Here is a very unique twist on the safer sex PSA! An American director, Bryan Jackson, decided to collaborate with Japanese artists to create a safer sex PSA starring Asian actors to use for promotion in both the United States and Japan. What makes this even more revolutionary is that they developed a creative short film, not just a commercial in the standard sense. Filmed mostly in California, the PSA called Little Taiko Boy, is set against a Japanese background, yet there was no skimping on production design since the PSA visually looks like it was filmed in Japan! Under normal circumstances we might never bring a PSA to your attention, but this highly original, creative safer sex video combines western holiday traditions, Shinto mythology, and Japanese gay culture to advocate a very different way of wrapping gifts for a loved one!
Officially, Little Taiko Boy’s soundtrack is described as a safer-sex parody of the American Christmas carol The Little Drummer Boy interspersed with the slow rumble of a traditional Japanese taiko drum that sounds like a massive throbbing heart beat. Contrasting elements weave both modern and traditional music with images of East meets West.
What is very interesting about Jackson’s approach is his several trips to Japan in the course of developing Little Taiko Boy and that he made the video with a grant from Art Matters, a foundation created to assist artists who make art with the intention of breaking ground aesthetically and socially. No doubt this broke some new ground!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks