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Are we the last generation of Tiki? |
Monkeyman
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 04, 2003
Posts: 2385
From: Vista, CA
|  Posted: 2006-02-22 10:08 am Permalink
I had a thought last night while driving home from work....
Many of us here on TC have found an interest in Tiki due to childhood memories and experiences with our parents and grandparents.
Many of us seek it not for its current day novelty but its yesteryear charm. Its safe to say that for me Polynesian Pop Culture peaked in the time of my grandparents (I have young parents). Hanging out at a Don the Beachcomber or local Trader Vics (in San Diego) would have been something my 35-50 year old grandparents would have done.
My parents still experienced it in the form of 1960's beach culture but they would not have been of drinking age during the first big pop.
My interest is a current one but I cant help think that much of my interest was spurred by memories of going to places like this with my grandparents (Sea World etc).
As we all know, Tiki styled restaurants are more a niche now than a mainstream eatery. Of course MY kids will have memories of tiki stuff in their youth but only because I am an extremist and drag them out to all the tiki events.
I would wager that the average 8 year old will have no tie or memory to it whatsoever.
I guess what I asking is... Are we the last generation? Does it die with us or will there be another mainstream embracement of polynesian pop culture?
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[ This Message was edited by: Monkeyman 2006-02-22 10:09 ]
[ This Message was edited by: Monkeyman 2006-03-02 23:36 ]
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mbonga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 04, 2005
Posts: 556
From: La Mesa, California
| Posted: 2006-02-22 10:33 am Permalink
Unless the USA acquires a new state with a particularly appealing and unique culture as Hawaii had in 1959, which is very unlikely, I don't think any new theme from an existing culture is going to have much of an influence for many years to come, and the tiki-Hawaiiana theme is not likely to undergo any revivals, in my opinion. I think there will always be a group of people who relate strongly to that theme, but like aficionados of square dancing, midcentury architecture, rodeos, Civil War reenactments, Native American arts, Western gunslingers, swashbuckling pirates, and more, those eras have seen their heyday and there's no reason to expect a revival of interest across a large portion of the population. I think the best that can be done for the foreseeable future is to keep the interest going wherever and whenever possible.
Just my two cents worth.
P.S.--My personal prediction for the future, in about 50 years, after the upcoming General Collapse passes, is that there will be a general societal focus on emotional factors instead of the traditional engineering-physics-architecture-money focus. In other words, a science of the emotions and atmospheres and things you can't directly see or measure yet, instead of the naive midcentury philosophy that more gadgets, possessions, technology, and money will make people happier. That's about the time I expect it to be commonplace to map out the interests and tastes of individuals so as to maximize their moods, in everything from decor to friendships to sex. That's when I predict a boom of interest in different themes and cultures, including the tiki culture.
[ This Message was edited by: mbonga 2006-02-22 10:45 ]
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Tiki-Kate
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 21, 2003
Posts: 1700
From: Yucaipa, CA
| Posted: 2006-02-22 10:44 am Permalink
I have hope for future generations.
I think that there are enough places left (and enough new places popping up) that there are a fair number of little ones being exposed to tiki culture now.
I always see families with kids at Bahooka. The Enchanted Tiki Room is always packed. People who rent stuff for their luaus always seem to bring the kids along to Oceanic Arts.
Since tiki isn't currently as pervasive as it was in its heyday, the next generation of fanatics may be smaller than this one, and there may be a bit of a gap between upsurges, but I really believe that the next generation is being molded as we speak.
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bananabobs
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 16, 2003
Posts: 824 | Posted: 2006-02-22 10:57 am Permalink
I also "lived" 60's TiKi, and therefore am one of the "indoctrinated ones. I believe that TiKi will live on as things worthwhile often have lives of their own. My kids have gotten TiKi through osmosis and infusion from the current (albeit waning) fad. The TiKi that we know and love today has morphed from the “Polynesian lifestyle” of the 50’s and 60’s and may I say it has improved in some respects, look at page 41 of BOT, That poor fellow has not fully evolved, heck he is not fully upright and we do not have to wear Capri pants…Yes, I think that TiKi will live on indefinitely but I am sure it will not be like it is today, good bad or indifferent, it will be TiKi! BTW, on page 19 of BOT, today that Asian man would be allowed to sit at the table…
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mrsmiley
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 3191
From: Las Vegas, NV
| Posted: 2006-02-22 11:05 am Permalink
No, we aren't. 
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pappythesailor
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 07, 2005
Posts: 1566
From: Mass.
| Posted: 2006-02-22 11:31 am Permalink
As a new father, I can definitely say, no, we aren't. I'll see to it.
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Formikahini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 1513
From: Houston, Texotica
| Posted: 2006-02-22 11:59 am Permalink
Seeing as how we have all drunk the elixir of immortality and thus will live forever, it is a moot point; this generation of tiki lovers will never die.
Formikahini the Immortal
Actually, secretly, age 87
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"Zazz captivates felt."
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ookoo lady
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 24, 2004
Posts: 779 | Posted: 2006-02-22 1:32 pm Permalink
I think Tiki will continue into the future, but it will look and sound more like "Spongebob Squarepants" than "Trader Vics".
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Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3755
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2006-02-22 2:54 pm Permalink
I agree with ookoo lady. Tiki will be even more "watered down", "diluted". Everything is becoming pasteurized, homogenized, americanized, christianized, so that the only place you'll find anything "pure" will be those places that have fought to hold on to their cultures and resist change. Even then some haven't survived. The eurocentric mindset lives to destroy indigenous cultures and paves the forests and jungles over with concrete and strip malls. (Buy this and it will make you happy)
We need green jungles and forests, so does mother earth, so does tiki. Tiki represents (to me) the balance between man and mother earth that once existed. Both are slowly dying.
If all the green things that grow were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all the four-legged creatures were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all the winged creatures were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all our relatives who crawl and swim and live within the earth were taken away, there could be no life. But if all the humans beings were taken away, life on earth would flourish.
This is it, enjoy it while you can.
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finkdaddy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 11, 2004
Posts: 2061
From: Wisconsin
| Posted: 2006-02-22 3:14 pm Permalink
I'm from Milwaukee and have no ties whatsoever to the tiki pop culture of the past. But I still love it and so do my kids, so hopefully it will last a very long time. 
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alohabros
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 04, 2004
Posts: 533
From: westernus
| Posted: 2006-02-22 3:21 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-02-22 14:54, Jungle Trader wrote:
...We need green jungles and forests... This is it, enjoy it while you can...
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... ride a bike instead of driving your car, walk to where you go to rather than drive your car, utilize mass transit instead of driving your car, ride a bike, ride a skateboard, live in the community in which you work, buy bulk foods, grow fertilizer & pesticide free fruits & veggies, stop eating meat, recycle, compost, conserve energy, vote green, utilize rammed earth & passive solar technologies, integrate & maintain the natural ecosystems & landscapes with regard to food, shelter and energy...
... but, never stop drinking good ale, lots of good ale...
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BC-Da-Da
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 14, 2002
Posts: 161 | Posted: 2006-02-22 3:59 pm Permalink
Never fear, Baby Boomers... the next generation has turned it into an appreciated art form. It'll be around. Maybe not always in the same format, but it's here to stay.
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3836
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2006-02-22 5:51 pm Permalink
Tiki will survive, even if tiki palaces do not.
Pottery Barn Kids had a blackboard in the form of a tiki bar a few years back and regularly has Hawaiian aspects.
If the next generation continues to go to Hawaii, they will still have the tikis at the Polynesian Cultural Center, the most visitied paid destination on the most visited Hawaiian island.
Here at home, Trader Joes is bringing tiki into the daily experience, in some markets.
Even Target carries tiki for the dorm room and as a garden accessory. Kohl's does too.
Tiki will survive, even if real estate investors continue to sacrafice tiki palaces on the alter of development.
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tikigap
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 19, 2006
Posts: 839
From: Arlingtron Virginia
| Posted: 2006-02-22 6:35 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-02-22 11:59, Formikahini wrote:
Seeing as how we have all drunk the elixir of immortality and thus will live forever, it is a moot point; this generation of tiki lovers will never die.
Formikahini the Immortal
Actually, secretly, age 87
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I like this quote in particular. But the reality is that my 17 year old son is making me a Zombie right now, in commemoration of Don the Beachcomber's birthday, today. He's also taken up a little carving...
[ This Message was edited by: tikigap 2006-02-23 12:26 ]
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SilverLine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 02, 2004
Posts: 637
From: Kansas City
| Posted: 2006-02-22 7:16 pm Permalink
A friend of mine's son, now 15 and living in Boulder CO, has taken up tiki carving. He'd never heard of Tiki Central and knew nothing of the current tiki "fad." He just likes it. There's hope.
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