What does Cheesy mean?

It doesn't simply mean bad.  For instance, Creed are awful, but I wouldn't exactly call their music cheesy.  Conversely, the Beach Boys are great but I WOULD call them cheesy.

I think a cheesy song, movie, pun, or whatever is something that's overly cliche, overdone, or both, and may be either laughable, disgusting, or both. 

Funny/Laughable Cheesy Things:

New Wave music
Monty Python movies
Anchorman
Footloose
Power ballads
'50s sci-fi movies
Glam Rap
The Day After Tommorrow
Limp Bizkit

Disgusting Cheesy Things:

Black Eyed Peas
Cyndi Lauper songs
Human League
Lindsay Lohan's music
Hilary Duff's music
Limp Bizkit

Things That Are Simply Bad:

Creed
Roseanne
Lifehouse

things that are "cheesy" really depend on a person's opinion. There were things on your list that I agreed with, but some things I totally disagreed with.  To me...things like, infomercials, "as seen on TV" offers (think Chia Pet, Flow-Be, etc), has-been celebrities/public icons trying to make a comeback (ex. Tony Little on a recent commercial, actors on the show, "The Surreal Life", etc), certain talk-shows (Jerry Springer, Maury Povich), certain "singers"/"performers" (MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, William Hung, etc), and definitely porn.....those are all things that are very "cheesy" IMO. :D

cheesy:

"Donnie Darko threads"
"Donnie Darko polls"
"Donnie Darko polls about threads"
"Donnie Darko threads about polls"

;D

Good Cheese:

Early "Debbie Gibson" (she's still famous to some), early New Edition, MC Hammer, Poison

Bad Cheese:

"High School Musical" soundtrack, "Full House", Journey, Milli Vanilli, "TRL"

What does Cheesy mean?

It doesn't simply mean bad.  For instance, Creed are awful, but I wouldn't exactly call their music cheesy.  Conversely, the Beach Boys are great but I WOULD call them cheesy.

I think a cheesy song, movie, pun, or whatever is something that's overly cliche, overdone, or both, and may be either laughable, disgusting, or both. 

Funny/Laughable Cheesy Things:

New Wave music
Monty Python movies
Anchorman
Footloose
Power ballads
'50s sci-fi movies
Glam Rap
The Day After Tommorrow
Limp Bizkit

Disgusting Cheesy Things:

Black Eyed Peas
Cyndi Lauper songs
Human League
Lindsay Lohan's music
Hilary Duff's music
Limp Bizkit

Things That Are Simply Bad:

Creed
Roseanne
Lifehouse





I would have to say Cyndi Lauper goes under "good cheesy." I'd also say the Go-Gos, most of the decade of the 1980s, and reality TV like "America's Next Top Model", and Broadway go under good/laughable cheesy. Most reality TV ("Joe Millionaire") goes from disgustingly cheesy to simply bad and disgusting, with no dairy product in there.

Just plain cheese:

Jerry Springer
Over The Top
Michael Bolton
Most boy bands
Jaws: The Revenge
Any Jean Claude Van Damme Film
Any Steven Seagal Film

It's kind of hard to define my perception of cheesy.  I usually consider bubble-gum pop/dance music to be cheesy... and also songs/artists that attempt to fit into a certain genre but just don't cut it.

Alot of people seem to automatically relate ballads to cheesiness, but I don't... I consider ballads to be sappy but only a few I would consider cheesy, like "When I See You Smile" as an attempt at hair metal.

What does Cheesy mean?

It doesn't simply mean bad.  For instance, Creed are awful, but I wouldn't exactly call their music cheesy.  Conversely, the Beach Boys are great but I WOULD call them cheesy.

I think a cheesy song, movie, pun, or whatever is something that's overly cliche, overdone, or both, and may be either laughable, disgusting, or both. 

Funny/Laughable Cheesy Things:

New Wave music
Monty Python movies
Anchorman
Footloose
Power ballads
'50s sci-fi movies
Glam Rap
The Day After Tommorrow
Limp Bizkit

Disgusting Cheesy Things:

Black Eyed Peas
Cyndi Lauper songs
Human League
Lindsay Lohan's music
Hilary Duff's music
Limp Bizkit

Things That Are Simply Bad:

Creed
Roseanne
Lifehouse

Yeah, overall I would call something "cheesy" if it's something I like, but am vaguely embarrased to admit in public, or around certain people. There's times I've been (in good nature) ridiculed for my love of Full House and Home Improvement, or hair metal and sappy love songs.

Limp Bizkit is "bad" for 2000 (I hated it when it was actually going on), but "cheesy" for, say 2015.

things that are "cheesy" really depend on a person's opinion. There were things on your list that I agreed with, but some things I totally disagreed with.  To me...things like, infomercials, "as seen on TV" offers (think Chia Pet, Flow-Be, etc), has-been celebrities/public icons trying to make a comeback (ex. Tony Little on a recent commercial, actors on the show, "The Surreal Life", etc), certain talk-shows (Jerry Springer, Maury Povich), certain "singers"/"performers" (MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, William Hung, etc), and definitely porn.....those are all things that are very "cheesy" IMO. :D


Totally agree with informercials (it's so easy to make fun of "My new 8 pound Oreck XL" or "Chi-chi-chia" or, even the typical catchphrase "But Wait!"). ;D

Would you agree reality TV is deemed cheesy because it seems like some of the celebs are trying too hard to return to the spotlight, and/or because it makes them hard to take seriously (hence it'll probably have the opposite effect of the very thing they're trying to do -- make a comeback).

I think talk shows became cheesy, largely due to '90s culture, but didn't start out that way. I know I feel kinda guilty admitting this (which, of course makes them VERY cheesy to me :D), but I really liked watching those around, say 1994-98.


*Ricki Lake was the first "youthful" talk show host, and in many ways is very "90s". However, she seemed to have an equally serious side who was able to empathize with the guests. Her being, like 25-30 at the show's peak probably helped her connect with, say a 14-year old guest in a way someone like Sally Jessy Rafael never could've done.

*Maury was probably the midpoint from traditional/old fashioned talk shows, he slowly adapted to the "90s style" shows with time. I like him, but I stopped watching when all he seemed to do was paternity tests and 9-year old brat kids who get sent to "Boot Camp".

*Montel was cool, even if I didn't always agree with his opinions. Again, falling somewhere inbetween old and new style shows. He also seemed to look at both points of view pretty well.

*Jerry Springer made by far the biggest jump. I watched some of the episodes around 1994/95, when it was more serious, but in a transitional phase, so I'm sure I got a different impression of him than someone who didn't learn about him till, say 1998 when the show was wild and crazy. Back then, he struck me as an intelligent, nice guy with a certain "fun" side too. It's kinda unfortunate he's only gonna be associated with how the show has become, since he's actually a smart guy who used to be in politics (was the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. Seriously). ;)

*Jenny Jones had that "older fun host" personality too. I loved all the "geek to chik/makeover/nerd to knockout" shows she did. Especially when some former high school bully who was still a jerk got a taste of their own medicine. ;D


P.S. Whoa, I didn't mean to type all that! I guess I was even more into those shows than I thought! ;) Although I have to give them credit as cheesy as they became. I really think my watching alot of that stuff made me very aware of the world, ya know?

Would you agree reality TV is deemed cheesy because it seems like some of the celebs are trying too hard to return to the spotlight, and/or because it makes them hard to take seriously (hence it'll probably have the opposite effect of the very thing they're trying to do -- make a comeback).




Yes...definitely! I mean...there are some people who had their day in the spotlight...but that day is OVER for them, and unfortunately some of them cannot seem to realize that it is over....The reality shows that showcase these individuals are IMO, very cheesy.  Having people like Christopher Knight (Peter, Brady Bunch), MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Jordan Knight, etc..on these shows...only goes to show just how cheesy they really are.  Another example is putting "has-beens" on TV commercials. I cringe everytime that insurance commercial featuring Tony Little comes on tv....his fame was over before it even began..LOL! ::)

Yes...definitely! I mean...there are some people who had their day in the spotlight...but that day is OVER for them, and unfortunately some of them cannot seem to realize that it is over....The reality shows that showcase these individuals are IMO, very cheesy.  Having people like Christopher Knight (Peter, Brady Bunch), MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Jordan Knight, etc..on these shows...only goes to show just how cheesy they really are.  Another example is putting "has-beens" on TV commercials. I cringe everytime that insurance commercial featuring Tony Little comes on tv....his fame was over before it even began..LOL! ::)


Yeah. Ya know, I've noticed the more "cheesy" stars also fade away quicker. The cooler or even more iconic/definable they are to a certain era, the more that era "dates" them actually. When pop culture moves on, they can't really move with it. Vanilla Ice is a perfect example.

If he hadn't been so silly when he came out (I didn't even like him when I was 9, let alone now, hehe) he might still have a shot.

The best thing for them to do is more low-key/behind the scenes stuff. They might have a shot at being taken semi-seriously there. Not on the Surreal Life! In 2015 people will be laughing at that just as much as right now for what they originally gained fame for. ;D

Reality TV on cable, like VH1's "The Surreal Life", has really become the new equivalent of game shows for the dumping of past-their-prime celebrities. Expect us to see Clay Aiken, William Hung, T-Pain, and the Pussycat Dolls on there in the 2010s if the whole reality genre isn't deemed too "bad cheesy" by the early 2010s to be profitable anymore.

The more "cheesy" stars do fade away quicker. The few stars who've survived intact from the '90s are Mariah Carey, Thom Yorke, Beck, Kurt Cobain (though dead), and Beyonce Knowles, none of whom are that cheesy. I don't think that many people will survive the '00s because the whole thing is just so permeated by cheese it'll make you lactose intolerant at sight.

Not all "hasbeens" are cheesy...


Deborah Gibson and Lisa Loeb (though not a fan, but she's OK) appeared on a reality show, but  are very talented entertainers.

I know Deb was a teen idol, but have you heard any of ther later material ("Think With Your Heart", "Deborah", "MYOB")?


I could defend a certain clock wearing rapper, but he's like the David Lee Roth of rap (though isn't much of an ego maniac)...  ::)

Not all "hasbeens" are cheesy...


Very true. There's alot of '80s and '90s celebs (movie stars, musicians, TV personalities) I like who have faded away prematurely (IMO). I guess I was more thinking of the over the top/silly ones, like Vanilla Ice (though he's okay. Cheesy but not necesarilly "bad"). ;)

Very true. There's alot of '80s and '90s celebs (movie stars, musicians, TV personalities) I like who have faded away prematurely (IMO). I guess I was more thinking of the over the top/silly ones, like Vanilla Ice (though he's okay. Cheesy but not necesarilly "bad"). ;)


Yeah...Cyndi Lauper and Belinda Carlisle and Liz Phair are good examples of people who've faded prematurely from the spotlight, but with dignity.

^Yeah. People will always know who Cyndi Lauper is, even if she's "so 1984" in a sense.

Would you think Liz Phair is more famous now or in the '90s? I know she was more of an underground/"indie rock chick" in the '90s, but she did have a couple mainstream hits around 2003.

I like seeing Keshia Knight-Pulliam... I've seen her on Fear Factor and she recently hosted a show about child stars... she seems like a really good candidate for a comeback, but I don't think she's interested. :-\\

The 1970's was the decade of cheese.

Elvis, towards the end of his life was cheesy.
Disco was cheesy.
Many of the cars--particularly the late-70's Thunderbird, Chrysler Cordoba, Chevy Monte Carlo, with their vinyl roofs, "opera windows," and upright Rolls Royce grilles, were cheesy.
Polyester suits were cheesy.
Bell bottoms were cheesy.
White people with afros were cheesy.
8-tracks were cheesy.
Hell, Jimmy Carter was a little cheesy.

Liz Phair has minor mainstream popularity but no real fanbase right now, IMO. She was immensely popular for her first album, Exile in Guyville, with every disenchanted Gen X indie chick. It'll probably be seen in decades to come as one of the decade's and indie rock's all time masterpieces, before indie rock ran out of steam for the most part in the late '90s and became too frilly and froo-froo. She never equalled that...that's the problem with amazing debuts. She "sold out" in the '00s like Tori Amos and other female singer-songwriters, for whom there's really no market right now in the mediocre, teen boy dominated indie scene of the '00s.

More cheese??? :P

David Hasselhoff and his singing
Reality TV shows
Exposed chest hair and wearing too many gold medalions at the same time.
Platform shoes
Parachute pants
Baywatch
Infomericals
Mac and Me
The creepy new Burger King ads
Gold teeth/grills
Bell bottom pants
polyester suits

I was trying to explain to my mum what the whole concept of 'cheesiness' (amazing she doesn't quite get) it, and then realised I couldn't really define the world myself. I would say something that's not only extremely cliched, but also looks ridiculous while taking itself seriously. Baywatch, many reality TV shows.etc are good examples. I also find shows like 'Cheers', 'Married with Children' extremely cheesy. As well as many movies, music, etc. from the 80s. Meatloaf, Micheal Jackson, early Kylie Minogue...even KISS, Queen and even Led Zeppelin is a bit 'cheesy'.