Why We Love Easter Eggs in Entertainment
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Exploring both interstellar and interpersonal space-time continuums. The Last Show with David Cooper.
Ever spot something weird hiding in the background of a movie? Some random object that just turns out to be a secret reference or something like that? It turns out those tiny Easter eggs in media might change how you enjoy the whole thing. I am here with mass communications professor at the University of Kansas, Judy Watts, to discuss this. Judy, welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me.
Just so we're all on the same page, what exactly counts as an Easter egg in storytelling?
Oh, that is kind of a big question. And one of the things that we tried to set out finding in this most recent research that my collaborator and I did. But in short, it's just a hidden symbol. Sometimes it's referring to a character, sometimes an event. Sometimes something that could be associated with a character, like a shield or a particular pair of shoes. But I think almost anything could be an Easter egg, depending on the right person.
Okay. But a Starbucks coffee cub on a medieval table in Game of Thrones, that's not an Easter egg. That's just a production mistake.
That is an error, though.
So we're not talking about those. What do fans usually think of these things? Are there certain kinds of fans that are more likely to notice the Easter egg and then enjoy the media they're consuming more?
I think fans that are really just like really involved in the world, the story world, and they just want to piece things together. And they also want to talk about what they found with their friends. These are the types of fans who are going to be looking for Easter eggs and then kind of sharing their findings with others.
I got swept up in this TV show, must have been five, six years ago, maybe four, Yellow Jackets. I think the subsequent seasons from the first one haven't hit as hard in the popular conversation. But these girls, they're like trapped in the woods. They become cannibals. They're high school students. And there's just this symbol everywhere. And I do feel like fans were congregating online. I myself, one of those fans, reading about theories. And it does kind of, like anecdotally, it does kind of make you enjoy the show, the movie, whatever it is, a little bit more.
It does, yeah. It feels like the creators of the show or the movie had a very intentional means delivering their story.
What counts as an Easter egg in storytelling?
They thought about stitching all these elements together. And some of our survey respondents said that they felt like they were being spoken to by the creators themselves.
Interesting. That sort of – that personal connection with the actual people involved, is that something that makes me like a piece of media more?
I think so, yeah. It feels like that they are taking your preferences, your interests in mind, and sometimes delivering that to you.
And suppose I like a piece of media a lot. Let's call it Barney the Dinosaur. I don't know why I chose that at all. But if I find an Easter egg that other viewers might not – What sense of joy or enjoyment or pride might I have?
Well, first of all, the research says that you're going to feel most likely really proud of yourself. You're going to feel really rewarded. I don't know if you're going to feel intellectually superior to others. But that might be why you post about it online. And you might see if other people found it. Because I think part of it is also you want to know, I found this special thing. Did my friends also find this special thing?
Yeah, it's a way to connect with others. It's a way to really connect with the media. But you're saying this is for maybe like the diehard fans or the ones that are willing to go online and talk about it. What about the many people that watch a show? They like it. They don't love it. They like it. They don't care about the Easter eggs. Does it change anything for them or is it just kind of like a plus for the diehards and then no net negative for the people who would just watch it anyway?
It seems like for just like your regular audience member, they're not super into the hidden symbols, the Easter eggs.
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