PM Fukuda's New Year's Greeting

Link to YouTube clip
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SwtDu1KDYo4

Here's a bizarre little piece brought to my attention from Japan Today.

Link to Japan Today - Quote of the Day
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/quote/2415

It's boring (even more so than speeches by previous Japanese Prime Minister Abe) and blatant propaganda. It is also a lesson on how not to film a speech. Here are some observations form a body/comm visual anthropologist:

It is terribly obvious that Fukuda is reading from a teleprompter; his eyes and at times entire head moves from side to side as he reads. You can also tell when the film shifts to the strange perspective giving us Fukuda's profile against the Japanese flag.

Fukuda is also very uncomfortable during this filming. He has dry mouth and makes some unintentional facial gestures at interesting points in his speech. His eyebrows appear angry when he introduces himself as "prime minister." His eyes make an uncomfortable squint when he mentions "change."

Am I being too hard on the guy? Should I give him an A for effort (after all his pronunciation isn't that bad...)? No. He fails in presentation, and even more important, he fails on content. Happy 2008 indeed...

UPDATE!

"Fukuda seen as tanuki..."

Photo borrowed from El Mundo de Dragon Ball http://www.boladedragon.com/foro/viewtopic.php?p=749681

From an article in the Daily Yomiuri (1/5/08), "Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is a tanuki (raccoon dog)... in a recent Internet survey..."

"On images they associate with Fukuda, many respondents said they thought he was like tanuki as it is hard to guess what he is thinking, he looks hard-nosed, and can sometimes seem vague."

Read the DY article:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080105TDY03105.htm