Rollercoasters as an Art Form - Input Needed

[OlivusPrime]

I decided to put this in General Theme Park Discussion, since this idea could easily be elaborated upon through discussion, but it's also something of a personal request.

 

I'm in my final term of a film and television course at uni, and I've chosen to write my dissertation on the artistic qualities of rollercoasters, using Nemesis (and potentially, for comparison, Nemesis Inferno) as a case study. When I say "artistic qualities", I mean it in the broadest possible way:

• The architecture of the coaster itself.
• The ride's theme, both in terms of visual elements and of deeper thematic implications (e.g., what Nemesis' backstory implies about our natural inclination towards thrillseeking).
• The ride's narrative, both in terms of its story and the way that the area and queue are used to evoke certain emotions and ideas.
• The sensations when riding a rollercoaster.
• The ride's temporality, I.e. how adjustments to the ride, its area, and the other rides that surround it over time may change the effect of the ride.

 

I still need to pin down a specific question or title, but I'm pretty set on writing along these sorts of lines, seeing as how there is very little academic writing on the rollercoaster as a piece of art, especially outside of Disney and Universal. I guess my two questions are, do you folks have any comments or questions regarding this topic, and do you know of any good books/readings that might assist me in my writing? I've obviously already got John Wardley's biography and I've watched plenty of interviews with him, plus I'm looking into buying Theme Park Design & the Art of Themed Entertainment and Electric Dreamland, but any further written works would be helpful.

[Kerfuffle]

This idea might be irrelevant but you could mention how Nemesis is seen as an alien creature, with the station being the creature itself, the track being the tentacles, the supports as the steel which is pinning down the creature...and the trains being the creature's reproductive organs (!).

[yeah]

16 hours ago, Kerfuffle said:

and the trains being the creature's reproductive organs

Is this true? 

[SteveJ]

No, that has never been the intention, as amusing as it is to think that the trains are massive alien penises flying around.

From what Ive spoken to Tussauds studios people about, the basic concept for Nemesis was that it was a half dead/skeletal, half coming back to life alien creature that's been buried in the ground for years. Pinned down with steel. It's meant to remain unexplained and mysterious as to what this creature actually is.

 

However its a much misunderstood thing, because many years ago the fans got hold of an elaborate backstory that was written up (mostly for design purposes, but was deliberately over the top and silly, it was never meant to be taken seriously as a public backstory). The more elaborate backstory about the monster reawakening after a cult goes there to feed it and the Phalanx army coming in, bla bla bla, was never meant to be a big part of the ride and misses the main aim of its design. The main aim of the ride was to thrill and enchant, with its (originally) powerful otherworldly appearance and interaction amongst the landscape.

[Benin]

You forgot it's not ORDINARY steel set up by not ORDINARY men...

[Imagineer]

On 2/8/2017 at 2:09 PM, OlivusPrime said:

[...] and do you know of any good books/readings that might assist me in my writing? I've obviously already got John Wardley's biography and I've watched plenty of interviews with him, plus I'm looking into buying Theme Park Design & the Art of Themed Entertainment and Electric Dreamland, but any further written works would be helpful.

 

Hey. I did my dissertation on Disney World. I've got some articles which may be of some help. I studied how Disney World 'simulates' real life but there may be some use in there for you. Definitely some useful quotes. You should definitely check out Baudrillard and Eco's work on Disney which should feed into your dissertation nicely.

 

Anyway, some sources that I used are in the document attached. (Some may not be relevant...sorry!)

Bibliography.doc

[OlivusPrime]

Thanks for the replies guys, all helpful.

 

On 09/02/2017 at 8:56 PM, Kerfuffle said:

This idea might be irrelevant but you could mention how Nemesis is seen as an alien creature, with the station being the creature itself, the track being the tentacles, the supports as the steel which is pinning down the creature...and the trains being the creature's reproductive organs (!).

 

The biological theme of the ride, together with the idea of the masses being hypnotically drawn to the site, are thematic aspects that I definitely want to explore, since I feel they say something (not quite set on what!) about the public's innate thirst for thrills. On the topic of the trains, I believe I read a making-of document up for auction on eBay that claimed that the track is a bone-like substance generated by the creature, with the trains then being digestive organs sent along to gather nutrients. Again, raises questions regarding the public's consumption of entertainment vs. a larger entity's consumption of the public.

[HermanTheGerman]

On 10/02/2017 at 1:29 PM, Wumbamillio said:

No, that has never been the intention, as amusing as it is to think that the trains are massive alien penises flying around.

You can never go wrong with a bit of alien willy.