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CI- An investigation in the use of Public Information Films (will be narrowed down)

In 1946, The Central Office (COI) had emerged from the ‘Old Ministry of Information’ and has since been serving the government. They produce and distribute influential public information films (PIF) and campaigns to inform audiences of issues that affect their daily lives. The COI's work includes dealing with the issues of post-war Britain right up to the innovative and powerful films of today. They commonly vary between welfare and safety messages that include abuse, education, citizen rights and environmental issues and use techniques of humour, shock, animation and celebrities of the day to engage their audiences. Many of these films were aimed at children and young adults and were first shown in cinemas. They are now distributed to over 120 Terrestrial and Digital stations and also the emerging Outdoor Media Sector (such as screens in shopping malls and GP surgeries.) I will touch upon the comparisons and trends of PFI’s across the years and explore how influential and successful they really are.

All public information films are well suited for the time of when they are shown, some films are based on issues that are very current and contemporary of that time. For example in 2008 a series of films were launched warning young adults about the consequences of binge-drinking, these are still shown today. In addition during 2008 alcohol-related deaths in the United Kingdom not only increased by over 300 from the previous year, but have also almost doubled per 100,000 since 1992. A report also shows how 44% of 18 to 24-year-olds are regular binge drinkers and The Institute of Alcohol Studies adds how young people in the UK are the third worst binge drinkers in the EU. These facts and figures show a worrying concern and increase and PIF’s such as this influential advert addresses the concerns. The series consists of two adverts, one for a ‘Girls Night Out’ and the other for a ‘Boys Night Out’, the images show how a night of binge-drinking can end by the characters preparing to go out by ironically behaving and looking the way they would coming in from a horrendously drunken night. The slogan reads ‘You wouldn't start a night like this, so why end it that way?’ The girls night out starts off with the main character in her house getting ready for her night out, the conventional close-ups of a girl getting dressed is shocking by her deliberate actions to damage and rip these pretty and normally admirable clothing . She then continues to smear her own vomit and make-up over her face, common for a PIF the shocking images don’t end there as she pulls her ‘wet accident’ stained skirt on. This particular part of the narrative is very informative towards the audience in suggesting its link to alcohol-abuse as vomiting and wetting oneself is common to the majority of explicitly intoxicated people. Many of these shots are close-ups/mid-shots to demonstrate how she is using her own hands to do these absurd things. This signifies her responsibility to what is happening, hence her responsibility to what will happen when you binge drink. We also see many shots of her awkwardly smiling throughout her more appropriately frowning behaviour, this could also connote how she isn’t in full control of herself which is what happens when too much alcohol is consumed. She then leaves her house in this awful state. Throughout the ad the character is being complimented by the non-diegetic music/song by Paloma Faith (who had also recently emerged for her singer/songwriter skills at that time). The music tends to narrate her actions for example when she sings “jump down off the step” the young lady is stepping down towards the bathroom or “twinkle in her eyes” - when she is smearing her eye-make up and “watching your silhouette” - whilst she is changing. The use of this particular song is deliberate as many people may have heard of this current artist and immediately engage with it, also the slow and awkward music as well as the lyrics go perfectly in synchronising with the ad.

In comparison, the female take shows her doing stereotypically girly roles by getting dressed and looking pretty and this is reinforced by the use of props – makeup, heels, clothing and mirrors. On the other hand, in the ‘Boys night out’ we see much more physical and aggressive activity for example he kicks the stereo, rips out his earring and smashes his face on the cupboard, all this shocking and rough behaviour fit well with this ‘masculine’ image. Although in contemporary society gender roles have become more diluted they are still commonly used to recognise the different sexes and are generally accepted as the norm for the public. Most reactions from the YouTube comments are dismissals and mockery, for example a user named ‘hamcheeks’ added that all he learnt from this ad was that you shouldn’t bother “getting dressed up if you're gonna get wankered anyway.” Comments like these question the success of these films, are the target audience actually being passive to the hegemony or just feeling patronized?

In contrast to the contemporary PIF, the trend of using current issues is also demonstrated in this next film. During 1945 and 1951 after WW2 the new Labour government introduced a programme of reform and reconstruction so one of the problems they addressed was the importance of Education. Halas and Batchelor directed an animated PIF during this time in 1949 called ‘Charley Junior’s School Days,’ which follows the narrative of a nursemaid telling a boy (Charley Junior) about his future school days. In this she explains the new Education Acts introduced of the increase in schools and training and the offer of further education by explaining to Charley how he will be in school for longer than his father. The first perception she is giving of primary school is very positive, as many fun props like toys and sand are shown, also the camera follows a chalk drawing a smile on a picture which connotes his happiness and joy that comes within the environment of schooling. This sends off a positive influence to the audience about education. The main audience would be children as the whole concept is based on their new future they will experience and it also includes a child as the main character. Similarly, the non-diegetic music as well as the animation used is much more appealing for children as colour is available in animation which wasn’t common for audio-visuals in that time. Furthermore she then explains the further education regimes of three separate options for school, two of which are segregated by gender and the final grammar school option. Gender roles are explicitly shown in the first two schools as the female characters in their institution are shown working with clothes, cooking, drawing and playing music which puts the film in its historical context as in that age this was very common. Also in comparison the other school for boys, curriculum included manual labour and writing. We are also reinforced upon these gender roles as all the characters professions in the film like nurses and teachers are played by females in comparison to the male doctors and lawyers. These representations are much more concentrated and incredulous to look at compared to the previous more contemporary film on binge drinking, as even though the stereotypical roles are somewhat existent and touched upon, gender ruled professions and segregation have nearly been evidently demolished. This is seen through many audio-visuals like ‘The F Word’ which is a cookery show presented by the well known chef Gordon Ramsay, other shows include the BAFTA winning ‘The Apprentice’ where females are not only competing against men for a £100,000 salary job but some have also won the entire show. This represents the emergence of equality within professions, disregarding their gender.

PIF’s were much more discussed and prominent in its peak time of the 1970's, is this because they are just not as successful anymore or have the viewing public simply become desensitized over time.