South Sea Island idyll by Henry Hintermeister, showing Gilda Grey

The South Seas genre is a

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

of literature, film, or entertainment (such as

Tiki culture Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micrones ...

) that is set in the islands of the southern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. Many Hollywood films were produced on studio

backlot A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction. Uses Some movie studios build a wide variety of ...

s or on Santa Catalina Island. The first feature non documentary film made on location was '' Lost and Found on a South Sea Island'', shot in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

. The genre was known for its portrayal of tropical men as savages and cannibals, and women as shapely, innocent, exotic beauties. The genre was seen as financially lucrative by the movie studios in the 1940s, despite criticisms that the genre was unrealistic and not well-informed. Typical examples include 1941's ''

South of Tahiti ''South of Tahiti'' is a 1941 American south seas adventure film directed by George Waggner and starring Brian Donlevy. It helped launch Maria Montez as a pin-up star. She played a leading role; response was such that Universal then cast her in ...

'' and ''

White Savage ''White Savage'' is a 1943 American Technicolor South Seas adventure film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall and Sabu. The film was re-released by Realart in 1948 on a double-feature with the same three stars in ''Cobr ...

'' (1943).

Noted authors

* J. Allan Dunn: ''The Island of the Dead'' (1915), Beyond the Rim (1916), etc. * Robert Dean Frisbie: ''The Book of Puka Puka'' (1929), etc. *

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

: ''Adventure'' (1911), '' South Sea Tales'', etc. *

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

: ''

The Moon and Sixpence ''The Moon and Sixpence'' is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, first published on 15 April 1919. It is told in episodic form by a first-person narrator providing a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Stric ...

'' (1919), "Rain," etc. *

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...

: ''

Typee ''Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life'' is American writer Herman Melville's first book, published in 1846, when Melville was 26 years old. Considered a classic in travel and adventure literature, the narrative is based on Melville's experiences on ...

'' (1846), '' Omoo'' (1847), etc. * James A. Michener: ''

Tales of the South Pacific ''Tales of the South Pacific'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of sequentially related short stories by James A. Michener about the Pacific campaign in World War II. The stories are based on observations and anecdotes he collected while s ...

'' (1947) * Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall: ''

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set h ...

'' (1932) * Frederick O'Brien: ''White Shadows in the South Seas'' (1919) * Robert Louis Stevenson: ''In the South Seas'' (1896) * Charles Warren Stoddard: ''South-Sea Idyls'' (1873), ''Summer Cruising in the South Seas'' (1874), etc.

Select films

References

Bibliography

* Langman, Larry ''Return to Paradise: A Guide to South Sea Island Films'' Scarecrow Press, 1998 * Reyes. Luis I. ''Made in Paradise: Hollywood's Films of Hawaii and the South Seas'' Mutual Publishing Company October 1, 1995 * Dixon, Chris & Brawley, Sean ''Hollywood's South Seas and the Pacific War Searching for Dorothy Lamour'' Palgrave Macmillan; July 25, 2012

External links

South Seas Cinema
{{Film genres Film genres Film theory Films set in Oceania Oceanian culture