In Western Culture
- Famous French painter Paul Gauguin and Belgian singer Jacques Brel spent the last years of their lives in the Marquesas, and are buried there. Brel composed a famous song, Les Marquises, about the Marquesas Islands, his last home.
- The Marquesas provided inspiration to American novelist Herman Melville, whose experiences in the Marquesas formed the basis for his novel Typee.
- Robert Louis Stevenson visited the Marquesas in 1888, and wrote about his experiences and impressions there in 1900, in a book called In the South Seas.
- Thor Heyerdahl wrote his book Fatu Hiva during a year-long stay on that island.
- The island group is also mentioned in passing in the Crosby, Stills & Nash song, "Southern Cross".
- The Marquesas Islands temporarily received an international spotlight in the United States when the reality TV show Survivor: Marquesas was filmed there. It was the fourth installment of the TV series Survivor.
Read more about this topic: Culture Of The Marquesas Islands
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