Who hasn't read The Book of Tiki? (Not a poll) - General Tiki

G GatorRob Member Orlando Joined: Aug 20, 2004 Posts: 1784	G GatorRob Posted posted on Tue, Nov 28, 2006 10:32 AM On 2006-11-27 23:03, bigbrotiki wrote: How soon until the second Tiki revival? Just as soon as your next book is published! :) The first tiki revival brought awareness to many people, such as myself, of how influential all things Polynesian was to American popular culture of the mid-20th century. And it brought many long time tiki lovers together to join with the new converts. It drew attention to the few remaining tiki temples in our cities and it spawned quite a number of new tiki establishments, some of which are thriving (Forbidden Island) and some of which had great promise, but couldn't survive for one reason or the other (Hale Tiki, Kahiki Moon). The first tiki revival also spawned a great number of cheap knock-offs with the sole purpose of cashing in on the emerging tiki craze. But that's okay and to be expected. But now the source of the first tiki revival (BOT) is growing quiet due to its unavailability to newcomers. So I'm hopeful that your next book will be as influential as the first (no pressure!) in bringing a larger audience back to the roots of Poly Pop. I'm not trying to glorify the past because it's been said before that the BOT compiled the best Poly Pop imagery and in doing so created the false impression that all mid-century Polynesian bars and restaurants were a haven where everything was of top quality and all the customers "got it" as we "get it". But I'm hopeful that the first tiki revival put us in first gear and the next revival will put us in second gear. Because even though tiki has re-entered the popular culture, it hasn't done so nearly on the scale as the original craze. And it probably never will. We now have some quality tiki bars scattered here and there, but I'm waiting to see if there will be a return of the full-blown Polynesian restaurant/bar, done in a grand scale, ala Kon Tiki and Kona Kai. Trader Vic's and the Mai-Kai survived. I think new ones, if done right with an eye to quality and in the right location, can thrive as well. BRING ON THE SECOND TIKI REVIVAL!!

On 2006-11-27 23:03, bigbrotiki wrote:
How soon until the second Tiki revival?

Just as soon as your next book is published! :) The first tiki revival brought awareness to many people, such as myself, of how influential all things Polynesian was to American popular culture of the mid-20th century. And it brought many long time tiki lovers together to join with the new converts. It drew attention to the few remaining tiki temples in our cities and it spawned quite a number of new tiki establishments, some of which are thriving (Forbidden Island) and some of which had great promise, but couldn't survive for one reason or the other (Hale Tiki, Kahiki Moon). The first tiki revival also spawned a great number of cheap knock-offs with the sole purpose of cashing in on the emerging tiki craze. But that's okay and to be expected.

But now the source of the first tiki revival (BOT) is growing quiet due to its unavailability to newcomers. So I'm hopeful that your next book will be as influential as the first (no pressure!) in bringing a larger audience back to the roots of Poly Pop. I'm not trying to glorify the past because it's been said before that the BOT compiled the best Poly Pop imagery and in doing so created the false impression that all mid-century Polynesian bars and restaurants were a haven where everything was of top quality and all the customers "got it" as we "get it". But I'm hopeful that the first tiki revival put us in first gear and the next revival will put us in second gear. Because even though tiki has re-entered the popular culture, it hasn't done so nearly on the scale as the original craze. And it probably never will. We now have some quality tiki bars scattered here and there, but I'm waiting to see if there will be a return of the full-blown Polynesian restaurant/bar, done in a grand scale, ala Kon Tiki and Kona Kai. Trader Vic's and the Mai-Kai survived. I think new ones, if done right with an eye to quality and in the right location, can thrive as well. BRING ON THE SECOND TIKI REVIVAL!!

Post #269164 by GatorRob on Tue, Nov 28, 2006 10:32 AM