"TATTOO" review 2

“Tattoo” Review 2
I must say, this was the most interesting section of the book. It was so real, reading it literally felt like hitting home for me. This book just keeps getting better and better.
We just had a discussion on stand-up comics and how comics usually imitate different races. They do this by stereotyping and in Hawaii, we always categorize people in different races. In the book “Tattoo,” this is very evident since the section starts off with the typical Korean ma-ma san. Seriously, Keeaumoku is still currently called Koreamoku and is known for Koreans owning all the bars and restaurants around that area. I’m even familiar with the area because my parents used to work at a Japanese Restaurant called Sada’s back in the 80’s right on Makaloa street (Keeaumoku). I pretty much grew up around that neighborhood. There were many pretty Korean ma-ma’s that were fluent in Japanese and definitely knew how to make their money. Back then of course I didn’t know about massage parlors, strip bars, etc… but I knew these women were well off by the cars they drove, clothes they were, and the men they were with. Another stereotype was when Claudia, daughter of ma-ma san, said that Koreans ladies get a bad reputation for being bad drivers (pg. 107). I had to chuckle to myself when I read that because EVERYONE knows that in Hawaii. Also when Cal tried to imagine what Claudia would look like, he imagined Asian small eyes with a big Haole nose (pg. 154).
Then there were the random people that were in the scenes that were first described by their race. Ken got involved with ma-ma san in the first place by fighting a typical big Samoan guy. Apparently no one wants to get involved with Samoans because they tend to be big and tough. I went to a high school filled with Samoans and even though they were big and tough, they were extremely nice, just don’t mess with them. Then there were the Hawaiian and Haole security guards along with the Japanese and Portuguese cops. I really feel like this is how we describe people. Every time someone mentions someone with a common name, we follow it by race. For Example, “you know Andy? The Korean one?”
Another stereotype that stood out to me was Ken’s car in the beginning. A “suuped up Toyota Celica,” hilarious. Many think Asians always have “supped up” cars a.k.a. “ricers” because they are seen as racers, hence “Fast and the Furious” especially the “Tokyo Drift” edition. This relates to another discussion we just had between film and society.
One thing I could relate to was the “disowning” part of the story. Asian families always pull the “disown” card. I went through a rebellious stage in high school. All my friends were getting tattoo’s or already had them. I honestly wanted one too. So I asked my parents and all hell broke loose. It started with “BAKA (stupid in Japanese)” to “you’re NOT going to have a last name.” There old school mentality is, yakuza’s have tattoo and I would be disrespecting my WHOLE family. My mom literally said she rather cut her tongue out and die before I put ink on my body. But everyone was doing it and I wanted them to understand that it was a form of art. It didn’t have to be big, I just wanted one. I was born and raised in America and there was no way they could see my point of view. Of course as long as I live under their roof I would have to obey them. People in Japan have tattoo’s that aren’t yakuza’s, their becoming more modern but that meant nothing to my parents. No was a NO was a NO!!! I understand it’s still looked down upon because you can’t go into bath houses if you have any tattoo’s, even if you’re a tourist. For peeks sake it was hard enough to get approval to pierce my ears. Just a piercing and ONLY on my ears!!! Even babies have earrings.
During my high school days, all my friends started working at bars. Bouncers, cocktail waitresses, valet, bar back, and promoters. I felt like my whole high school days I was partying like crazy. Getting in to clubs even though I was underage was the best feeling, looking back at those days I can’t believe I had the guts to do it. My friends made really good money but the lifestyle was draining. Like Ken, many quit school because the money was so good. With no degree that kind of money was ridiculous. Back then, the economy was still good and everywhere was booming. But there were many illegal things that were going on in those businesses as well. Just like ma-ma san and her gambling house, massage parlor, etc… That’s how many of these places were able to stay in business. What’s sad is my friends that were in the industry are still there. They hate what they do and the money isn’t as good as before.
“Tanomoshi (pg. 105)” was another familiar thing. I think mostly every person I know does tanomoshi. But it’s not the same as loan sharks that are described in the book. Tanomoshi was made by Japanese people who wanted to help each other. It’s like being able to borrow money without getting approved when you need it. I would say it’s more like a savings account then a loan. When you need the money you can borrow it in advance and pay back slowly every month with a little interest. Of course not all tanomoshi is the same but from the day I was born and heard of it, this was the way it was dealt.
One more thing I had to bring up was Marco Polo. I live there!!! The revolving doors, the driveway, the security guard, I could put an image on every part of that story. Even Kapiolani Community College and how I also thought prerequisites were unnecessary and boring like Ken.
Sigh, the book is coming to an end but I can’t wait to see what happens. I never thought reading a book about the place I grew up in would affect me so much. Especially when we start to analyze and use the things we learn in to our readings.