In this article, the author offers a brief history of the Academy for Creative Media (ACM)--the University of Hawai'i's primary academic program for the production and study of film, animation, and computer game design--and its mission to fulfill the Hawai'i state government's agenda to diversify the economy with creative media and high technology. In contrast to this mission, the author highlights the importance of cultivating a curriculum that encourages critical thinking and the creation of ethical representations rather than sustaining the current imagery of Hawai'i as tropical paradise and site of historic and national importance. (Contains 3 endnotes and a bibliography.)