Abstract
Roller coasters are one of the most iconic signs of entertainment on the planet. The last decade in particular has witnessed a dramatic global increase in the popularity of the coaster. Research has attempted to account for this explosive international growth in many ways, but relatively little has been considered about the deeper experiential appeal of these seemingly mindless devices. Anderson and Burt address this deficit by examining how the value and significance of coasters extends well beyond escapist diversion: coasters are sites of self-understanding and self-definition as well, presenting patrons with unique opportunities for engaging basic questions that define human personhood. As their analysis demonstrates, the new ubiquity of these sensational constructions stems from more than the predictable forces of adrenaline or profit. In ways that are too often overlooked, these highly constructed experiences – and the seemingly disposable thrills they deliver – also deliver profound lessons about who we are.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Coke’s effort to craft its brand by forging unmistakable ties to the amusement park industry is far from a single-can endeavor. According to IEG Sponsorship Report’s study (IEGSR 2014), Coca-Cola is the most active sponsor of amusement and theme parks globally, with a sponsorship presence in 62% of all parks worldwide. (By comparison, the second most active sponsor, Panama Jack, is present in 32% of parks.)
- 2.
Allen’s designs are largely credited with ushering in the second ‘golden age’ of the roller coaster. The 1920s are generally regarded as the first such ‘golden age’, where both coasters and amusement grounds proliferated wildly in the USA until the Great Depression obliterated the large capital outlays that made them possible. Coasters continued to be a mainstay of larger parks but with little noteworthy growth until 1972, when King’s Island of Cincinnati, OH debuted Racer. Designed by John Allen, this dual-track racing wooden coaster’s popularity ‘reaffirmed the importance of roller coasters to amusement parks’ (Rutherford 2003: 110) and sparked a renewed interest in their development that continues to the present day.
- 3.
As Bushman et al. (2013: 1014) further note, ‘violence in films has more than doubled since 1950 and since 2009, PG-13–rated films have contained as much or more violence as R-rated films (age 17+) films’.
- 4.
As De Avila (2008) discusses, development on the attraction commenced in 1999 after the U.S. Army began to miss recruiting targets.
- 5.
It should not be too readily assumed, however, that Bergson was necessarily incurious in this regard; his office at the Collège de France was less than four kilometers away from the Scénic-Railway coaster of the popular Magic City amusement park at Quai d’Orsay.
- 6.
As one of the most conspicuous developments in the coaster’s ongoing technological evolution, fourth-dimension coasters enable the movement of individual seats or cars of a coaster train, especially non-linear movement such as sideways rotation.
- 7.
The title of The New York Times’ (Yee 2015) coverage of a recent breakdown of the Cyclone nicely plays on this disjuncture between scientific and durational time, especially for the dozen riders who were stranded at the top of the lift hill: ‘Once Trapped Atop Coney Island Cyclone, but Forever Stuck on It’.
References
Adams, J. A. (1991) The American Amusement Park Industry: A History of Technology and Thrills, Boston: Twayne.
Anderson, D. (1999) ‘Sign, Space, and Story: Roller Coasters and the Evolution of a Thrill’, Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 1–22.
Anderson, Dana. (2014) Personal interview with two anonymous ride patrons, May 23.
Beck, M. (2011) ‘Scary Movies and Real-Life Risks: High Octane Traits Give Horror Buffs, Pilots, Traders and Others a Rush’, Wall Street Journal, 25 October, http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204644504576651270700875088.
Bergson, H. (1911/1944) Creative Evolution, Random House: New York.
Bourke, J. (2005) Fear: A Cultural History, Virago: London.
Bushman, B. J., and Huesmann, L. R. (2001) ‘Effects of Televised Violence on Aggression’, in (eds.) Singer, D. G and Singer, J. L, Handbook of Children and the Media, Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 223–254.
Bushman, B. J., Jamieson, P. E., Weitz, I., and Romer, D. (2013) ‘Gun Violence Trends in Movies’, Pediatrics, Vol. 132, no. 6, pp. 1014–1018.
Cartmell, R. (1985) The Incredible Scream Machine, Bowling Green State University Popular Press: Bowling Green, OH.
Conley, C. (2007) ‘Peak Experience’, Leadership Excellence, Vol. 24, no. 11, pp. 6.
De Avila, J. (2008) ‘War Games: Army Lures Civilians by Letting Them Play Soldier’, Wall Street Journal, 28 July, http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121721198768289035.
Ferguson, C. J. (2015) ‘Does Media Violence Predict Societal Violence? It Depends on What You Look at and When’, Journal of Communication, Vol. 65, no. 1, pp. E1–E22.
Fulcher, J (2004) Capitalism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press: Oxford.
Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GMBH (2014) ‘Infinity Coaster’, http://www.gerstlauer-rides.de/products/roller-coasters/infinity-coaster/.
Gray, J. (2010) Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers, and Other Media Paratexts, NYU Press: New York.
Highfield, R. (2006) ‘Why Exactly Is This Ride So Thrilling?’, The Telegraph, 3 October, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/3347855/Why-exactly-is-this-ride-so-thrilling.html.
IEGSR (2014) ‘IEG Research: The Coca-Cola Co. Is the Most Active Sponsor of Theme Parks’, 21 July, http://www.sponsorship.com/iegsr/2014/07/21/IEG-Research–The-Coca-Cola-Co–Is-The-Most-Active.aspx.
Jenkins, H. (2013) Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture, Routledge: New York.
Ledbetter, J. L., Mohamed-Ameen, A., Oglesby, J. M., and Boyce, M. W. (2013) ‘Your Wait Time from This Point Will Be: Practices for Designing Amusement Park Queues’, Ergonomics in Design: The Quarterly of Human Factors Applications, Vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 22–28.
Lukas, S. A. (2008) Theme Park, Reaktion: London.
Minton, E. (1999) ‘Thrills & Chills’, Psychology Today, May 1
Muldoon, M. S. (2006) Tricks of Time: Bergson, Merleau-Ponty, and Ricoeur in Search of Time, Self and Meaning, Duquesne University Press: Pittsburgh, PA.
Phipps, J.-F. (2004) ‘Henri Bergson and the Perception of Time’, https://philosophynow.org/issues/48/Henri_Bergson_and_the_Perception_of_Time, accessed 7 October.
Ray, R., Sanes, M., and Schmitt, J. (2013) ‘No-Vacation Nation Revisited’, Center for Economic and Policy Research, May, http://cepr.net/documents/no-vacation-update-2014-04.pdf.
Rojek, C. (1985) Capitalism and Leisure Theory, Routledge: London.
Rojek, C. (1995) Decentring Leisure: Rethinking Leisure Theory, Sage Publications: London.
Roller Coaster Database (2014), http://www.RCDB.com, accessed 15 May 2015.
Rollercoaster698 (2012) ‘I Remember My First Rollercoaster Ride’, Experience Project, 7 August, http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Remember-My-First-Rollercoaster-Ride/2478568.
Rutherford, S. (2003) Roller Coasters, Lowe and B. Hould: Ann Arbor, MI.
Signature Attraction (2013) Presented by: Ruby, M. [Documentary]
Silverstein, H. (1986) Scream Machines: Roller Coasters Past, Present, and Future, Walker: New York.
‘Six Flags, Sony Pictures Entertainment Announce Advertising & Promotion Campaign for “The Smurfs”’, (2011) Reuters, 15 March, http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/idUS156476+15-Mar-2011+PRN20110315.
Skeel, R. L., Neudecker, J., Pilarski, C., and Pytlak, K. (2007) ‘The Utility of Personality Variables and Behaviorally-Based Measures in the Prediction of Risk – Taking Behavior’, Personality and Individual Differences, Vol. 43, no. 1.
Sorkin, M. (1993) ‘Introduction: Variations on a Theme Park’, in (ed.) Sorkin, M, Variations on a Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space, Hill and Wang: New York, pp. xi–xv.
St.-Louis, H. (2014) ‘The Roller Coaster’, ComicBookBin, 31 July, http://www.comicbookbin.com/The_Roller_Coaster001.html.
Trimpop, R. M., Kerr, J. H., and Kirkcaldy, B. (1998) ‘Comparing Personality Constructs of Risk-Taking Behavior’, Personality and Individual Differences, Vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 237–254.
Underwood, J. (2013) ‘The Shape of Oblivion: Poetry and the Rollercoaster’, Electronic Voice Phenomena, 20 December, http://www.electronicvoicephenomena.net/index.php/the-shape-of-oblivion-poetry-and-the-rollercoaster/.
Weir, K. (2010) ‘Peak Experience’, Current Science, Vol. 96, no. 1, pp. 4–5.
‘What Do We Love About Roller Coasters?’, (2013) CoasterCrazy, 10 September, https://www.coastercrazy.com/forums/what-do-we-love-about-roller-coasters-t30453.html#p24512.
Williams, G. C. (2014) ‘Horror with Friends’, Pop Matters, 30 July, http://www.popmatters.com/post/184171-horror-with-friends/.
Yee, V. (2015) ‘Once Trapped Atop Coney Island Cyclone, but Forever Stuck on It’, New York Times, 10 April, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/nyregion/once-trapped-atop-coney-island-cyclone-but-forever-stuck-on-it.html?_r=0.
Zolotow, M., and Kahm, H. S. (1945) ‘Ride ‘Em and Weep’, Saturday Evening Post, 9 June, pp. 16–17, 42–44.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Anderson, D., Burt, M. (2017). Screaming on a Ride to Nowhere: What Roller Coasters Teach Us About Being Human. In: Harrington, S. (eds) Entertainment Values. Palgrave Entertainment Industries. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47290-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47290-8_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-47289-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-47290-8
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)