Tahiti Beyond the Postcard: Power, Place, and Everyday Life (Culture, Place, and Nature)

Winner of the 2013 ICAS Book Prize (Social Sciences) The "Tahiti" that most people imagine - white-sand beaches, turquoise lagoons, and beautiful women - is a product of 18th century European romanticism and persists today as the bedrock of Tahiti's tourism industry. This postcard image, however, masks a different reality. The dreams and desires that the tourism industry promotes distract from the medical nightmares and environmental destruction caused by France's 30-year nuclear testing program in French Polynesia. Tahitians see the burying of a bomb in their land as deeply offensive. For Tahitians, the land abounds with ancestral fertility, and genealogical identity, and is a source of physical and spiritual nourishment. These imagined and lived perspectives seem incompatible, yet are intricately intertwined in the political economy. Tahiti Beyond the Postcard engages with questions about the subtle but ubiquitous ways in which power entangles itself in place-related ways. Miriam Kahn uses interpretive frameworks of both Tahitian and European scholars, drawing upon ethnographic details that include ancient chants, picture postcards, antinuclear protests, popular song lyrics, and the legacy of Paul Gauguin's art, to provide fresh perspectives on colonialism, tourism, imagery, and the anthropology of place. The Tahiti That Most People Imagine- White-sand Beaches, Turquoise Lagoons, And Beautiful Women- Is A Product Of 18th Century European Romanticism And Persists Today To Serve As The Bedrock Of Tahiti's Tourism Industry. This Postcard Image, However, Masks A Different, Less Known Reality. French Polynesia Remains A Colony Of France In The 21st Century And Was The Site Of France's Nuclear Testing Program For Nearly Thirty Years. The Dreams And Desires, Which The Tourism Industry Promotes, Distract From The Medical Nightmares And Environmental Destruction Caused By Nuclear Testing. Tahitians See The Burying Of A Bomb In Their Land As Deeply Offensive. For Them, The Land Abounds With Ancestral Fertility And Genealogical Identity, Providing Them With A Constant Source Of Both Physical And Spiritual Nourishment. The Imagined And Lived Perspectives Of Tahiti Seem Incompatible, Yet Are Intricately Intertwined In The Political Economy Of French Polynesia. This Book Engages With Questions About The Subtle But Ubiquitous Ways In Which Power Entangles Itself In Place-related Ways. How Does Colonialism Perpetuate And Exploit These Images? How Can Nuclear Weapons Testing Exist In A Place That Is Promoted As A Pristine Paradise? How And Why Is 'tahiti' Crafted By A Tourism Industry Whose Goal Is To Create Desire? How Is This Imagined Product Embraced, Ignored, Or Sabotaged By Tahitians? The Author Uses Interpretive Frameworks Of Both Tahitian And European Scholars, Drawing Upon Ethnographic Details That Include Ancient Chants, Picture Postcards, Antinuclear Protests, Popular Song Lyrics, And The Legacy Of Paul Gauguin's Art, To Provide Fresh Perspectives On Colonialism, Tourism, Imagery, And The Anthropology Of Place. -- Back Cover. Machine Generated Contents Note: Ch. One New Geographies In The Wake Of Colonialism -- Ch. Two Placentas In The Land, Bombs In The Bedrock -- Ch. Three Keeping The Myth Alive -- Ch. Four In The Cocoon -- Ch. Five From Our Place To Their Place -- Ch. Six Everyday Spaces Of Resistance -- Ch. Seven E Aha Atu Ra? What Will Happen?. Miriam Kahn. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents Foreword Acknowledgments Note to the Reader Introduction Ch. 1/ New Geographies in the Wake of Colonialism Ch. 2/ Placentas in the Land, Bombs in the Bedrock Ch. 3/ Keeping the Myth Alive Ch. 4/ In the Cocoon Ch. 5/ From Our Place to Their Place Ch. 6/ Everyday Spaces of Resistance Ch. 7/ E Aha Atu Ra? What Will Happen? Notes References Index