Strange People
Hen na Hito

Spring 1997; 20 minutes; cast and crew of 8; approximate cost of $0; not rated.

Synopsis

This twenty-minute production is equally divided into two intermixed portions: the first is a documentary-style tour through David Benjamin and Clark Kirkman's homes; the second is a collection of silly commercials--Mountain Dew, Nike, Hitmen "R" Us (complete commercial available for download below), Toyota, and more. The catch is that, since Strange People was produced as a supplement to David and Clark's senior projects in Japanese class, the entire video is in Japanese. (Even Scott Rubey, who has not studied Japanese in a classroom setting, speaks some Japanese in the Mountain Dew commercial.) Strange People has no plot because it has no characters, but the commercials (especially the humorously bloody hitman commercial and the fast-paced parodic Mountain Dew commercial) make this an interesting, though quite different, addition to the Tokugawa experience. Well, at least I think so.

Mountain Dew commercial Oishii desu ne!

Downloads Hitmen "R" Us commercial (3.7 MB MOV) Warning: this contains a fair amount of violence, so don't watch it if you are squeamish. Translation of opening narration: Are you waiting for your inheritance? Did your college professor flunk you? If so, Hitmen "R" Us can help!