Post #451324 by bigbrotiki on Sat, May 2, 2009 6:43 PM

Here is some more Polynesian pop culture history supporting the Pre-Tiki theory of the use of the name Pago Pago.
Having established that the use of the name has to do with the 1940 film, which is based on a 1923 story by Somerset Maugham, there was another cultural event that made Samoa and thus Pago Pago synonymous with South Seas sirenhood.
Although this comic strip is from 1976...

It refers to a literary event that happened in 1928: Anthropologist Margaret Mead published her field study of Samoan sexuality:

(Does the original 1928 book cover remind us of a certain Poly pop menu cover?)

In 1926, Mead spent several months among Samoan woman to arrive at her results.

With its suggestion of pre-marital sex being healthy the book was nothing but scandalous to many Americans of 1928:

" Many American readers felt shocked by her observation that young Samoan women deferred marriage for many years while enjoying casual sex but eventually married, settled down, and successfully reared their own children."

Of course, such claims were gladly used to re-enforce the popular vision of the willing South Seas siren...

(Turn of the century Samoan nude)

While Polynesian pop posadas used the imagery...

the book itself enjoyed continuous interest, all the way through and past WWII, with its covers designed to tempt the Polynesian paradise seeker:
1955

1968
And it was of course used to support the sexual liberation of the late 60s and early 70s.

And even though many authors have since worked hard to refute its theories, as far as Polynesian pop was concerned, the case was clear :) :