My New Book!

My New Book!
My New Book!

Saturday, December 14, 2024

December 14-15, 2024: Hawaii in American Culture

[150 years ago this week, Hawaii’s King Kalākaua arrived in Washington, DC for an extended series of events, a defining part of a more than two-month state visit to the US. So this week I’ve AmericanStudied that visit and other Hawaiian histories, leading up to this special post on cultural representations of the islands.]

1)      James Michener’s Hawaii (1959): I wrote a bit about Michener’s first truly epic historical novel in that post, and would stand by my two assertions there: that his works are more period fiction than true historical fiction (in my definitions of the true concepts); but that their multi-period focus allows for groundbreaking and important depictions of his chosen communities nonetheless. I haven’t read Hawaiii in decades, but that’s my sense of this book too, making it a cultural representation well worth returning to nearly 70 years later.

2)      Blue Hawaii (1961): I haven’t seen the first of what would be three Elvis Presley films shot in Hawaii in a five-year period (a list that also includes 1962’s Girls! Girls! Girls! and 1965’s Paradise, Hawaiian Style), and I very much doubt it is likewise worth returning to in late 2024. And I think that’s actually an analytical point—from what I can tell, these films were much more of an excuse for the singer and friends to visit the islands than compelling stories that needed the Hawaiian setting. If so, that helped establish a trend which has unquestionably continued ever since (50 First Dates, anyone?).

3)      Hawaii Five-O (1968-1980): On the other hand, I don’t want to suggest that every cultural work set in Hawaii chooses that setting for such non-specific (or at least non-artistic) reasons; some, like this groundbreaking and popular police procedural TV show, absolutely do connect to specific aspects of the islands and their communities, cultures, and contexts. For example, two of the original four officers on whom the show focused were non-white, a striking percentage in a late 1960s program: Chin Ho Kelly, portrayed by Chinese American actor Kam Fong Chun (an 18-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department); and Kono Kalakaua, portrayed by native Hawaiian actor Zulu. That’s the Hawaii I know, and I love that this popular show portrayed it as such.

4)      Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” (1990): If you’ve been to a wedding in the last three decades, you’ve heard this ukelele-driven cover of two already-beautiful songs made even more beautiful by native Hawaiian singer Israel “IZ” Ka’ano’i Kamakawiwo’ole. That beauty, combined with the very unique song of IZ’s ukelele and voice alike, certainly explains the staying power of this combinatory cover song. But I really love its representation of a cross-cultural America, with two songs from Jewish American songwriting duos, the second made famous by an African American jazz trumpeter and singer, given new life and meaning by a native Hawaiian performer.

5)      Blue Crush (2002): I can’t talk about cultural representations of Hawaii without getting surfing in there somewhere, and of the surfing films I know, Blue Crush is one of the most overtly concerned with aspects of Hawaiian culture and community (including the presence of a romantic lead who is in town for the NFL Pro Bowl, which was hosted there for many years). On the other hand, its main character is a very, very blond young woman (played by Kate Bosworth), and its more ethnic characters are relegated to supporting roles; that says more about Hollywood in 2002 than it does about Hawaii, but it’s a reflection of the continued work we need to do in how we represent this hugely diverse place.

End of semester series starts Monday,

Ben

PS. What do you think? Hawaiian histories or stories you’d highlight?

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