White Lens on Brown Skin

The Sexualization of the Polynesian in American Film

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by Matthew B. Locey

Type

Studies

Subject

Sociology

Keywords

orientalism

Publishing date

2023

Publisher

McFarland & Co

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 298 pages
6 x 9 inches (15 x 23 cm)

ISBN

978-1-4766-8918-0

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Book Presentation:
From the earliest accounts of contact with Europeans, Polynesians have been perceived as sensual and sexual beings. By the late 1800s, publications, lectures and stage plays about the Pacific became popular across Europe, and often contained exotic and erotic components. This book details the fusion of truth and fiction in the representation of Pacific Islanders, focusing on the sexualization of Polynesians in American cinema and other forms of mass communications and commercial entertainment.

With messaging almost subliminal to American audiences, the Hollywood media machine produced hundreds of tropical film titles with images of revealing grass skirts, scanty sarongs, female toplessness and glistening exposed male pectorals. This critical filmography demonstrates how the concept of “sex sells,” especially when applied on a large scale, shaped American social views on Polynesian people and their culture. Chapters document this phenomenon and an annotated filmography of sexualized tropes and several appendices conclude the book, including a glossary of Polynesian terms and a film index.

About the Author:
Matthew B. Locey worked for many years in the Hawaii film industry as a member of the prestigious Directors Guild of America. He is also a founding member and president of the South Seas Cinema Society. Having lived in Hawaii for the majority of his life, he currently resides in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Press Reviews:
"A powerful study… A very interesting and recommended reading for anybody interested in film history, Americans Studies and Polynesian culture."—popcultureshelf.com

See the publisher website: McFarland & Co