Dear Anthony Bourdain,
Hawaii has been home for me for the past 20 years of my life. It is a place that is very special to me and a place that I hold near and dear to my heart. It is a state that shaped me into who I have become today and a state that I want to spend the rest of my life. From early morning dawn patrol sessions with the boys at Sandy Beach, to the late-night barbecues with my friends and family, Hawaii is a place that has given me the most special and rewarding memories. I couldn’t imagine growing up anywhere else in the world besides the islands.
Photo 2: http://www.hokulea.com/event/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown/
When I heard you had an episode on Hawaii for your series, “Parts Unknown”, I initially had mixed emotions. I was concerned about how you would depict Hawaii and what aspects of the state you would display on the show. On the other hand, I know the great work you do and I was interested to see what you had planned for this particular episode.
As I began watching the episode, I initially thought of all the other travel channels that were stereotyping Hawaii. With being greeted with leis at the hotel to going to pick out an Aloha Shirt right away. This just seemed like every other ordinary travel channel show on Hawaii. As I got more and more into the episode, my thoughts took a dramatic change. I noticed that you emphasized the rich Asian culture that was prevalent in Hawaii and the authentic Hawaiian food that Hawaii had to offer. I also couldn’t help but notice all the locals who were apparent on the episode. A lot of people with strong Hawaii ties and who knew everything about the food and culture of Hawaii. I started enjoying the episode after a while and I even learned some stuff about Hawaii that I didn’t even know myself. You took your audience around the island to authentic foods joints, famous beaches and other monumental spots in Hawaii. But, you also exhibited the simple things of Hawaii like the locals love of spam and the family barbecue in the backyard. Many things that I don’t see in normal travel channel shows.
I really appreciated how you used multimodal elements in the episode. There were great transitions in the episode that displayed exceptional visuals of the beach and sunset in Hawaii as well as the island music playing in the background. Furthermore, the hula dancers and your descriptions about the film displayed in the background really made the episode easier to follow along with. The use of these multimodal elements made me feel like I was back on the island and comforted me. These elements also really made the episode come together and represented Hawaii in a positive sense.
Photo 2: Family Barbecue in Hawaii
The way you showed many different aspects of Hawaii that tourists don’t usually see is something that I really liked about this episode. For example, no other series would show them going to Kailhi for a family barbecue in the backyard. Usually, they show a stereotypical luau with hundreds of people in Aloha Shirts. The family barbecue is something that all local Hawaiian residents can relate to and what should be shown instead of a touristy luau. A family barbecue in the backyard is where all the uncle’s share their stories from back in there day and where aunty and uncle cook up the most ono food. That is more special than any Waikiki luau and what should be represented in every travel channel show like yours.
To conclude my letter, I just want to thank you for showing the real Hawaii that locals live every single day. From eating spam and eggs in the morning, to catching waves at Sunset Beach, to enjoying some Side Street Inn pork chops at night with family and friends. You represented Hawaii how most of the locals live their life. It isn’t always as easy going for everyone as it may seem in the video, but a travel show isn’t supposed to display the bad parts of a city. You did the best with what you could and that is all we could ask for. Thank you, Anthony Bourdain!
Sincerely,
Cole Mausolf
Cole's Blog 