The South Seas genre is a genre of literature, film, or entertainment (such as Tiki culture) that is set in the islands of the southern Pacific Ocean.[1] Many Hollywood films were produced on studio backlots 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.
The genre was known for its portrayal of tropical men as savages and cannibals, and women as shapely, innocent, exotic beauties.[2] 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.[3] Typical examples include 1941's South of Tahiti and White Savage (1943).[4]