Mimicry, mockery and Make-overs: Western visitors in South Pacific dress
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Sturma, M. (2000) Mimicry, mockery and Make-overs: Western visitors in South Pacific dress. Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, 4 (2). pp. 141-155.
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Abstract
The social meanings attached to dress are always potentially ambiguous, but especially so in cross-cultural encounters. This inquiry focuses on Westerners adopting indigenous dress in the South Pacific, employing three historical case studies. The first examines the role of clothing in relations between Tahitians and the mutineers from the HMS Bounty. The second shows how dress mediated the expectations of U.S. soldiers sent to the Pacific theatre during World War II. Finally, the documentary film Cannibal Tours (1987) is discussed in relation to dress and modern tourism. As these cases illustrate, the motives for Westerners adopting local fashion may range from mimicry to mockery.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
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| Murdoch Affiliation(s): | School of Social Sciences and Humanities |
| Publisher: | Berg Publishers |
| URI: | http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/19420 |
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