The Contestant is a documentary film that followed a person who participated in a game show in 1998. He wasn't aware that he was being watched. The objective was to win ¥ 1 000 000 worth of prizes. This could only be achieved through winning prizes through competitions in magazines.
The contestant's name was Tomoaki Hamatsu. He was populary known as Nasubi (eggplant), due to the shape of his head. He stayed alone, unclothed, in an apartment for Susunu! Denpa Shōnen, a Japanese reality-television show on Nippon Television. He was challenged to enter mail-in sweepstakes.
He got selected by way of a lottery. He aspired to be a comedian. This is due to his expeeriences of being bullied at school. He started with nothing (including no clothes), was cut off from outside communication and broadcasting and had nothing to keep him company except the magazines he combed through for sweepstakes entry forms.
At first, Hamatsu was surviving on a few crackers each day given to him by production staff so that he would not starve to death. Eventually, Hamatsu won some sugary drinks from his sweepstakes entries and the crackers were no longer given to him. Later on, Hamatsu won a bag of rice but having not won any pots or containers with which to heat it, he was forced to eat it raw but after fashioning a makeshift heating container with a discarded bag, he was able to cook the rice by placing it next to the lit stove. However, canned and kibble dog food became Hamatsu's primary food source for some time after running out of rice.
He would write diary entries, which would be turned into books and become best sellers. The TV show broke all records with 17 million viewers each Sunday night. As the show goes on; so does the illustration of the deteriation of his psyche. He also starts to struggle physically. Despite these struggles, the show continued to make light of his condition.
While contained, he would often say that he would like to go to an amusement park when he had finished. When he achieved the ¥ 1 000 000 after 335 days, he was blindfolded and his wish was fulfilled. After they removed Hamatsu's blindfold, he found himself in South Korea. Hamatsu was given a day at Seoul Land amusement park, where he was able to enjoy Korean barbecue (his favourite food) and ride on the park's multiple attractions. However, after finishing, Hamatsu was taken to another apartment. However, the amount was different. It was reduced to ¥ 480 000. He achieved this in a shorter period. The entire ordeal lasted about 15 months (January 1998–April 1999)
When he completed this one, it was the first time he realised how famous he had become. He came to this realisation when he was taken to a talk show and there were hundreds of people clapping and cheering. Going to this was a complete shock as he was totally unaware of going to one.
Instead of being outraged by the whole ordeal, he embraced it. He became a public figure. He became an inspirational person. In 2016, Hamatsu successfully scaled Mount Everest after three aborted attempts in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
I found this documentary to be very interesting. Of course, I don't agree with the conditions he lived in and what it did to him. However, I am happy about the eventual outcome and the aftermath of the show.
If there's one thing that pops in my mind about this is the movie, The Truman Show. It has pretty much the same premise. Ironically, this show started before the movie was released. It's hard, then, to identify which came first. It an identical scenario to that of the chicken and the egg. Either way, both movies have similar endings.
As such, both are a must watch.
"Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!"
- Truman Burbank (The Truman Show)