Post #386643 by tiki mick on Thu, Jun 12, 2008 12:12 PM

On 2008-06-12 11:22, tikijoeusaf wrote:
Since I've started reading books and articles on the subject of Polynesian pop culture in America, I would say that almost all of them paint a bleak picture towards the future of "Tiki." That picture shows that eventually "Tiki" as we know it, will only live on in the basements and backyards of us "Tikiphiles."

At current I would say, that picture is slowing becoming true with the almost constant loss of such classic tiki icons like the Aku Tiki Room in Kewanee, IL. There also seems to be a sense of impending doom, that I think is growing in that whenever someone recommends a tiki bar or restaurant they do so with an attitude of; "get there while it lasts!"

I'm just curious to know;

1. Is it possible to bring back the tiki culture in America close to the way it was? (I think we all know it will never be exactly the same as in the 50's & 60's.)
2. What would it take to bring it back?
3. How much would be enough? 25%, 50%, 75%? (Right now I would say we are less that 1% from the peak.)

It has been degenerating since the 60's, when rock and roll started. Since the 70's, when all the tiki hotels and tiki apartments started turning into crack houses, and since the 80's when Jimmy Buffett became really popular.

It's from a vanished time, and you can never get it back. Even if you could, would anyone really want it to? I for one, enjoy the urban-archeological aspect of collecting, finding, exploring.

By keeping the modern scene going, the "neo-tiki" scene, we are a nitch. I believe mainstream exposure would destroy it, dillute it, ruin it. I like it small and localized. I like the fact that it is not really popular outside of Tiki Central.
I try to explain to co-worker's the appeal of Tiki, and very few of them "get it". So I really don't bother anymore. It excites me, but not the rest of them. I almost think it is better that way.