I was dismissive of the "connection" element as used in the article...I read it to imply a connection along racial lines. Separately, when I mentioned the 'train wreck effect' I wasn't speaking of some paradigm taught in the classroom that I recognized, what I meant was that when I read that the audience had that sort of morbid fascination with the series, I totall understood, because I could see where one would be curious and interested enough to follow the series w/o really connecting...a detached interest if you will. In short I understood the morbid fascination (train wreck effect described in the newspaper article I read) to be a detached interest similar to how I would watch many movies.
All that said, to answer the hypothetical...I don't think the movie would have the same appeal being that American audiences are notoriously difficult when it comes to foreign film. Earlier we were speaking of viewers connecting with characters on a personal basis, bringing a foreign film into the discussion creates unique challenges in that viewers won't have any cultural connection to the hypothetical japanese yakuza series. Even though (if my view is to be believed) that viewers aren't necessarily identifying with the characters on the screen, New Jersey is still a very real place to them, the Italian mob is still very much a part of recent American history (and reality), so there is a connection to the series in that sense, even if no personal connection to the characters. I don't think an American audience would connect to a foreign film in quite the same way.
Cool- we'll have to disagree on some of these. I too saw the connection in the article as described along racial lines, but not one that existed purely because of the difference in skin colour. There are other generalized differences between black & white audiences in the U.S. (other than skin colour) that i thought the article addressed, with skin colour just being the first variable in a top- down approach so to speak.
With respect to the hypothetical scenario, in addition to what you said, which I agree with, I think there could be differences in the characters' (or individual character's) sense of humor, communication style, sense of fashion, interaction/interplay with co-workers, with loved ones, with enemies, way of expressing emotion etc....some subtle, some not so subtle, that the American viewer
may relate to moreso than if watching a Japanese character playing the same role in a film with identical subject matter....all potentially stemming from cultural differences but ultimately would result in a stronger personal connection with the individual character himself/herself, and hence have an effect on the overall appeal of the theatrical piece, and the degree of entertainment derived from it...surprised that you wouldn't see it that way....but oh well......
