South Seas genre
The South Seas genre is a
The genre was known for its portrayal of tropical men as savages and cannibals, and women as shapely, innocent, exotic beauties.[2] The genre was seen as financially lucrative by the movie studios in the 1940s, despite criticisms that the genre was unrealistic and not well-informed.[3] Typical examples include 1941's South of Tahiti and White Savage (1943).[4] Island themed films also served as a kind of travelogue for a middle class film going public that could not afford what was deemed the ultimate once in a lifetime romantic getaway. Those that could afford tropical island vacations had to endure a weeks long ocean liner journey. Later in the 20th century and with the advent of jet travel such lengthy treks to island paradises would be more feasible.
Noted authors
- J. Allan Dunn: The Island of the Dead (1915), Beyond the Rim (1916), etc.
- Robert Dean Frisbie: The Book of Puka Puka (1929), etc.
- South Sea Tales, etc.
- W. Somerset Maugham: The Moon and Sixpence (1919), "Rain," etc.
- Herman Melville: Typee (1846), Omoo (1847), etc.
- James A. Michener: Tales of the South Pacific (1947)
- Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall: Mutiny on the Bounty (1932)
- Frederick O'Brien: White Shadows in the South Seas (1919)
- Henry De Vere Stacpoole: The Blue Lagoon (1908)
- Robert Louis Stevenson: In the South Seas (1896)
- Charles Warren Stoddard: South-Sea Idyls (1873), Summer Cruising in the South Seas (1874), etc.
Select films
References
- ^ P. 544 Lal, Brij V. & Fortune, Kate The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia 2000 University of Hawaii Press
- ISBN 9781137090676. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ISBN 9780739193365. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ISBN 9781107112698. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
Bibliography
- Langman, Larry Return to Paradise: A Guide to South Sea Island Films Scarecrow Press, 1998
- Reyes. Luis I. Made in Paradise: Hollywood's Films of Hawaii and the South Seas Mutual Publishing Company October 1, 1995
- Dixon, Chris & Brawley, Sean Hollywood's South Seas and the Pacific War Searching for Dorothy Lamour Palgrave Macmillan; July 25, 2012