Post #681937 by bigbrotiki on Thu, Jun 13, 2013 10:37 PM

Glad to hear that the directors of "Kon Tiki" are getting such a big break, they are really nice guys and they deserve it. Hope the big budget doesn't spoil them. Then again, they probably got hired because they showed how much they could do with so little money. :)

Matt, I agree with your dictionary defs for the most part, only that in my view, point 5 is not an example of how the term "Tiki" has evolved, but how it has DE-volved :D (I realize you are not saying anything else, just stating the facts) My much repeated point is that on a site termed Tiki CENTRAL, we should strive to not be swayed by public indifference, but stay our course of telling the tales of true Tiki.

When I look at my "Evolution of Polynesian Pop" chart published in 2000 in the BOT now...

...I would narrow down the "Tiki" period even further now, to really be starting around 1955 (til around 1965), with the real peak of the style happening between 1959 - 1964

That places most South Sea movies in the Pre-Tiki period. Even "South Pacific", which was so important and instrumental to the flowering of Tiki, is not a "Tiki movie" per se. It is an undeniable fact that without all the concepts perpetuated by South Sea movies, Tiki could not exist, but that does not make them Tiki. A good Tiki establishment was like a bamboo hut film set, with fake waterfalls, rainstorm special effects, and painted backdrops - all Hollywood concepts. But all this was merely SETTING THE STAGE for our protagonist Tiki to appear in his best light. Without him, it would not be "Tiki", just another Polynesian Pop charade - which, of course, we appreciate as the proper environment for the species.