What is the quintessential tiki movie?

So what is the quintessential tiki movie? What makes it tiki movie?

Before John-O names off a bunch of 1940's crap we'll never get around to watching, I cast my vote for:

Bikini A Go Go!

Plot is basically a guy who owns a bikini shop finds a magic tiki pendant in a shipment of bikinis

Coolest part is they use a HIP Originals God of Wisdom as the magic tiki

The guy leaves the bikini shop with the tiki to meet his fiance. He plans to give it to her as a gift, not yet knowing its magical powers. Back at the shop, his two female employees disrobe and engage in a romantic interlude for several minutes. At dinner, he gives the tiki to his lady:

Suddenly, the tikis magic powers kick in

The tikis effects are soon evident, as his once fridgid wife seems to loose all inhibitions:

Then a bunch of other stuff happens with some secret agents and spies and the woman ends up with the Bikini store girls:

Still under the tiki's influence, they have hot tub relations:

I don't really remember what happens after that scene, but I'm sure all the plot lines are resolved satisfactorily in the end.

I never get tired of this movie! Best thing: NO exotica!
Buzzy Out!

What about the " House of Buzz??"

Wild pictures. That is my friend Stacy Burke in the first picture with the movie title, and again in the girl 3-way (the blond on the right). I'll have to ask her about this movie sometime!
Unfortunately I don't think there is a SINGLE movie out there I would consider the definitive "Tiki" movie. If anything comes close, it would be the promotional film made in 1963 for Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. I don't know where or if it was show, but I know part of it was shown in the 1965 special celebrating Disneyland's 10th anniversary. I have reason to believe that the film was much longer as I've seen so many Disneyland attraction promo films get re-used (and re-edited) for Disneyland TV specials. I've seen examples of these rare, longer films, but not the Tiki Room one unfortunately.

Louis

I have always maintaind that the one film that best captures the spirit of Tiki (though ethnographically not 100% Tiki) is "I am Cuba":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-IGICoMOso
(beginning at 00:55, but don't skip the opening camera move - a classic)

...and:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNPTu7gAYxo

Here I mention the connection to Trader Vic's:
Havana Before Castro

It stands as a great irony of 20th Century pop culture that the film that best portrays the look and atmosphere of the late 50s/early 60s Tiki lounge is a movie that was directed and shot by RUSSIANS in CUBA as an ANTI-CAPITALIST propaganda film condemning the colonial chauvinism of American tourists :)

The thing is, one can tell how much FUN the Russian artists had shooting these scenes. The result was that in Communist Cuba and Russia the film was a flop: The Cuban critics deemed it too cliche, the Russians too seductive. Decades later, after the miss-understood Russian director and cameraman had passed away, Francis Ford Coppola re-discovered it as a cinematic gem. When I first came upon the nightclub scenes, I thought I was seeing an artfully styled contemporary music video, not something shot in 1964 !

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2013-06-08 14:53 ]

That was interesting . . .

"Interessante? No es interessante, Senor..." AMAZING! FASCINATING! ...just like the city of Havana, used as a playground for so many different political and cultural currents of the 20th Century:

Spanish colonialism, descendants of African slaves, American capitalism with cocktail culture and midcentury modernism, Russian communism - all in a nutshell, a mini history of the last century!

Si, los dos peliculas son muy interesantes!

I know this is a bit off topic for movie critique but I like the way they used the hanging giant bamboo as room dividers in I Am Cuba. Looks like the movie failed miserably at showing how unattractive capitalism was :lol: Seems that the race lines were more blurred in 1964 Havana than in 1964 US
Buzzy, can you make a Mystic Tiki of Weyamoa with special powers? That might come in handy :D

Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2013-06-08 07:22 ]

I like "Tiara Tahiti" with James Mason. It's now on YouTube in segments. (don't mind the German subtitles at the beginning, they go away)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZH-jMN19Cg

How about Mutiny on the Bounty (Marlon Brando version)

One of my favorites is the 1951 version of "Bird of Paradise" in technicolor. Starring Lois Jourdan and Debra Paget.

Here is my take take on this matter: Folks tend to forget (or have never been aware of) that until the mid- to late 50s, the Tiki was not used much in Polynesian pop as image or name. As the memory of my publications is fading into the background, all kinds of things Hawaiian, bamboo, cocktail or South Seas are being called "Tiki" now. But why would one call a film that was always called a "South Seas movie" a "Tiki movie" now? These are related but different cultural genres to me.

What defines Tiki style and makes it unique is the fact that, yes, it was informed by all that Polynesian pop which came in the decades before it, but it was a new urban American phenomenon, defined by the juxtaposition of modernism and primitivism, by the two antipodes co-exisiting together. AND it was a cultural current unrecognized by the media, that is why there is practically NO film footage that adequately portrays "Tiki style" out there, and no clear "Tiki Movie".

Around the time Tiki became popular in the late 50s, and definitely by the early 60s, TV was becoming the new medium, while Hollywood movies were repeating themselves. That's why there is "Tiki TV", with series like "Hawaiian Eye" and "Adventures in Paradise", using Tikis as major props ( though with many of the plots repeating time-worn South Seas cliches :) )

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2013-06-09 04:39 ]

On 2013-06-05 20:53, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:
Before John-O names off a bunch of 1940's crap we'll never get around to watching, I cast my vote for:

Bikini A Go Go!

Looks like it's been also released under the title
Curse of the Erotic Tiki

"Curse of the Erotic Tiki"
When the Mystic Tiki of Weyamea turns up at the little shop known as The Bikini a Go-Go, all sorts of mayhem break loose! It seems whoever wears the necklace loses all of their sexual inhabitions and literally can't control themselves!
The sexy comedy builds rapidly as an Evil Villain-ess unleashes her Robot henchmen to bring back the Tiki at any cost!

Starring:
Beverly Lynne (pictured)
Stacy Burke (pictured)
Nikki Fritz (pictured)
Cailey Taylor (pictured)
Jay Richardson
Eric Warren
John Swipe

It's nice to know tiki "borrowing" isn't limited to mugs

To be serious for a moment (why are you rolling your eyes?) I agree with Sven
we are really loosing focus on what is "Tiki" vs disparate yet associated influences
I know of no movie I would call a "Tiki Movie" & I watch a lot of movies

But the ones that do capture the essence of classic Tiki are:
The Apartment: all the scenes in the Tiki Bar/Chinese restaurant just capture the atmosphere so well.

Hell's Half Acre: it is a Noir where most of the action goes down in a classic Tiki bar filmed on location in Don The Beachcomber in Waikiki.

The Blue Gardenia: More Noir from Fritz Lang and a nice turn from Raymond Burr and to many "Polynesian Pearl Divers"

Where Danger Lives: Like John-O likes to say "Robert Mitchum is Tiki"

Bachelor in Paradise: Bob Hope in a Mid-Century modern comedy with a great scene in a Tiki bar

Add to the list Donovan's Reef & Blue Hawaii just for fun ,this is just off the top of my head......

OK here's my 2 cents worth. What could be more 'tiki' than the scenes in Kim Novac's exotica boutique in Bell Book and Candle?

And I know it's old hat but the whole of the footage in South Pacific where Billis takes Lt. Joe Cable (of Cable, Cable & Cable) to the bore's tooth ceremonial is quintessential polynesia pop. That little hut in the hills where Liat is presumably deflowered by Joe Cable could be your perfect tiki bar and in fact many years later I tried to recreate the pivoting doors of that hut in my own tiki space - in this photo.

I am in full agreement with ATP here.

On 2013-06-09 16:30, Thurston Howell IV wrote:
OK here's my 2 cents worth. What could be more 'tiki' than the scenes in Kim Novac's exotica boutique in Bell Book and Candle?

And I know it's old hat but the whole of the footage in South Pacific where Billis takes Lt. Joe Cable (of Cable, Cable & Cable) to the bore's tooth ceremonial is quintessential polynesia pop. That little hut in the hills where Liat is presumably deflowered by Joe Cable could be your perfect tiki bar and in fact many years later I tried to recreate the pivoting doors of that hut in my own tiki space - in this photo.

Well Mr Howell (those doors do look great) to be contrarian, those scenes in "Bell Book and Candle" are a good example of
Primitive Art & Mid-Century Modern, but not Tiki.

And "South Pacific" is a great example of South Sea's cinema style, which we associate with Tiki, but it in fact is a desperate genre
one that just may be more Tiki then Tiki, because they depict actual Island locations & exotic situations
rather then a recreation of actually visiting those places in a bar or restaurant.

Thanks Matt, People, Matt Reese is always right! :)

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2013-06-09 20:22 ]

On 2013-06-09 20:20, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

On 2013-06-09 16:30, Thurston Howell IV wrote:
OK here's my 2 cents worth. What could be more 'tiki' than the scenes in Kim Novac's exotica boutique in Bell Book and Candle?

And I know it's old hat but the whole of the footage in South Pacific where Billis takes Lt. Joe Cable (of Cable, Cable & Cable) to the bore's tooth ceremonial is quintessential polynesia pop. That little hut in the hills where Liat is presumably deflowered by Joe Cable could be your perfect tiki bar and in fact many years later I tried to recreate the pivoting doors of that hut in my own tiki space - in this photo.

Well Mr Howell (those doors do look great) to be contrarian, those scenes in "Bell Book and Candle" are a good example of
Primitive Art & Mid-Century Modern, but not Tiki.

And "South Pacific" is a great example of South Sea's cinema style, which we associate with Tiki, but it in fact is a desperate genre
one that just may be more Tiki then Tiki, because they depict actual Island locations & exotic situations
rather then a recreation of actually visiting those places in a bar or restaurant.

Thanks Matt, People, Matt Reese is always right! :)

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2013-06-09 20:22 ]

I stand corrected, however as I always say, tiki is in the eye of the beerholder.

On 2013-06-09 21:41, Thurston Howell IV wrote:
I stand corrected, however as I always say, tiki is in the eye of the beerholder.

Very magnanimous of you sir, But here is where I stand my ground on the matter
I am older then many TC members & I grew up in the era of Tiki which was very much a part
of California pop culture threw the 50s & 60s.

Tiki has defined roots,history & a style that is not open to re-imagining & then still being able to call it "Tiki"
sure everyone is free to do whatever they like, mix it up, reinterpret it into something else
but at that point it is no longer Tiki, It has become a mash-up of Tiki style and whatever else you have thrown in the mix
and that is fine, just don't call it "Tiki"

I have heard from some members here that "Tiki is what you make it" I would say to them "you could not be more wrong"
because they are ignoring the history of it all.

The perception I am getting from many here that Tiki is just a style that you can cut & paste into whatever you like
but at that point it is no longer Tiki because you have stripped it of its roots & history.

Thurston Howell IV please don't think this is a reaction to your post alone as I will be making this point from now on
it's time we start stirring this boat straight & true.

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2013-06-10 01:11 ]

Yes boss.

Please Blue Kahuna, change the title to "Best Movies to watch in your Tiki Bar" or something like that and end this old and tired discussion!
:)

Here's Bongofury's take from a few years back. :)

He is the expert on "Tiki" film.

All this controversy is getting to me. I need a drink. Now see what you've done!

On 2013-06-09 20:20, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

On 2013-06-09 16:30, Thurston Howell IV wrote:
OK here's my 2 cents worth. What could be more 'tiki' than the scenes in Kim Novac's exotica boutique in Bell Book and Candle?

And I know it's old hat but the whole of the footage in South Pacific where Billis takes Lt. Joe Cable (of Cable, Cable & Cable) to the bore's tooth ceremonial is quintessential polynesia pop. That little hut in the hills where Liat is presumably deflowered by Joe Cable could be your perfect tiki bar and in fact many years later I tried to recreate the pivoting doors of that hut in my own tiki space - in this photo.

Well Mr Howell (those doors do look great) to be contrarian, those scenes in "Bell Book and Candle" are a good example of
Primitive Art & Mid-Century Modern, but not Tiki.

And "South Pacific" is a great example of South Sea's cinema style, which we associate with Tiki, but it in fact is a desperate genre
one that just may be more Tiki then Tiki, because they depict actual Island locations & exotic situations
rather then a recreation of actually visiting those places in a bar or restaurant.

Thanks Matt, People, Matt Reese is always right! :)

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2013-06-09 20:22 ]
[/quote

Here's a thought... South Pacific, in it's original incarnation as Michener's novel, Tales of the South Pacific, helped create the thirst for tiki that blossomed into a full fledged mid-century movement... when the film version was released, tiki culture was in full swing... the boar's tooth ceremony scene depicts a location that never existed (the island of Bali Hai), just as tiki establishments of the day did... some of them also named Bail Hai. That scene is pretty pastiche-y polynesian, as it blends several different types of tiki art together to create its exotic mood. The scene was art-directed by Lyle Wheeler, who also decorated the legendary Aloha Jhoe's in Palm Springs!

To my mind, this scene, from what's depicted on screen, to the behind the scenes connections, fall right in line with what tiki bars and restaurants were doing at the time! Very tiki to me!

Funny about Bell, Book and Candle... there are some great PNG pieces in Kim Novak's primitive art gallery, and then it later becomes "Flowers of the Sea" (I think that's what it's called) a shop that sells, among other things, fish floats and other nautical jetsam... if both inventories had been mixed, it could have been a tiki shop!

On 2013-06-10 00:14, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

Very magnanimous of you sir, But here is where I stand my ground on the matter
I am older then many TC members & I grew up in the era of Tiki which was very much a part
of California pop culture threw the 50s & 60s.

Lucky bastard.

On 2013-06-05 20:53, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:
Before John-O names off a bunch of 1940's crap we'll never get around to watching, I cast my vote for:

Bikini A Go Go!

AHAHAHAHAAHAHA. I haven't thought of or seen that movie since it came out. We had Skinemax at the time, and it was called Bikini A Go Go, how could I not watch it? At first, I almost turned it off, as it had that terrible Skinemax vibe, but I stuck it out, and it was hilarious. Totally worth watching.

Bigbro, thanks for I Am Cuba. As a...Photographer/DP/Camera guy, I loved it, and your commentary, and all I've found about it.

Like it or not.....Rapa Nui

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110944/

Watch the trailer if you have not seen it

[ Edited by: bongofury 2013-06-11 08:25 ]

On 2013-06-11 08:24, bongofury wrote:
Like it or not.....Rapa Nui

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110944/

Watch the trailer if you have not seen it

[ Edited by: bongofury 2013-06-11 08:25 ]

How do I not remember this?

On 2013-06-11 09:21, Hale Tiki wrote:
How do I not remember this?

I'm resisting the urge to put some sort of drinking-related comment here... ha!

On 2013-06-11 10:24, AceExplorer wrote:

On 2013-06-11 09:21, Hale Tiki wrote:
How do I not remember this?

I'm resisting the urge to put some sort of drinking-related comment here... ha!

To be fair, I was 12. And in the interest of full disclosure, Kon Tiki is a little fuzzy for me. I may or may not have been drunk on Trader Vic's Punch when I saw it on the 1st. But in my defense, I was asked to finish it off, which was a little more than half a large McDonald's cup.

The late Roger Ebert called Rapa Nui a guilty pleasure

Roger Ebert: Rapa Nui review

And isn't guilty pleasure an element of tiki?

How guilty are we talking about..... :)

Is it wrong to put Donovan's Reef on the list?

On 2013-06-11 14:03, Dax wrote:
Is it wrong to put Donovan's Reef on the list?

I believe I already have.....

On 2013-06-11 14:12, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

On 2013-06-11 14:03, Dax wrote:
Is it wrong to put Donovan's Reef on the list?

I believe I already have.....

Quite so, fair point.

On 2013-06-11 14:19, Dax wrote:

On 2013-06-11 14:12, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

On 2013-06-11 14:03, Dax wrote:
Is it wrong to put Donovan's Reef on the list?

I believe I already have.....

Quite so, fair point.

It's got drinking, fighting, Bars with more booze & Tikis!
My typical visit to a Tiki Bar......

From Roger Ebert's review of Rapa Nui:

""Rapa Nui" slips through the National Geographic Loophole. This is the Hollywood convention which teaches us that brown breasts are not as sinful as white ones, and so while it may be evil to gaze upon a blond Playboy centerfold and feel lust in our hearts, it is educational to watch Polynesian maidens frolicking topless in the surf. This isn't sex; it's geography.
For years in my liberal youth I thought this loophole was racist, an evil double standard in which white women were protected from exposure while "native" women were cruelly stripped of their bras, not to mention the equal protection of the MPAA. While watching "Rapa Nui," in which there are dozens if not hundreds of wonderful bare breasts on view, I have changed my mind. Since womens' breasts are the most aesthetically pleasing part of the human anatomy, it is only a blessing if your culture celebrates them."

elvis presley's "girl happy " - the brawl in the tiki bar rules!

In my late entrance to Tiki Central and all things tiki I’ve learned (whether correct or not) is that the definition of tiki has evolved. There is a misunderstanding here but in a sense most people are right, in a sense. Knowing the diverse definitions of “tiki” would probably clear many things up. If I were a dictionary it would read:
ti•ki

1. (in Polynesian mythology) the first man on earth. tiki (Maori), ti’i (Tahitian). Note in Cook Island Tiki was the 1st women who died. Important Polynesian connection is the god Maui, found throughout Polynesia and whose full name is Maui-tikitiki (Maori), Maui-ti’iti’i (Samoan), Maui-ki’iki’i (Hawaiian). The god Maui created the islands. Note: the Hawaiian island of Maui was named after this god.
2. (in Polynesian cultures) a large carved image, as of a god or ancestor, from wood or stone tiki (Marquesan, Tuamotuan), ki’i (Hawaiian) or small craving as a pendant around the neck he-tiki (Maori). “That is a tiki.” Tiki also refers to the arts in general as in to sculpt, draw or design as in tapa or tattoos. Underlying uses (common for many words in Polynesia) of the word tiki are fertility, virility (these two definitions are probably derived from some of the tiki gods themselves) creativity, and abundance.
3. (style) derived from mid-20th century Polynesian Pop western sub-culture where tiki symbolized this cool & hip style that takes its roots from the cultures of the Pacific isles (see above). Returning soldiers from the WWII Pacific Theater are attributed to helping form this pop culture. Examples of this cultural lifestyle: tiki bars, exotic drinks in tiki mugs, exotica music, black velvet erotic paintings, home luau parties & Polynesian Pop architecture. “He’s so tiki.” Now referred to as a tiki movement because its roots from the recognition of this mid-century style and the crusade to revive it in the 90s till present. This current tiki revival also uses the shorter term, Poly Pop. Not to be confused with the prewar South Seas style (also referred to as pre-tiki) which is an earlier Western style of Polynesian influence represented by Hawaiian music (wiki-wacky) and dance (hula hula), the widespread use of the ukulele, South Seas restaurants (with palm & pearl themed decor) & popular South Seas sarong films. This earlier sub culture did help form the mid-century movement with the early formation of chain restaurants like Don the Beachcomber & Trader Vic’s.
4. (in Western culture) Any tiki image from authentic ancient oceanic island cultures (see definition #2) to modern tiki images made anywhere, some craved faithfully from wood, others mass produced from chalk, plastic or paper. Also tikis in art such as black velvet, oil on canvas, and computer generated images found on the World Wide Web that can be also be mass produced. Today items like decorative Melanesian masks and large Easter Island (Rapa nui) Moai are all referred to as tiki in this definition.
5. (general) Modern Anything with Oceanic cultural influence, from real Pacific island cultures to earlier (“pre-tiki”) South Seas clubs, South Seas movies to later Polynesian Pop i.e. tiki restaurants, tiki bars, to So Cal Beach culture to today’s Poly Pop commercial media images, etc. Not just carved or painted tiki images but all stereotypical Oceanic or South Seas symbols such as hula dance, sarongs, grass huts, outrigger canoes, surfing, the luau, exploding volcanoes, erotic wahine grass skirt images, etc. “That is so tiki.”

Now with that established what is a tiki movie? From definition #1 (the gods) none was made but interestingly Spielberg did buy the rights to produce “Maui the Demigod” from a book publisher. As one knows not all story rights get produced into films.

From definition #2 this is where South Seas Cinema comes in. There are many South Seas movies set on a Pacific isle with at least a “tiki worship” sub-theme. There are South Seas films that have nice and terrible tikis in the background but they are only set dressing. But when it comes to the quintessential tiki movie in this definition I agree with BongoFury, RAPA NUI is an essential film to bring to the table. Here, the moai, are not the background, not a sub-plot but the center piece of the film. There are some others films that have tiki as central to the story like the “cursed” tiki pendants or desktop idols but they don’t compare to the production values of RAPA NUI.

Now to the crutch of the tiki definitions, #3 as pertaining to TC “Celebrating the Classic and Modern Polynesian Pop” with this definition BigBroTiki & Atomic Tiki Punk are right, there are no tiki movies but I would love to see one. Tiki, like the South Seas movies, was an escape from real life and real work environs not full time. So it would hard to write a full movie but it might be worth a try. Atomic Tiki Punk & BongFury (in an older post) did mention a few good scenes that took place in a mid-century Polynesian Pop sets that are great scenes and are essential to this discussion but unfortunately they are not whole movies.

Definition #4 would include the same movies mentioned in definition #2 and #3 because there are tikis involved. Definition #5 also, with a broader scope of films, mostly South Seas movies. In these broad definitions of tiki my favorite tiki movies are a tie between Michener’s HAWAII and both the Brando & Gibson BOUNTY films.

Of course this is my opinion and this might set off a hell of a lot more to discuss. Sorry for writing a book in a forum. My original post was even long but I thought I would spare your sanity.

[ Edited by: creativenative 2013-06-13 19:50 ]

creativenative, I think you did a pretty good job of laying it out
number 3 is the most relevant to a definition of "Tiki" that we are talking about here
in my mind we need more then just a few Tikis in the background to quantify the idea of a "Tiki Movie"

It should be part of the story in setting or character, like the movies we suggested before
I find it very interesting that "Film Noir" made the most use of Tiki locations.

And a movie like "Rapa Nui" an historical drama depicting the early history of the people of Easter Island & the Moais
(brought to us by the director of "Waterworld") & number 2 on your list, would fit in that category with "Kon Tiki"

On a side note: the folks that brought you "Kon Tiki" so impressed Hollywood that they have been brought on board
to make the next "Pirates of the Carribean" movie.

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2013-06-13 20:32 ]

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.

Watch for the next issue of Tiki Magazine's South Seas Drive-In Theater to see which "Tiki" movies I will revue for you all.

That's great that they've been tapped to do the next pirate movie. Everyone did such a good job on Kon Tiki, the acting, the lighting, the sets, the props, the everything. I can't say enough nice things about it.

Thanks guys for the encouraging words. Being a tiki novice it is great to hear constructive comments from a couple people I really respect. Ironically the stuff I left out were more comments on definition #3 because after all this is the definition for Tiki Central. I also tried to write a plot for what would be a Tiki Movie and of course it was Film Noir. It started pretty good than I soiled it and went crazy putting in "Beach Party" and "South Seas" movie elements in the story, but it was fun to try. Maybe we should start a new thread "Writing a True Tiki Movie" and we could help each other out with the plot.

I also commented on, at times, direct remarks from you Atomic but I also mentioned that you were like TC's Sergeant of Arms and boy at times we need to be reminded what is truly tiki. We need to stay on track and not "DE-volve" the term "tiki" in TC. I just went to the home page to cut and paste TC¡¦s sub-title: Celebrating classic and modern Polynesian Pop then I realized that this important sub-title was underlined maybe not as an emphasis but as a link and sure enough I clicked it and low and behold the purpose of this forum is clear. If any reader hasn't read it-READ IT. If you old timers haven¡¦t read it in a while READ IT again. I will every once in a while.

I also mentioned the big irony or paradox in South Seas Cinema which is that while South Seas movies portrays the real Pacific Islands and the special ones were filmed on location with native consultants but for the matter of saving money most South Seas films were filmed in a So Cal back lot or soundstage with for the most part bad homework by producers, directors, art directors and set dressers. The results are what Big Bro started to mention: "A good Tiki establishment was like a bamboo hut film set, with fake waterfalls, rainstorm special effects, and painted backdrops - all Hollywood concepts" in other words a South Seas movie. Two different genres with a lot of similarities. Besides the obvious Oceanic connection the settings are similar, one with a purposeful mix of island cultures the other a mix of island cultures because of lazy research. :)

Finally I was surfing throughout TC all last night following links to different threads and it was fascinating. Now for fun follow me (for those who uses email to read recent posts) to different threads because I¡¦ve been saving comments till now. Next stop Pele Paul's "the U.S. Navy in WWII and Tiki culture" http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=45327&forum=1&start=30 Having fun but let me go shower before I continue. Lucky I'm in Hawaii, most you guys are sleeping.

I'm surprised that no one has brought up the up coming film: "Teen Beach Movie."

http://video.disney.com/watch/disneychannel-teen-beach-movie-trailer-4d7379dbbe767855af5a37f6

I just revoked your "Teen Disney Card" MaukaHale!

the fuck was that?

did anyone else have the desire to punch that kid in the face?
no?
just me?