Perfect Blue: A Glimpse into the Cruel World of Pop Idols

Friday nights are always my movie nights. I try to save around 2-3 hours to sit in front of my laptop and put on a great movie to watch with a hot cup of tea. Last Friday’s movie was the psychological thriller Perfect Blue directed by Satoshi Kon. Surprisingly, this movie was unlike any I had seen before and tackled so many prevalent issues that are often overlooked within the entertainment industry.

Perfect Blue is about Mima Kirigoe, a Japanese pop star who decides to retire from her musical career to pursue one as an actress instead. Being part of her J-pop group for the past two years, it was expected that her fans would be upset by her change in career, including an obsessive male stalker. As Mima tackles the difficulties that her new career brings her, gruesome murders begin to occur all around her, and Mima starts to lose her grip on reality.

At the end of the movie, I was stunned at how the plot had escalated from a simple storyline to one that was about the dirty and downright scary parts of the entertainment industry that individuals have to endure in order to “make it big.” Moreover, the movie tackled how enduring such situations can have a severe impact on that individual’s mental state.

When Mima experiences one of these traumatic events, she develops dissociative identity disorder. Her personality splits into two: the innocent, pop idol Mima she was before, and the current Mima. Watching Mima’s descent into madness made me sympathize with her, it also made me realize how little society talks about the mental issues that are so prevalent among pop idols.

Especially in K-pop and J-pop, where talking about mental health issues is taboo, such issues are extremely common. K-pop idol Sulli was known to be outspoken on many topics that were rarely talked about in South Korea, such as cyberbullying and body positivity. However, the backlash she received from the public was so strong that it lead to her (TRIGGER WARNING) severe depression and eventual suicide last October. Unfortunately, this is an example of many instances where mental health is rarely touched upon in the entertainment industry.

Perfect Blue also touched on obsessive stalking. Although we may not hear about it much, stalking is very much a real thing in the world of entertainment that occurs all the time. Just last year, the hashtag #protectnayeon trended internationally on Twitter when Nayeon from K-pop group TWICE was targeted by a stalker who made dangerous remarks. 

What makes Perfect Blue different from the other movies I’ve seen before is how it plainly tackles these taboo subjects that most movies usually tip-toe around. We see a completely different world through the eyes of Mima, a girl who is just trying to find something that she loves to do. Although this movie was made in 1997, it was way ahead of its time because most of the events that occur in the movie are still happening today. If you’re looking for a refreshing psychological thriller, definitely check out Perfect Blue for your next movie night.

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• mental health
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