Hello! I've written in before with a "Name That Trauma" – allow me to reiterate how much I love this site….
I now have a Traumafession about something that stirs me into panic mode to this day. It serves as the most intense childhood terror of my life (this is coming from someone who was afraid of everything from Muppets to Billy Idol.)
I was lounging in my basement at nine years old, in the dark, watching PETER PAN AND THE PIRATES on FOX. An anti-drug Public Service Announcement came on during a commercial break; I was calm at first, figuring it was another boring, "Say no to crack or you'll end up a dead gangsta" bit. Then the drug dealer in the PSA ducked into the shadows, and I got uneasy. When he finally popped into full view as a WTF half-cobra demon, I exploded into a scream-filled nervous breakdown that will literally haunt me for the rest of my life. I can sit alone at 1am with no lights on and comfortably watch THE EXORCIST, but I cannot watch this in full daylight with people present.
I'm all for vintage, but in some ways the '90s really sucked!
Love you!
—Tara
Oh lord, the 90's are vintage? Talk about trauma! I'm officially old…
Don't worry, Arthur, you're not alone. My niece got confused the other day when I mentioned Sting and the song Every Breath You Take (or as I call it "The Crazy Stalker Song.") And then I mentioned the movie Labyrinth to her friend and said, "Starring David Bowie" and her friend said, "I don't know who that is." This same girl has also never heard of Kevin Bacon.
I have to say that I really liked the FX and makeup in this PSA. If you watch closely you can observe several stages of the dealer's transformation. Pretty neat.
For some reason it's that weird in between stage that I find the creepiest. His mouth just stops moving and you just know something is up and it's going to get worse!
I love the tongue too, it looks like it is animated over top.
I remember this. In fact, this site put up a lesser quality clip of this that I sent them about a year ago. I think I was 24 when it came out & I still found it creepy!
Jami, I totally cry when someone has no idea who David Bowie is…especially last year when I mentioned it to a girl who's about 20 explaining my Halloween costume (Which was Drake Stone from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", who is kind of like a very stupid David Bowie…) and she's never heard of the Thin White Duke. -sob-
But DAMN, I don't know if this played nationally (I'm near Chicago) but I remember some PSAs around that time and I don't recall it…
Oh I remember this PSA. Heck, it was just over on one of the Cheezburger sites recently.
http://pictureisunrelated.memebase.com/2011/02/16/wtf-photos-videos-now-i-want-some-weed/
I wasn't scared of it at all. Maybe it's because I was older already or because of mom forcing me to watch all those horror movies Elvira would show.
@Joanna – It sucks! Okay, granted, not having cable growing up and being into older music like big band and disco, I don't even know everything from my own era – like I never heard of Rick Astley until I looked up what a Rickroll is. But man, my niece makes me feel old. It doesn't help that most of my references, despite being born in 1976, are actually from the 1940s through the 1970s. But everyone should know who David Bowie is! And Kevin Bacon? How can anyone not know Kevin Bacon? The man you can link to any actor in any movie in just 6 steps or less.
The first time I saw that PSA I was stoned ;-)>
It flipped me out for all the * wrong* reasons.
I can't watch that PSA anymore without thinking of JonTron… "WHAT? WHAT THE FUCK?!"