Beneath the Waves, Beyond the Hype: Discursive Support for Violence in Surf Media Representations of Hawaii

• In Event: Media Coverage and Representations of Violence

Abstract

Hawaii has long been the object of copious surf media content. Hawaii’s tropical climate, uncommonly large surf, and its status as the birthplace of surfing have drawn surfers, as well as the surf media, to the islands since the sport was reborn in the beginning of the 20th century. Surf media content has perpetuated the social construction of Hawaii as a sexualized, idyllic paradise, which has aided and legitimized colonial, capitalist, and militarist exploitation of the islands and the people. More contemporary surf media content performs a hegemonic trick, employing discourses which are ostensibly progressive and respectful of Hawaii and its people. However, under closer examination, these discourses are revealed as the intersection of capitalist, sexist, racist ideologies, which promote violence on several levels. This research seeks to problematize such discourses, illuminating how they perpetuate, among other phenomena, sexist treatment of female surfers, interpersonal violence among local men, and capitalist environmental exploitation.

Author

• Nicholas Chagnon, University of Hawaii at Manoa