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This really nails the psychological atmosphere of my late 70s-early 80s British childhood. I remember being terrified of rabies thanks to films and posters like

This really nails the psychological atmosphere of my late 70s-early 80s British childhood. I remember being terrified of rabies thanks to films and posters like the one in the article, and believing that I would one day have to fight the Soviets in some foggy, anthrax infested field. All before I was ten years old! This diminished as the 80s went on, along with that sense of Orwellian paternalism that seemed to suffuse British life (see films like Scum, If..., The Offence) - Perhaps it was the shadow side of the "cradle-to-grave" era which ended with Thatcher - a welfare state administered by former aristocratic imperialists. I don't know. I was too young to have a handle on it, and like the creator of Scarfolk, the time has a kind of mythological existence for me. The article mentions how the creator of Scarfolk was inspired by public information films. These were a source of pure terror to any kid who grew up in 70s-80s Britain. Imagine you are watching something fun on childrens TV, then, out of nowhere a short horror film appears - only, as the authoritarian narrator reveals - this isn't fiction - this is real. You couldn't watch tv without the fear of some horrible thing being shown at random. There were certain times of day when they were more likely and you could feel the dread mounting as they approached. Here's an example of the wholesome and educational material 80s kids were subjected to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWfOLN9Z1yw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWfOLN9Z1yw This scared the crap out of me as a child. If you're at all interested in horror or propaganda then I highly recommend them! There are a bunch of them on youtube.

anexprogrammer 11y ago
Not forgetting this was a time where children's TV was happy to scare the crap out of the young uns. Children of the Stones stands out as memorable. Or is that for scarring a generation? :) Scarfolk gets the mood, typography and graphics perfectly. I discovered it ages ago, forget it and get reminded every couple of years and catch up.
lordelph 11y ago
If you grew up anywhere rural in the late 70s/early 80s there is one public information film you never forget: Apaches https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0GyRz_lOQA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0GyRz_lOQA Over the course about 20 mins 6 kids playing on a farm are dispatched by falling into slurry pits, drinking chemicals and getting run over by tractors.
- VLM 11y ago
  We had something similar to that in America at weird times of day or night with televangelist evangelical christian dramatizations. I remember one particular episode, I'm sleepless with a fever from a cold and mindlessly changing channels and there's some kids playing around farm equipment that would give OSHA a fit (but this was a long time ago, back when OSHA was new...) and naturally one of the kids VERY dramatically loses a leg, and then it cuts to the evangelical preaching part of the sermon along the lines of god loves you so be chill when bad things happen, based on a true story! However effective at converting adults, I will say it was almost subversively ineffective at converting me as a little kid... all I got out of it personally was don't play around farms, and the preacher's god is a complete jerk to rip the legs off a little kid.
- jacobush 11y ago
  That is hilarious!
Wintamute 11y ago
I'm an 80s child, but these films were still happening then. Have a look at this one for AIDs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMnb536WuC0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMnb536WuC0 I could only have been about 6 or 7, and watched this between some cartoons. Scared the hell out of me. I didn't know how to "protect myself" from this menace so decided I'd just go and hide in the cupboard.
- SyneRyder 11y ago
  Here's the Australian equivalent ad about AIDS from 1987. Terrified me as a little kid and gave me nightmares: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U219eUIZ7Qo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U219eUIZ7Qo
scrumper 11y ago
Me too, it really resonated in a very unpleasant way. I have a fear, a phobia maybe, of high tension electric cables and transmission towers. A healthy fear perhaps but I have nightmares periodically, I can't lean out the bathroom window of my house because the cable to the house is at eye level (well out of reach of course), the sound of them buzzing in humid air brings me out in a sweat. I never knew where it came from, but seeing this today I suddenly remembered being shown in school at around age 6 one of those horrid films, this one about a little boy who climbs a tower to get his kite and ends up roasted.

anexprogrammer 11y ago

Not forgetting this was a time where children's TV was happy to scare the crap out of the young uns. Children of the Stones stands out as memorable. Or is that for scarring a generation? :) Scarfolk gets the mood, typography and graphics perfectly. I discovered it ages ago, forget it and get reminded every couple of years and catch up.

lordelph 11y ago

If you grew up anywhere rural in the late 70s/early 80s there is one public information film you never forget: Apaches https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0GyRz_lOQA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0GyRz_lOQA Over the course about 20 mins 6 kids playing on a farm are dispatched by falling into slurry pits, drinking chemicals and getting run over by tractors.

VLM 11y ago
We had something similar to that in America at weird times of day or night with televangelist evangelical christian dramatizations. I remember one particular episode, I'm sleepless with a fever from a cold and mindlessly changing channels and there's some kids playing around farm equipment that would give OSHA a fit (but this was a long time ago, back when OSHA was new...) and naturally one of the kids VERY dramatically loses a leg, and then it cuts to the evangelical preaching part of the sermon along the lines of god loves you so be chill when bad things happen, based on a true story! However effective at converting adults, I will say it was almost subversively ineffective at converting me as a little kid... all I got out of it personally was don't play around farms, and the preacher's god is a complete jerk to rip the legs off a little kid.
jacobush 11y ago
That is hilarious!

Wintamute 11y ago

I'm an 80s child, but these films were still happening then. Have a look at this one for AIDs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMnb536WuC0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMnb536WuC0 I could only have been about 6 or 7, and watched this between some cartoons. Scared the hell out of me. I didn't know how to "protect myself" from this menace so decided I'd just go and hide in the cupboard.

SyneRyder 11y ago
Here's the Australian equivalent ad about AIDS from 1987. Terrified me as a little kid and gave me nightmares: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U219eUIZ7Qo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U219eUIZ7Qo

scrumper 11y ago

Me too, it really resonated in a very unpleasant way. I have a fear, a phobia maybe, of high tension electric cables and transmission towers. A healthy fear perhaps but I have nightmares periodically, I can't lean out the bathroom window of my house because the cable to the house is at eye level (well out of reach of course), the sound of them buzzing in humid air brings me out in a sweat. I never knew where it came from, but seeing this today I suddenly remembered being shown in school at around age 6 one of those horrid films, this one about a little boy who climbs a tower to get his kite and ends up roasted.