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Suppose
you're a loving, devoted mother to a large family. Day after day, you
wake up in the wee early hours of the morning and prepare a wholesome
breakfast, awake the tired troops and send them off to school, work, or
whatever exciting activities they have planned, while at the end of it
all, you're left home alone again with just a pile of dirty dishes and
a hope of gratitude. And you're sick of it!! Want a break? Who you gonna
call? Shingo Mama!!
Shingo Mama will cook
your breakfast! Shingo Mama will wake your kids! Shingo Mama will pack
them up and send them off to school, and even do the dirty dishes when
they're gone, all while you continue to spend the day relaxed and asleep.
Gift from God in an ideal world? Not exactly. The lovely *ahem* lady to
your right is that very gift. In the Japanese world of real TV variety
shows based on the art of juxtaposition, this program is easily one of
the most popular on television.
Shingo Mama is a
concept presented on an afternoon TV show called "Sata Suma",
or "Saturday SMAP". Find out more about SMAP here.
The show is hosted by Masahiro Nakai and Shingo Katori, and the jist of
the show is this: women who are tired and frustrated with their jobs write
in requests for the boys to come in and take over for a day. While Nakai
takes the jobs for the unmarried daily grind type - cashiers, elevator
girls, bus drivers - Shingo Katori takes over the job of the overworked
housewife.
Shingo's
job description is this: On a date agreed upon by he and the blessed
homemaker, Shingo, dressed in gaudy pink garb and occasionally a wig,
wakes up in the wee hours of the morning (5:30 - 6:30 usually) and lets
himself in the house. He turns off everyone's alarm, since it will be
his job to wake the family without waking the mother. He then goes downstairs
and makes breakfast - out of anything that's in the fridge. At
a specific time, he wakes up each member of the family, and brings them
down to breakfast. At the breakfast table, he takes on the mother's role:
scolding kids about the messes they made, doing their homework, about
how much money the teenagers spend, and so on and so forth. He then send
them off to school... but not without a good-bye kiss!
Why does this work?
A number of carefully calculated reasons. If you check into SMAP, you'll
find that it's a group of talents made up of entirely rather hunky and
talented guys, all in their mid to late twenties. Women grew up with them,
and now still watch to see their favourite idols on TV. Second, who wouldn't
want their job taken over on the busiest day of the year - without having
to pay the replacement? Next,
the concept it close to ridiculous. While Nakai can often pull the role
off being small and pretty-faced, the boys both have to wear the
female dress. While both of them are brilliant actors, Shingo is particular
is six feet tall, stocky, and in no way feminine or motherly. He looks
hilarious, and knows it. Also, the only person in the family who knows
he's coming is the mother. The reactions of the rest of the family, therefore,
are part of the entertainment! One of the other charms of the show is
watching what amazing meals Shingo can cook up from the nothingness of
leftovers and mayonnaise in the fridge! They're all tasty - find out more
about them in the breakfast section.
So, in honour
of Shingo Katori's brilliant efforts to ease the daily struggle of the
unappreciated housewife, I devote this page to teaching the English-speaking
world about his existence. Please feel free to browse the links on the
left, and if you have any comments or questions, don't hesitate to contact
me at [email protected].
You can message Shingo Mama, BTW, at this
page, and translations for the entry blanks can be found on the Japanese
Stuff page.
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