“The Contestant” is an absolutely fascinating documentary that plays like a warning against the dangers of reality television. Equal parts gripping, compelling, and disturbing, director Clair Titley tells the story of Tomoaki Hamatsu, an aspiring comedian who goes by the nickname Nasubi, who becomes the unwitting subject of a Japanese reality show that pushes the boundaries of entertainment and ethics. Titley exposes the behind-the-scenes realities of what some people are willing to do to entertain the masses, as well as the emotional and physical cost of the greedy hunger for high ratings.
After winning the chance to participate on the reality television show Susunu! Denpa Shōnen, Nasubi was stripped naked and put inside a bare room. The premise of the show was that the contestant was challenged to enter mail-in sweepstakes until he won prizes totaling one million Yen. Starting with absolutely nothing, not even clothes or food, Nasubi had to win what he needed to survive. Isolated from all humans and contact with the outside world, these extreme living conditions took a serious mental and physical toll on the man.
Nasubi kept a diary while he was participating as contestant, and his writings show a serious depression to the point where he even became suicidal from the isolation and loneliness. The show took things way too far, from not giving Nasubi the mental health treatment he desperately needed to slipping him a small portion of crackers solely to keep him from starving to death. Things got out of hand quickly.
Titley interviews Nasubi, his family, and the show’s notorious producer Toshio Tsuchiya (who is painted with a nefarious brush that he probably deserves) between clips and transcripts from the actual show that aired in the late 1990s. Even watching the archival footage of these television episodes made me feel bad about and sad for the living conditions that Nasubi endured. The crazy thing is that he wasn’t being forced to continue to play the game. The room where he was kept was unlocked and he was able to leave at any time, yet he didn’t even when he was on the verge of starving. I’d love to see another documentary that only focuses on the emotional side, as the PTSD must be astounding after living the way Nasubi did for over a year.
When you step back from society’s obsession with oversharing and viewing this as “just another t.v. show,” there’s something heartbreaking about the level of cruelty and manipulation that Nasubi endured. Titley doesn’t shy away from showing the darkest aspects of Nasubi’s ordeal, especially how Tsuchiya saw him as a novelty and commodity rather than a human being. It is awful what was done in the name of entertainment.
Titley briefly shows what happened to Nasubi in the years after he participated in the show, and it’s uplifting to see how he became a humanitarian out of, believe it or not, pure chance. I understand why she wanted to end her film this way, but the examination of the time spent filming the show is definitely much more compelling than what came after.
“The Contestant” is a highly disturbing documentary film that raises important questions about the culture of reality t.v. and the ethical boundaries of pop culture. One thing is for certain: there should never be a human cost for our entertainment.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 