Post #22008 by BC-Da-Da on Wed, Feb 5, 2003 1:24 AM

I don't think being into Tiki has ever been hip, except maybe in the '50s and '60s, and it was more of a cultural reflection than a cult-art form. That said, right now, the best part about being into Tiki is drinking booze that tastes good and the idea of escaping your own reality.

The collecting, for me, is really about understanding a part of our cultural past that was/is amusing and interesting in nature. I've never been able to get into the new Tiki movement too much, and I rarely buy any contemporary Tiki products. I prefer finding old matchbooks of torn down or renovated Tiki bars. To me, Tiki is just one facet of the larger picture, which is mainland fascination with the natives, the Polynesian islands... the exotic elements. When you get right down to it, that's probably why people like Star Wars and Star Trek so much: it gives them the ability to escape their own reaility.

I like George Lucas's "THX 1138," so I'm not going to bum rap him, nor put down people who have an interest in something as benign as these fairy tale-futuristic stories. To each their own.