The great deal about Jake Clenell’s absurdly honest take on this niche of men servicing females in closely similar proportions of prostitutes is that it fundamentally portrays that we do not have the answers to the deepest darkest questions that we ask about ourselves; whether we’re looking at our jobs or relationships, and who we are is truth that flows through the course of our lives. At its core, it raises the questions that we probably do not know what we really want, or if we do, we do not know what to do or how to deal with deficits. Osaka is the place we look at, focusing on Issei (just 22 years old) and his club, Rakkyo.
What was annoying though was that parts and connection that were drawn on depicting the cultural aspects of Japan we found to be funny when it clearly was just the way people communicate, albeit fairly dissimilar to Western culture. I find it slightly disrespectful; since I don’t laugh at Western cultures despite providing high figures of doomed relationships that were mingling with pretentiousness and validation of self existence bordering on the foolish. But I shall never understand, perhaps for now, although the mood for the movie was brutally honest and I truly liked it.
Getting on to the deails of such host clubs; prostitution is celebrated as men’s fantasy, desire and urge that men have accumulated inside. Its emphasis is of the physical state, venting sexual frustration and tensions that are choked up without any release. Bar hostesses, GROs, strippers provides company, entertainment, friendly chats and flirting which more or less rather rejuvenates a person mentally. Male hosts, however, sells and paints dreams. Dreams of attention, love, compassion, innate hunger, longing and desire for the lonely women who are in fact their customers. Any woman could walk herself right in, few drinks and champagnes later she would be the happiest girl alive; at least they try to make her feel that way. Comfort is essential, since we are dealing with sensitive, delicate and emotional creatures after all. Indeed to some extent these guys are good; Issei is exceptional to the guys in doing his job, phenomenal to the girls. Answers to the questions of their sincerity lie in the numbers.
In the simplest form, a male host is a salesman; we are taken through scenes where they actually do public direct selling of their services out on the streets, with umbrellas too, selling their company to women and linger and shower them with drinks, attention and a champagne or 3.Champagnes range from $250 to $5000, and they get surrounded by male hosts when they make their “champagne call”. The amount that they spend would eventually be a male host’s pay. As part of their job, they are required to sing, drink, dance, talk, lie, joke, listen, advice, puke and whatever else they would require of them, as long as it keeps them happy. You would be thinking they would end up in bed all the time, but we’ll get to that part later.
It is neither a new concept nor a stroke of genius. What Issei does is that he rips apart with intent targeting the susceptibility and loneliness of these women clients who are ecstatic that people do care and party with them, loving, hugging, kissing, and having sex with them too, for a price. This is as close as it gets to buying happiness and love. Being there drinking and spacing out actually creates a very real fantasy world where they are the goddess/princess or whatever they are, they know they are in control of the current universe with all these men worshipping her (money). It is impossible to justify spending obscene amounts on something so temporary, menacing and possibly self destructive with all the lies and booze involved, but it IS happening.
And I wonder why. How far is a woman going to chase this illusionary happiness is something the male hosts toy upon, it is their bed and butter after all. Women are willing to spend on anything to be happy, for that is what ultimate matters, but what exactly are they looking for varies within each individual. Looking from the host club’s perspective, to make lots of money would be to have these same regularly, rich depressing women who come back often enough looking to spend some money to be happy. Morality comes into play. The ultimate form of companionship they can provide would be sex, and sex, would not be the best choice to keep them coming all the time. There is a dream to sell, which is more than sex, but the idea of being happy. And dreams pay better than sex.
Technically, male hosts are not male whores, believe what you may. The honest admission of guilt from Issei comes from his comments while discussing about the morality issue of letting these women spend all their money on them and starve and contribute to social restlessness against the desire to make more money. The lie is built on relationships, and forges into trust in time, the greatest paradox I’ve heard, but there is a moral duty for these host to avoid them spending every hard earned penny on them, where some host confess to earning $20,000- $30,000 a month. Issei said, “This is the only reason why i don’t make more than $50,000 a month.”
The demographics are appalling; though basically every woman is welcomed, most of the women interviewed are fuzokus, and some find the solace in host clubs in the fact that they are both doing the same things, except fuzokus doesn’t focuses on building relationships. They cannot find other avenues with which they could release their own stress, and no one else who would understand it more than these male hosts. Society in general looks down on prostitution, especially for women, and we find that many of these women are healing themselves by bonding with males that would understand and listen, albeit at a price. One girl even admitted to hating being a fuzoku, but without her current job, she would not be able to support her own lifestyle of going to Rakkyo every week. Getting her paycheck and visiting Issei is what keeps her going on and on and on. Issei’s affection is the paramount reason for some women to always be back there, some hoping to actually connect on a real-world basis.It will never be possible to fully understand the needs of our species.
Is love really everything, even if love is a lie?
T
