Sublime

Hawaiian

Commodified Hawaiian culture—the “luau,” the “hula girl,” and “aloha”—became part of the American vernacular and everyday life.

colonial encounters between Hawaiians and Americans were frequently imagined as points of intimate contact, with Hawaiians freely giving aloha to Americans, and Americans eagerly accepting these gifts of hospitality.

tourism and Hawai‘i's economic development.

the Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge

This idea of Hawai‘i as a site of hospitality was owed to the already robust cultural imaginary produced during fifty years of hula's circulation in the United States, but World War II activated this idea fully.

benefited from the soaring global interest in hula.3

Hawaiian women thus bore the responsibility of reproducing national knowledge

“Honolulu Hula Sale”