tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post4526897042010528394..comments2023-10-20T18:03:01.821+09:00Comments on GlobalTalk 21: Things People Don’t Talk about (6): What’s the Japanese Term for “Bimbo”?Jun Okumurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-89573449489843298342012-08-20T11:03:32.742+09:002012-08-20T11:03:32.742+09:00Good morning, MTC:
I would call Suzanne and Kinos...Good morning, MTC:<br /><br />I would call Suzanne and Kinoshita Yukina <i>obaka kyara;</i> (I can't speak for the others since I don't know the others well enough or at all.) But they are <i>tarento</i> who have sustained successful careers by playing to their characters. In that sense, they are different from the likes of Lindsey Lohan, Jessica Simpson, and Bittney Spears, who have suffered from the shortcomings of their personal makeup. Now, I believe that many people will consider Paris Hilton and the Kardashian sisters bimbos extraordinaire. I’m not so sure. There’s a sense of sustained glamour and success about them that does not quite jibe with bimbohood; likewise, their upward career trajectories from sex tapes are not consonant with the floozy flat-lining that I at least associate with bimbos as highly depreciable assets. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Snooki seems to be the only died-in-the-wool bimbo that has enjoyed sustained commercial success. Is that because she’s just playing to her character—for example, Lucille Ball was one of the smartest and single-minded women in the TV business—or is it the brilliance of the concept behind <i>Jersey Shore?</i> Maybe we should ask our own Jersey boy P.S., who has knocked back a few with Snooki in his time.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-43128283713729171222012-08-20T09:56:53.851+09:002012-08-20T09:56:53.851+09:00Okumura-san:
Perhaps the word "bimbo" -...Okumura-san:<br /><br />Perhaps the word "bimbo" -- with its echoes of "jumbo" -- freezes our minds by restricting our musing to idiots of somewhat larger physical dimensions.<br /><br />Were we to consider "bimbettes" -- petite "bimbos" -- one can list dozens of diminutive dimmer bulbs of the chandelier:<br /><br />Itano Tomomi<br />Suzanne<br />Suzuki Nana<br />Kinoshita Yukina<br />Kohala Tomomi<br /><br />You better than I can fill in the candidates from previous generations.<br /><br />What would then be the term to describe ladies such as the above?MTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.com