My Neighbor, Charles - Ep.56

[nekokonneko.livejournal.com]

- Ep.56: Tanzir was born from his Bangladeshi dad and mom (Maya). But 12-year-old Tanzir was born and raised in Korea. Bangladesh and the Islamic faith is unfamiliar to Tanzir, and Maya keeps wanting him to learn. Is Tanzir Korean or Bangladeshi?

KBS WorldTV

lol tanzir is such a cute kid, and even with puberty he has a sweet relationship with his mum. his identity crisis re bangladeshi langague and culture and insistence that he's only korean reminds me of sum's son isaac. maya works so hard, i hope she earns enough to visit her deported husband.

Comments

[odd-fish-stick.livejournal.com]

I found tanzir annoying. He's sweet and even though the dad is gone and it must have been a difficult experience for such a young kid, it doesn't seem like the mother disciplines him at all. She should be a little more stern with him imo. Like when he he would talk over her and try to put his hands in her face to make her stop talking when he disagreed, it's something I'd never tolerate. Also I think he's probably overcompensating with the whole rejection of bangladeshi culture thing. Like he admitted people bully him and say mean things about that culture, as a kid I think he's overly trying to be Korean as fuck to try to blend in better. Too bad no one gives him the tea and him tells him it's not really going to work. I lol'd when he swore up and down that he didn't eat pork to his mom but the neighbor exposed him saying he ate with them last time. His mom is very cute and positive so I hope they can improve their situation, whatever they decide to do.

[nekokonneko.livejournal.com]

it's not like she does nothing. she pressed on him to not eat pork and to go to mosque and to try to eat bangladeshi food and to do better in english class, but he's clearly going through some things and is at an age where he's going to be pushing boundaries and acting out. plus she's working what looks like 18 out of 24 hours per day to make ends meet.

and, like the mentors were saying at the end, he's pretty much just going to have to get an age when the message can penetrate, when he can realise for himself that he shouldn't throw away his roots.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

I'm trying really hard not to get irritated but god, that kid is annoying. Maybe it's because as a fellow south asian I can't imagine ever talking to my mother the way he does and he deliberately ignores what she says and the tantrums over food and stuff...he's 12, not 5.
And as an immigrant kid who went through my phase where I tried to uber-assimilate and abandon my culture, Tanzir is going to face the harsh reality someday that you can do as much as you want to try and fit in but when you're the "other", that's what people will treat you as. Does he even have Korean citizenship? If, god forbid, they ever hadto leave to go back to Bangladesh he's gonna have a hard time of it

[charlieu.livejournal.com]

Dont' be so hard on him. You even said you went through a phase similar to him. He's at an age where he just wants to fit in and he's probably doing what he thinks he has to. I'm frustrated, but he seems like a good kid.

[jasmineakaiumi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, esp being in the world's most homogeneous country, people here will never view him as true Korean no matter what kind of legal documents he's able to produce to prove otherwise.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

Exactly, when even mixed race Korean kids have a hard time being accepted, its unlikely that the circumstances will be any better for an immigrant child

[rennehollic.livejournal.com]

I was really annoyed by the kid for a couple of moments but then I remember when I was 12 and how I'm embarressed of my younger self I am. If I could I would go back and slap myself and say things aren't that hard.

He's going through some stuff and maybe with time he'll realize he shouldn't have behaved the way he did and realize he shouldn't be the way he was with his mother. You can see he really loves his mother and he's really sweet towards her when he wants.
Maybe he misses his father and is acting out? Kids go through some stuff, and he probably feels an insane amount of pressure from other kids (and kids can be cruel) than most of us don't know or realise. He'll probably grow out of it. She's so cute and hard working. I'm sure everything will work out.

[bomsnose.livejournal.com]

i'm really surprised.... yes, the kid is annoying. it's not like he just got annoying by himself. the mom hit him multiple times. talked over him, too, didn't let him rest. the amount of pressure on them, though... the most time he spent with his mom was probably what we saw on camera. he still gets good grades. can cook a bit already, also to clean up (okay that also probably only happens on camera, but still).
also why wouldn't he try to assimilate...?

[tewwteww.livejournal.com]

It's very obvious that Tanzir is living an identity crisis, he wants to be korean by eating like others and doesn't want to speak Bangladeshi probably because of the bullying he suffered younger...
I find him annoying when he talks back to his mother but i guess it's because of his age. His mother is so admirable, she works so hard... I think lifting heavy things everyday risk to affect her health. I hope she'll find a solution to make the ends meet in a safer way as she never rests or sleeps... T__T