By Tom Dare
A HILARIOUS public education film from the 1960s which attempts to educate children about the dangers of drugs has resurfaced this week.
The film, titled âDrugs are like thatâ and narrated by famous 1950s singer Anita Bryant, sees two young children being taught about the âperilsâ of drugs through relatable everyday situations.
The narrator explains that while things such as riding in a fast car or trying not to tread on the cracks in the pavement are fun, they can quickly turn dangerous, with the film also featuring a catchy song:
âOne you start some things you just canât stop, and drugs are like that too.
âYou pick it up, and itâs hard to drop, and drugs are like that too.
âLike a baby going through a phase, and like a player playing in a daze.
âYeah yeah, you break a rule and you have to pay,
âIt may not hurt but then again it may,
âDrugs are like that too yâknow.â
The video was originally aimed at young children in America, and was produced during the cultural revolution of the 1960s.
The âSwinging Sixtiesâ, as it was often referred to, saw an almost complete upheaval of the traditional family values on which America had been built after the Second World War, with young people experimenting more and more in terms of both culture and substance use.
LSD, marijuana and heroin all became prevalent during this period, with lawmakers and parents alike desperate to do something to stop their children from falling into the pitfalls of drug use.
Anita Bryant, the narrator of the film who became famous in the late 1950s and early 1960s for a string of top 40 hits, was well known in Hollywood for her ultra-conservative views.
In the 1970s she became known as an outspoken opponent of gay rights in the US, and in 1977 ran the “Save Our Children” in an attempt to overturn a Florida law that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Her involvement in the campaign severely damaged her reputation in showbusiness, meaning she faded from the public eye following the campaign.
