Post #625376 by JOHN-O on Fri, Feb 17, 2012 7:39 AM

Chucky, if we have to rely on Webster's dictionary or Wikipedia to define a pop cultural style (OUR pop cultural style) then we're really Tiki sunk. :(

Here's the aesthetic for me. Imagine the mood set by any of Les Baxter's (even more so than Martin Denny's) Exotica albums. You think of the exotic Far East, the mysterious island of Bali Hai, the deepest jungles of Africa, maybe even a Mayan temple. And we're not talking about the National Geographic reality of it but rather the imagined, idealized, and embellished Hollywood version. The Exotica girl is the type of girl inhabiting these places, not vampires, not space girls, and probably not Marilyn Monroe in a hula skirt.

(And yes, "Space Escapades" does fall outside of that exact genre. It's Space-Age Pop. I regret bringing it up here.)

It's not to say the latter aren't mid-century pop culture cool, but do they remain outside the style of Tiki Central and the spirit of this particular thread.

Actually I think Komohana's reposting of Ava Garnder above illustrates the true illusion of the Exotica girl. Ave Gardner was NOT an Exotica girl but maybe she played one in the the movies. Same goes for Sandy Warner, after those album shoots she changed out of the animal skins and probably went back to being a suburban house wife. Exotica girls need to be authentic in their inauthenticity (just like Tiki !!).

And yes Marlene Dietrich CAN portray an Exotica girl. Her rendition of "Hot Voodoo" above remains to me one of the most iconic of Pre-Tiki style Pop Primitive kitsch. So I guess that does make the Bigbro a Tiki. I always think of him as "MR. TIKI" anyway. :)

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2012-02-17 08:51 ]