h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh, you didn't mean that kind of cheese. Well, okay then, I shall answer the questions.

Are people just too self-aware and too busy trying to be cool these days to let loose and embrace the things that style and fashions forgot? And is that necessarily a bad thing?

I think there is a time and place for cheese. Talking about a major catastrophe or the state of the economy is not one of these times and a place of worship for example is not one of thse places. Family gatherings are good sources of cheese though. I think possibly we all are a little to aware of how we appear to others and so try and be cheesy is a post modern ironic "I'm so satirical" kind of a way.

And why were people once so keen to revel in the reviled? Was it a peculiarly British quirk?

If you look at the proliferation of satirical quizzes and what not on TV you will see that we are very happy to point at things and revile them even now. We just do it with sack loads of post modern irony, which of course is super cool. Britain has always been associated with eccentricity though, so one person's quirk could be another person's lunacy and yet another person's cheese.

When did 'cheese' become a catch-all term for all things rubbish or tacky? There is some debate among etymologists, but does anyone know exactly when it all started?

Have no clue whatsoever.

And what do you think counts as the cheesiest thing of all time? Any movies, songs or chat-up lines that stick in your mind and/or throat?

Any novelty single ever released. The film the Gridiron Gang is so stuffed full of saccarine sweet, violin background music moments it postively made me want to hurl. A large brick through the TV screen. And the worst chat up line ever (not that anyone ever used it on me) is "Did the fall from heaven hurt you as you fell to earth?" Bleurgh.

The cheesiest thing of all time? Camembert I think.

I think the cheesiest movie of all time has to be Top Gun - "I feel the need... the need for speed", etc. Watching that movie now and you can't quite believe anyone took it seriously at the time. It's really only a raised eyebrow away from Hot Shots.