As one thinks of Assaf Granit, probably the first thing that will come to most people's minds is the "Chef Games" program in which he serves as a judge (we will not talk about the trivia of "The Next Restaurant", yes?).
Of course, the names of some of his restaurants will come up later - for example, "Mahniuda" in Jerusalem or "Broken" in Paris, which won the Michelin star last year.
Only later will the thought arise that Granite is known not only for his TV appearances or the food he cooks, but also because of the many tattoos that adorn his body.
As befits the fact that he is one of the people most identified in Israel with tattoos, the chef was chosen to host the documentary program "Tattoos" (which airs on HOT8) - but one must really admit at such an early stage: he adds almost no uniqueness to serving beyond being famous.
The difficult story behind the tattoo - from "Tattoos with Assaf Granit" // Courtesy of HOT
In its two episodes, the series created by Sarit Ben Yair is actually trying to understand what is behind the "addiction" of Israelis to tattoos - and how we came to the conclusion that if until a few years ago they were mostly linked to criminals or punkists, today they are mainstream.
The problem is that "tattoos" fail to answer the question she herself is trying to ask.
Without giving almost a minimal background on the tens of thousands of years of culture of tattoos, the series chooses to focus on the last few decades in the country - thus unable to give greater content richness.
There is no point that can be pointed out as such where viewers can say to themselves "Oh, here, that's the reason!".
That’s why watching episodes sometimes feels a little pointless.
Here, another moment where a celeb talks about the meaning of tattoos for him (the stories of Michelle Truni, Miri Bohdana and Iggy Waxman are among the most prominent participants), another segment where anonymous people explain what the tattoo means to them (post-traumatic or rape survivor explain how tattoos mean to them Dealing with the difficulty they went through) - it's more of the same for about 90 minutes (which, as mentioned, are divided into two episodes of about 45 minutes each).
From the series "Tattoos", Photo: Screenshot
However, it is important to note that the series does not underestimate its interviewees or viewers not even for a single moment.
She gives them the full respect to say what's on their hearts, but this repetitiveness, in which everyone tells what's behind their tattoos, exhausts itself pretty quickly - and certainly does not provide an answer to a big question that lies at the heart of "tattoos".
And granite?
He is, apparently, the driving force behind the series.
It is not possible to know whether the show would have received a different echo if a lesser known character than him had directed it, but he does a reasonable job overall.
He does not present a certain subversion to the narrative that "tattoos" try to present, but when he talks to others and not just himself, he does present a soft and rather surprising side to it, as if it were an open and personal conversation between friends about the meaning of their tattoos.
In "Tattoos"'s attempt to explore the transition from the margins to the mainstream of tattooing in Israel, it seems that it has only burdened the viewer with more and more stories of tattoos.
Personal and exciting as they may be, they mostly say over and over again the slogan "I have something to say and that's how I do it".
This is a perfectly logical and legitimate reason, but as a TV product it makes the show no less trivial.
From the series "Tattoos", Photo: Screenshot
"Tattoos", HOT8
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