Entertainment

Welcome to the NHK
Welcome to the NHK is a novel, manga and television series created by Tatsuhiko Takimoto that centers around a young man, Tatsuhiro Sato, who has lived alone in his apartment with little outside contact for four years, a textbook definition hikikomori. Tatsuhiko explores the psychology of both hikikomoris and those who try to help them, his story provokes that social isolation is something that can not easily be fought, and attempting to fight can lead to only worsening the condition. His work shows us that this problem may not have an answer and that hikikomori and social isolation, like their much more known counterpart, depression, may be something that someone has to live with and hopefully grow away from. The animated series portion of of NHK is notably different in tone and pacing than other series in its category. NHK has a very blunt and realistic approach to this topic, exploring every issue of the hikikomori showing the difficulty of performing mundane tasks such as talking to others, getting food, or doing work. When the show's setting takes place outside the color palette of the show is bright and vivid with rich greens for plants and bright stars at night, emphasizing the beauty of nature, however this is usually when the main character is at his most clumsy, awkward and, albeit least isolated. When the setting is in Sato's room, the palette shifts to darker and blander colors, often the only source of light in the room being the soft glow of a computer screen. His room also often contains garbage and disorganized belongings sprawled across the floor which he often ignores. Overall, this shift in colors alone signals the seriousness of Sato's condition, which forces him to resist and even despise the beauty of the outdoors while he sadly waits in his room for hours. As the show progresses and Sato's condition only worsens Tatsuhiko explains the pain and danger that hikikomori presents for the youth, and how little can be done to stop it.
Welcome to the NHK. Gonzo Studios. AT-X. 2006. Television.

Free To Play
Free To Play is a documentary developed by Valve following the careers of three professional gamers for the game Dota 2. These gamers, describe their lives up to a gaming championship with a prize pool of $1,000,000. The players in this film often came from modest upbringings, some were talented in a number of areas and gave up everything to pursue this shaky career, others have trained for this alone for a long period of time. The players presented in this film display many of the problems that the socially isolated have, such as disconnect from society, dropping out of school, not having friends outside their team, inability to foster a healthy relationship, etc. HyHy in particular, a player from Singapore, shows these traits when he is shown not attending his college's finals to attend the mentioned tournament, which he ends up losing, and when he continues to cling to his ex girlfriend from years past who broke up with him.

Free To Play. Perf. Benedict Lim, Danil Ishtun, Clinton Loomis. Valve Corporation, 2014. Film.