Behind the Tiki Room: The Origins of Tiki Culture (feat. Disney Dan!)
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2018
- Between the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Polynesian Village Resort, Disney is no stranger to Tiki Culture, otherwise known by many as Polynesian Pop. How did this trend begin, where did it go, and why is it just so perfect for Disney?
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In 1962 the craze would finally make its way to Disneyland with the opening of The Tahitian Terrace, a Polynesian style restaurant, and just a year after that the classic and now famous Enchanted Tiki Room would open to the public, featuring the very first audio-animatronics. I have a whole other video about the origins of that attraction if you’re interested.
In a way, it was a perfect match for Disney. To put it simply, Tiki Culture was never an accurate portrayal of Polynesian culture. From the very beginning with Don the Beachcombers it was a mashup of different elements of different islands into one singular “idea” of what that Polynesian lifestyle was like. Even the name, Tiki, was generalized. Tiki was originally a specific figure in Maori mythology who was represented by wooden carvings. By the height of the craze, it was just a catch-all word that embodied the lifestyle as a whole. Exotica music was less a recreation of actual Polynesian music and more of an original attempt to create music that might be considered tropical. Tiki Culture was about taking all of the idealized and romanticized aspects of multiple cultures and leaving out the rest, which was exactly what Walt was doing over at Disneyland. Between Frontierland, Adventureland, and Main Street USA, Disney’s approach to the past was to focus on the iconic and beloved aspects that were looked upon fondly, and to leave aside the rest, all in the name of creating a magical sense of escapism. So Tiki Culture was perfect for Disney.
So what happened to Tiki Culture? Well, the short answer is that like many other pop culture trends, it eventually just faded away. As the 1960s came to a close the baby boomers were coming of age, and like virtually every generation of young people, they rejected a lot of the cultural norms of their parents. They were a generation that desired more authenticity that Tiki Culture just couldn’t provide. With a socially conscious eye many saw Tiki Culture to be, at best, tacky and at worst offensive. And as the country became involved with the Vietnam conflict many young people, facing the prospects of being shipped off to to the conflict, found it hard to look at the tropical settings as an escape. Sure Vietnam wasn’t technically in Polynesia, but the visuals were close enough to push people away.
Today Tiki Culture is kitschy and while it originally fell out of favor for that very reason, that’s part of what’s given it a second wind today. It came into existence at a time before Disneyland, and yet it still managed to share much of the same DNA that Walt’s idyllic kingdom was built upon. It is a small but interesting slice of American pop culture history and while it’s not something you can find today as easily as you could in the 1960s, you’ll have no problem spotting it at Disney.
It is all about escaping this crazy world and going to a place where you forget all stress., that scene of Hanauma Bay made me miss that place:)
"Why did Tiki culture die out?" Heresy! It never did. I'm in the middle of redecorating my bedroom and livingroom as 100% tiki, complete with cat ramps around the ceiling and cat beds that look like coconuts up in sisel-post palm trees and a Polynesian longhouse with a cat hammock. I've got 65 feet of bamboo out on the patio, don't tell me it died!
Wow - such a great history and analysis of the Tiki pop culture. My grandparents (my grandfather, who was one of those that came back from Polynesia after the war) were wild about it and settled in southern California and build their house there. They had a permanent "sand pit" build in the back yard for luaus, and held at least two of them per month where the did traditional pig roasts, had the bamboo bar, kitchy "bamboo" glasses for exotic drinks and played tons of Exotica. As a side note, thanks for mentioning Les Baxter and Martin Denny - I actually have all my grandparents old Exotica albums on vinyl including them, as well as Bas Sheva, Chick Floyd and Yma Sumac!
And your analysis was quite correct - my mother grew up, and despised all Tiki when she hit her early adult years (early to mid-60's) - when my grandparents died, she covered bulldozed the sandpit, took out the cocktail bar and had the house completely done in early '70s "modern." While I never got to see what my grandparents had done there (I wasn't born until 1969), I have seen pictures and have some of the remanents and they are absolutely amazing.
Thanks so much for a great walk back in time!
I saw a werewolf drinkin' a piña colada at Trader Vic's...and his hair was perfect.
I was considering posting this! Got to love Werewolves of London
It's so funny, I grew up not knowing at all what that line meant, obviously...it's fun to learn more about it :)
:0
I was always drawn to Tiki culture, and the South Pacific, joining the Navy was the nail in the coffin ha ha My first trip to Bali I bought some cool hand carved wooden masks, later I was stationed in Hawaii, and retired to the Philippines. Life is good... 😀🍹🇵🇭
I hadn't seen Gilligan's island until I was a high schooler, and I was hooked! I love that show, it's hilarious
Love this. I am a tiki culture hold out and it was the Tiki Room that gave me a love for tiki.
Ehh?
The Tiki room is my favorite. I always love the Polynesian resort. Thanks for
This amazing history and shedding light on the truth.
As an anthropology master's student I am genuinely impressed by this brief discussion of the fabricated world of tiki culture, and the nuance of how the cultural appropriation Disney displays in their resorts' tiki areas is actually the genesis of a referential albeit new culture which escapes large complaints from the public by playing itself as anachronistic and kitsch. Great job Rob!
So Tiki Ti in Los Angeles is a Tiki bar that was founded by Ray Buhan in 1961, he was one of the original bartenders for Don the Beachcombers. In the planning stages for Trader Sams - I was told by the owner of Tiki Ti that Imagineers came to Tiki Ti to learn how a bar from that era looked and felt. Trader Sams does feel like Tiki Ti on steroids - even copying the chanting when certain drinks are made.
and the bar has a second Disney tie in with USC student George Lucas frequenting the Tiki Ti. Even at that point he was planning the space opera "The Star Wars"
Nice Vid btw
You are very good at what you do... Thanks for taking the large amount of time to set up shots as well as editing... vid was so good I had to watch it twice
Love some tiki culture! I was just watching Dan!
Morty Mouse
MORTY!
CARMINE!
Another fantastic video Rob, My total love of the Tiki theme began at a very young age in the early 1970's from , of all things, The Polynesian Resort at WDW, and the of course watching the "hula" girls at the Polynesian Review...……………….
In the tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room... 🎶
I think Jimmy Buffet is singlehandedly keeping the tiki culture alive
The global Tiki culture is so much bigger than Jimmy Buffet. He's not really mentioned at most Tiki events. I enjoy his music though.
I like to think Trader Joe's plays a small but not insignificant role too!
You can thank Sven Kirsten for keeping Tiki Alive.
@@everywhirlingplanet WHY DID THEY DISCONTINUE THE PASSIONFRUIT FRUIT BAR! WHYYYYY!
IS THAT MY MAN, DISNEY DAN?
also, Gilligan's island was my childhood. Great stuff.
Well done. You reflected the complexity of a seemingly simple topic. This upload satisfied on many levels.
Good historical video. Interesting. Thanks for your work on this.
you forgot about brady bunch, Hawaii 50, and Magnum PI. I gew up in the 70s and 80s. there were still tiki bar references in pop culture, we just didn't realize what we were seeing.
CHILLING AT THE TIKI
I love this video and especially that Ritual of the Savage album you mentioned. Its so beautiful I could listen to it endlessly and never get tired of it
Ye Olde Prop Shoppe is AMAZING! I ordered a custom wedding gift for a huge Disney fan, and they could not have been more pleasant to deal with. Highly recommended!
What an excellent video. Thanks Rob, this is one of your best.
Fantastic video, Rob! Cool history with tie-ins to Disney. Super cool! Thanks for putting this together!
Love your videos, super informative. Watching your videos helped inspire us to start our own channel. Keep up the good work 👍
A new understanding of something I thought I new well. You did it again Rob. Thank you.
From Rob to Rob, very nice history video thank you! I do like tiki culture, at least the tropical decor and laid back aspects. I really need to find these conventions i hear about. apparently in San diego there is a tiki con? long drive though hehe
Check out Tiki Oasis in San Diego every year in August.
Another well researched and fascinating look at pat of Disney and how it ties into the history of American culture. Well done. Also, as a fellow Rob, I want that Trader Rob's sign. I might just have to order one.
Thanks for posting this video I'm so obsessed with Hawaiian culture and the lifestyle of Hawaii itself such i nice video also hopefully tiki culture will come back
I think it is. People are tired AF of nothing but SAD and BAD news.
Btw, all summer/outdoor/tropical themed stuff is heavily on sale now, so if you want it, better get on it.
This is really well done and accurate! Great job
Rob, this video is so good!!!!
another great history lesson Rob...thanks! great use of disney dan for the video too! now i want a dole whip! :)
I love these videos!!
Thanks again Rob. This reminds me so much that you can't take what you see at a theme park, movie, new story, etc. and assume that it actually represents that culture. That doesn't mean something like the Tiki room or the Polynesian resort can't be fun too.
Why does it have to represent the culture? They're still pretty much doing things like this in Hawaii, although nobody bothers to meet you and the leis are 50.00 in an ugly fridge. These are flowers that fall off enormous trees daily FREE!
I mean the tree towers over an 8 story hotel.
Nicely done Rob!
Hey Rob!! Hope your Disney trip is going awesome!
When I was at Disney Land back in 2011 the Tiki Room was under construction. I knew nothing about it but when I saw it I really wanted to check it out but couldn't.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. GREAT VIDEO AND EDUCATION. THANKS FOR SHARING. I LEARNED SO MUCH.
Ooh gotta love some tiki culture history!
Great video as always:)
Great video! Also, I love the "Trader Rob's" sign!
Love both
This was so interesting I love the tiki room and the poly it’s so nice to learn about how they came to be
I love Tiki Culture and miss when it was a staple in Chinese-American restaurants.
That was a really good synopsis.
Interesting history and great research! I'll be visiting Aulani soon and am curious to compare the Hawaiian culture to the Polynesian Village Resort's "tiki culture". This video does a nice job emphasizing that "tiki" itself, is all-encompassing and should be appreciated as such! It captures the best bits of the islands of the South Pacific.
Wow superb video!!!
I love mishmash. Christmas is a mishmash. Medieval themes are mishmash. Orientalism is especially cool when it's mishmashed
Yes so cool
Two things I like in one video, Disney and Exotica music!
We went to Trader Vic's for my parents anniversary last year because of family stories about them going there. When we got two kittens a couple of months later, I named one Mai Tai in part because of Trader Vic's.
Loved this video! I love tiki culture and tiki bars, I even have that Martin Denny LP you showed sitting on my record player right now! Hahaha Sometimes I wonder if my shared love for Disney and tiki culture are coincidental, or if my tiki culture love started with Disney, having always loved Enchanted Tiki Room. It makes me so happy that these two cross over though!
I fucking love this video so much
Can you do a video about why Disney chose Aerosmith for rock n roller coaster?
Thanks i never knew where tiki came from you explained exactly what i wanted to know haha
YEAHHHH BOIIIIIIII
But what if space ated mountnain?
Hey Rob! Great video! I LOVE tiki culture! I was wondering what resources you use to research before these videos! Because on some topics that I’m trying to make a video on I just can’t find any more information that I already know! Thanks for your understanding. HAVE A magical day!
He tells a bit of his research in his Patreon account, but i couldn't tell if you have already read and watched the same stuff as he did.
I love Disney
Love this video so good 😎👍🌴🤙🏽🍹🗿🍍
I AM UPDATING MY BEDROOM WITH A TIKI INFLUENCE. I FIND IT RELAXING IN TODAY'S MODERN WORLD.
love donn beach 😍😍😍
Around here you can still see the occasional Chinese buffet restaurant that has incongruous moai statues and tiki decorations around the walls--remnants of the tiki craze that evolved with the times.
Hi Rob.
Nice
I was a couple rows in front of you on big thunder I was wearing the mighty ducks jersey
I just read another article about Tiki culture. What a coincidence. Tiki is fine, but ultimately limiting. It’s catered to older men who pine for a tropical paradise mostly in Hawaii by serving Mai Tai’s. It’s a drinking culture for people who today would rather stay at home. Sports bars and Speakeasies went away. I do enjoy Dole Whip at the Tiki Room.
Great Video !
From where is the archive starting at 5:35 ?
The 60’s killed everything cool.
Welcome to Squidwards Tiki Land
Hudson Ohio has an awesome Tiki bar I love called Tiki Underground. Worth going to if you can
please make a video about river country.
As a born Floridian I have salt water and Disney in my blood
😊😊😊😊
Tiburon Tommy's, Tiburon California.
What’s up with weddings in Disney. What are they like?
My tiki God
Nice rocketeer footage!!
Hey, aren't you in disney world riight now?
The timing coundn't have been more perfect for Disney to incorporate Tiki into Disneyland. Hawaii had reached statehood in 1959 (anniversary coming up) I have a little Tiki in my own backyard (one item missing...self portrait) As you well know, a Tiki bar must have a self portrait of the owner. BTW where's Walt in the bar?!? LOL
Okay, I’ve been watching some Disney dan recently, I felt like I was cheating. But now that I know you’re working together, I don’t feel bad anymore
Woofity boofity!
RA RA RA
Or you could go to Tiki Oasis :-) every year in San Diego :-)
If Disney was smart they would hold a Tiki Oasis type festival just like the one held in San Diego each year. They could hold it at the Polynesian hotel. It would rival the EPCOT Food and Wine Show. That is... if Disney was smart.
Kodachrome40
There's Tiki Kon in Portland Oregon each year
anyone knows the story of Thor Heyerdahl and his Kon-Tiki?
Mai Tai = The Best! 😋🍊🍋🍒🍍
Hey Rob, quick question about the music in the video. At the end when you speak about Ye Olde Proppe Shoppe, what is the music that is playing? I hear it in so many Disney related videos but I can't find what it's from.
I'll have to check when I get back home this weekend, because the name escapes me, but I'm 95% certain it was a track from the Epidemic Sound library.
Oh okay, well thank you. I was under the impression it was from the Disney parks.
Great video but unless I missed it - Hawaii's admission to the US in 1959 was a major factor behind 'tiki culture'
How are boomers gonna blame us for killing applebees when they killed Tiki culture
Fyi Justin Scarred has a bunch of videos on Tiki Culture
TIKI
Get back on MCMagic please!!
“And why is it so perfect with disney”
Simple answer, one of the begginers of the tiki culture was born in *neworleans*
Opened a shop in *hollywood* had AND
Its disney
I've had over a dozen luaus since I was 16. So fun and delicious! 🌺🍹🌴
TIKI RENNISANCE.
I live Aloha everyday. BTW - that Mai-Tai was NOT A MAI-TAI! :)
Rob....your voice changed!
I see why Tiki Culture is considered offensive to native Polynesians. It's not an accurate portrayal of their culture but instead an American misappropriation of it. "Tiki" is a Maori word from New Zealand. It isn't a Hawaiian Word. Hawaiians instead use the term "Ki'i". Also Parrots are not native to Polynesia, but are from South America. Pineapples aren't even native to Hawaii, they were brought over from Brazil. The Enchanted Tiki Room is all sorts of cultural misappropriation.
It's American, not polynesian. Its a mythos.
I'm native Polynesian, I really see that as a "cultural appreciation" but they got a lot of thinks wrong
Tiki is actually common in the Polynesian triangle, in Marquesas Islands it's called Tiki and in some place Ti'i and in Easter Island (Rapa Nui), the Moai are very similar to tiki.
Same for the drink it's not polynesian, the rhum has been introduced, even the name Maita'i is pronounced wrong by people and it means good in Tahitian
"Ye Olde" debunked ruclips.net/video/PVVTk7yy4kU/видео.html
The "Y" was a fixed-type replacement for a thorn "Þ" which was pronounced "th" but was missing from German and Latin type presses.
It was always pronounced "the" not "yee".
The moral of this story, as with all true stories; the boomers ruin everything.
gaudy and tacky