Investigating Massage Parlors (c. 1973) - Paul Schaefer Collection

Duration: 0:09:27

Year Published: c.1973

Sound: sound

Description: In response to growing concerns about massage parlors engaging in prostitution in the early 1970s, KMOL-TV (now WOAI-TV) sent reporter Paul Schaefer to the Tokyo House, a massage parlor in San Antonio. Schafer first interviews the owner, who explains how his employees are carefully trained and monitored to ensure compliance with the law, including required polygraph tests. The masseuses, referred to as “geishas,” then describe their experiences on the job. Please note, this film includes derogatory and dated language to describe Asia and Asian culture. The Texas Archive of the Moving Image does not condone the use of the words “Oriental” or Orient,” but presents this film as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as to claim these terms never existed. The film also depicts the appropriation of traditional Japanese culture. Cultural appropriation involves the adoption of elements of a minority culture by members of a dominant culture without consent. These elements are often trivialized or used outside of their original cultural context, resulting in the loss or distortion of their true meaning. In some instances, cultural appropriation is considered not only disrespectful and offensive but also a form of desecration.