Terrace House, a Deeper Dive: Romance and Beyond

I like the fact that Terrace House is not entirely about romance. I know that much of the narrative drive and fan interest in the show derives from the inevitable romantic arcs. But what makes Terrace House great is the fact that it is not a crass hook-up show built solely to generate conflict and drama through the complications of heteronormative sex. The show is relentlessly heteronormative and cisgendered, but what makes it interesting is that the tone of the show conveys an implicit critique of Japanese dating norms. And part of that critique is revealed through the casting of the house members.

In Western reality TV and in the US in particular, cast members are often selected for their potential to generate conflict and drama. I blame MTV's selection of Puck back in Real World Season 3 in 1994. We see the trope of the reality TV star who is "not here to make friends" through to the most recent incarnation of The Bachelorette.

The cast of Terrace House is not selected for their potential to create conflict (though not always their abilities to make friends, Tap). A few have created conflict and have been given a heel-edit, but, as far as I can tell, the members are chosen for their physical attractiveness and their potential to expand their personal brand-awareness and collaterally the brand-awareness of the Terrace House franchise. That's why we have seen so many models, artists and athletes.

It's also why the show has had so many hafu members. Half-Japanese people are disproportionately over-represented in the cast of the Netflix seasons of the show and in Japanese media in general. Certainly, part of that impetus towards more diverse casting is Netflix' desire to see the show succeed outside of Japan. But I think the show is, in part, a reaction to the fact that Japan has an extremely low birth rate and an extremely homogeneous population. The show is looking outward from Japan and seeks to expand what is acceptable and normal for dating relationships.

Of course, there is some danger of objectification, exoticism and even fetishism in this approach. But the glacial pacing of the dating on this show does let us get to know these characters as people first well before the extreme salaciousness of that first holding of hands. The panel also helps to lampshade and critique the dating norms of Japanese culture with Yama often representing the traditional, patriarchal viewpoints and having those viewpoints roundly dismissed by the rest of the panel. I do not think that the show particularly admires or desires Western hook-up culture as a model, but you do not include a former host of Handjob Karaoke on the panel (Tokui, if you did not know) without at least some impulse towards a more open and sex-positive approach to dating. The Japanese Room is hidden until the moment of romantic commitment, but then it's astonishingly available, accepted and even celebrated.

Terrace House undoubtedly desires and encourages successful romances for its cast members. Every nuance of every date is teased apart and deconstructed by the panel. It's clearly one focus of the show. However, always remember that there have been a few cast member in committed relationships outside the show since its first incarnation in Japan, and, of course, Hansan is almost universally well-regarded despite the fact he was in such a relationship. Terrace House is a dating show, but it's so much more than that, and I intend to explore those aspects of the show more deeply in future posts.