In Japanese popular culture, the salaryman is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation within which he is employed.

 

Costa Rican artist Allegra Pacheco moved to New York with the intention of fulfilling her  dream of becoming a photographer. In reality she landed a laborious office job and when a work visa was denied, she packed her bags and headed to Tokyo for some much needed soul searching. What she discovered was a society with an overworking problem that went far beyond her own experience – The Salaryman.

Salarymen are the disposable, corporate workforce who commit unhealthy work hours to their companies. They begin their day with a hefty commute, work well into the night, drink heavily with work colleagues and often don’t make it back to their own beds. This is repeated and repeated until total exhaustion takes over and many lose their sense of self.

The intention of Pacheco’s film is to highlight the absurdity of this practise which has become so normalised in Japanese society. By drawing a chalk outline around street sleeping salarymen to imitate a crime scene, Pacheco is attempting to reframe an everyday occurrence as something shocking and harrowing. That the workers themselves don’t see the despair of their situation, instead feeling some misplaced since of pride based on a culture that dictates overworking is a sign of commitment to your company and your family, is one of the films more depressing themes.

For a film with such a singular subject, Pacheco attempts to cover a lot of ground. We only get glimpses into the world of the salarymen’s nightlife and the role of the ‘office girl’ isn’t covered in depth but this is a global issue and Salaryman deserves your attention.