Fireworks Safety: Parents (found public information film; 1976): Difference between revisions

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(Contrary to the original article, the short did not ask Parents where there child was, nor did it include the voices of either of the aforementioned figures. Will continue working this)
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'''''Fireworks Safety: Parents''''' (or '''''Fireworks Safety - Parents''''') was a British Public Information film made in 1976 that pointed out how easy it is for children and teenagers to get ahold of fireworks in the run-up to Guy Fawkes night. It accomplished this by notably having a graphic and disturbing close-up scene where a young child was severely injured by fireworks, and they were deemed so graphic, that it aired after 9 pm, and was removed after complaints. An edited, less offensive version is said to have aired around 1985-1986 without the controversial scene.<ref>[http://takingthepif.blogspot.com/2007/04/complaints-about-pifs.html A page on Blogger recounting the gruesome scene, as well as the reairings of the program in the 80's] Retrieved 12 Oct '18</ref>
'''''Fireworks Safety: Parents''''' (or '''''Fireworks Safety - Parents''''') was a British Public Information Film (PIF) made in 1976 that highlighted the dangers of parental ignorance. Airing shortly before Guy Fawkes Night, it accomplished this by including a graphic and disturbing close-up scene in which a young child is severely injured by fireworks. The short was largely disliked for its imagery by the general public, and due to this, it began to only air after 9pm, and was eventually removed from airing entirely. An edited, less offensive version is said to have aired around 1985-1986 without the controversial scene.<ref>[http://takingthepif.blogspot.com/2007/04/complaints-about-pifs.html A page on Blogger recounting the gruesome scene, as well as the re-airings of the program in the 80's] Retrieved 12 Oct '18</ref>
 
==Plot==
==Plot==
In the short, a couple walks out of a Safeway returning home from a grocery run. Their son, who is out with his friends, gets involved in an accident involving fireworks going off, leaving visible scars and injuries on his face. An ambulance arrives on the scene, hauling the child into the back of it with a stretcher, his face now bandaged up. While most of his friends stick around to help, one child is seen running away from the incident the mother is then made aware of their son's activities, and calls out his name. A narrator then goes on to state that while it is easy to blame the parents of the other children involved, that their child is nonetheless their responsibility.
In the short, a couple walks out of a Safeway returning home from a grocery run. Their son, who is out with his friends, gets involved in an accident involving fireworks going off, leaving visible scars and injuries on his face. An ambulance arrives on the scene, hauling the child into the back of it with a stretcher, his face now bandaged up. While most of his friends stick around to help, one child is seen running away from the incident the mother is then made aware of their son's activities, and calls out his name. A narrator then goes on to state that while it is easy to blame the parents of the other children involved, that their child is nonetheless their responsibility.


==Availability==
==Availability==
Not being particularly helped by being a short-lived ad aired only after 9pm at a time where VHS may not have been the most common media devices (such as DVDs, compact discs, or internet media) to consumers, the full version (as well as the cut version, more inexplicably) was considered missing from the internet, and it was a notable holy grail for PIF fans. One person (Reginald Molehusband) hoped that Film Images would let him see it for his PIF blog (The Public Needs to Know), but it wasn't meant to be, and it's unknown if British YouTube user Larry Bundy Jr. is planning to dig this up for his ''Films Yanks Can't Wank'' series like he is with the 1990s remake of ''Apaches'', or if it will live up to its scary reputation and/or legendary money shot.
The full version (as well as the cut version, more inexplicably) was considered to be publicly inaccessible, and became a notable holy grail for PIF fans. Reginald Molehusband, owner of the "The Public Needs to Know" blog, hoped that Film Images would let him see it, but it wasn't until August 16th, 2014 when YouTuber AnimatronicPony uploaded a low-quality screencast of the short<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gJQ64uZa-E AnimatroniPony's screencasted version of the short] Retrieved 12 Oct '18</ref>
 
. On November 5th of the same year, the British Film Institute sent the Lost Media Wiki the rare PIF in higher quality, which was then given to YouTube user Applemask for uploading.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-om11ShFCQ The YouTube video of the short, uploaded by Applemask on the aforementioned date with thanks to the LMW] Retrieved 12 Oct '18</ref>
It wasn't until August 14, 2015 when the British Film Institute sent the Lost Media Wiki a rare PIF, which was uploaded to YouTube. In January of the following year, the original link was down, but was fortunately re-uploaded by YouTube user "Applemask."


==Gallery==
==Gallery==

Revision as of 19:34, 12 October 2018

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This article has been tagged as Needing work due to its lack of references.



FW PSA.JPG

Thumbnail of the video.

Status: Found

Date found: 14 Aug '15

Found by: British Film Institute

Fireworks Safety: Parents (or Fireworks Safety - Parents) was a British Public Information Film (PIF) made in 1976 that highlighted the dangers of parental ignorance. Airing shortly before Guy Fawkes Night, it accomplished this by including a graphic and disturbing close-up scene in which a young child is severely injured by fireworks. The short was largely disliked for its imagery by the general public, and due to this, it began to only air after 9pm, and was eventually removed from airing entirely. An edited, less offensive version is said to have aired around 1985-1986 without the controversial scene.[1]

Plot

In the short, a couple walks out of a Safeway returning home from a grocery run. Their son, who is out with his friends, gets involved in an accident involving fireworks going off, leaving visible scars and injuries on his face. An ambulance arrives on the scene, hauling the child into the back of it with a stretcher, his face now bandaged up. While most of his friends stick around to help, one child is seen running away from the incident the mother is then made aware of their son's activities, and calls out his name. A narrator then goes on to state that while it is easy to blame the parents of the other children involved, that their child is nonetheless their responsibility.

Availability

The full version (as well as the cut version, more inexplicably) was considered to be publicly inaccessible, and became a notable holy grail for PIF fans. Reginald Molehusband, owner of the "The Public Needs to Know" blog, hoped that Film Images would let him see it, but it wasn't until August 16th, 2014 when YouTuber AnimatronicPony uploaded a low-quality screencast of the short[2] . On November 5th of the same year, the British Film Institute sent the Lost Media Wiki the rare PIF in higher quality, which was then given to YouTube user Applemask for uploading.[3]

Gallery

Fireworks Safety: Parents (Credit: BFI National Archive / Crown Copyright).

References