Bora Bora

Watching this 1968 movie called Bora Bora.http://www.hulu.com/bora-boraIt's unbelievable, yet not really, how they viewed and treated "Polynesian" (that's the word they use often in this movie) as a commodity and/or as a slave, something they can use and abuse. They (Hollywood if not Americans in general) exploit these Polynesians and a lot of it has to do with sexual gratification.Is that how they viewed Polynesians back in the day? Basically unintelligent group of people where they can taken advantage, subdue in all ways possible, be that socio-economically, intellectually, etc. for their own pleasure?On top of that, every time they show a scene with Tahitians playing music, singing and dancing they dub it with something that sounds kinda carribeanish. That's disheartening to say the least. What, is Tahitian music too "ethnic" for Hollywood?This only perpetuates a lot of the things I've been talking/blogging about lately. How people of color are portrayed as being lazy, imbicils, unable to make rational decisions. It doesn't help that in this movie, possibly the way in those days, that the American man searching for his wife who ran off with a Tahitian man.Seriously, every subtle gesture, the lines these actors have, just sickening. Especially when they show the Tahitian man being somewhat docile while the Haole is pretty much pissed & irritated that his wife has a Tahitian lover. The Tahitian seems rational, or is that suppose to be him being naive? The Haole tries to make that man jealous as he just drops in on Bora Bora unexpectedly to see his wife, but she wasn't there and this is when he converses with the Tahitian man. The Tahitian explains how there is no need for jealousy, blah, blah, blah. And yes, the Haole does tell his wife in front of the Tahitian that she is going to bed with the "noble savage".Hollywood still, like in the old days, perpetuate these stereotypes and as shown with the recent showing of Barbarian Princess, things haven't changed.

Cool on the old pbs legends to be transferred to DVD - when you hear about it being completed...let me know. I'd love to get a copy of it. I'll check out that website...MAHALO...For the last decade I have been thinking a lot about those old pbs legends from the 70's one in particular about a shark legend and a little girl named Kekepania which is my given name in hawaiian. I can remember the little boy echoing my name in my head and that always was a grounding moment hearing your name on TV as a child which not many had this name when I was younger - in my town only two Stephanie's ever existed when I was growing up until another Stephanie moved to Kohala who was a year older than I. But they were never called by their hawaiian name as I knew it to be mine. This is cool - Mahalo for sharing it means so much to me that others like you knew it existed - THAT'S A TREASURE THAT SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN.....smile

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Comments

HALE O KEAWE-A-HEULU aka: NAIHE October 25, 2009 at 1:18am

Cool on the old pbs legends to be transferred to DVD - when you hear about it being completed...let me know. I'd love to get a copy of it. I'll check out that website...MAHALO...For the last decade I have been thinking a lot about those old pbs legends from the 70's one in particular about a shark legend and a little girl named Kekepania which is my given name in hawaiian. I can remember the little boy echoing my name in my head and that always was a grounding moment hearing your name on TV as a child which not many had this name when I was younger - in my town only two Stephanie's ever existed when I was growing up until another Stephanie moved to Kohala who was a year older than I. But they were never called by their hawaiian name as I knew it to be mine. This is cool - Mahalo for sharing it means so much to me that others like you knew it existed - THAT'S A TREASURE THAT SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN.....smile
Charles Ano October 21, 2009 at 10:47pm

nrv8n8, I borrowed a book from the library with those old pbs legends from the 1970's. According to this article back in 2003, they were supposed to be transfered to DVD, but then I went to George Tahara's web page and only the photo books are available.
Kaohi October 20, 2009 at 10:57pm

Thanks everyone, Kaohi
HALE O KEAWE-A-HEULU aka: NAIHE October 20, 2009 at 8:15pm

I've seen that film decades ago. I never paid much attention to their portrayal of polynesians when I was little because I knew it wasn't like that - I thought of it as "their fantasy" of what the tropics were like. Marlon Brando's first wife...wasn't she from Tahiti? That was glamourous for Marlon Brando...beautiful kids but they did not provide much information on his wife's upbringing back then as if it was taboo. Even Elvis' movie...all into the body like most that portray natives. Small documentary films and public television documentaries are the best to provide information of what is going on today and what has happened in the past. I do hope word gets out to what really happened in our past concerning polynesians. Back when I was little PBS put out a lot of
old short stories about legends. I found that very interesting as a child. Wish they would bring back those old stories again.
Ululani October 20, 2009 at 7:25pm

I know yeah??? Some people do not respect that native women can be very sexual but there are few films that are produced by a native woman. It's usually a projection of a haole dude and his fantasies. Kaohi mentioned that as well as how some haole women "toy" with some kanaka men.

Well there is a part in there when the Italian says,

"You are a hypocrit. You use brown men like white men use porn."

Let me see one hour and 29 minutes of "blah blah blah" (talking bubbles LOL)... or 10 or 15 minutes of porn? Easy choice LOL
Kaapuikinaea October 20, 2009 at 2:45pm

Lana...i was showing my coworker & he thought it was kinda like porn too. Got more SEX (but not graphic at al) in the movie, basically making the natives look like sex slaves. This is something that Gordon would love! lol
Ululani October 20, 2009 at 2:43pm

Which reminds me today I posted a comment about a surfer on Maui... then a guy with a haole screen name "BigMoutHowLee" (WTH LOL)... wrote something stupid about my looks and NO I am not going to post a link to it. Friggen annoying stupid people! LOL

Um what is the lady doing ALONE without her husband anyway??? LOL

Right there that is a dumb story line UNLESS it is porn then yeah not as annoying LOL

I think there is alot of projecting going along by some people who want to be with a native usually with a native woman. BTW that film (which I will not write about LOL) will be a box office flop....

I had to laugh at this response though:

"If you've got some time to kill and like tropical islands, then this movie is for you.

What I couldn't understand was why that crazy white man never took his jacket off or his shoes! "

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