James Coxall of Cambridgeshire county in England got sick of seeing the same damn pothole in his street. For over 8 months, drivers on Haverhill Road were getting their automobiles damaged and axles broken from the 3-foot wide and nearly 3-inch deep hole. But with some wood and some clothes, his prank got enough attention that it was fixed within 4 days.
Coxall gathered two wooden planks and stood them straight up in the pothole. Then, he put a pair of jeans and shoes on them. This made it look hilariously (or eerily?) like someone fell headfirst into the hole.The prank not only got some laughs out of the community, but it also warned drivers to steer clear of the pothole.
Should've watched your step.Photo credit: James Coxall
“The kids helped. We drilled in some wood for the legs. We found an old pair of jeans that were going to the charity shop. We put them on. We stuffed it with some rags. And then we screwed a pair of their old shoes on top," Coxall told As It Happens host Nil Köksal on CBC Radio. "We just thought that would be the most amusing way to sort of highlight the pothole. You've got to have a laugh and a joke, haven't you?"
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Potholes in castle camps Cambridgeshire are bad
After posting it on Facebook and getting some laughs, the Cambridge City Council got it filled four days after Coxall put up his handiwork. It was so effective that James is looking out for other potholes that need to be filled for his next art piece. "Maybe I'll do something a bit different. I'll try the Titanic sinking or something into it," he said.
Coxall isn’t the first person to use humor as a means to get attention from the government to enact change. In 1994, sisters Linny Pacillo and Susan Pacillo-Reinhart got so fed up with the Parking Authority and their heavy fines in Anchorage, Alaska that they dressed up as “Parking Fairies” in pixie outfits and would randomly feed parking meters nickels to keep citizens from getting ticketed. Their campaign inspired a 1997 referendum that set up limitations for sworn officers to hand out tickets.
The Parking Fairies adding magic (a.k.a. nickels) into people's parking meters.Photo credit: Anchorage Daily News
In the 2000s, another group rose up, this time from the U.K. Called the "Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army" or CIRCA, CIRCA was a non-violent activist group that would stage protests throughout the United Kingdom dressed up like clowns. These protests would usually be against aggressive military actions throughout the world. This included such protests as Operation H.A.H.A.H.A.A. (Helping Authorities House Arrest Half-witted Authoritarian Androids) which revolved around the 31st G8 Summit in 2005. While their effectiveness is in question, they certainly did draw attention.
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These are just a few examples to show that, sometimes, the best way to get attention towards a problem is to use your creativity to make your point clear, clever, and give everyone a good laugh. Hopefully, the protest or stunt will produce the desired result, but if not, at least everyone will still have a good time.
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TikTok shocked by 15-year-old unhinged viral clip of kids performing Scarface in school play
Think about the most outrageous film that could be adapted to the stage. Now, imagine the cast of that theatrical production is entirely children, ranging in age from 7 to 10. Now, film it and let the world react.
That’s what director Marc Klasfeld had in mind when he held auditions with professional child actors for a shocking video, meant to look like an elementary school production of the cult film-favorite Scarface. In a now 15-year-old interview with Entertainment Weekly, when asked why he thought this was a good idea, Klasfeld admits, "I thought this would be a nice fit into the kind of YouTube arena of viral videos. And I was right."
The result? Kids yelling “mother-fudger,” piles of popcorn meant to look like cocaine, and outrageous, lengthy scenes of children pointing Super Soakers at one another.
Marc, mostly known as an accomplished commercial and music video director, later adds, "I enjoy making provocative art. I like stirring debate and causing conversation. You're going to get two sides of the coin no matter what you do. People are going to love and hate everything. People loved and hated Avatar. People loved and hated the Jennifer Aniston movie. And people love and hate this. I guess that's a part of having something that's successful out there. There’s got to be certain people that hate it for people to love it."
Once they got their perfect cast, it didn’t take long to put together. He shares, "It was a one-take, so it was pretty much just choosing the right take. About a month altogether."
People sure did react, as it acquired millions of views and comments from all over the Internet. Some were horrified, some were outraged, and many thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. But Marc emphasizes that the kids in the video were not scandalized. "They’ve heard the f-word. They’ve seen more violence in their everyday lives for as long as they can remember. So for this, they’ve seen worse things than this all the time. So this wasn’t that big of a deal for them."
Enter TikTok. The clip (which just popped up again recently on Facebook) was reposted a few years back, and, once again, the comments continue to run the gamut from indignation to full praise. One TikTok user exclaimed, "Bro, I can’t even remember my grocery list, how the fudge did these kids memorize this whole scene lol?"
Others expressed confusion: "I'm not sure whether to be angry or amazed." Some chose anger: "Just imagine, you know these kids watched the movie to get the characters right. And the parents cheering? Yeah, yeah."
Many commenters believed it was a real school play and commended the production for "keepin' it real": "That school keeps it real. Nowadays, kids know so much about guns and drugs, might as well teach them that bad choices don’t end well."
Yet another enjoyed it but was concerned that the parents of the children would not. "Love the tray full of popcorn. But my God, I would hate to see the hell these parents probably raised."
For the most part, the reviews were glowing. Many complimented the acting, and one claimed they definitely would have "preferred this play over their own school production of Macbeth."
And perhaps the biggest compliment? "Al Pacino will be proud."