More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

[kimo55]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

If you spock da pickcha, he maybe get thumbs.

my point. he gettum..

but if he get thumbs, den he missing one odda finga on each hand.

uh. yea. dassrite!

Which finga you tink dat one is missing, ha?

da meedow one. aftah all, wuz uncah walt wen create steamboat willie.

[kimo55]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

Saw another product fit for this thread, in a store the other day.
a hula girl duster.
here's the problem I have with things like this:
You use it by grabbing the long plastic hula girl body, (she is a white skinned girl... clothed with a bathing suit top and no legs to get in the way of dusting. Her skirt, of course, as acts as the duster. It is a full head of synthetic strings.)
Grab a hula girl and clean your house with it?!
Jeez
I think it is obvious, the problem one would have with this.
The hula, as with the other things mentioned here on this thread, is a revered aspect of our island culture, replete with sacred venerated chants, genealogy and creation stories of the Hawaiian people. It is not a coochiecoochie doll or a plastic toy designed for removing dirt off yer modern appliances.
The contemporary overabundance of false hula girl representations posed in fake stances by mainland artists notwithstanding, this is not appropriate. Just as relegating the image of the gods to bottle openers, drink holders and even bar stools that one may place their butts upon...
Next!

[Miulang]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

Yeah, I saw those dusters in Hilo Hattie a couple of weeks ago. Hilo Hattie is definitely perpetuating the notion of Hawaii kitsch. I didn't buy that, but I did buy a "slippah" fly swatter from there.

Miulang

[kimo55]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

Hilo Hattie is definitely perpetuating the notion of Hawaii kitsch.

yea. Hilohattie is really going whole hog on alll the tackytiki junkalunk stuffs.
They buy each and every cheap plastic tiki party favor decor thing they can find. They have it all in one big corner of their Nimitz shop. Looks like a thrift store junk pile. a joke. Unfortunate.
Really would like people to "get" that representations of King Kamehameha's personal god of war, was (and is) used for a purpose and should not be replicated as a plastic decor figure.
So they buy the 5 dollar trinket. take it home. put it on their mantle. Wot!? does that mean the person is, back home, preparing for ancient Polynesian war? Or that they are affiliated with King Kamehameha? It's like using/appropriating/abusing ancient high level heraldry and saying it is yours. It's like alotta other scenarios and similies I can't think up before coffee.

[kimo55]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

ok, gang.
compiled and ready to go. did i miss anything?


www.tikitv.com



if so, i will reload and take better aim.
(akshully, as with any web site worth its salt, this is, as some say: "under construction" as in: being added to alla time.)

[Miulang]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

Eh Kimo, I wen go holoholo ova to tikitv. You done good! Keep up da good work. Maybe, just maybe, people will finally "get" it. If da moon is full...if da tide is high...if da wind is blowing from da West...

Miulang

[kimo55]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

Eh Kimo, I wen go holoholo ova to tikitv. You done good! Keep up da good work. Maybe, just maybe, people will finally "get" it. If da moon is full...if da tide is high...if da wind is blowing from da West...

Miulang

mahalosmahalosmahalos, miu!


eh. pm me or post here, if ya got sumpin pithy ya wanna add and don't mind being quoted. (initials only, and city, no names...)
Just so's people know i at least have a fan club of one.

[Miulang]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

Eh Kimo:
I was doing some research on how to plan a luau for someone who wrote to my alterego on www.ohanalanai.com who was planning to put on a Mother's Day luau and had no clue what to serve.

Anyway, one of the links I found took me to Amazon, and there are several books on the tiki culture that I wasn't sure if you were aware of:

Tiki Road Trip : A Guide to Tiki Culture in North America
by Sven A. Kirsten (Foreword), James Teitelbaum

Tiki Quest
by Duke Carter
"Tiki Quest: Collecting the Exotic Past is the latest book offering for Tiki fanatics. Many discover the mysterious wonders of the world of Tiki through some small cast-off relic. Maybe it’s a Tiki mug with the name of a now-closed restaurant, perhaps a souvenir statue from Hawaii. But whatever the inspiration, Tiki has captivated the imagination once again.

There are those who amass only enough to outfit their home bar, there are others who are obsessed with Tiki in every form. Duke Carter is obsessed. His book catalogues the collection of vintage Tiki he has put together through years of scouring thrift stores, flea markets, and junk shops. The largest section categorizes Tiki mugs, the ceramic containers with fanciful renderings of Tiki gods that once were filled with Mai Tais and Navy Grog. Other areas of collecting are also presented: from souvenir statues made of resin and lava, postcards, matchbooks and swizzle sticks from Tiki restaurants of old, to an amazing variety of gee-gawks made into the likeness of Tikis. There are banks and bottles, lighters and lamps, even ashtrays full of aloha.

Far from a quickly outdated price guide, Tiki Quest is a vivid account and loving tribute to the joy of collecting, rendered in a colorful coffee-table book format.

Beautifully designed and lavishly illustrated with over 1000 photos filling nearly 200 pages, Tiki Quest is a must-have for Tiki enthusiasts whether they have been a collector for a long time or if they have just had their first Scorpion...." sick, sick, sick

Tiki Drinks
by Adam Rocke, Shag (Illustrator)
"...From the Publisher
TIKI DRINK BOOK WORSHIPS THE SPIRITS The recent wave of Tiki madness is in full swing as Polynesia meets pop culture, and Surrey Books has joined the party with TIKI DRINKS ($12.95, hardbound), a compilation of seventy classic and novel concoctions guaranteed to turn any party into a luau.
Tiki, a Polynesian term for carved wood amulets, figures and posts, first took hold after World War II when servicemen returned from the South Pacific, bringing home images of scantily clad natives and pounding drums that emblazoned the conformist 1950s culture.

While Tiki collectibles were once relegated to garage sales and flea markets, today’s trend has gone mainstream…and mass market. Macy’s East opened a decorated "Patio Luau" department complete with patterned plastic plates. On the other end of the island, Kmart, Savon Drugs and Home Depot sell tiki torches and figures for the yard. Ralph Lauren even sports a line of T-shirts with a wooden tiki idol ingrained with "Polo." For the ultimate in "Petiki," Bamboo Ben, who designs custom tiki bars, builds Polynesian-style dog huts and litter-box covers, complete with thatched canopy.

Of course, the craze has spread online with zines and sites featuring collectibles while eBay buyers haggle over mugs, recently paying $1,000 for one from Elvis Presley's movie Blue Hawaii. But a tiki mug means nothing unless it’s filled with a tropical drink topped off with a paper umbrella.

Author Adam Rocke stirs up seventy concoctions in Tiki Drinks, the definitive guide to mixing and shaking your way to paradise. Don’t know the difference between a pony and a jigger? The book offers simple tips on setting up a tiki bar including measurements, garnishes and liquors, and features recipes for old favorites like the Singapore Sling as well as some new additions like the Caicos Cooler.

Rocke, who also writes for Maxim and GQ, spent a year on Florida’s gulf coast, traveling to the islands and taking a "poll of the populars." Researching the local drinks was as much fun as writing about them, he recalls. "TIKI DRINKS is designed to bring the ocean to you if you can’t get to paradise."

Tiki artist and consummate hipster, Shag, provides the illustrations for Tiki Drinks. His clean, tight graphic style, reminiscent of '50s and '60s commercial art, has also been a hit with Time Magazine, Entertainment Weekly and Forbes. Shag recently expanded into gallery work, and his latest piece, the Madonna of Kahiki, is nothing less than, well, "shagadelic."

Why tiki, and why now? The culture is as much lifestyle as it is art, and its revival may be an antidote to the frantic pace of a wired generation seeking comfort from a primitive haven at home. Perhaps the trend reflects a desire for a simpler time, tinged with a nostalgia that author Dennis Coupland, who coined the term Generation X, first described as a longing for experiences we never had, a hunger to be part of a previous generation.

Or a thirst…Tiki is really about tiki bars serving up flaming cocktails, and Gen X doesn’t have a lock on the fad: a president or two has been known to partake in "Politiki." Richard Nixon, for example, used to escape to Trader Vic’s for some daytime tropical ambiance along with his favorite drink: the Navy Grog. (151 proof rum definitely packs a presidential punch.)

Many bamboo-thatched bars and tiki-toriums are vanishing, but TIKI DRINKS provides all that’s needed for spirit lovers of all generations to set up shop at home. So kick back, hang a light and sip a drink…it’s tiki time...."

Tiki Art Now!: A Volcanic Eruption of Art
by Otto Von Stroheim, Robert Williams

"Tiki Style is a recognized part of American Folk Art with a longstanding history and mass appeal. Here are some of today's most exciting American Tiki artists and international artists working in the Tiki Style, including: Shag, Marco Almera, Bosko, Sunny Buick, Dave Burke, Kalynn Campbell, Dirty Donny, Crazy Al Evans, Richie Fahey, Rod Filbrandt, Mary Fleener, Bruce Gossett, Christine Karas, Joe Leonard, Sharon Leong, Mr. Lucky, Munktiki, Mitch O'Connell, Lisa Petrucci, The Pizz, Isabel Samaras, Von Franco, and more. .."

[kimo55]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

"ashtrays full of aloha."
we see how they feel about our culture...

"Far from a quickly outdated price guide, Tiki Quest"
(Not that is matters, but so much is suspect: it is not even that. There are no prices at all. No original pirces nor are there average current values offered here.)

"Tiki madness is in full swing as Polynesia meets pop culture"
how does Polynesia feel about this? anyone care?

"guaranteed to turn any party into a luau"
then you dunno what a "luau" is.

"Tiki collectibles; today’s trend has gone mainstream…and mass market."
who can celebrate this?

"...who designs/builds Polynesian-style dog huts and litter-box covers"
uuhhh. oookay.

"is designed to bring the ocean to you if you can’t get to paradise."
(so. any ocean is equated with paradise?!)

"Tiki is really about tiki bars serving up flaming cocktails"
(so. "Tiki, a Polynesian term for carved wood amulets, figures and posts"
becomes "Tiki; american pop culture term for alchoholic drinks.)

and there are several books on the tiki culture that I wasn't sure if you were aware of:

yes, mahalos; very aware of the mainland tiki cult-ure.
"cartoon tiki" as it were.

was deeply mired in this for a while until it became so commercialised and disrespectful.
I miss the Polynesian decor style of the 40's to 60's. Now it's all mass merchandise and plastic. and NO interest in its origin. and NO respect. It's gone apes#1t.
And the sacred gods are now mass produced products. And we have Waikiki bars selling tropical drinks, (now known as "tikidrinks") with names such as: "Lono's Rum Punch".
abhorrent.

This extreme commercialization of it to the point where "tiki" is now just a decor style adjoined with tattoo, punk, lounge, hotrod, etc... nope. doesn't sit at all well for many kama'aina.

[Peshkwe]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

...."Why tiki, and why now?".....

Heh....'cause the 'skins are gettin too prickly about the wannabes, rock-rubbing-bliss-bunnies and twinkies fronting.

Those with no culture are still out there and they want to glom on to anything 'storybook nifty'.

[Peshkwe]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

yes, mahalos; very aware of the mainland tiki cult-ure.
"cartoon tiki" as it were.

was deeply mired in this for a while until it became so commercialised and disrespectful.
I miss the Polynesian decor style of the 40's to 60's. Now it's all mass merchandise and plastic. and NO interest in its origin. and NO respect. It's gone apes#1t.
And the sacred gods are now mass produced products. And we have Waikiki bars selling tropical drinks, (now known as "tikidrinks") with names such as: "Lono's Rum Punch".
abhorrent.

This extreme commercialization of it to the point where "tiki" is now just a decor style adjoined with tattoo, punk, lounge, hotrod, etc... nope. doesn't sit at all well for many kama'aina.

*snicker*

Kinda like folks driving around with dreamcatchers on their car rearview mirrors.....oh yeah I feel real safe while you be sleeping at the wheel.

[kimo55]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

Eh Kimo:
I was doing some research on how to plan a luau for someone who wrote to my alterego on www.ohanalanai.com who was planning...

dadgummit! If that site were anywhere near well planned visually and user friendly, even 10% close to what we are used to here...
I would check it out. It's SOOO... uuuuhhh.
NO search. NO subjects. NO thread headings.
ugggh!


and those damned graphics look SO un-Hawaiian. designed by Liberace on pakalolo and prosac.

[Miulang]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

dadgummit! If that site were anywhere near well planned visually and user friendly, even 10% close to what we are used to here...
I would check it out. It's SOOO... uuuuhhh.
NO search. NO subjects. NO thread headings.
ugggh!


and those damned graphics look SO un-Hawaiian. designed by Liberace on pakalolo and prosac.

If you're talking about www.alohaworld.com, yeah, there's no search engine on that. I believe the owners are planning to redo the look of the main site; "my" forum (Ono Recipes) does have search capability (they upgraded my forum first because it's the most popular --I mean, when da expats get hungry foa local grinds, they cannot just hop in da car and drive to Hotel St., you know!) But www.ohanalanai.com (a subset of it) probably uses the same program that HT does and does have a search capability. And it has more smileys than HT (if you're into that sort of thing).

Miulang

[kimo55]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

when da expats get hungry foa local grinds, they cannot just hop in da car and drive to Hotel St., you know

no one can. Hotel St now, busses only.
besides, no one drives to chinatown. No parking. all parking lots paved over.
funny kine hea;
old building, tear it down, put up a parking lot.
Old parking lot? get rid of it. NOT the "highest and best use of the land". Erect new residential/office tower.

[kimo55]

Re: More sacrilegious commercialisation of Hawaiian culture...

If you're talking about www.alohaworld.com,

nope, wuzznt.

and now that I have seen it, I now need lasik.
Jeez us, popesaveus!
That was a horrendous jolt. Someone trying to make our eyes crosseyed or wot?!
looks like someone got sick after an explosion in a joint confetti-quilt factory!