bavarikon4UNotice
This object is problematic from an ethical and moral point of view because of what is depicted or because of its contents. bavarikon is displaying it in order to enable and promote a critical, sensitive examination of these depictions and their contents. As the operator of bavarikon, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library) expressly distances itself from discriminatory, racist, stereotyping, and inhuman representations and content.
Description
The photograph from 1959 shows the entrance to the "Völkerschau Hawaii" (Ethnological exposition Hawaii) by the Munich showman Rudolf Feldl (1919-1970). It was the last large display of "exotic" people at the Oktoberfest. The show employed over 100 performers, most of whom were actually from Hawaii. A third of them were professionals, including, for example, the musicians and the dancers. The rest of the performers were recruited by agents in Hawaii. To make the attraction seem "authentic" to the audience, even children were instrumentalised for the production.
In the course of its colonial expansion in the Pacific region, the United States of America annexed the previously independent island state of Hawaii in 1898. This takeover met with resistance from many locals, as extensive parts of Hawaiian culture were pushed back under the omnipresent cultural influence of the USA. Hawaii came into the public eye in the late 1950s, as it became the fiftieth state of the USA after a referendum on 21 August 1959. This was followed by the development of a Hawaiian and South Seas craze typical of the post-war years.
Similar to the "Völkerschauen" at the beginning of the 20th century, Rudolf Feldl's show presented free interpretations of Polynesian culture mixed with pseudo-rituals and traditions. The photography shows an exoticising and discriminating representation of the "other" and thus picks up on the contemporary fascination with the "foreign". The actors and actresses shown in the context of this attraction were brought to the public's attention solely through their perceived exotic origin, and cultural stereotypes were profitably staged and thus reproduced.
With almost 4,000 square metres, Feldl's attraction was one of the most extensive showmen's operations at the Oktoberfest in 1959. Munich film architect Ludwig Reiber (1904-1979) was responsible for the exterior design of the attraction, which was advertised as the "Shining South Seas". The front shown in the photograph served as a kind of stage with the main building and entrance area as well as the stairs. You can see part of the elaborately designed, exotic backdrop, an announcer and the "Hawaiian girls" draped on the steps, which attracted many onlookers.
The front area of the large grounds was taken up by a Hawaiian village. Attached to these structures was a tent where demonstrations took place. Authentic Hawaiian dances and songs were performed on the stage.