[Tattoo 6 – Street interviews]

Interviews with people on the street about tattoos. Filmed for the documentary Tattoo, by Susan Milano.

00:10Copy video clip URL A man in glasses talks about not wanting a tattoo himself but seeing nothing wrong with somebody getting one. Fears about the permanency and the stigma attached to tattoos. In his experience, sailors have been the people most likely to get tattoos. 

01:20Copy video clip URL Two young women talk about tattoos. They’re open-minded about them and know “lots of people” with tattoos. 

02:47Copy video clip URL A middle-aged man says that tattoos are “no good for anybody.” He’s especially bothered by the idea of women with tattoos. “That’s ridiculous. When I want to see a woman I want to see a woman just … beautiful. With anything on her it’s just ridiculous. It’s bad enough she’s gotta wear clothes!”

04:58Copy video clip URL A man who doesn’t speak English tries to answer Milano’s questions but cannot. 

05:10Copy video clip URL An elderly woman says that she doesn’t like tattoos because they’re “ugly.” 

05:58Copy video clip URL A middle-aged man doesn’t want any tattoos himself but sees no problem with tattoos. “I don’t like it but I think it’s a personal matter. I wouldn’t want my wife to have it done, or my daughter.” 

07:21Copy video clip URL A young man with a mustache talks about his own reluctance to get tattoos.

09:10Copy video clip URL Another young man dislikes the permanence of tattoos. The other man talks about body paint. 

10:51Copy video clip URL An older blonde thinks tattoos are great, but that they’re not for her. “What happens if I change my mind? Then what?” and “It just turns me off. Tattoos turn. me off.” Her friend has stronger negative opinions: “I’d go further than that. I think it’s disgusting and ugly and unsanitary and unhealthy!… I think it’s a silly thing! I can’t see any reason for a tattoo…. I can’t see any point? What is the point of a tattoo? To mutilate your body?”

14:08Copy video clip URL An elderly couple with heavy accents talk about tattoos. The husband jokes about liking tattoos but his wife dislikes it. They discuss the Jewish religion’s thinking about tattoos. 

16:20Copy video clip URL A younger man doesn’t like tattoos because he doesn’t like “what they do to the body.” He associates tattoos with people who drink heavily.

17:44Copy video clip URL An elderly woman thinks that tattoos are for “people who are introverts… they need it to bolster their ego.” She dislikes the way tattoos look: “They’re a blemish to the skin, and goodness knows that nature gives us enough blemishes.” 

19:56Copy video clip URL An elderly woman gives a brief answer about finding tattoos ugly but she thinks their fine for other people. “I think a lot of young people might do it for fun but they might regret it later.” 

20:20Copy video clip URL A bearded man says that he loves tattoos but doesn’t have them. “I think they’re like jewelry. They’re an adornment. A personal adornment.” He doesn’t have any, however, because his wife doesn’t like them. His wife speaks up. She worries about skin cancer from tattoos that are done improperly. She also finds them “grotesque” and “bland.” 

21:50Copy video clip URL Their friend, a very tall man with long hair talks about tattoos as “graphics” that are “just as valid as drawings or silk screens or anything else…. I’d get one if I could. I don’t know anybody that does tattoos, though.” From behind the camera, Milano jokes that she knows some tattoo artists. 

23:07Copy video clip URL An older woman is camera shy initially but stays to share her thoughts: “I think the human body shouldn’t be pockmarked with colors of animals and whatever else it is. It’s some kind of an aberration, I think.” 

26:18Copy video clip URL An elderly woman compares tattoos favorably to acupuncture. She doesn’t have any tattoos but says that she’s seriously considering getting some after speaking to Milano because she’s so nice. 

26:55Copy video clip URL A man in sunglasses thinks that getting tattoos is “destroying your body.” He chews gum while talking. His wife doesn’t want one but feels much less strongly than her husband. 

28:35Copy video clip URL A younger man thinks that tattoos “disfigure his body.” His friend thinks similarly but thinks they look okay on some people. 

30:04Copy video clip URL A young man says that he has “just two” tattoos, which he can’t show the camera because they are “somewhere between my upper thigh and my belly button.” He got them to “to get some machismo.” His friend doesn’t consider tattooing to be an art form but more of a mechanical trade. He thinks they’re great and talks about one of his girlfriends who has “two on her ass.”  The first man takes photographs of the filming. His girlfriend, an Asian woman, doesn’t speak much English but communicates that she doesn’t want any tattoos herself. Milano and the two men speak briefly about the logistics of producing programs for Sterling cable. 

32:07Copy video clip URL Interior. Milano and “Dan” sit on a couch. She gives instructions regarding the camera to the operator, who seems to be learning the equipment.