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The Exotica Girl thread |
bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10562
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
|  Posted: 2012-02-16 7:49 pm Permalink
OK, if a German blonde can be an Exotica girl, than I'm a Tiki!
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On 2012-02-16 18:39, Chuck Tatum is Tiki wrote:
OK we be reaching, But there are just so few "Primitive" island girl photos out there....
I just expanded the coverage here.....a little bit....just a little bit...
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This is really the crux of the matter, innit? Is "expanding the genre" and innovation for innovation's sake just because we cannot think of something new OK so we can keep ourselves busy?
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hottiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 10, 2008
Posts: 224
From: Garden Grove CA
| Posted: 2012-02-16 8:27 pm Permalink
My Bad...may have been due to the new prescription
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Chuck Tatum is Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 12, 2011
Posts: 1674
From: Southern Cailifornia
| Posted: 2012-02-16 8:45 pm Permalink
I think your misquoting me there Sven, Am I getting "An annoyed vibe there?" or you having fun at my
expense? 
But if you do look at the actual definition of "Exotic" John-O and my posts do fit in with the context defined.
Or would you like to narrow the definition to more your "Ideal Exotic Girl" say Island,Dark Skinned,Primitive etc.
I am happy to go with what ever rules you would like to apply.
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2458
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 2012-02-16 8:46 pm Permalink
This is for hottiki !!...
Did you ever happen to hear of voodoo?
Hear it and you won't give a damn what you do
Tom-tom's put me under a sort of voodoo
And the whole night long I dont know the right from wrong
Hot voodoo, black as mud
Hot voodoo, in my blood
That African tempo, has made a slave
Hot voodoo, dance of sin
Hot voodoo, worse than gin
I'd follow a cave man, right into his cave
That beat gives me a wicked sensation
My conscious wants to take a vacation
Got voodoo, head to toes
Hot voodoo, burn my clothes
I want to start dancing, just wearing a smile
Hot voodoo, I'm aflame
I'm really not to blame
That African tempo, is meaner than mean
Hot voodoo, make me brave
I want to misbehave
I'm beginning to feel like, an African queen
Those drums bring up the heaven inside me
I need some great big angel to guide me
Hot voodoo, makes me wild
Oh fireman, save this child
I going to blazes
I want to be bad!
[ This Message was edited by: JOHN-O 2012-02-16 20:51 ]
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2458
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 2012-02-16 8:50 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2012-02-16 20:45, Chuck Tatum is Tiki wrote:
But if you do look at the actual definition of "Exotic" John-O and my posts do fit in with the context defined.
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"Exotic" and "EXOTICA" are two different things.
Just like "Hawaiiana" and "Tiki" are two different things.
Just like a Gin Martini and a Mai Tai are two different things.
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Chuck Tatum is Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 12, 2011
Posts: 1674
From: Southern Cailifornia
| Posted: 2012-02-16 9:46 pm Permalink
According to Webster's Dictionary:
ex·ot·i·ca noun pl ig-ˈzä-ti-kə
Definition of EXOTICA
1:things excitingly different or unusual; especially : literary or artistic items having an exotic theme or nature
2:Objects considered strange or interesting because out of the ordinary, esp. because they originated in a distant foreign country.
And from Wikipedia:
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s, typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism, exotica, means tropical ersatz: the non-native, pseudo experience of Oceania (Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Southeast Asia, and especially Hawaii).[1] Denny described the musical style as "a combination of the South Pacific and the Orient...what a lot of people imagined the islands to be like...it's pure fantasy though."[2] While the South Seas forms the core region, exotica reflects the "musical impressions" of every place from standard travel destinations to the mythical "shangri-las" dreamt of by armchair safari-ers.[1]
So Exotica & Exotic are based in the same definition unless you apply it to a music form.
Exotica Girl = Exotic Girl
John-O give me your definition so I can add it to the list, Sorry to get all "Academic", But this is my understanding
of the words, Exotic & Exotica 
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komohana
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 08, 2010
Posts: 348
From: western australia
| Posted: 2012-02-17 05:28 am Permalink
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On 2011-10-27 23:19, Dustycajun wrote:
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i'd drink to that.
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swizzle
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 03, 2007
Posts: 637
From: Melbourne,Australia
| Posted: 2012-02-17 06:20 am Permalink
Chuck, you're actually quite annoying.
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2458
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 2012-02-17 07:39 am Permalink
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.
[ This Message was edited by: JOHN-O 2012-02-17 08:51 ]
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10562
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2012-02-17 09:25 am Permalink
To me (and to many grown up urban and vinyl archeologists), the term "Exotica Girl" came into being because of Sandy Warner. Her photo on Martin Denny's LP "EXOTICA" coined the term in a very literal manner. That is an accepted pop-historic fact. From there, it became apparent that indeed a large part of albums in the Exotica genre relied on tropical beauties with a combination of almond or Asian eyes, darker complexion, and come hither smiles to seduce the consumer.
This is what defines the genre "Exotica Girl": ExoticA!, with a capital A - not just anything exotic with two legs and t#!$.
Examples from other media than Exotica LP covers that are closely related to that specific "look" can be cited, sure, but simple nude Hula girls, primitive caveman girls, and not to mention Sci Fi and Vampire girls are just what they are: Nude Hula girls, cave girls, and so on. I just don't get it: Why do people want every tropical/monster THING to be "Tiki", and every vamp to be an "Exotica Girl"?
P.S.: Just to clarify: With her dark eyes and amazing eyebrows in combination with her outfit and environs, the above Ava Gardner photos fit the "Exotica Girl" bill beautifully, yes!
[ This Message was edited by: bigbrotiki 2012-02-17 09:52 ]
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Chuck Tatum is Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 12, 2011
Posts: 1674
From: Southern Cailifornia
| Posted: 2012-02-17 2:12 pm Permalink
Thanks for the clarification Sven, Since I was using the literal meaning of the word, I was falling outside of
What you intended as the topic on this thread, I shall indeed follow the "Idealized" version from now on
I see it is more in step with the "Tiki Style" mindset.
I apologize for any frustration it may have caused you, As that was not my intention.
As for you John-O.......Drinks at 10 paces, Buddy!
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Bruddah Bear
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2011
Posts: 566
From: Los Angeles Basin, Westside
| Posted: 2012-02-17 2:55 pm Permalink
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On 2012-02-16 17:35, JOHN-O wrote:
I know we like to tout "Gilligan's Island" as the 1960's Tiki-style sitcom.
I always considered "I Dream of Jeannie" to be its Exotica-style counterpart i.e. the iconic Martin Denny cover.
OK, I know that Barbara Eden was way too kooky, too blonde, and too fresh-scrubbed to be a true Exotica girl but consider this...
A 1960's sitcom featuring a provocatively (and exotically) dressed woman... living with a man who is not her husband... who she refers to as "Master"... and fulfills his every wish ??
Wasn't that the ultimate mid-century White Male fantasy ??
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I think Jeannie was pretty exotic, that costume fueled many a young man's fantasies of far off places and exotic women, I'm sure. The whole blonde, bubbly, and wholesome thing with Barbara Eden presents a bit of a problem with her Exotica cred, that is until you consider Jeannie's evil twin... Sultry, smoldering, vampish... Ooooooooh yeeeeeaaaaaaah! 
...
Now, of course, none of these images will ensconce her solidly into the Exotica girl category, but I think they make the case a little firmer than just blonde Jeannie on her lonesome.
Bear
[edit - removed images to get thread back on topic]
[ This Message was edited by: Brudda Bear 2012-02-17 16:24 ]
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2458
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 2012-02-17 3:16 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2012-02-17 14:55, Brudda Bear wrote:
Now, of course, none of these images will ensconce her solidly into the Exotica girl category, but I think they make the case a little firmer than just blonde Jeannie on her lonesome.
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I disagree. Honestly I think the images are out of context for this thread and arguably derail it's purpose. My point wasn't that Barbara Eden was a "true" Exotica girl the way we would define it here but rather as close as you could get for a 1960's sitcom (and I purposely used smaller more discrete images). Anyone casually glancing at this post would assume Exotica = Pin-up.
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Bruddah Bear
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2011
Posts: 566
From: Los Angeles Basin, Westside
| Posted: 2012-02-17 3:40 pm Permalink
Now to get this thread totally back on track (and something for Lucas, too)...
I can't believe nobody in this thread has yet mentioned the yummy Nancy Kwan!
Born in 1939 in Hong Kong to a Chinese architect father and Scottish model mother, she was just a fresh-faced 18 year old student at the Royal Ballet School in England when producer Ray Stark (no relation to Tony and Howard) saw her and gave her a screen test for the title role in "The World of Suzie Wong" (a must see, if you haven't already), thus launching her career as an actress/singer/dancer but more importantly... Exotica Girl!!
Mmmmmmmmmm...
Bear
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Chuck Tatum is Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 12, 2011
Posts: 1674
From: Southern Cailifornia
| Posted: 2012-02-17 3:44 pm Permalink
So if we can picture it as a cover to a long lost "Martin Denny" Album
That would be a true ExoticA Girl?
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