What are some great books/movies about Hawaii?
March 10, 2010 8:04 PM Subscribe
What are some great books/movies about Hawaii?
I'm considering a trip this summer, but feel it's a bit hard to get excited about "the real Hawaii" because so much of it feels...overhyped/polished/commercialized?
That may be an inextricable part of the area, but I read a Joan Didion essay that really mesmorized me, talking about Hawaii in ways far beyond the postcard.
I've recently begun reading Rebecca West's detailed 1937 travelogue from Yugoslavia, and the book is unlocking my interest in Eastern Europe, taking it from a rather static stereotype, and showing me the deeper narratives underneath.
Most of what I find through Amazon or through Google seems kind of sentimental or strange, so how can I find some authors like Didion or West to give me more of a backstory/perspective on Hawaii?
(Also watched this Sailor Jerry documentary and enjoyed it.)
I'm considering a trip this summer, but feel it's a bit hard to get excited about "the real Hawaii" because so much of it feels...overhyped/polished/commercialized?
That may be an inextricable part of the area, but I read a Joan Didion essay that really mesmorized me, talking about Hawaii in ways far beyond the postcard.
I've recently begun reading Rebecca West's detailed 1937 travelogue from Yugoslavia, and the book is unlocking my interest in Eastern Europe, taking it from a rather static stereotype, and showing me the deeper narratives underneath.
Most of what I find through Amazon or through Google seems kind of sentimental or strange, so how can I find some authors like Didion or West to give me more of a backstory/perspective on Hawaii?
(Also watched this Sailor Jerry documentary and enjoyed it.)
Perhaps something about the sovereignty movement like the works of Trask?
posted by cazoo at 8:30 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by cazoo at 8:30 PM on March 10, 2010
James Michener's Hawaii is epic. A historical novel, it's good but a bit dry at times IIRC.
posted by zardoz at 8:54 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by zardoz at 8:54 PM on March 10, 2010
Best answer: The Barnes & Noble in Hawaii has at least a whole column of books about Hawaii -- if you want to go so far as to call the store, I bet you could have someone rattle off some books/authors for you -- (808) 949-7307 -- (808) 737-3323 are numbers of the 2 big ones on Oahu. Also check out alternativehawaii.com and go to the books section. You might find some there.
posted by thorny at 9:06 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by thorny at 9:06 PM on March 10, 2010
I enjoyed reading The Colony. Very interesting and very sad.
Also interesting and sad is the movie "Hawaii's Last Queen" (Netflix has it as well).
You might also want to check out some Hawaiian music to put you in the mood. I went to Maui a few years ago and there was a lot of Hawaiian music being performed most everywhere we went. I expected it to be some sappy stuff they do for tourists, but I actually ended up really liking it. I now have a slack key guitar addiction -- check out people like Ledward Kaapana if you're interested.
posted by DrumsIntheDeep at 9:38 PM on March 10, 2010
Also interesting and sad is the movie "Hawaii's Last Queen" (Netflix has it as well).
You might also want to check out some Hawaiian music to put you in the mood. I went to Maui a few years ago and there was a lot of Hawaiian music being performed most everywhere we went. I expected it to be some sappy stuff they do for tourists, but I actually ended up really liking it. I now have a slack key guitar addiction -- check out people like Ledward Kaapana if you're interested.
posted by DrumsIntheDeep at 9:38 PM on March 10, 2010
http://www.amazon.com/We-Navigators-Ancient-Landfinding-Pacific/dp/0824815823/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268286003&sr=8-1
This is a great book if you are at all interested in non-instrument navigation, astronomy, or how the hawaiian people got to hawaii.
posted by outsider at 9:41 PM on March 10, 2010
This is a great book if you are at all interested in non-instrument navigation, astronomy, or how the hawaiian people got to hawaii.
posted by outsider at 9:41 PM on March 10, 2010
From Here to Eternity (novel and film) is set there on an army base right before Pearl Harbor.
posted by brujita at 9:57 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by brujita at 9:57 PM on March 10, 2010
Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii and Roughing it in the Sandwich Islands.
Seconding Michener and Jack London.
posted by jet_silver at 10:16 PM on March 10, 2010
Seconding Michener and Jack London.
posted by jet_silver at 10:16 PM on March 10, 2010
Best answer: Hotel Honolulu by Paul Theroux is an insightful look at Honolulu culture.
posted by parkerposey at 10:53 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by parkerposey at 10:53 PM on March 10, 2010
I encountered this link while searching for a site for Heart of the Sea.
posted by misozaki at 11:34 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by misozaki at 11:34 PM on March 10, 2010
Seconding Paul Theroux's Hotel Honolulu, nothing I've read in the last 30 years captures Hawaii like that book does. And I say this from the perspective of having lived in Honolulu for nearly 40 years. Also, oddly enough, old Hawaii 5-0 reruns (or DVDs) manage to capture some of the flavor of the place, but very little of Hawaii physically resembles these shows made 40+ years ago.
posted by motown missile at 11:57 PM on March 10, 2010
posted by motown missile at 11:57 PM on March 10, 2010
The Fifth Book of Peace by Maxine Hong Kingston covers her anti war protests/draft dodging flight from California to Hawaii, and evokes the island atmosphere for artists in the 1960s. These were the most enjoyable parts of the book for me, but she's all 'round awesome.
[side note: I have a Hawaii fetish and am addicted to watching old re-runs of Hawaii 50 and Magnum PI]
posted by honey-barbara at 5:51 AM on March 11, 2010
[side note: I have a Hawaii fetish and am addicted to watching old re-runs of Hawaii 50 and Magnum PI]
posted by honey-barbara at 5:51 AM on March 11, 2010
It's spectacularly more commercial than what others have posted, but I think Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in addition to being a funny movie, beautifully captures Hawaii.
posted by st starseed at 5:57 AM on March 11, 2010
posted by st starseed at 5:57 AM on March 11, 2010
Best answer: Theoroux (a resident) has been mentioned, and this book has a few chapters about Hawaii. If you're interested in Hawaiian history, which is indeed a fascinating subject, I recommend Shoal of Time, one of the acknowledged authoritative books of the subject. Hawaii is strange in many ways, one of which is the way that ancient and modern intertwine. So you might also check out Who Owns the Crown Lands of Hawaii?, a very recent book on a somewhat technical topic, but one that deals with one of the core issues facing us here. Finally, for fiction you might check out The Red Wind, by one of our most popular local authors.
posted by lex mercatoria at 10:12 AM on March 11, 2010
posted by lex mercatoria at 10:12 AM on March 11, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for the ideas!
I'll probably take a look at Hotel Honolulu, The Shoals of Time, and perhaps the movie adaptation of Michner's Hawaii.
posted by bullitt 5 at 10:25 AM on March 11, 2010
I'll probably take a look at Hotel Honolulu, The Shoals of Time, and perhaps the movie adaptation of Michner's Hawaii.
posted by bullitt 5 at 10:25 AM on March 11, 2010
One of the sections of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell takes place in Hawaii (each section could be looked at as a standalone novella, though 5 of the 6 sections are divided in two).
posted by Kattullus at 4:11 PM on March 11, 2010
posted by Kattullus at 4:11 PM on March 11, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Dick Laurent is Dead at 8:07 PM on March 10, 2010 [1 favorite]