Why does everyone think fireworks shows are fun?

[Cherrysoul]

I find them pleasing and the really big shows with the Pyrotechnics etc that take hours and weeks and sometimes months of hard work and choreography make me appreciate them even more. Some Firework shows (maybe not in America?) are truly mind blowing.

[Dendrek]

This actually seems a good enough explanation to me, now that I think about it.

It's a bit like asking, "why do you enjoy a good landscape painting?". My answer is basically, "hell if I know, but I could look at a really good one for about an hour".

I could answer your question! (But I won't, because that's off topic......)

[Sam the Wiser]

They use to be fun when I was a child. Although now the WoW fireworks outside Silvermoon city do it for me.

[Spectral]

I'll give an answer as straight as my rather elated and slightly intoxicated mood will allow.

Humans like shiny things.

But it probably has to do with a mix of social conditioning and physiological attention. First, humans are attracted to rapid movement and vibrant colors. Its a well documented fact; we react positively to brighter colors, for example. We have specific emotions tied to them, and the lighter colors are pretty much all positive. We also like things that stand out. Its basic survival, the more something stands out, the more we pay attention to it. Rather its the sound of a hungry lion or a loud bang, its where our attention goes. And that's where social conditioning comes in. We like things that make us happy. Fire is warm, and warm is good; therefore, as long as we don't touch it, fire is good and when we mentally establish that correlation it sticks with us.

Ok, typing that out without diverting to something random and stupid was a chore, so I'll just end with, yay fire!

This is a good Just So story, I'm sold! Really though, this sounds about right.

---------- Post added 2012-07-07 at 02:58 AM ----------

I could answer your question! (But I won't, because that's off topic......)

PM me if you have a really good insight and want to burn a couple minutes! I actually am interested and ignorant on this one.

[Vober]

Fireworks use to be amazing for me, Until I moved near a local baseball team (Farm team of the Yankees) that does them 6-8 times a month... Now they just piss me off because my dog hates them and barks the whole time and goes crazy running all over the house.

[schwarzkopf]

I suppose for the same reason people think the day time sky is blue.

Because it is ?

[Evil Inside]

Fireworks = legal(somewhat) fun and colorful explosives lol.

[KCguy]

Is this some kind of joke? What is it with this world where people complain about EVERYTHING. Now it's fireworks? Fireworks are meant to ring in the new year or in this case, celebrate a Country's birthday. Everyone loves fireworks. Except you apparently. They're cool to watch. I love fire works and watching the different kinds that go boom. Plus fireworks get more and more advanced every year. They do some pretty cool explosions and patterns and get more crazy. What's not to love? Not to be rude, but you sure would be a drag to be around New Years. lol.

[Surfd]

Might depend on the type of fireworks display.

If it is a good one (i mean a Top Notch, Pro Quality fireworks show), with synchronised music and the really impressive fireworks, they are quite a sight to see, and are very much an Entertainment Artform, in the same way that a good Movie or Live Concert or Stage Performance is Art. I had the good fortune to see a Benson and Hedges Symphony of Fire performance a few years back in Toronto, where they had Fireworks Families from all across the world (these are people who have been in the Fireworks buisness for generations) put on a nearly hour and a half long show, and it was probably one of the most impressive things I have seen.

If it is just random fireworks fired off to make flashes in the sky for half an hour, then yeah, I can sort of agree with you on the "Pretty, but not exactly impressive" angle.

[PACOX]

Loud noises and explosions. And thats all I need to say.

[OrcsRLame]

It's a tradition, it's shiny, it's a social gathering. I grew up going to fireworks shows, but I don't attend them anymore. They were a lot more interesting when I was a kid. I imagine many adults enjoy them because they have children and they get to see their kids have fun.

Just to be clear, I have no problem with them, and I don't think it's stupid to like them or go to them. I just don't do it anymore because I'd rather spend my time indoors with family and friends, and then after the festivities have died down I retire to my computer for a night of Diablo 3, or whatever else takes my fancy.

[hellosaltygoodness]

actually i am not very impressed by fireworks either. the only ones i ever found mildly interesting were the ones at disneyland. you know, since they make fun disney characters in the sky.

[moff]

As i child I liked them (in our country we are firework maniacs and use a lot of them on our national holiday and on new years eve), but I saw too many of them, an overdose of 80s action series and videogames didnt help either. I find them pretty annoying today.

[exjay]

omg OP its like the same way i feel during December. I see friends, family, neighbor every year just put up these stupid electrical raving colorful lights all over their house and yard. i mean seriously, why would you waste money and hours just to trash your property with bulbs and wires. just makes no sense?! is it for some sort of celebration?!
gosh!

[Deleted]

Reading your post, first thing that came to mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2T0ceCQyWg#t=1m02s

Lighten up a bit :P

[Deleted]

I'm with you OP, I just don't see the appeal. In the UK they usually do a 10 minute show on New Years Day, I can make up to the first minute then I have to turn over.

[Crackleslap]

Fireworks are awesome, because done correctly, its artwork. People like artwork. Its also a social stigma event where if you want, can meet people. Australia my home country celebrates NYE amazingly, especially Sydney. The firework display put on there is fucking fantastic and there is thousands upon thousands of people crowding around. Fireworks to me is about "life being a party" they're the final element to that party where you are being yourself and having fun. When the fireworks starts, everyone looks up to the sky and smiling and cheering thinking about whats happened in there life and what achievements you have earned and or your country etc.. Its about celebrating the fact that something has been achieved. Just my thoughts any way.

[Bluesftw]

watching / launching and making fireworks are fun to me and i enjoy it, theres something primal in watching big balls of fire on the sky xD But after all it all comes down to personal prefference i guess, some ppl like soap operas or "reality" tv shows, to each their own.

[Chirri]

I like watching fireworks live, but it's been years since I've seen a show. I cannot enjoy fireworks shown on TV (fireworks snob, I guess?).

Why do I like watching fireworks... part of it is the memories they bring back to me. Each time I sit down to a fireworks show, I sort of have a layer of the past all around me - eating hotdogs or hamburgers with family and family friends in the hours leading up to the show, finding just the right fuzzy blanket to spread on the ground to lay on while watching, rolling up a sweater or towels from inside to work as a pillow, squeezing into a bench with the people I love, that one trip to visit my father that allowed me to watch the fireworks on the Mall at the Washington Monument in DC, the first fireworks show I can remember as a small child in bleachers (I don't even remember if those were school bleachers or not) and the explanation someone gave me of how fireworks worked - all of that is with me when I wait for and experience a fireworks show. They're good memories. And as I sit and wait and watch the new one, it's being added to the memories and my future experiences.

I like it when the coordinators have purchased a firework I've never seen before. I like the multi-colored fireworks. I like the simple fireworks that go BAM and then have very delicate tiny shimmers that appear a moment after the simple white flash of light. I like the ones that have a three dimensional look.

I like that it's something different. It's not something I see all the time, and it takes effort to get to see a live show (at least, it does for me). There are fewer and fewer shows each year locally because the different cities may not budget for it. This year, after moving again, my new home is dead in the center of a bunch of shows which average 7+ miles away. We couldn't see any from our house, and we didn't really have anyone else to go with so we simply stayed home. It's good for our dogs (we've 2) but they've never seemed bothered by the sounds when we were a bit closer to the shows anyway.

I like the colors. I like the sounds. I like the memories and atmosphere.

If you really don't like fireworks I'd wonder if you have some sort of trauma about them. Is it the fireworks themselves that irked you, that you were surrounded by people, that you allowed yourself to be dragged by lots of people you care about to do something you don't seem to have any interest in? Is this an ego thing? A lot of people like them simply as an excuse for a social gathering. They're easy enough to ignore. Just go grab some food and people watch if you're not into the display in the air.

While I've only ever been to July 4th fireworks displays, I actually don't associate them solely with US independence. I don't associate them with New Years, either. I get that they're celebratory, but when I'm watching a show or waiting for it to get dark enough for it to begin I'm not thinking about those things. It's just nice for me to see something pretty in the sky.

Of course, if it's a really crappy fireworks show it's a disappointment. I've seen a few of those, and they do feel like wastes of time. It might be worth it to take the time to plan a trip to a place that can afford a better show. =x If you don't like that one either, at least you'll be somewhere different, and can go exploring.

Unless you're just in an emotional funk and don't want to go anywhere, for anything, because the whole world is a meanie stupid face. In which case, good luck getting over that funk.

[Deleted]

I liked them as a child, but now they are just a noisy annoyance.