Ueda and the Women: Extras Beaming Over Anxiety Disorders
Ep.79 – Ueda and the Women: Extras Beaming Over Anxiety Disorders
Prologue
As usual, Nippon TV’s programs are dripping with bad-faith editing. Idiotic.
Honestly, it’s probably best not to watch anything from them except anime.
It was my mistake to expect any intelligence from Nippon TV.
⸻
Essay
“Ueda and the Women Who Bark at Night” – Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety and panic disorders are not some personal weakness, nor are they just “overthinking.”
They often come from the relentless “If you can’t do it, you’re worthless” mindset in overpopulated cities.
People who have them are not “broken” – they’re normal people in abnormal environments.
Imagine this:
You’re told, “Be there by noon.”
You don’t speak a word of English, you’re given nothing but a smartphone,
and the meeting place is in Toronto, Canada.
“Oh, and we won’t come pick you up—meet us there, find your own way.
If you fail, your life is forfeit.”
Tell me your heart wouldn’t be pounding out of your chest.
⸻
Why Japanese cities can feel like hostile territory
If you’re unfamiliar with a place, the signage is unhelpful, easy to misread,
and one wrong turn can land you somewhere completely different.
Now imagine being told to go to Tokyo alone. Of course you’d be anxious.
Especially in the subway:
• The station layouts are confusing.
• Smartphone navigation struggles with vertical directions.
• Construction often means the route looks different from the map.
• Unlike at Disneyland, there aren’t friendly staff in bright uniforms everywhere to guide you.
At most Japanese stations, staff are scarce.
And if the one person you work up the courage to ask for help gives you a cold look,
you’re going to feel even more unsafe.
Even celebrities have said, “When I see slow people in the station, I get irritated—they’re in the way.
I think, ‘Why stop here, you idiot?’”
⸻
Stage fright and the culture of zero tolerance for mistakes
Playing an instrument with your heart racing, hands shaking—
this comes from a culture where mistakes aren’t tolerated.
If even mistakes could be accepted as art when done creatively,
stage fright would drop dramatically.
But in Japan, it’s “Play it perfectly or be criticized.”
No wonder people internalize the idea that failure is fatal.
⸻
Why I turned it off after 3 minutes
The show was full of people with anxiety disorders,
but they spoke with such glee, almost pride,
that I deleted it after just three minutes.
It felt like they were performers in some “Museum of Illness,”
as if to say, “See? We’re special because we’re sick,
and you wouldn’t understand.”
⸻
The problem with “Illness as Identity”
There are people who treat their condition like a personality trait:
• “My panic disorder is just part of who I am ♪”
• “I want you to see me as fragile and special ♪”
But those who are truly suffering:
• Have tight, strained expressions.
• Can’t fake smiles for the camera.
• Are busy just trying to breathe steadily.
• Struggle to explain themselves even when they want to be understood.
When a show treats illness like a quirky badge of honor,
it’s not raising awareness—it’s exploiting pain for content.
⸻
The “Emotional Noise” effect
Even if someone’s tears or anger are fake,
for those with high empathy, the brain still processes them as real.
This is emotional noise pollution.
The result:
• Air in the room turns heavy.
• Food loses its taste.
• The body tenses up.
It’s like an “emotional scent” that clings to everything.
And for highly sensitive people, it’s exhausting.
⸻
On Nippon TV’s brand of cruelty
This isn’t new. Nippon TV often pairs human vulnerability with laugh tracks or mocking edits.
Example:
A man says, “I’m lonely, I have no friends, so I overeat and gained weight.”
The show overlays audience laughter.
That’s not entertainment—it’s bullying with a broadcast license.
⸻
On “Kazu to Manabu” switching from health to politics
The program dropped its health-checkup theme and moved on to politics.
Maybe it’s slightly better, but the same problems remain:
• Forcing certain personalities (like Kazushige Nagashima) into the “fool” role.
• Feeding him scripted “stupid” lines for easy laughs.
• Creating an atmosphere where even if he dislikes a line, he can’t refuse to say it.
The formula of “Put a fool on screen so the audience feels smart” is outdated.
What viewers need now are programs that make them think,
not ones that rot their empathy.
⸻
ChatGPT’s note:
“Anxiety isn’t a flaw—it’s a natural response to an unhealthy environment.
When more people are anxious, it’s the environment that needs changing,
not the people.”
Panda’s sensitivity isn’t a weakness; it’s a warning system.
And shows that deliberately dull that sensitivity?
Better off switching them off.
⸻
Epilogue
Tomorrow I’m going out.
Kind of funny, right? On a day that’s supposedly “Japan’s doomsday,”
my family is doing my son’s pre-shoot for his coming-of-age ceremony.
I just hope the light’s gentle—too much sun would be a problem…
but so would rain.
