Kieran claims that there are no classic Irish public service ads on youtube. So there is one way in which we Brits are culturally ahead of the former colony, what a relief. Green Cross Code man here. Better, though, is a 2-DVD set of the hundreds of British PIFs from the 60’s through the 80’s
Instantaneous Update. 2 minutes of googling gets me to this and this. Rolf Harris’s command to teach them to swim has special poignancy for me. At the age of 4 I spotted a younger kid floating unconsious and face down in a deserted swimming pool and, somehow, had the presence of mind to exit the dreamlike world in my head that I mostly lived in and fetch help very fast indeed. The kid lived. And I’ve always HATED swimming.
{ 9 comments }
dominic 01.26.07 at 6:00 pm
Yeah, James Earl Jones did the voice, thereby ensuring that Darth Vader would be the only senior officer on the Death Star without a British accent.
a very public sociologist 01.26.07 at 6:46 pm
Well spotted Dominic. Thinking about it the only Star Wars baddies to have american accents were the stormtroopers themselves. Is there a some kind of colonial hangover I’m missing somewhere?
And as for public information films, can anyone remember Play It Safe with Jimmy Saville? I had the book and everything.
It made sure I never sat on an open bar electrical fire, threw myself off a big slide, or randomly plunge bits of glass into my stomach.
When I think about it, I probably owe Mr Jingle-Jangle my life :)
Henry (not the famous one) 01.27.07 at 2:09 am
The Opies reported, during the era of Macmillan and Gaitskell, that English children played a game called “Last Across,” which involved dashing across a street in traffic, with the one who was last across (and presumably closest to getting hit) the winner. What more need be said?
Backword Dave 01.27.07 at 11:33 am
Vader isn’t an officer on the Death Star, though I’m not sure quite what he is – he’s some sort of agent of the Emperor, but he’s not part of the command structure. I can’t remember if the few Death Star junior officers we see without helmets have American or British accents. The accents could be part of the suit intercom, of course.
Anyway, the more important fact is that Vader has the only *black* accent in the original.
Also two of the goodies in Star Wars have British accents – Alec Guinness and Anthony Daniels (C3P0).
a very public sociologist 01.28.07 at 10:29 am
Hmmm, interesting.
Obi-Wan dispensing wise advice to young Skywalker.
C3PO generally at the beck and call of his master.
About sums up the UK’s relationship with the US, yes?
belle le triste 01.28.07 at 11:47 am
a very ancient once which no one else seems to have mentioned yet offered the following sage advice:
DON’T OVERCROWD YOUR CAR!
lots and lots and lots of people got into a very small car (and i imagine got out of the other side of it off-camera): sadly i can’t now remember much abt (rather importantly) WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DO OVERCROWD YOUR CAR
EWI 01.30.07 at 6:13 am
So there is one way in which we Brits are culturally ahead of the former colony
Oh, “colony”. Teh funny.
EWI 01.30.07 at 6:14 am
Thinking about it the only Star Wars baddies to have american accents were the stormtroopers themselves. Is there a some kind of colonial hangover I’m missing somewhere?
The Stormtroopers were dubbed by American DJ’s, as I recall.
ajay 01.30.07 at 9:35 am
Which is interesting, as we found out in the second trilogy that they are all, in fact, Kiwis. A quick cutaway to some off-duty stormtroopers playing pickup rugby would have made that film…
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