As I struggle with posting a blog entry that is about writing or is actually good, I submit this, yet another token of my love of Canadian public-service announcements, an admiration that has no limit.
The following, which I recently discovered, has quickly become one of my favorites. It looks like an outtake from SCTV (another great Canadian product). I urge you to watch it before reading on:
You say it’s not funny? You say that I’m a sick puppy for laughing? So I am.
Why do they do this? It’s not that this poor construction worker is blown up real good (SCTV! again!), they have to show him falling off the building and hitting a truck. You would think just getting blown up and thrown off a building would be bad enough. The message is clear: make sure you’re safe on a construction site.
But nooooooooo. They had to take it one step further. What is wrong with you people? Do you realize you are turning a serious annoucement into a point of public ridicule, obscuring the VERY SERIOUS message? Because of this, people probably have died because they forgot about safety.
Please, please someone from the Great White North explain why Canadian PSAs are so unintentionally funny. It’s a blot on Canadian culture. I mean, we’re not talking Stephen Leacock, Robertson Davies, the Group of Seven, or Martin Short here. How can I take CanLit seriously when your country is producing these PSAs?
Wife, a born and bred Canuck, has no clue, perhaps because she grew up unbiased with such earnestness. Or maybe because she’s sick of me asking.
Have a super-duper weekend.
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I was so busy laughing I forgot what was supposed to be the message
Have you seen the one where the girl gets boiling hot water all over her face after she slips on some oil? The same people did that commercial. It shocked the heck out of me the first time I saw it. It’s on youtube too.
In the dark days before cable television SCTV was my late night
television addiction. I had forgotten the “blown up real good”
schtick. And I agree with you – the falling off the building onto
a truck – totally overkill. No pun intended.
I found your blog through Neilochka – I am enjoying your writing.
I laughed much more than I care to admit to, considering the “message” being relayed. Who knew of this Canadian PSA phenomenon? Too funny! What is better is that I didn’t really catch the flying body the first time and when I watched it again, laughing out loud and five times harder than the first time around.
My last roommate was Canadian, well I’m quite sure he still is, but you know what I mean… I was always intrigued with his country’s intense hatred for Americans. I never really understood it. Best I can figure, they’re just jealous.
Excuse me while I go hunt the internet for more Canadian PSA’s…
I don’t know the answer to your question but you gotta check out the South Park episode where Canada goes on strike (a satire of the recent WGA strike).
Brilliant.
An ex of mine was a Canadian with an American green card who, ironically, believed Americans should not work in Canada. Is it possible they simply don’t know they are being funny?
bakannal : exactly! it’s kind of hard to take this too seriously when you’re laughing so hard.
courtney: yes, courtney i’ve seen the one of the woman (”i’m supposed to be married tomorrow”) who gets burned. that’s really disturbing. i’ve also seen the one of the guy with a spear through his chest and the woman who falls off a ladder. what is with you people?
judy: thank you for stopping by and commenting. funny, i’ve actually been to your blog as well, but didn’t have a chance to comment. i was at work, you know…
i’m so glad someone else got the big jim mcbob/billy sol hurok “they blew up real good!” comment.
thanks for the nice comment.
melissa: i’ve got a whole stash of canadian psas, if you’re interested. it will cost you, though.
not all canadians hate the united states — they pretty much all hate george bush, as do i. the gist of their hatred is the whole “cultural imperialism” thing. being married to a canuck, they feel a bit under-appreciated; they hate seeing u.s. tv and hearing american music and seeing american movies 24/7.
but if you ever saw what passes for television in canada, you’d think they would appreciate american tv.
leigh: i saw that episode of “south park” as well. the satire was quite brilliant (”this is the wga — the world canadian association!”).
plenty of canadians have a sense of humor. after all, they gave us robertson davies, john candy, martin short, catherine o’hara, etc. this is the country that gave us “kids in the hall,” sctv, and “trailer park boys,” so they obviously know what they’re doing in the humor department.
it’s just those folks who are doing public service announcements are humorless, upright citizens. if you’ve been to canada enough, you’d know what i’m talking about.
Bookfraud – Husband No. 1 was a Canadian citizen living in the USA as resident alien with his parents (his father was a metallurgist in the then thriving steel industry)when he was drafted into the army. He went into the Army (and of course during those years – to Viet Nam) instead of moving back to Canada.
Strange, yes?
I live on the Canadian border, and I find that Canadians in general really are that earnest, and that the humor you get tends to be either nyuck-nyuck with elbow jabs or very dry and droll. So I am not certain that these messages weren’t unintentionally funny.
I also find it interesting that everyone felt the need to clarify the legal immigration status of their Canadian relations. A sign of our times!
Hilarious.
Book, you need to watch Air Farce.
Bookfraud, I totally dig your blog – found it thru Ward Six. You’ve got some spot-on posts about writing, plus you list one of the greatest novels of all time among your Top 12 – Toole’s “Dunces.”
I’ve only been to Canada a couple of times – it’s way too cold for a SoCal girl.
judy: you mean he could have gone to canada legally to avoid the war, and didn’t? strange indeed.
can i model a character after him? if you haven’t already.
writtenwyrrd: some of these psas might have been intentionally funny, but there’s just so damn many of them that are gut-busting funny — and some that are not, that are downright disturbing — that i really think they didn’t mean for us to laugh at the poor guy (a father! working overtime for a nice vacation for his family!).
after w. was re-elected, i memorized the lyrics to “o canada,” looked into the job market in toronto, and asked wife repeatedly what i would have to do in order to move there.
collin: not much else needs to be said.
bernita: i just googled the royal canadian air farce web site. looks like a total hoot. thanks for the heads up.
leigh: thank you for the kind words. i really appreciate it.
canada is great in the summer, awful in the winter, and somewhere in between in spring and fall. but don’t worry about it being too cold there — after a few more years of global warming, montreal in the winter will seem like the subtropics.
Move to Canada? You can bet I’ve thought of it too.
I feel incredibly stupid. I don’t get the message or the joke. I assume the whole thing was a put on in extremly bad taste, offensive to those who really suffered. i’m afflicted with sadness rather than laughter. We all cope with anxiety in our our own way.
It’s like that PSA where the chick gets her eyes burned out by scalding hot oil.
I mean, JESUS. After showing me that, I’m afraid to do EVERYTHING.
I love Canadians!
I grew up not far from the Peace Bridge and every night at around 1 or 2 am the teevee would blink off and first play the American national anthem and then the Canadian. So now whenever I hear “O, Canada” I think I’m 16 and babysitting my neighbors’ kids and falling asleep on their naugahyde sofa…
Thanks for the memories!
writtenwyrrd: we’ve done more than think about it. junior is a canadian citizen. i love toronto. i hate geo. bush. what more reason does one need?
oh, yeah, bush will be gone in eight months.
gloria: i’m sorry that this made you sad; i think it’s a case of trying to be so vivid that it subverts itself. funny or offensive, be that as it may.
j.: actually, the one with the woman and the scalding hot oil is another ad in the same series. somebody’s been smoking some b.c. bud.
it is kind of wack. i scalded my arm with hot oil a few years back, but does that keep me out of the kitchen? no! though it should.
rellis: i love canadians, too! in fact, i married one.
glad i could jump start some good memories. after all, that’s what i’m here for.
It is funny hat what makes it so sad
That is freakin’ hilarious. You had me laughing quite hard over here. What are they thinking? Oooh people would be up in arms if they showed that commercial on American TV.
I’m don’t think it was intended to be funny.
I laughed all the way to the “replay” button nonetheless.
rawdawgbuffalo: i never noticed the hardhat until you mentioned it. at least he’s wearing one! but tis sad indeed.
writerkat: glad to hear you liked it. no, it could never happen on american tv. but this is just the best of the lot. there are some truly disturbing canadian psas on youtube — all you have to do is look.
kofi: part of the reason it’s so funny is because it wasn’t intended to be funny. glad you liked it enough to watch multiple times.
I am glad to see others get the same kick I do out of some of these PSAs. Keep up the great work on your blog here!!
Knowledge Is Power!
Ah yes, those bizarre accident ads. I either want to laugh my ass off or cringe in agony when I see them. I’m not sure I can explain why we create that stuff. Can you explain Paris Hilton?
And yes! Come to Toronto! It’s fun! It’s clean! Right now our Toronto Transit is on strike! Woo-hoo!