Discussion
C n C said:
giveitfish said:
Chocmonster said:
You might also enjoy this website a friend created which covers things many of us who were kids in that era can relate to:
https://hauntedgeneration.co.uk/2019/04/22/thehaun...
Thanks, that looks intriguing!https://hauntedgeneration.co.uk/2019/04/22/thehaun...
Charley Says
I have always found the aesthetic of the late 1960's - late 1970's appealing and there are some aspects I find creepy and fascinating in equal measure.
Growing up I was just the odd one out, with a fetishisation of relics from this era. But as time went on I discovered I was not alone.
The first sign that I wasn't alone was the discovery that other people loved Brutalist Architecture, I remember watching Damien Hirst on late night BBC2 discussing his love of a medical school: Now available in the 'Building Sights' series on iPlayer.
Or Jonathan Meades' brilliant 'Aboard in Britain' & 'Further Abroad series'.
The Aesthetic of the original BBC adaptations of the John LeCarre novels, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Smiley's People & A Perfect Spy.
This soon spread to videoing Open University films from the 1970's off early hours BBC2.
The seriously unsettling aesthetic of early Diana Rigg era Avengers, watch 'Silent Dust' Series 4 episode 4.
I feel that some kind of dam broke when almost simultaneously Public Service Broadcasting's first album came out about the same time as BBC iPlayer uploaded Ian Nairn's programmes.
I was not alone!
Then I found Scarfolk on the internet and Concretism's Album and it turned out what I was interested in was Hauntology.
My particular flavour of hauntology resides somewhere between the pending nuclear apocalypse of the late 1960's V-Bombers in anti-flash white and the Typeface Jaguar used for technical publications in the early 1980's. And if that sounds too random and disconnected then maybe hauntology isn't for you.
I'd never heard of hauntology before but I think it perfectly captures my memories of the early 70's.
There was a brand of horror /psychological terror that was designed for the childrens market which I don't think we've seen before or since. Children of the stones/The Tomorrow people / Saphire and Steel /Lizzy dripping, plus horror books for children and those public safety ads. I can't think of anything like that for modern children, apart from Dr Who which is for a more adult audience and a throw back to that period anyway!
To answer the above question, I think 'The Prisoner' is definitely in this category; colourful and pleasant at first view, but dystopian and bleak underneath.
There was a brand of horror /psychological terror that was designed for the childrens market which I don't think we've seen before or since. Children of the stones/The Tomorrow people / Saphire and Steel /Lizzy dripping, plus horror books for children and those public safety ads. I can't think of anything like that for modern children, apart from Dr Who which is for a more adult audience and a throw back to that period anyway!
To answer the above question, I think 'The Prisoner' is definitely in this category; colourful and pleasant at first view, but dystopian and bleak underneath.
Prak said:
Salad fingers for me. tangerine_sedge said:
There was a brand of horror /psychological terror that was designed for the childrens market which I don't think we've seen before or since....The Tomorrow people.....
This I used to find properly creepy. Even the theme music and images were creepy. There was one story line where a girl had a bomb planted inside her body and she leapt to her death from a window as it exploded, to save other people.It is a wonder us children of the 70s aren't more damaged.
.
Good thread.
The mention of the old Jaguar typeface was perfect. I know exactly what you mean.
I'd throw in the Green Cross Code man, BMX Bandits, and Escape to Witch Mountain
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072951/
ETA:
This place is right up your street. Veeeery creepy.
https://hackgreen.co.uk/
The mention of the old Jaguar typeface was perfect. I know exactly what you mean.
I'd throw in the Green Cross Code man, BMX Bandits, and Escape to Witch Mountain
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072951/
ETA:
This place is right up your street. Veeeery creepy.
https://hackgreen.co.uk/
Edited by SpeckledJim on Tuesday 18th May 14:08
I remember all media being spookiness heavy in the 70s. Local news programmes routinely had pieces about hauntings, UFOs or aliens. Ditto the mainstream printed media. As a small child it was a bit scary to be honest.
Perhaps it was the media's way of distracting us from bad fashion, hair and music. I remember the 70s and 80s as being a dark and not very happy period. Things only really improved late 80s onwards.
SpeckledJim said:
Municipal libraries, steel climbing frames, and swimming pools.
(this is going to completely dominate my afternoon now. Thanks a bunch.
)
Swimming pools were transitioning then. (this is going to completely dominate my afternoon now. Thanks a bunch.
)I recall starting my childhood not wanting to go into an ornate Victorian pool with changing around the edge, to not wanting to go into a modern 1970s affair made of concrete and plastic. In both, there always seemed to be someone disabled in the showers, seemingly for the express purpose of unsettling children. It's okay I can say that, it happened before being horrible about disabled people was bad.
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