The Contestant

What does this 2023 documentary about a man who takes part in a Japanese reality television show, Susunu! Denpa Shōnen. in the late 1990’s, show us about the morality of such shows? How does the show work to isolate the man from human contact, and why? Why is he stripped of his clothes and confined to a room for over a year? How do the live audiences respond as they watch him? How does he respond? What parallel shows exist in American television, and why are these sorts of shows popular? How does the scenario resemble the fictional world of the film The Truman Show? How does the man respond when released? How does he tap into his experience when it comes to aiding his home town of Fukushima and the nation of Nepal after they suffer disasters? Would he have undertaken these projects if he had not been subject to the degrading experience on Susunu! Denpa Shōnen? Why is it that older generations typically are repulsed by reality TV and similar social media sensations, while younger people are not? Is there a process of maturation that accounts for this, or is it merely cultural? How has the reality TV phenomenon, and commercial sponsorship, morphed and decentralized with the advent of social media? Is this a good or bad thing?