Item Detail
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11982
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2
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17
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English
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Selves and Others : A Study of Reflexivity and the Representation of Culture in Touristic Display at the Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie, Hawaii
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Honolulu, Hawaii
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University of Hawaii
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Ph.D. diss.
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'This study examines issues of representation, reflexivity, performance, and the negotiation of cultural identities among the employees of the Polynesian Cultural Center theme park in Laie, Hawaii. Essential to this study are questions of cultural authenticity, the influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the cultures represented in the park, and the daily negotiation employees make in balancing their church, corporate, cultural, touristic, and student roles. The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) has been Hawaii's paramount paid visitor attraction for 36 years, drawing 25 million visitors and employing more than 30,000 students from the Brigham Young University-Hawaii Campus. However, very few scholarly studies have been conducted at this unique site. This study explores issues of tourist expectations and the stereotypes of Polynesia which persist within those expectations. Polynesian culture as represented in the PCC is revealed to be a blending of creative appropriation of outside influences; subtle and not so subtle undermining of visitor fantasies; Latter-day Saint gospel principles; postmodern corporate demands; and the foundational forms of traditional cultural ritual, display, and entertainment. How the Mormon Polynesian employees reflexively balance the demands of these several influences in their jobs and how the Polynesian Cultural Center provides a forum for their self-representation is integral to this study.' (author's abstract)
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