On 2006-05-26 09:09, KuKuAhu wrote:
This thread.. man, I need to just step away from the keyboard and leave.
But I just can't.
Just for clarification, this isn't meant to be read in a mean spirited way at all, it is just how I feel.
Tiki does not need to be promoted. Tiki isn't a band looking for a break, or a product for sale to the public. It isn't a social services agency, or an event, it isn't a religion, and it isn't a fad.
Tiki is a hobby. For many of us it is an obsession, but for most it is simply a pop culture phenomena similar quite frankly to Goth culture, Sci-Fi Con folk, Ren Faires, and similar such things. Sure, plenty of people will be insulted by the comparison, ("Hey man, we aren't like Trekies or those Ren fairies!") but the truth is we are. To the outside world we are.
If we are going to talk about "promoting tiki" as though it needs a boardroom marketing survey to justify itself, then we may as well talk about market perception and potential, and the market perception as I see it is that we are a bunch of loud shirt wearing, drunken nerds that collect junk store ceramics and pretend to be naive 50's tourists on holiday. And the market potential is obvious to any regular Target shopper: cheap, watered-down tiki in neon colors sells well enough to folks who want to host a "tropical party" at the office on Friday, or those who wish to spin some reggae and drink Corona out of a pink plastic tiki mug on Cinco De Mayo, to justify a product line.
This does not belittle the efforts of those of you who spend enormous amounts of energy (and money) creating websites, art, events, literature, etc. on the subject of tiki. I personally do most of those things myself as well. But I don't do it out of some desire to push tiki forward to the masses. I don't feel like I "owe it to tiki". It is my thing, so I do it. I also don't expect a living out of it, or even any kudos from the world at large.
The folks that play softball in the park near my house have never tried to recruit me in the greater interests of promoting softball or anything weird like that. It is their thing, so they do it. Why is tiki any different?
Here's what I personally would have liked to have seen as responses to this thread:
"I go to the Mai Kai as much as possible to eat/drink and I tip the staff well."
"I support my local tiki bar/restaurant with my business on a regular basis."
"I try to send business to local tiki joints by telling my friends and out of town guests how great these spots are."
"I try to preserve the stories of the generation of folks who built, own/owned, etc. these places that I love so much."
"I try to support the newly emerging tiki establishments with both my business, and my help if possible."
I dunno, maybe it's just me, and I'm just a flake (true), and I really shoulda just left this thing alone like I said. I knew it'd read all preachy, which generally isn't me at all, but..
Promote your tiki art, tiki products, tiki events, tiki websites, etc.
And by all means, introduce and cultivate new people that have sought out and are receptive to learning about tiki. Makes for more Mai Kai customers and keeps them in business.
But promote tiki itself? I'm scratching my head on this one. Maybe it's just semantics and I'm being picky.
Ahu
I agree with this post.
