Should Tiki Central be stripped of any hawaiiana discussions? - General Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Fri, Jan 23, 2009 7:24 AM I sincerely appreciate the caution with which you approach this subject, but the way you pose the question sounds way to extreme. There is no ban, dogma or censorship here, just a FOCUS. Hawaiiana and Hawaii have a link to, and were in many ways the inspiration for Tiki style. If this caution is motivated by the recent discussion about finding Tiki mugs at restaurants in Hawaii, I was not "forbidding" that question, I was merely explaining why I thought it came from a misunderstanding of the cause and effect of Tiki culture and the Tiki revival. I do this because new people find and join Tiki Central every week, and since the Book of Tiki is not readily available anymore, I have to assume that most are not aware of the distinction between "Hawaiiana" and "Tiki style". So I aim to explain what TIKI (as a style and cultural phenomenon) is about. I do not dislike Hawaiiana, it's just not that interesting conceptually for me: Tourist culture always existed, in many parts of the world, there is no "surprise" in it for me. The term "Island Lifestyle" says it all: It is a term for leisure living that is very generic, and quaint ...and kinda boring to me, culturally. I am not saying to have fond memories of Hawaiian vacations is wrong and has not been the inspiration for many mainland backyard Luaus, but what is fascinating culturally is the way Americans RE-INVENTED Hawaii and Polynesia in their own country -embellishing it and choosing the Tiki as its symbol in the process. THAT is a totally unique phenomenon, one whose multiple facets deserve further exploration (Hawaiiana being but one of these facets). I will go into your individual questions in depth when I have more time, but let me assure you that Hawaii is not "out" on TC, I myself was just pondering to start a thread about the fact that Hawaiian statehood has its 50th anniversary this year, and how I believe that the occasion of statehood played an integral part in the motivation that brought mainland developers to push Tiki style to its peak here in the early 60s. It is all about understanding cause and effect, and differentiating the genres, and as long as that understanding is present, I don't have to explain it. For now, for those who do not own the Book of Tiki, here is my "Evolution of Polynesian Pop chart again: [ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2009-01-23 09:00 ]

I sincerely appreciate the caution with which you approach this subject, but the way you pose the question sounds way to extreme. There is no ban, dogma or censorship here, just a FOCUS. Hawaiiana and Hawaii have a link to, and were in many ways the inspiration for Tiki style. If this caution is motivated by the recent discussion about finding Tiki mugs at restaurants in Hawaii, I was not "forbidding" that question, I was merely explaining why I thought it came from a misunderstanding of the cause and effect of Tiki culture and the Tiki revival.

I do this because new people find and join Tiki Central every week, and since the Book of Tiki is not readily available anymore, I have to assume that most are not aware of the distinction between "Hawaiiana" and "Tiki style". So I aim to explain what TIKI (as a style and cultural phenomenon) is about. I do not dislike Hawaiiana, it's just not that interesting conceptually for me:

Tourist culture always existed, in many parts of the world, there is no "surprise" in it for me. The term "Island Lifestyle" says it all: It is a term for leisure living that is very generic, and quaint ...and kinda boring to me, culturally. I am not saying to have fond memories of Hawaiian vacations is wrong and has not been the inspiration for many mainland backyard Luaus, but what is fascinating culturally is the way Americans RE-INVENTED Hawaii and Polynesia in their own country -embellishing it and choosing the Tiki as its symbol in the process. THAT is a totally unique phenomenon, one whose multiple facets deserve further exploration (Hawaiiana being but one of these facets).

I will go into your individual questions in depth when I have more time, but let me assure you that Hawaii is not "out" on TC, I myself was just pondering to start a thread about the fact that Hawaiian statehood has its 50th anniversary this year, and how I believe that the occasion of statehood played an integral part in the motivation that brought mainland developers to push Tiki style to its peak here in the early 60s. It is all about understanding cause and effect, and differentiating the genres, and as long as that understanding is present, I don't have to explain it. For now, for those who do not own the Book of Tiki, here is my "Evolution of Polynesian Pop chart again:

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2009-01-23 09:00 ]

Post #430171 by bigbrotiki on Fri, Jan 23, 2009 7:24 AM