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If this Tiki thing is nothing more than escapism, what (in particular) are you escaping from? |
White Devil
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Jun 26, 2009
Posts: 225
From: The Interior, Deep South Pacific
|  Posted: 2009-06-30 2:43 pm Permalink
It’s been asserted numerous times (especially in an excellent thread entitled “How much escapism is too much escapism?"), that the Tiki subculture constitutes pure escapism. Do you think this is true, and if so, is this true for you? If so, what (or who) are you trying to escape from? Why can’t you handle real life, that you feel you have to immerse yourself in fantasies about hula girls, plastic squid and puddles of flaming liquor in skull-shaped cereal bowls?
[ This Message was edited by: White Devil 2009-06-30 14:44 ]
[ This Message was edited by: White Devil 2009-06-30 16:01 ]
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TikiG
Grand Member (2 years) 
Joined: Jun 17, 2008
Posts: 1519
From: Palmdale, California
| Posted: 2009-06-30 2:55 pm Permalink
For me its escapism from.....ta da.....the daily routine of Monday thru Friday / 9 to 5 / concrete and asphalt / rush ruSH RUSH!!
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Joe Banks
Grand Member (4 years) 
Joined: Aug 02, 2007
Posts: 518
From: Hollywoodland
| Posted: 2009-06-30 3:31 pm Permalink
Away from the things of man, my friend. Away from the things of man.
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TIKIVILLE
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 22, 2008
Posts: 635
From: Edmonton Alberta Canada
| Posted: 2009-06-30 3:54 pm Permalink
I'm just ah ...you know , looking for a place to abide....
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Suburban Beachbum
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Oct 27, 2008
Posts: 33 | Posted: 2009-06-30 4:08 pm Permalink
Sanity? Sobriety? Everything, bro... escaping from everything.
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years) 
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6389
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2009-06-30 4:47 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2009-06-30 14:43, White Devil wrote:
Why can’t you handle real life, that you feel you have to immerse yourself in fantasies about hula girls, plastic squid and puddles of flaming liquor in skull-shaped cereal bowls? |
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You say that like it's a bad thing?
_________________
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
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Matt Reese
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 09, 2005
Posts: 1114
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2009-06-30 8:02 pm Permalink
Just doing what the voices tell us to do.
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dewey-surf
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 27, 2009
Posts: 164
From: Clearwater, FL
| Posted: 2009-06-30 8:24 pm Permalink
I think I am just drawn to the era that it represents. Post War, late 1940's to mid 1960's. I like the cars better, the music better, the clothes better, the decor better. I was definitely born in the wrong generation.
It seemed like a genuine time, with better family values, people knew their neighbors, and not everybody carried a gun.
Now everything looks the same (neighborhoods), sells the same stuff (big box stores), sounds the same (have you listened to FM radio lately?!?), and kids wear the same stuff (anybody notice all of the clothing stores in the mall are basically the same thing?)
[ This Message was edited by: dewey-surf 2009-06-30 20:25 ]
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woofmutt
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2584
From: Seattilite Telstar
| Posted: 2009-07-01 12:34 am Permalink
Dang, that was well stated. I'd sum it up as: Escape the beige.
With some exceptions most of us aren't really attempting an escape, we're just side stepping the ordinary and every day.
And despite our wonderful precious super coolness it's really not all that unique. The notion of "escape" is used to market pert near everything from yogurt to birth control.
Marketing has got us believing that we have something to escape from. And ha-ha-ha: The things we're escaping from are the things we most want: A good job, house, nice town to live in, spouse, kids, round the clock activities, TV, cell phones, sprawling blocks of beige cubes full of stuff to buy, predictability, and dependability.
Maybe the escape message works so well on us cuz a long time ago it was escape or be eaten. Maybe that's why people like the head hunter and cannibal mugs so much. "I have escaped and here's a poor bastard that didn't...Cheers!"
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Attribution is the sincerest form of flattery.
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Unga Bunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 06, 2003
Posts: 5734
From: CaliTikifornia
| Posted: 2009-07-01 12:55 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2009-06-30 14:43, White Devil wrote:
Why can’t you handle real life, that you feel you have to immerse yourself in fantasies about hula girls, plastic squid and puddles of flaming liquor in skull-shaped cereal bowls?
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Wait a minute!
Hanford, it was understood that there would be no intelligent conversations in the "Bilge" forum?
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2009-07-01 05:25 am Permalink
it's easy to romanticize a period in time we were never from (or lived through)....in doing so we get to pick and choose the aspects of a particular time period we like , magnify them, make them our own and then eliminate or ignore the stuff we don't like from the same period.....anyone that has lived through the 40's,50's or 60's will tell you it wasn't as magical and cool as we seem to think it was....there were problems and stuff back then too. That's the difference between living it and imagining how it was lived.....Our perceptions of tiki are pure fantasy (aside from the actual historical facts -thank you sven). I grew up in the 70's and think that the 70's were the worst time in history for just about everything in our culture at that time....yet I see kids born in the 80's embracing 70's fashion and other cultural aspects from that time and think it was the greatest moment in pop culture....perception is everything and all things are relative. I personally don't really consider tiki an escape.....i find the whole thing relaxing in tone and creatively inspiring in style but also recognize it as a nostalgia (however imagined) for a time i never knew (except as a youg child on family vacations to florida and what not). These are tough times we face in this country at this moment and even tougher choices....the last thing i want to do is esacpe from it.
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[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-07-01 05:28 ]
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Gremmie
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jun 29, 2009
Posts: 25
From: Landlocked
| Posted: 2009-07-01 07:22 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2009-07-01 05:25, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
it's easy to romanticize a period in time we were never from (or lived through)....in doing so we get to pick and choose the aspects of a particular time period we like , magnify them, make them our own and then eliminate or ignore the stuff we don't like from the same period.....anyone that has lived through the 40's,50's or 60's will tell you it wasn't as magical and cool as we seem to think it was....there were problems and stuff back then too. That's the difference between living it and imagining how it was lived.....Our perceptions of tiki are pure fantasy (aside from the actual historical facts -thank you sven). I grew up in the 70's and think that the 70's were the worst time in history for just about everything in our culture at that time....yet I see kids born in the 80's embracing 70's fashion and other cultural aspects from that time and think it was the greatest moment in pop culture....perception is everything and all things are relative. I personally don't really consider tiki an escape.....i find the whole thing relaxing in tone and creatively inspiring in style but also recognize it as a nostalgia (however imagined) for a time i never knew (except as a youg child on family vacations to florida and what not). These are tough times we face in this country at this moment and even tougher choices....the last thing i want to do is esacpe from it.
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Tipsy, WELL WELL WELL WELL said! Yesteryear was never like we see it represented. Well written my friend.
_________________
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little lost tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 12, 2006
Posts: 7457
From: Orange,CA-right near the Circle!
| Posted: 2009-07-01 08:22 am Permalink
I'm just hiding here in Bilge til the fuzz cools down
and the heat is off...
that was ONE botched heist!
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lucas vigor
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 12, 2004
Posts: 3453
From: "I've chopped my way through real jungle
| Posted: 2009-07-01 10:08 am Permalink
For me, it is not escapism at all. Just a love of 1950's culture in general. Plus, I like fake cantonese food with lots of MSG and sweet and sour sauce. I like the sounds of the vibraphone mixed with birdcalls. I like the way tikis look, and I like gardens and buildings that feature ornamental "tropical" foliage. I like new bands that pay homage to all the things I like, (Tikiyaki Orchestra) and I even like eyeballs driving hotrods! Spongebob? What's not to like about a cartoon that embraces many elements of tiki? The music alone is worth it. Spongebob is like the simpsons. Yes, both those shows are definately gonna stand the test of time, due to the fact that there are expert animators (Like Grog from this forum) who have been involved with them.
And probably no suprise, but I have always loved SHAG. The colors he chooses, the imagery. I like it not because someone else says I should, but because with a few brushstrokes, artists like shag, squid, yaneger, horne, little lost tiki, big toe, cammo and so many others capture completely the essence of the 1950's lounge culture.
[ This Message was edited by: Lucas Vigor 2009-07-01 13:28 ]
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King Bushwich the 33rd
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 10, 2005
Posts: 933
From: Ling Cod Beach, CA 90803
| Posted: 2009-07-01 1:52 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2009-06-30 14:43, White Devil wrote:
what (or who) are you trying to escape from?
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In the movie "The Wild One", didn't a woman ask the character played by Marlon Brando the same question and his reply was "What have ya got?"?
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