Presenters
Abstract
This paper considers how authenticity and value are produced and upheld within the contemporary revival of mid-century Polynesian-themed restaurants and cocktail bars, now often called tiki bars. The cultivation of authenticity is heavily emphasized in the contemporary tiki scene, yet the earlier predecessors cultivated wildly imagined conceptions of Polynesia. How does a participant in this scene navigate and negotiate rigorous adherence to perceived authenticity in a scene whose reference points are inauthentic to their core? Through ethnographic study and a content analysis of material and digital culture, this paper considers 1) how place is structured through material and social means in relation to gender, class, and race, and 2) how authenticity is communicated through food, drink, and their associated practices. The “authentically inauthentic” symbols of the tiki scene complicate academic discussions of authenticity by asking us to view value as arising from social interaction and consensus rather than from geographical origin point. Keywords: authenticity, value, cultural identity, scene, revival, production, network