Remember that photo of Kirsten Dunst in some kind of anime-inspired outfit that I posted a few months ago? If you’ll recall, it supposedly came from a music-video shoot in Tokyo’s famed Akihabara district. Well, the finished video has finally leaked out into the InterWebs, and, despite the best efforts of the corporate copyright Nazis to get it taken down, there are still copies floating around. Like this one, courtesy of the esteemed SamuraiFrog:
(Be warned before you hit “play” that there are manga-style cartoon boobies in this, so some people might consider it NSFW and/or offensive.)
I’ve found in my online wanderings that Kirsten is something of a binary proposition: people seem to either really like her or they really do not. Her detractors tend to become especially fixated on her uneven teeth, for some reason. Personally, I think she’s adorable, teeth and all. Not conventionally pretty, perhaps, but she’s got something that works for me. I especially like that sultry eyebrow-lifting thing she does sometimes — you can see it in this video at about the 2:37 mark. Is that TMI? Probably…
Anyhow, as you saw in the opening title card, this video was directed by McG, the guy responsible for the most recent entry in the Terminator series as well as those two Charlie’s Angels movies a few years ago; the producer, Takashi Murakami, is a Japanese artist who works in a variety of media. My understanding is that the video was played on an endless loop at the entrance to Murakami’s recent “Pop Life” exhibition at the Tate Modern in London.
Now, you may wonder what the heck a mid-list starlet in a blue wig singing a 30-year-old one-hit-wonder has to do with an art exhibition. I’ve read that it supposedly articulates the cliche’d Japan of Western imagination, i.e., Murakami’s notion of Anglo-American stereotypes about his native country’s pop culture. Or some damn thing. The really important point is that it gives us an excuse to see Kirsten Dunst in a blue wig and a really short skirt singing one of the most terminally catchy tunes of the ’80s, The Vapors’ “Turning Japanese.” Which is really not about masturbation, as the old urban legend we all heard in middle school claimed. At least, The Vapors say it’s not about that, and they oughta know, right?
Damn, she’s got long legs… and there’s that eyebrow thing again…
Mar052010
Kirstin Dunst doesn’t do it for me one way or the other, but Turning Japanese is one of my favorite songs from the 80s. I don’t believe for a second that it’s not about . . . er, “self love.” I think the Vapors just don’t want to go down in history as the dudes who sang that one song about wanking. Just listen to the lyrics . . . what else could they be about??
I don’t know, Robert… it’s always struck me as more of a creepy, obsessive stalker descending into psychosis song… but then there are a lot of songs from the ’80s that seem to fit that description. “Every Breath You Take,” for instance. Hell, pretty much everything The Police did, for that matter.
Maybe I just had a sheltered upbringing here in good ol’ SLC. 🙂
I really like this version of the song. Perfect for her, actually and I’m also glad to see a less “traditional” music video style at least for today’s styles.
Looks like it was shot on one of the new video DSLR’s.
Me likie.
Heh – I’m ogling the girl and you’re thinking about what kind of camera they used. That’s about par for the course, I guess… 🙂