Post #696990 by swizzle on Tue, Oct 22, 2013 3:06 AM

On 2013-10-20 23:02, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
Well in historical terms any Tiki (Vintage) mug that came from an
established Polynesian Bar/restaurant during the golden era of Tiki
is a Tiki Mug.

This is pretty much the way i would define it also. But although i do agree with ATP, which i do more often than you might think believe it or not, where do you draw the line? The term 'tiki mug' is something that would have come about far more recently rather than during that period. I can't imagine the people who frequented the bars and restaurants during the golden era would have called them that. They would have just called them ceramic mugs, or cups, and 'the one shaped like a coconut', or 'the bamboo one', or 'the one with that funny face on it'.

The problem is that by defining all the mugs from that era as tiki mugs that also therefore includes those that did not have a tiki on it, as TikiTacky feels is how they should be defined. That means the coconut mugs and pineapples, and starboard/port lights, and the Benihana mugs and also that hideous Stephen Crane 'Ku' that tikicoma posted.

Technically they are not 'tiki mugs', they are ceramic mugs that were used for the purpose of serving exotic/tropical drinks in, and for which they are still made and used for today. However, if we go by the definition that they were given their name because of the golden era, then any and all mugs made after devolution are no longer tiki mugs, they just become ceramic mugs again. Which is what they all are.

But if all those mugs that do not have an actual image of a tiki on them can be called tiki mugs then what's the difference with calling those that this original post is about then, regardless of how you feel about them. I mean, where does this fit in?

It's made for a bar that i'm sure no-one will disagree with as being a 'proper' tiki bar. It's designed to hold exotic/tropical drinks and it kinda has a tiki on it but it's really a slot machine with a face. Is it a tiki mug or isn't it?

Personally i think that The Goof, and Mr. Bali Hai, and Tiki Bob, and all the Benihana mugs, and countless others are hideous and look nothing like a tiki, but i have to accept that they are because of their place in history.

We live in a different world surrounded by different influences and interests that can and do crossover. It is inevitable that people are going to combine those things together whether the purists like it or not.

On 2013-10-18 17:06, ErichTroudt wrote:

While tiki central and a few people may have Decreed what Tiki is ..... there are people who disagree, don't understand, or don't care.

Whilst there were points made here by most people i agree with, even while other points in the same comment i might not have, it's the quote above that i probably agree with the most. I personally dislike all the mugs that were referenced in this thread and you know what? I won't buy any of them, but there are people who will because they don't care. And neither do i. It doesn't affect me and i'll spend my money elsewhere.