Psychic TV: The Paranormal as Popular Culture in Japanese Television of the 1990s

Abstract

NIGHT HEAD was a science fiction drama that aired on Japan’s Fuji TV between 1992 and 1993. The series arrived during a wave of interest in the paranormal, a trend that was embraced by commercial television in both dramatic programs and variety/infotainment talk shows. This boom of interest in the paranormal happened within the thriving economic and cultural environment of Japan’s Bubble Era, a period that saw a rapid expansion of television in addition to the prosperity of markets in real estate and industry. NIGHT HEAD portrays a darker vision of 90s Japan, using visual effects and moody, intense images and sounds to conjure a desperate sensibility. This article will offer an analysis of the “attractive” paranormal turn in Japan during the 1990s, using NIGHT HEAD as a case for considering the intersection of youth, visual effects, and the desire for an alternative way of understanding the world beyond rationality.

Keywords

Japanese television visual effects paranormal media 1990s Japan Bubble Japan science fiction

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