In defense of cheese
Maybe you’re wondering why a person who has access to the finest travel the world has to offer would choose to spend a great deal of time at amusement parks. Or maybe you already have an assumption about themed entertainment: it’s crowded with tourists, it’s inauthentic, it’s for kids. If that’s your line of thinking, then I’m really glad you’re here, because the emotions that themed entertainment brings up are the key to understanding motivation, if you can just look a little below the surface.
Instead of a turkey leg, consider what might be so appealing about a strangely-shaped protein snack you can walk around with. Rather than digging around for escape room keys, think about what itch hide-and-seek with clues might scratch for someone who sits at a desk all day. Together, we’ll discuss how the mimicked scent of chocolate at Hershey Park might bring someone calm, or why certain shapes and colors at Universal Studios indicate which way foot traffic should flow without so much as a sign.
Themed entertainment is light years ahead of the media in learning the emotional touch points and suggestions that encourage people to take action, from sights and sounds, to logos and merchandise, to technology and hospitality. And at the heart of it all is cheese.
Not the kind you drown your pasta in. This kind.
It’s the kind that us journalists have such an aversion to. Unless you specialize in opinion content, or are known for having a specific voice, most news writing insists that we remove our voice and adopt a neutral tone. While we will explore that this might make it easier to break down laborious topics, there’s something missing in the absence of personality that discourages a connection from consumer to information.
So, let’s break this down with puns. Researchers at the University of Windsor in Ontario performed a study to understand how our brains activate when we are subjected to puns and found that our ability to decipher two meanings in one joke might be the key. While the left side of our brains processes the incoming words, the right side of our brain (the side dealing mostly with spatial awareness and creativity) identifies the wordplay. Our ability to process the base definition of what’s being told to us, and also understand a double meaning in a set of words is what creates humor in puns.
To further understand how wordplay exercises and supports cognitive development, a study by Joseph L. Flanders, Vanessa Leo, Daniel Paquette, Robert O. Pihl, and Jean R. Séguin explained that fathers who make “dad jokes” to their children are assisting them by challenging them emotionally without bullying. A pun gets right to the line of trickery without being hurtful, encouraging surprise and delight, and impulse control.
Though the research is from 2009, the practice of teasing with wordplay isn’t new by any means. Roman scholar Cicero often used puns and one-liners in speeches, of which he said, “shows you that the orator is sophisticated, that he’s educated, urbane.” And of course, Shakespeare was widely known for his love of puns. Thought of now as the top tier of sophistication, his cheesy wordplay was a community ritual in collective humor. A lecturer of Shakespeare, University of Melbourne’s Professor David McInnis says, “It’s a bit like the jokes you get in Christmas crackers that are notoriously bad, and part of that is a communal bonding thing... You hear a really bad joke, everyone collectively groans … it’s a bonding exercise.”
Back at Disney Parks, there’s no better example of this than the groan fest that is Disney’s Jungle Cruise ride.
Sitting between major attractions attached to franchises, the Jungle Cruise takes visitors down a simulated 1930’s steam boat exploration through Adventurelands waters. Part of the 1955 Disneyland opening day roster, the Jungle Cruise only became part of a film franchise in 2021 with a movie that didn’t quite match the excitement of the prototype ride-turned-movie Pirates of the Caribbean. But that doesn’t stop the ride from having 40-minute wait times nearly every day (45 minutes the day I rode it this week).
The real star power of the ride is the script spoken by the skippers, packed with cheesy one-liners and puns. Though you’re on a perilous adventure, the skippers don’t have a serious bone in their bodies, and you’re just along for the ride. You’re on a journey with a dozen new friends, moaning at the cheesiest punchlines you’ve ever heard. Your brain is churning and you’re laughing together, building community. You leave with a smile guaranteed.
The backside of water
So, if we’ve identified that cheesy verbiage can help with cognitive growth and community unity, how can we use this device in the media?
Using a purposeful and unique voice can be an identifier toward certain journalists for audiences. It builds understanding of who the person behind the journalism is, and creates a sense of comradery.
Identifying the personality of a journalist makes them more human, and builds trust with the work that person creates.
Narrative storytelling goes back as far as cave drawings around fires. And one part of why we remember stories passed down by ancestors is because of the voice and connection we’ve made with colorful narrative.
Is there a joke you can make that speaks directly to the community you’re speaking to? Speaking someones “language”, even in jokes, goes a long way to identify that you are one of the group.
Thus, if your voice is filled with cheese, you might be encouraging a little friendly push-and-pull with your audience, helping them remember more of your work and creating a long lasting bond.
But puns are just a starting point for cheese in themed entertainment. For the next few editions you’ll hear about Disney World, since I am currently writing this from my dog-friendly room at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort, but following that we’ll look at Meow Wolf’s empire (newly expanding in NYC), Universal Studios’ new horror-themed universe, neon escape room Otherworld, the scents of Hershey, vaudeville, sci-fi, cabaret, cosplay conventions and costume contests.
Thanks for coming along, and help kick us off by replying and telling me about a personal themed entertainment moment that lives in your heart.
Goodnight, commenters.