The first 2 episodes of Masters of the Air dropped on AppleTV a few days ago and it wasn’t long before there were floods of posts about how awesome it was and about how stunning and full on the combat scenes were, and the usual nitpicking such as the Brit Bashing in episode 2. I got around to watching it a couple of days later, and I’ve been mulling over what I experienced for 2+ days before writing anything – and this is how I feel about it…
Continue reading “MotA First Impression: A Little Underwhelmed”Tag: USAAF
The New Zealand Tiki Squadrons (2)
Continuing on from The New Zealand Tiki Squadrons (1) there were further examples of tiki art in use by the New Zealand military (in both the RAF and the RNZAF) during World War II. Next up is No. 135 Squadron RAF stationed in India in 1943, which flew Hurricanes. It’s not clear exactly how many New Zealanders operated in this squadron but the specific Hurricane pictured was flown by Pilot Officer WH “Hugh” Dean of the RNZAF. Continue reading “The New Zealand Tiki Squadrons (2)”
The New Zealand Tiki Squadrons (1)
A friend of mine has been researching the use of tiki symbolism in New Zealand prior to the 1950’s, and most notably it’s use in military units and formations. A German author, Sven Kirstin, has written 3 books about tiki pop culture (published by Taschen), claiming that this was somehow a unique cultural invention particular to the United States. Despite the fact it has been pointed out to him that white New Zealanders adopted the tiki as a popular culture icon on postcards, book covers, stamps, ashtrays, cigarette lighters, mugs etc. decades before white Americans did, he has failed to mention this in his books and persists in his view that it’s a unique cultural feature of the USA that originated around the 1950’s. Continue reading “The New Zealand Tiki Squadrons (1)”