Flashback Friday: Miliyah Kato - Lonely Hearts | Problematic shit

I told y'all (or maybe just myself) that my Flashback Friday's this month would be Pride themed in some sense. But that didn't mean that all of my picks would be super colourful and cute, because that's not all that Pride is and or should be - even though the marketing for Pride says otherwise. 

Pride is a celebration of being able to live your life openly, but so many are not able to do that, and go to extreme lengths because they are unable to. I sometimes think that there is so much focus on the rainbows, that there isn't enough of a spotlight on the darker corners of the queer community and queer existence which need to have the light shone on them far more frequently. There's so much spoken for being out and that it's all colour and rainbows, when that's not the reality for everybody. And when it comes to homosexuality, the default always seems to be men.

HENNYWAY. 

I'm getting ahead of myself. And some of you are probabaly wondering what the fuck all this talk of what Pride should and shouldn't be has to do with a Miliyah Kato video. We'll get there.

⚠️ Those of you who have watched this music video know what you're about to be in for. It's a pretty dark video. So, disclaimer. If you are triggered by things which allude to suicide and domestic violence, then do not watch this.

Looking at this music video through a queer lens, so many of the different situations depicted in it intersect and overlap what were common occurrences in the queer community during the 80s - especially for those who were Black and of colour. Shit. They're still problems even now. This isn't the point and the narrative being told specifically in this video, but the parallels jumped out to me. 

But looking at this music video with a more local lens, it's incredibly cool and extremely necessary that we got these depictions in a Japanese music video from a woman, and that the video as a whole was so women focused. Everything we saw in this music video has a broad message which addresses worldwide issues - but it was also a direct and pointed look at how Japan doesn't address bullying, domestic violence, homelessness, homophobia and suicide with the focus and importance that it should. And it's also important to note that homosexuality is so often skewed towards men and not women. When two men kiss, its gay. When two women kiss, it's sexy, its tantalising. It's viewed completely differently in mainstream media and pop culture, which has conditioned this distinction. And there's a lot to be said for how this is viewed in Japan alone across various media. You could argue that MAYBE even this music video could have done a slightly better job with depicting a romance between girls, given that some may see it as playing into a trope of it being two schoolgirls. But that says more about problematic men in Japan and the porn they consume, and less about the music video.

A music video making a commentary on Japanese societal issues, which are also global issues, which intersect with queer culture through and through. Who woulda thought? But everything is connected. It may seem at times we live in different worlds, but we are all here living in the same one, in the same universe. One person's problem may not be yours today, but could be tomorrow or for somebody close to you. So it pays off to care and advocate. And we all deserve the right to be safe, loved and be our true selves without feeling like there is a threat to our lives.