California Tiki Podcast

Tiki Culture was all about creating a frozen-in-time, idyllic wonder that bore curious resemblance to the World War II Pacific Theater. The crucial work of the 20th century to understand Tiki is The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, which explored soldiers' return home while haunted by the pain of the ugliest and most mesmerizing moments of the war. We discuss this key film with an eye towards Tiki Culture.

We discuss the deeply weird Cobra Woman a South Seas adventure featuring evil twin Maria Montezes, cobra dancing, and a mute Lon Chaney, Jr.

Tiki Culture was marked by a desire to explore lost worlds, particularly of Polynesia, but always from the comfort of your own home. This urge to explore found its voice in music but also in film. Voodoo Island (1957) is a prime example of the fascination/exploration/exploitation of the South Seas. We talk about this odd feature starring Boris Karloff and others like it.

This week we introduce California Tiki, a new podcast on America's fascination with Tiki, that odd culture that made everyone suddenly put on Hawaiian shirts and start downing rum drinks. Tiki Culture was everywhere from the 40s to the 70s, and the reasons why are surprising, often involving exorcising America's wartime demons. We start out with a look at Beach Party, the 1963 film that kicked off the beach movie trend and also introduced the pairing of Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.  But at the center of the film is Robert Cummings, who plays a scientist yearning for a simpler life– a key element of Tiki.

Welcome to the new home of the California Tiki Podcast!  Hosts Adam Foshko and Jason Henderson will be discussing Tiki Culture in the runup to the release of our new book California Tiki from the History Press. What is California Tiki? After World War II, suburbs proliferated around California cities as returning soldiers traded in their uniforms for business suits. After-hours leisure activities took on an island-themed sensuality that bloomed from a new fascination with Polynesia and Hawaii. Movies and television shows filmed in Malibu and Burbank urged viewers to escape everyday life with the likes of Gidget and Hawaiian Eye. Restaurants like Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's sprang up to answer the demand for wild cocktails and even wilder décor. The culture--a strange hodgepodge of idols, torches, lush greenery and colorful drinks--beckoned men and women to lose themselves in exotic music and surf tunes. Authors Jason Henderson and Adam Foshko explore the state's midcentury fascination with all t