Can someone define the term "Easter eggs" for me as it is used in films and literature?

It’s means a bunch of different things. Generally, it’s a small detail or hidden feature that imparts special meaning. Stress on the not in plain sight/hidden or for a select few who will “get it.” Sometimes it links to other media or it’s a homage to something else. It is intended to be a reference for a minority as an inside joke, tribute or deeper lore in a story. It could be a small reward in a video game for going places most players will gloss over. A couple of examples: The walking dead and breaking bad are in the same “universe.” Blue meth was depicted in the walking dead. Alien and predator films are in the same “universe” a Xenomorph skull was a predator’s trophy in the second film.

In the original M.S. Excel you could do a couple of specific keystrokes and it would take you to the “hall of tortured souls” where the developers left a small 3d game showcasing who worked on the Excel program. There are many many more examples

I learned about “Easter Eggs” in the late 90s, referring to hidden progams installed on Windows programs.
My son, who was 14 at the time, came in to my work, and said “Mom! Do this!”
He said to pull up Excel. Then he told me to set my cursor in a specific cell. G2 or something. Then he instructed me to do a series of key strokes…and BAM! I was in a video game, much like Mario! You had to run and jump and grab things And there were different levels. It was wild.
He said he heard the Microsoft programmers installeded stuff like this in different programs, for no reason, just for fun!
Buuut…it kind of made me paranoid too!
So, it’s basically “things that are hidden.”

I’d never heard the term to be honest but this is what ChatGPT 4 says…...

“Easter eggs” in film and literature refer to hidden messages, jokes, references, or details that creators include intentionally as a treat for fans to discover. These are often subtle and not immediately obvious, rewarding attentive viewers or readers with an added layer of enjoyment. They can take many forms, including:

In Film:

References to Other Works: A nod to another film, book, or cultural element, such as the inclusion of the Pizza Planet truck in most Pixar movies.
Cameos: Brief appearances by directors, writers, or celebrities. Alfred Hitchcock, for example, made cameos in most of his movies.
Foreshadowing: Details that hint at future events, like subtle clues in The Sixth Sense revealing the twist.
Hidden Messages: Visual details, like a prop or background element with a deeper meaning, such as the “A113” code in Disney/Pixar films (a reference to a classroom used by animators at CalArts).

In Literature:

Anagrams or Wordplay: Authors might hide names or concepts within scrambled letters. For example, J.K. Rowling uses anagrams in the Harry Potter series.
Intertextual References: Allusions to other literary works, like T.S. Eliot referencing classical texts in The Waste Land.
Hidden Authorial Signatures: Authors might leave subtle clues about themselves or their intentions within the text, such as Melville’s use of his own experiences in Moby-Dick.

Purpose of Easter Eggs:

To reward dedicated fans
.To build a connection between the creator and audience.
To enrich the work with layers of meaning and depth.
To create buzz and discussion among fans.

Whoa on the ChatGPT there.

I would disagree with ChatGPT’s ideas in several points there, specifically, I would not call these Easter eggs:

* Foreshadowing is not an Easter egg. It’s foreshadowing.
* Anagrams and wordplay no.
* References to other works, probably mostly not.
* Signatures maybe, but NOT “use of [an author’s] own experiences”! That’s just writing what you know, unless you’re intentionally inserting autobiographical details for no other reason than to do that, which would be silly, and definitely not something I’d accuse Melville of.

ChatGPT’s “purpose” section is also typical of the crap level of LLM AI output.

In video games, a very early example is the signature room in Atari 2600 Adventure. Atari did not give credits to game creators back then, but the author snuck one into the game, back when games had very little data to spare. It was severely hidden, such that it was very unlikely anyone would find it without trying. He added an invisible minimal object hidden in a wall in a dark maze, and IF you picked that up and placed it exactly on a wall in another place, and then brought a large number of other items to that place, that wall would become passable if you pushed on it enough, leading to a secret room with words acknowledging the game’s creator.

https://www.google.com/search?q=volcano+easter+egg.%2Bmicrosoft&sca_esv=41c502c349914825&hl=en&sxsrf=ADLYWILjic27P3TwLNsfvW6WRScPrb-MFA%3A1736272776388&ei=iGt9Z_2hF_Gu5NoPzd-Y8QE&ved=0ahUKEwj9hceQmOSKAxVxF1kFHc0vJh4Q4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=volcano+easter+egg.%2Bmicrosoft&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiHnZvbGNhbm8gZWFzdGVyIGVnZy4gK21pY3Jvc29mdEjzQFCNCViSOnABeAGQAQCYAXSgAe4FqgEEMTEuMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCBKACrQLCAgoQABiwAxjWBBhHwgIGEAAYFhgewgILEAAYgAQYhgMYigWYAwCIBgGQBgiSBwMzLjGgB_IX&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:f008859a,vid:IN_QeoHn5yw,st:0

Basically think of them like inside jokes for fans.

@Caravanfan That’s what I’ve been surmising.

I had one of the early Power Macs in the late 90’s. It had some rudimentary speech-to-text functionality. You could ask it things and then it would display the text of what it thought you were asking and then respond. One time it misinterpreted my question (I don’t recall the original query) as “are there any easter eggs?” but it responded with “If there were any, do you think I’d tell you?”

At the time I didn’t understand what an easter egg was, but in hindsight, it’s such a genius little nugget some programmer put in there at Apple.

Another fun one is to ask Siri to divide something by zero. She’s got several hilarious responses.

Caravanfan is right.

Also, sometimes that inside joke/easter egg can be a form of fan service- something added just to make the fans happy, and something only they would “get” kind of deal.

Developers, Manufactures, film makers, etc put little hidden things in what they make.

It’s like a cute little surprise once you find it.

HA! Do I feel dumb! I thought it was brightly colored eggs you hide for children on Easter. Learn something new every day!

Pretty much inside jokes or maybe tributes for those in the know. The Hula program “Only Murders in the Building” uses them frequently, both in the pre/post show credits and in scenes. The season Meryl Streep was featured used lots of them. I’m not great at spotting them so frequently wait for the now predictable list from fans and go back to check them out. Paul Rudd was on, too, and lots for him, too. Actually, both were in two seasons now that I think of it, though seemed to be more in, hmm, season three, I believe it was. Fun to try to spot them as they tended to be clever.

Hulu, not hula program. Grin