Last night I finished the new Hulu documentary "The Contestant". I clocked this movie solely based on a picture. I was scrolling through Hulu one day and saw this picture of a gentleman sitting down with wild hair and a bushy goatee. It was at that moment that I thought, what is this, and I need to find out asap. I did a little research and found out it was a doc about the first "reality show". I watched one trailer and that was all I needed to watch. I started it the other day, but my son got home from school, and he was not interested. That is why it took me two days to finish.

I really liked what I saw. This is an eye opening doc. There are so many things in here that made me gasp and audibly say things to no one besides my dog. I could not believe what I was seeing. The movie is about a young actor in Japan, nicknamed Nasubi. That is the Japanese word for eggplant. He is called this because he has a very long face. He was bullied as a child because of this, but found out that if he made people laugh, he would not get picked on. After growing up and not enjoying the day to day office life, he decided to become an actor and comedian. He was amongst a group of other no known actors to participate in a new show. His ticket was picked and he was off to do a show, of which he had no idea what it was going to be. He is taken to a room, stripped of all of his clothes, has the essential things to survive, and is told that he can only leave the room when he earns 1,000,000 yen by mailing in postcards from popular magazines. This all takes place in the late 90's. So, Nasubi knows he is being filmed, but doesn't think it is ever going to see the light of day. He is also totally alone and the only way to get food, clothes and whatever else he may need, is to play these mail in postcard games from magazines.

The doc starts off goofy and funny, but it quickly turns dark, and kind of sad. You can see the struggles Nasubi is going through. You can see him starving. At one point, after he eats all of his rice, he is left to eat dog food. I was so sad for him at that point. Seeing him slowly lose his mind was hard to watch. He didn't deserve this, but he was there everyday, everything being filmed and watched and he kept plugging away at these postcards. The producers and creators of this show kept pushing. People kept tuning in, so they just kept it going. They moved him and gave him new tasks. He had to figure things out all over again. And he did. And he was eventually done with this, but it still felt like bullying, the way he was treated afterward. He became a caricature. I felt really bad for him because you could tell he was still really struggling with everyday life. He eventually used his newfound fame to help others. He did what he could for the horrific tsunamis and earthquakes in his hometown. He climbed Mt Everest to make money for another earthquake in Delphi. He did things to help others. Instead of trying to take his fame and become an actor or comedian known worldwide, he did things to make sure others were taken care of. Nasubi is a good dude who did not deserve to go through the horrific 15 months he did for content. I am so glad he came out of the other end a better person.

I recommend this doc wholeheartedly. It is a glimpse inside the awful world of "reality tv", and how it kind of got its start. And Nasubi is so much better than the people who used him for 15 months. "The Contestant" is a very good doc and you should watch it right now. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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