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Joined: Dec 31, 2003
Posts: 355
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This debate is exactly why I wrote my rather lengthy article on whether Tiki is "cultural appropriation". To excerpt the meat of it:
Though Tiki culture and Polynesian Pop has pulled substantial influence from traditional Polynesian culture, it was never intended in any sense to represent it. Rather, Tiki style was a reflection of the American experience of the South Pacific, which included the American encounter with Polynesian cultures and landscapes alongside the Pacific War and Cold War experiences, nautical romance, and elements of pure fantasy. Statues of Moai and Ku were ubiquitous, and regularly supplemented with mermaids and shipwrecks. Tiki culture ostensibly began when Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt opened the first Don the Beachcomber bar in Hollywood in 1933, decorated with the souvenirs of his own voyages around the South Pacific. Far from appropriating Polynesian culture, Tiki culture was the manifestation of how the romance of the South Pacific colonized the American psyche.
This may be why many Hawaiians can be cavalier about it. It does not and never did represent them, having lacked any pretense to do so. Tiki culture's focus has always been through - and to a large extent on - the lens of American perception. It is telling that Disneyland Paris' Adventureland lacks the Tiki aesthetic ubiquitous in the company's American parks, opting instead for references to European colonial exploits and adventure stories. It's also telling that the Enchanted Tiki Room has a bunch of birds singing Big Band hits while doing impressions of Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong. Tiki is a reflection of America's cultural experience, not an appropriation of Polynesian culture. It is an example of Americana, not Polynesia.
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Aspects of Polynesian aesthetics diffused their way into mid-century Americana, satisfying a longing within American culture. In contrast to the gleaming, hi-tech, fast-paced future promised by the Space Age, Tiki and other so-called "primitive" aesthetics offered a more Earthy emotional release valve. It was sensual in the full sense of the word, as that which arouses the physical senses, reflecting a connection to nature and recollecting ideals of Paradise (Tiki ran alongside a renewed interest in America's National Parks for a comparable reason). And to those living the new suburban dream, it did offer a controlled experience of the extraordinary and exotic, which are feelings mingled with wonder and curiousity. These images appealed to people because, above all else, they were beautiful and interesting...
The overlap - not appropriation - of Tiki culture with genuine Polynesian cultures unavoidably led to some situations of inadvertent insensitivity, misrepresentation, plagiarism, and disrespect. Tom Swiss, in his controversial article There is No Such Thing as "Cultural Appropriation" argues that these established concepts offer a more useful way of understanding these issues. "[W]e recognize laziness, dishonesty, and plagiarism as sins all on their own," he says. "We don't need to create a new category to condemn them."
Recognizing that, and the debt I owe to Disney for first introducing me to Tiki, may be part of why my most preferred expression of Tiki is not "purist" or "elitist" as defined in this thread, but outright fantasy... A nightmare of King Kong, Creature from the Black Lagoon, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, mermaids, krakens, sunken ships, the Jungle Cruise, and the Enchanted Tiki Room. I just did a quick count and if we eliminate Disney, I only have a half-dozen mugs that are classically "Tiki" subjects. Not counting Disney, my favourite Tiki bar so far is the Sip n' Dip, because it has mermaids, which is awesome. My wife and I hosted our first "Skull Island Luau" just under two months ago. For me personally, I embrace the tropical fantasy idea of Tiki, which diffuses accusations of cultural appropriation by highlighting how Tiki is a phenomenon generated in Western culture.
Not Party City through... Whether you're more of a "purist" or more into "fantasy" or more into authentic Polynesian cultures or what have you, I think we can all agree that there can be standards of quality that Party City doesn't quite measure up to.
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