ。
まあ、一般企業なら搾取レベルでも最低賃金はくれるだろうが、メディアなんて世襲や縁故関係で雇う出演者以外できるだけ出演料無料で搾取をしようとするからな。
テレビに出れるだけでもありがたいと思え、バカ、とか思ってんだろうな。縁故／世襲枠外から来る奴らに対しては。
When I first started doing art professionally I had job offers all the
time where they'd ask me to work in exchange for credit or "experience".
"It'll give you something for your resume!" they'd say. Several wanted
me to work on feature films with differed payment, meaning "We can't
afford to pay you now but if our move sells will pay you."
4:30 This totally reminded me of Bill Murray's Lost in Translation Suntory scene.
Thank you for being so honest and sharing your experience with you.
I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you and that you had to struggle with the aftereffects, but I'm really happy to hear you're slowly doing better. :)
I can relate it. Japanese people notice it So, people getting leave watching TV. TV staff say "It's performance(for fun)" but I'm tired such "Performance". They should know Honesty can be touching hearts of people. I'm happy about you still like Japan(maybe?) however you had known a such part of Japan.
Gordon Graham Yeah, It's just talking about ramen or bento. I should get relax, maybe. haha:D ...But It would be much more better than controlled information that TV tells Japanese "Who cares"
Crow Richter Aha, I also think there are good and bad things about every country. And everybody has each sense what is good or bad for oneself. "Stereotypical" is convenient to get foreigner image. Normally people can adjust image to real. But many Japanese has not so many chance to get know foreigners in real, then it might make misunderstanding. I know audience needs to think about that. And I think TV/media should care that too. Meantime, internet gives me chance to know personal opinion from the world just like this small talking. It's interesting. Well, you are interested in japan is interested in foreigners?! That's good. I was surprised when I knew some countries have a study "Japanologie" :)
Thank you Micalea for this video, I think it may help to open people's eyes that TV is not so great and shiny as it seems to be. As a reward for such a great video I translated the whole video into Polish, I hope it will help some people from my country to watch this and understand its message :) Have a nice day!
that's so lovely of you :)
You're a beast! Thank you!
Micaela ミカエラ
No problem, I will try to translate your videos more regularly :) I watch all of them anyways so no problem, there are a lot of Polish people interested in topics you cover so I may help them also :)
I would've said "You know what makes me excited? Money"
and by extension, having food on the table and a roof over your head
Hey you. Glad you did this. I have nothing but respect for you. That hazing that happens... thought it was only me. It killed me to hear how unworthy I was, how this other person was better. You are the best, keep smiling.
TV is so 20th century, I didn't like my TV experience either as I was asked to repeat myself or they wanted to put words into my mouth. They wanted me to say stuff like "I love you Japan". Keep tubin and be yourself
haha so many people are like "After RUclips you could probably go into TV or something!!" and I'm like what, no... no nonono. I think we've turned down just about every TV offer we've received, other than a couple that were specifically about our channel.
TV/movie "celebrity" personalities often seem like they're constructed (especially the more extreme ones), even in America. I get the feeling that to make it in that kind of industry you have to be willing to be a permanent public actor. Like Colbert, or Teller from Penn and Teller, or even Gottfried (that's not his real voice!) And that's great for people who like doing that! But it's kind of the opposite of vloggers where followings are built around your genuine personality and lives (ideally). I know there are some foreign talents in Japan who have their own images, but I wish there wasn't so much "omg Japan is so crazy and amazing let me read this list of my favorite things about Japan that the director just made up and handed to me."
I think it's great that you talked about this, so people can get an idea of what working in TV is actually like. And I'm glad you've been getting back into regular vlogging!! ♥ We're going to come visit you in Fukuoka asap :D
+Rachel & Jun please do, I saw so many people recommending it to you in your second channel vlog. Come check it out, eat food with me, see if you like it :)
+Rachel & Jun Also yeah, Hollywood is another tangled web of illusion and delusion. People used to judge me for going to music school but being so obsessed with Britney Spears, but knowing what I know, and having a taste of the industry, hearing songs like Overprotected, Lucky, and watching the video for Everytime, you can see that there were so many hints of truth about her lifestyle, they foreshadowed her public breakdown, which I also empathize with.
Shaving her head bald was her attempt to take back control of her life, by destroying something that defined her public persona.
Unfortunately when that much money is invested in a brand she can't just shake off the title. As far as I know she's still under conservatorship, she's forever being punished for trying to take back her life.
The myth of exposure of prevalent in a lot of industries, there's so much of it in web design/photography especially. "Just think of all the work you'll get for your portfolio!" It still happens and people prey on students or fresh graduates. It's sad. Thanks for making this video!
5年前にミカエラさんの留学アドバイスの動画を観て影響されてから、ようやく先週からオーストラリアに留学しています！
ミカエラさんは僕が初めてチャンネル登録したRUclipsrでずっと僕のインスピレーションとモチベーションです！！ミカエラさんのおかげで新しい世界に足を踏み出すことができてます！！
I've been watching your channel for 5 years and just so appreciate all of your videos and any work you've created. They always motivate me and let me believe that I can do what I want to do. So I couldn't be happier and more proud of you that you've been through the mess but still, you made it up to this point and can say that was a great experience after all.
BIGGEST LOVE FROM AUSTRALIA!! :]
ミカエラの本質を僕は感心する
同感です
Do what you love and enjoy to do. Sorry that you've been having a rough time, hopefully it all gets better.
I don't work in media. Far from it. But none of that surprises me. Japanese TV/media is the pinnacle of superficiality. Everything is scripted outright or yarase. Once you accept it, it's fine to watch, if you're into mind numbing stimuli. The convenience store experience is a perfect example of how foreigners in Japan have to fit a mold, and the media narrative has to support the viewers' confirmation bias; otherwise it makes them uncomfortable. It's hard to blame the producers; they're just making the product the public wants on the limited budget they have.
That's exactly right. I'm glad you said it so well.
That's just terrible. Shamefur dispray.
Micaela I am so grateful to have seen this video. It feels like a lot of things get rebound together. I was not really recognizing you through your apparitions on TV and it made me feel a bit like some more distance between you and your viewers had been put. However I kept watching you because I was (and I am still) attached to you. Thank you for sharing this with us, I feel like I can finally let go those feelings and embrace a new start. You look like you feel better and better after each videos lastly and I am happy for you. Love you ! Jessica
やっぱりテレビは信用できないな………ニュースなんかも信用ならないね恐ろしい世界だな〜
Thanks for the interesting video, Micaela! I can totally relate to your point of view. I've once been shortly interviewed during a trip to Tokyo. They were shooting some material for tourist spots in the Asakusa area. So they asked me why I found those fake meals they sell in Kappabashi so interesting. I said (in English) they are really useful especially to tourists because you can just point at what you want to order in a restaurant and because you also get an idea of how it will look like. In the end some Japanese guy was dubbing over it, dumbing it down to "it's amazing that Japanese technology is able to create something like this." So yeah, that was a real bummer.
High 5 Micaela. the truth about TV is refreshing to hear...
Nice video and some excellent points in there. It's funny, I am aware of the photography/artist "exposure" trap, but for some reason I hadn't extended that to RUclips. Thank you for taking the time to make this!
I'm glad that you've regained control of your self image, and in some ways, your soul, Micaela! :)
よくぞ公表してくれたと思います
その勇気に感謝
I haven't watch the TVs show that you are in it, but I think that you make a good decision. At least you can decide what you shoot and being yourself. I really like you videos. It makes me know more about the Japan, or Fukuoka.
Thank you so much! Fukuoka is one of my favorite things to make videos about!
+Micaela ミカエラ I have been to Fukuoka after watching your videos, also visiting some places which you introduced in the videos, like the ohori park. Such a nice place that makes me want to visit Fukuoka and 九州 again!頑張ってください、ずっと応援しています!
Heya, I'm... not even sure how I stumbled upon this video, but holy crap. You go, girl. I've seen this sort of exploitation in other creative fields outside of Japan, and of course in various circles in Japan as well. You spoke so well on this issue: The realities, from the heart. Thumbs up, big support. I'll check out your other videos. Keep keeping it real!
Was given opportunity to appear on TV to talk about my 'life' as creative foreigner live in Tokyo.
When meeting with the director like your case, she try to curate my life what's better for the viewers and ended up looks like not part of me.
I ended up reject the offer after 10 minutes of the meeting, unless they give me what I want to show to the viewers. Things ain't went well and they found another fella who are more eager to appear on tv.
Yup~~~
There's that program that approaches gaijin at the airport. If you are interesting enough, they feature you and follow you around. If they ever catch me at the airport, I was thinking of making up a bs story and wasting their time :P
I was picking up my family from the airport one day when they approached me. Rude as heck, "インタビューOK?" and then using plain Japanese with me. Seriously?
Micaela, thank you so much for sharing this with us. I'm kinda also going through this phase of trying to find myself again and so I really feel related to this video. Thank you for making me feel like I'm not alone in this :) Your honesty is very encouraging. Love you! ❤️
あなたの意見、至極当然だと思います。
残念ですがテレビ制作は曲解させて自分達が思うように作り替えてしまいます。
One of your best videos yet. Very thoughtful and informative. I never really liked your sponsored videos. Glad to see your back in control of your content.
Fan since 2011...... 🤗
ミカエラさんに共感します。これからも youtuber としてのミカエラさんが好きです。期待してます。
I'm sorry you had those negative experiences, but I'm glad that you enjoy doing RUclips! I love seeing your videos. It makes my day sometimes.
日本の会社も、大事なのは自分の気持ちじゃなくて周りに合わせることです。合わせないといけない周りのことが正しいとか間違ってるとか関係なくて、合わせることを求められるのです。
わたしはそれが合わなくて、もがいて、まだその場を変えられないOLです。さがしてるのです、生きやすい場所を。
だからミカエラさんの気持ち、実行力が気持ちいい！応援してます。わたしも頑張る！
Wow Micaela, I had no idea you were in so many Japanese TV shows. I feel bad for you having to go through all those negative experiences. I am glad that you did not let that negatively affect your perception of Japanese people, Japanese culture, or Japan in general.
Also, it seems like these past 8 months or so you have been finding yourself and what you truly want rather than trying to meet everyone's expectations. This might sound silly, but you and your situation kinda reminds me of Yuna from Final Fantasy X. Dunno if you've played the game to understand what I mean haha. But anyways, I think finding congruity in your life (big word I know, but it basically means living your life in a way that aligns with your core values) is a big priority for you right now. I think it is great that you are doing that. I support you every step of the way!
ミカエラさんごめんなさい。
日本に来てがっかりする外国の方たくさんいると思います。
失望させてしまうようなことが起こること
心苦しいです。
日本にはたくさんの問題がある
でも日本を嫌いにならないでほしい
日本に興味を持ってくれてありがとう
日本での生活がうまく行くこと、いい日本人に出会えることを祈っています。
+bc a 嫌いになりませんよ。ただ、道が間違っていたから、一旦戻って、これからの行き先考え直すだけですよー ♬
Thank you for sharing Micaela! I'm sure it must've been a challenge to get this video out. But thank you for staying true to who you are and not letting anyone else dictate who you are/become.
Hi. I'm a cat Instagramers and I totally understand. A lot of media contact me ask to be on a TV show or a magazine, but basically, I don't get paid. One time, a TV crew came to my house to trying to shoot my cats. But cats are very sensitive and they usually need some time to get use to the guests, but they start making huge noises and ask me to put them in a pot (they were trying to do nabeneno), play with the toy, and all of the stuff they want to shoot.Of course the interview didn't go well and they left without with only few footage. Anyways, I don't like TV too.
+RubyEve12 once a director came to my house and saw my dog and said "can you put him somewhere during the shoot--I don't want him making any distracting noise "
I was like 😑
whaaaaat!? That's so impolite! Now whenever I watch TV and read the magazines, I feel this is mostly "Yarase" and I really have to be carful to find out the truth.
+RubyEve12 I only watch Netflix and Hulu these days to be honest. Rather watch actual constructed dramas than half-assed reality/variety on TV.
same here! I only watch cable TV! Anyways, thanks for replying to a total stranger! I came across your video and I felt I really wanted to leave comment when I watched because I totally understood what you meant! Just subscribed so I'll be checking all of your other videos! ミカエラちゃんありがとう😄
Seeing this video makes your sometimes depressed tweets make sooo much more sense. I don't know if a lot of your fans realized how much stress you were under. You do you girl, be happy! We've been subscribed to you for a bajillion years, so we support ya no matter what.
AHAHA, yeah I need to get myself under control. Twitter can be messy. Sorry about that.
Thanks for understanding though.
+Micaela ミカエラ haha no problem! youre not a mess, just were in a messy situation. Now that youre free whats the first thing youre gonna do? :P come to my halloween show? ;)
this mean we are getting vids instead of commercials now?
+suplex11 when was the last commercial?
+suplex11 also I'm still with the agency I joined four years ago, that manages RUclips business, but they also know not to go accepting every little offer that comes our way.
Are you talking about sponsored videos? You should be glad youtubers can get sponsors so they can make $$$¥¥¥ so they can continue making wonderful videos!
Hi I think I love you.
+Micaela ミカエラ 💜💜💜
Welcome back. This video is what your eyes were saying during your "tv period", and it's nice to hear you finally say it.
Now the difficult process of rediscovering your own identity. But you seem extremely self-reflective and quite perceptive, so I'm sure this experience will just reinforce who you really are and will make you more comfortable with life in general.
Good luck with the process in the meantime.
Good for you, keep fighting for yourself, and you will do well in life.
Domo
I really admire how brave you are posting this video! Few people could expose the truth behind the mainstream, you know, this happens in every part of the world.
I really admire how you decided to be honest to yourself, and not to be one more product of the TV.
We'll be supporting you here in RUclips!
I haven't heard much good things about the entertainment industry in Japan. It seems that upper management tends to reap most of the rewards from their talent. I was pretty shocked to here some of the estimated salaries that these j-pop idols and mainstream singers make. It seems like such a pittance compared to their Western counterparts. It seems to me in Japan you really have to have a passion for your artistic profession since you aren't going to be compensated well for it, monetarily.
very few Japanese (or Korean) stars are truly independent, since they join companies or talent agencies that manage their contracts etc
the legendary PSY for instance only found success after his mid 30s.
How depressing.
lmao shalom1948hellyeah, you're so bitter
You are a brave and insightful woman to come to this point before you reached 45! I admire your courage to share this with us. I support you (by watching and enjoying your videos) as you move back to sharing the real you with us.
日本のテレビはテレビ局が作りたいストーリー通りに撮影します。要は出演者にやらせるんです。
動画を頻繁に見る層は日本のテレビがいかに製作者視点で作られているかを知っている人が多いので、テレビ出演者も含めて胡散臭さを覚えます。
テレビで見て興味をもって動画を観にきても、動画にはテレビで見た人は居ない。
（見た目の話しじゃないよ）
本来、動画を先に見ていればフォロワーになる人でも、テレビを先にみてしまうと印章の違いからガッカリということがよくあります。
Thanks for the interesting insight micaela and good luck for the future
Micaela, It's because Japan is the country that still treats women like toys.
お疲れ様でした！
Glad you stayed true to your own voice and quit. Try not to think of it as failure, rather as a learning experience. Find the positives and let that make you better.
自分もYTしようかなぁと思ってる。At least you're DOING it. Keep on kicking butt and taking names! 頑張ってね！
I've had some experience in the Japanese TV and film industry. I used to do some occasional work as a paid extra. Maybe sometimes I'd have a line or two. At first it was interesting, but it soon became apparent how nasty and messed up the business is. Sometimes jobs were easy. You could be done in an hour and be paid around 10,000 yen. Other times though you'd be tied up on set or studio all day, and I actually do mean all day ( 16 hours one day) but still be paid the same amount. Whenever you asked about what time you could expect to leave, most crews would get really angry with you. Thing is though, as an extra or bit part actor, you're not doing this full-time. You often need to be somewhere else. You know, to make a living. Working conditions and pay steadily got worse. Many TV networks in Japan will be grudged to give you a bento if you're working all day. But as bad as it could be sometimes, Japanese extras were treated way worse.
On one popular TV drama shoot, myself and the other foreign extras were bussed to and from the nearest station and the location ( it was quite far). The Japanese extras however were not paid at all. They got treated like crap all day and were told to walk back to the station. It was the middle of summer too.
I did a few days shooting for another drama on TBS. It featured one of the SMAP guys. The director was a complete asshole. He was large for a Japanese guy and he was clearly used to being bigger than most people around him as he would just shout and bully everyone on set. Sometimes physically. I saw him push one of the Japanese extras around. She was almost what you'd consider elderly. Not quite, but close. Completely unacceptable. I never had any problem with him. I swore to myself that if he started giving me shit, I would walk. I didn't need the job, it was just casual work I'd do in my time off. Anyway, the finished product was god awful. Like, I've seen high school students produce better. It wasn't long afterwards that I decided I don't want to be associated with such garbage. That director wouldn't be able to work outside of Japan, and I'm sure the same can be said for a lot of people in Japanese film and TV. The finished product is often of a very poor standard. Even a big budget NHK drama featuring Ken Watanabe, who I got to spend a day working with, turned out to be very wooden and poor in the end. Watanabe is a great actor, but even he couldn't polish their turd of a script.
The funny thing about my stint doing film and TV work in Japan was that for the entire time I never owned a TV and would only occasionally watch the stuff I was in to see how it was. The look on people's faces in Japan when you tell them that you don't watch, or even own a TV is classic. TV worldwide is generally poor, and TV in Japan is some of the poorest TV there is. If it's not just a stream of variety shows with vaccuous "Talentos" doing the most inane shit, it's people eating. Eating in the studio, eating in someone's house and eating in someone's restaurant as a thinly veiled commercial. Then there's the increasingly nationalistic/Japan is number one at making some banal crap/foreigners are amazed by Japan type of programming that is becoming worryingly more common. The fact that audiences lap it up too makes me increasingly worried for Japan's future.
This is really good, you are starting to figure things out for yourself, especially after seeing your videos on your second channel where you talk about not being yourself lately. Great to see the progress, keep it up!
あなたみたいに影響力のある方が、まさかタダで１日拘束されたりしているとは思いませんでした。テレビ局の職員やタレントは高収入を得ている一方で。非常にショッキングな内容でした。もしテレビのことは忘れてどうぞ好きな道に専念してください。
As a Japanese, it's just sad to hear your story, and all the things you have experienced by being on a Japanese TV, it's SO ridiculous. They just made you do the things they want to make for the viewers, but not the things you want to say about. I've heard some rumor about Japanese TVs, but I did not know if it was true or not. Watching your video definitely helped me understand how Japanese TVs work even I do not want to believe every single TV company is the same. I totally agree with you, and I think you got the point. Thank you so much for sharing this.
TV is so fake, it's almost unbelivable, i stopped watching TV years ago.
Your channel is more real, go ahead like that.
I'm feel glad that you found that having a life is more important, can't imagine how difficult is for you pretending something that you're not. For that you earned my subscribe. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing that with us :) If you feel better that way, it means u made the right decision!!
yay! I'm so glad you (in a sense) are back!
I am happy that you stopped selling out. I sorry to sound harsh, but being a gaijin on Japanese TV means that you will reinforce stereotypes of foreigners within Japan instead of portraying a realistic view. This harms _all_ foreigners living in Japan, and that's why I incredibly appreciate your youtube stuff, cause that's showing a _realistic_ foreigner....
Life always takes us through high paths and low ones, and it's never easy for anyone. Especially when you've been forced down one that you thought you'd enjoy but ended up not. Impostor syndrome is also hard to break away from but I'm glad you've been able to pull away from it! I've been watching your videos for about 5 years and it makes me so happy to see that you've grown as a person and a creator and I really look forward to the content you put out. Keep going!
Thank you for sharing this!
私も以前、少しTVの仕事をしていました。TVは宣伝業界なので視聴率とスポンサーを取れるように娯楽として、より大げさにより分り易く事実に脚色しますね。そこに真実があるかどうかは、お察しの通りです。
天気予報の台風時のエキストラもありましたね、台風の中「はい！そこからそこまで傘持って歩いて！」みたいな。天気予報ですらそうですから、ミカエラさんの判断はとても賛同します。給料も今は安いしTV業界の仕事はもうやりませんねｗ
凄く良く解る‼️
Any time someone wants you to give your time to help them, you should be compensated. You made the right move. Love your vids.
日本のマスコミがご迷惑をおかけした事、属する国民として恥ずかしく、申し訳ない気持ちでいっぱいになりました。本当にごめんなさい。ミカエラさんの自己成長、自己実現への思想、感銘を受けました。これからも楽しみに動画お待ちしてますんで頑張りすぎない程度で頑張って("´∀｀)bｸﾞｯ!
ありがとうございます！ よろしくお願いします！
To be honest, I did notice a difference with your videos over time. I certainly don' t mind sponsored videos, or reviews, but even when you were smiling, you just weren't the same. I stopped watching, but would check in once in a while. I almost didn't click on this video, but I'm glad I did. I'm glad to see you just freely talking. This is the real liveliness of you personality that started me watching in the first place. I look forward to more! Even if you do review products, if you can keep your spirit and let it shining through - I'll be watching.
I'm proud of you.
It must feel food to get that off your chest.
GOOD***
hahahahahaha
Great, NOW I want food on my chest! lol
Having food on my chest must feel amazing...
I'm hungry and I would give anything to have food on my chest right now.
Good. Now we can have you all to ourselves again.☺ Don't change and continue making awesome videos, Micaela! We're with you!😊
普段のミカエラさんが一番良いと思う。私がミカエラさんだったら同じことをしたと思います。これからも動画作り頑張って下さい😊😊応援してます*\(^o^)/*
I'm so happy that you came back to RUclips as a RUclipsr. It means a lot to me. I like it that you are on RUclips much better than you are on TV.