Tokyo Girls – an insightful documentary by Penelope Buitenhuis about hostess bars in Japan

Tokyo Girls is a very insightful documentary film directed by Penelope Buitenhuis (2000, produced by The National Film Board of Canada), showing the complex world of nightclubs and hostess bars in Japan, discussing very openly the gleams and shadows of the lives of women, who opt for such a career, seen through the eyes of the hostess girls, their employers and clients, and the experts in psychology and anthropology, even touching on Geisha and Mizu shobai (water business) and Dohan (paid dates) topics.

This is a documentary showing the Western and Japanese culture through the lenses of femininity and masculinity and their social constructs, full of contrasts affecting the subject of sex, money, glamour and threats. It is a film about selling and buying dreams.

I recommend watching Tokyo Girls on YouTube to everyone, who is interested in better understanding of the Japanese culture and the world of nightclubs in Japan.

 

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