A Bikini-Clad Woman in a Superhero Show—Children's Television Used to Be Much Freer

While channel surfing on cable television, I occasionally stumble across an unbelievably nostalgic program.

The other day, it was Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan.

It was one of the superhero team shows I watched as a child.

“Who would watch a show this old now?”

I thought that, but before I knew it, I had put down the remote and was completely absorbed.

I would not go out of my way to record it. But when I happen to find it on television, for some reason I cannot change the channel.

Apparently, I was the audience for this kind of programming all along.

Superheroes Get Old Too

When I watch an old program, I suddenly find myself wondering how old the cast members are now.

As a child, the heroes and heroines looked far older than I was.

Actors who were in their twenties at the time could easily be in their seventies now.

On the screen, they remain forever young, leaping and jumping as they fight monsters.

In reality, however, the actors themselves are now elderly.

And I, watching them, had somehow reached my mid-fifties.

Time has stopped only inside the television. It is quite a cruel form of entertainment.

Children’s Television Used to Be Remarkably Free

What surprised me even more was a scene in which the heroine was swimming in a pool.

And she was wearing a rather revealing bikini.

I did a double take and thought, “This is a children’s show, right?”

Come to think of it, scenes like that were perfectly ordinary on television back then.

This was an era when late-night programs routinely showed female nudity.

Even children’s special-effects superhero shows featured an attractive woman whose role included sex appeal. Scenes that would probably be the first to be removed in a production meeting today were broadcast without hesitation.

Of course, as a child, I never thought about the purpose of those scenes.

It was only when I watched the program again as an adult that I finally noticed.

I see. The show was not designed to entertain children alone.

At Some Point, Superheroes Began Appealing to Mothers

Later, children’s superhero shows became known as a gateway to success for handsome young actors.

Popular actors emerged one after another from the Kamen Rider and Super Sentai franchises.

Children are naturally absorbed in the heroes, but they are not the only audience the producers have in mind.

They are also thinking about the mothers watching television with their children.

On Sunday mornings, the children enjoy the transformation scenes while their mothers enjoy the handsome young actors.

It is a remarkably well-designed system.

Meanwhile, the attractive female characters who once appealed to fathers have disappeared entirely.

The stricter compliance standards of modern television probably have something to do with that.

But this raises a question.

Why Not Have a Heroine for the Fathers?

Today, fathers routinely take part in raising their children.

Many fathers spend their days off watching superhero shows with their children.

So if producers cast handsome actors for the mothers, why not follow the same logic and cast an appealing young actress as a heroine for the fathers?

I am not saying that she should wear revealing outfits or appear in scenes designed for sex appeal.

Simply having an appealing actress play a cool, capable heroine would surely make fathers much more interested in watching.

And yet, for some reason, mothers enjoying handsome actors is treated as harmless fun, while a father saying that he would like to see an attractive heroine suddenly sounds somehow lecherous.

Handsome actors for mothers count as legitimate marketing, but is a heroine for fathers somehow inappropriate?

Apparently, fathers alone are expected to enjoy the story for its own sake.

What Has Not Changed in Fifty Years

Still, when I watch an old program again, I notice one thing after another that escaped me at the time.

As a child, I was absorbed in the battles between the heroes and the monsters.

As an adult, I find myself thinking about the cast members’ ages, the producers’ intentions, and how much freedom television had in those days.

It is the same program, but I am watching something completely different.

And tonight, if I find another old superhero show on cable television, I will probably stop changing channels again.

As a child, I watched because I admired the heroes.

Fifty years later, I watch because I am impressed by the heroine’s swimsuit.

Apparently, the one thing that has not matured very much is my mental age.