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koukoku

Sometimes when I watch Japanese TV advertisements, I feel like I'm seeing other people's dreams. The moviestars that lend their presence here (though one would be hard pressed to find them on US advertisements, last time I checked), have been a source of amusement back in the U.S. There's Arnie's longish foray into vitamin drink pimping. Sofia Coppola's movie, Lost in Translation uses the gimmick of Four Roses bourbon to get Murray's character to Japan. When I was in Japan in 1993-4, Christopher Lambert and (pre-comeback) Sean Connery were hawking that then. I'm reminded daily that this is a different country, with different values than the U.S. Many times, that's a good thing. Other times, it's not. It's just disturbing to see action stars Jean Reno and Timothy Dalton hawk cigarettes over here. Hey, speak Lark.

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