Here is when I began to do my research after reading C.R. Stecyk's Introduction to Surf Culture. At the turn of the twentieth century Henry Huntington, a railroad baron and investor of many real estates homes at Redondo Beach, began a conquest to lure more people to the beaches that provided stellar weather and, above all, waves. Huntington had seeked out George Freeth to introduce this activity to the Californian shores. With the help of Freeth and other adversaries, like Duke Kahanamoku, Tom Blake, who designed boards that provided an aerodynamic feel and movement on the water, and films like Gidget (1959), the surf culture movement that Huntington had cultivated became a wide-spread success. Huntington's strategy attracted a lot of people resulting in a successful win in his investment. Surf culture began to be praised amongst the Californian's resulting in an evolution in surf culture. (Ill continue to write about this notion in my next blog).
I've never been to Hawai'i, but have heard many stories that whenever a good swell kicks in during the day the Hawaiian people stop what they're doing, whether if they working at a local restaurant, food market, or driving to a rendez-vouz they will stop whatever they're doing and swim to the ocean to feel the moist salty breeze that gently brushes across your face while riding across your wave. I would assume what the Hawaiian's craved was the thrill and excitement. The push and strength a wave provides to sweep you back to shore. A true beauty and thrill for sure. Just by hearing these stories I could only imagine that the surf culture of the natives on Hawai'i that had once existed on the island continues to influence many with the legacy of the he'enalu that rode those waves from the past.
Eric -
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, that's a killer graphic, although it's making me kind of seasick while I write this. Ok - now meat and potatoes. Calling surfing 'a child's past time' is not recognizing the important and pervasive position, both culturally and spiritually, that surfing held in indigenous Hawaiian culture. Go back and look at descriptions of the Makahiki Festival, or descriptions of royal competitions - this is the era in which Hawaiians would stop everything to focus their attention solely on the sea (your concluding remarks are problematized because they seem to be placed contemporarily, and as such can be seen as unintentionally derogatory - stereotypes of Hawaiians as lazy, surf bums, etc).
The other minor problem is the notion of surfing's 'success' - as this is always a double edged sword. Of course Huntington was successful in his exploitation of Freeth and the spectacle of surfing to bolster his real estate holdings, but ultimately, down the line, this lead to future events such as the '59 film Gidget (which you mention), that although a commercial success, became the bane of the existence of surfers in Southern California as their beaches became inundated with fresh-faced wanna-be's. This duality is best personified in the figure of Miki Dora, who cashed in on multiple beach-blanket movies as a surfing stunt double, only to later lambast the 'selling out' of surf culture.
Overall, great insights and enthusiasm - keep it up.