A Curious 1963 Bicycle Safety PSA: One Got Fat

One Got Fat is a short bicycle safety film from 1963. I love these old movies because it lets me show my children the movies I saw as a child, sort of a documentary of my own youth.

The movie emphasizes the modern "Vehicular Cyclist" paradigm expressed by John Forester: "Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles."

There's a few quirks in the movie and IMHO it's worth watching. It may surprise you.



The Public Service Announcements (PSA) of the time period were generally innocuous - wash your hands, be polite, stop-drop-roll, etc. The quirkiness of this 49-year-old short movie, and its position in the public domain, has led to its recent use in several music videos.

The film is sampled in "Everything You Do is a Balloon" by Boards of Canada, "Bloody Palms" by Phantogram, "20 Inches of Monkey" by Lamps, "Fool's Life" by Dr. Dog, "St Peter" by The Black Spiders, and "January" by Venetian Snares, and "Oh Me, Oh My" by Nerf Herder.

Like a lot of children's stories it may reveal more than originally intended.

• Today the fat kid is a loser; in this movie, the kid who got fat was the winner.
  
• Using injury as a motivator would be considered stigmatizing and unacceptable today.
  
• And then there's the racism thing...

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The plot relies on the Ten Little Indians theme from Agatha Cristy's 1939 novel and subsequent 1945 movie, And Then There Were None.

Let's review the provenance of this storyline. In 1864 Septimus Winner wrote a song called Ten Little Indians.

In 1868 the song was adapted and renamed (possibly by Frank J. Green) as "Ten Little Niggers" and became standard fare in blackface minstrel shows. It was a very popular, well known song.

Agatha Christie used the story in her novel of the same title, "Ten Little Niggers", about a series of killings on remote Nigger Island. This novel is the most successful (in terms of sales) mystery novel of all time.

Agatha Christie's novel was published as "Ten Little Niggers" in England and Europe. For the American market it was edited and renamed And Then There Were None. The brilliance of American marketing was to change the named "other" to Indians, (swapping out one exploited and deprecated group for another) and to make two of the victims into "good guys" that the audience could root for. One might claim that Indians held the same role in American history that the original title reflected in British perspective.

British versions of the book continued to use Agatha Christie's original title up until 1985. A 1987 Russian version used the title Десять негритят, or "Ten Little Negroes". Try to imagine a book and a movie called "Ten Little Italians", or "Ten Little Israelis".

Remarkably, the Ten Little Anythings storyline derives from a blackface vaudeville song dating from the Civil War. It's a racial song from the days of slavery. How can this possibly be the plot device used for a publicly funded, 1963 bicycle safety movie?

But wait, there's more.

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Just like the American version of the book abandoned Agatha Christie's original title and used "Indians" as the "other", this 1963 bicycle safety movie abandoned the American Indian motif and instead uses monkeys for a metaphor.

All the stupid kids who can't follow the sensible rules are monkeys. The one kid who played the game by the rules turns out to not be a monkey at all; he's a white kid just like everybody else. Holy Happy Ending, Batman.

Monkeys have a special place in "our" coded narratives. Consider King Kong: black, taken from Africa against his will, shackled and chained, owned as an asset and seen as the key to fortune, entranced by a white woman and eventually shot down by the Army and the police. Can anybody deny that some aspect of King Kong's monkey is a racial metaphor? Does anybody believe that the whole "save the white woman from the black beast" narrative is just about explorers and show business?

"One Got Fat" was released in 1963. Something else that came out in 1963 was Pierre Boulle's book La Planète des singes. In 1968 the derivative movie, Planet of the Apes made its debut.

The Planet of the Apes book and movie series used astronauts and monkeys as a metaphor for racism, privilege, bigotry, and justifiable rebellion. During test screenings, reviewers noted out that black audiences drowned out much of the dialogue by cheering "Right on!".

Introducing the monkeys brought Agatha Christie's original title full circle.

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That's a lot of stuff to find in one video. It really is a documentary of my youth.

If nothing else, it's interesting how modern music videos are connected to an 1864 slavery ditty. Fortunately, we've all moved beyond that now. Right?

Support Your Local Bike Shop: 7 Bicycle Christmas Gifts

I'd like to present WWVB's First Annual Christmas Gift List for Bicyclists. I urge you to eschew the web, shun the big-box retailers, and Support Your Local Bike Shop.

Supporting your Local Bike Shop (aka LBS) is in the Spirit of Christmas, and if your cyclist decides to return/exchange your gift it'll give them a reason to visit their shop. Every bicyclist likes to have a reason to visit their LBS. I certainly enjoy visiting my LBS.

Bike Bell
Bicycles generally don't come with bells anymore, but they are required by law. They're not sexy-cool but they are very practical. They're used to get the attention of a pedestrian or another cyclist, generally to convey the message "Hey I'm over here, don't get me killed n'at". Bells are more civilized than air horns or electric buzzers. A bike bell is a universal signal; people get bells much more than they understand secret insider phrases like "on your left". A basic black bell is always a safe bet.


New Water Bottles
Every bicyclist uses them, even the riders who have CamelBacks. The best water bottles to get are ones depicting the logo of their LBS. It's a tribal thing.

There is an interesting new product that meets the "better mousetrap" criteria: the Clean Bottle. The Clean Bottle opens at both ends, resulting in less nano-nasty in your drinking water.

There is one exception to the LBS Bottle / Clean Bottle prescription for bicyclists that suffer from OCP (Obsessive Compulsive Poseur) Syndrome. You'll be able to recognize OCP Syndrome if the rider's helmet, shoes, clothing, and bike all "match". They'll often choose a Gatorade flavor based on which colour matches the bike. Riders with OCP Syndrome will only use water bottles that also match.

CO2 Tire Inflator
Flat tires are inevitable, what with two tires on every bicycle. Your cyclist probably already has a pump, a tube and/or a patch kit. If you give them a CO2 tire inflator, they will gratefully think of you whenever they get a flat, or even think about getting a flat tire. It's akin to giving a driver a AAA membership.

I suggest that you want a minimalist inflator that works with both Presta and Schrader tire valves. Again, buy it at the Local Bike Shop. Note whether the inflator uses threaded or unthreaded cartridges, and pick up a few spare cartridges to include with the gift.

Bento Bag
The term bento comes to us from Japan, signifying a small lunch box. In bicycling, a bento bag is a small bag that mounts above the top tube that keeps power bars or snacks accessible to the rider. I usually keep a few Fig Newtons and a few Starbucks honey packets in mine.



Pack of Power Bars
This is a gift you can only give effectively if you know the rider's preference. Generally, people like one or two flavors/brands, and the remainder are anathema to them. (You never want to give anathema as a gift) Banana Malt Flavor? Cookies and Cream? Clif Bar? Guessing is not good.


"Effective Cycling" by John Forester
This book discusses the physics of riding, the various causes of accidents, the nature of bicycle gearing, and the science of lighting and night bicycling. If your bicyclist thinks that OEM reflectors are sufficient to keep them safe at night, get them this book.

Forester advocates a philosophy of Vehicular Cycling (VC), which holds that bicycles are vehicles that belong on the road and in traffic. I own several copies, and usually most of them are loaned out. This is a gift you're not likely to find in your Local Bike Shop.

Uncertain? Fancy jersey? New tires? Spring tuneup? If you're not sure what to get your cyclist, but you want to give a gift that shows you grok them, consider the LBS-GC (Local Bike Shop Gift Card). It supports the cyclist, they get to choose what they want most, and - once again - it gives them a reason to visit their LBS, which is always a good thing to do.

If your bicyclist doesn't have a relationship with an LBS (perhaps they bought a bike at Sears.com), then a LBS gift certificate is a great gift and a great way to get them in the door.


Finally, if the bicyclist in your life is named Alberto Contador, you might consider getting them a membership in the Exotic Meat of the Month club. (via bikesnobnyc)


We Cannot Recommend: BICYCLING Magazine
You may be tempted to give a subscription as a gift. Don't do it. Friends don't give friends subscriptions to Bicycling magazine. There are only 14 actual issues of this magazine, and they just present them in a different sequence with updated photos every year.