Metadata
WORK ID: YFA 265 (Master Record)
| Title | Year | Date |
| NO BARRIER TO THE SUN | 1956 | 1956-01-01 |
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Details
Original Format: 16mm Colour: Colour Sound: Sound Duration: 11 mins 30 secs |
| Summary This is a public information film informing householders about the new Clean Air Act which came into force in 1956. The film puts forward the case for the need to cut down on smoke pollution. It explains the requirements and entitlements of the Act, as well as the benefits of using electricity, with examples from the home of a model family. |
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Description
This is a public information film informing householders about the new Clean Air Act which came into force in 1956. The film puts forward the case for the need to cut down on smoke pollution. It explains the requirements and entitlements of the Act, as well as the benefits of using electricity, with examples from the home of a model family.
The film begins showing factory chimneys belching out smoke in an industrial landscape full of terraced housing.
Title – No Barrier To The Sun
A man...
This is a public information film informing householders about the new Clean Air Act which came into force in 1956. The film puts forward the case for the need to cut down on smoke pollution. It explains the requirements and entitlements of the Act, as well as the benefits of using electricity, with examples from the home of a model family.
The film begins showing factory chimneys belching out smoke in an industrial landscape full of terraced housing.
Title – No Barrier To The Sun
A man returns home and warms himself in front of an open coal fire. Then someone shovels coal into a furnace, and there are more chimneys and a steam locomotive pouring out smoke as the narrator explains the consequences of using coal in causing a polluted atmosphere. A map of Britain shows the areas where this problem was worst. There are examples of how the smoke blackens buildings and statues as well as dirtying clothes and inside the home. It is claimed that the annual cost of this pollution is £150 million. The commentary also points out the cost in water and food pollution, as well as on health through breathing it in. Images of Scarborough are then shown as an example of where we can breathe cleaner air. A woman runs along the beach where also children go on pony rides.
The pollution-free images of Scarborough are in stark contrast with more images of smoke from a town. Shoppers are shown at a market, including women with prams. The commentary then goes on to talk specifically about the 1956 Clean Air Act. As smoke comes out of domestic chimneys, it is asserted that this produces half of all smoke. A couple walk home arm-in-arm, and the film shows maps of the areas of Bradford, Barnsley, Dewsbury and Sheffield that are coming under the Act. The couple arrive home to their coal fire, and the narrator explains the consequences of the Act for replacing these fires. Some alternative electric heaters are shown.
A postman arrives, delivering notice of the need to convert the coal burning grate. A woman reads the letter. There is a couple who arrive home to switch on their electric heater, using a timer to control when it comes on. A woman is then shown the “dirty job of cleaning out the ashes”. The narrator explains that a grant is available for conversion, and that if building a new house, floor heating is available. This is shown being laid. Examples of heating are shown in the different rooms in the house, including in the bathroom, with electric storage heaters, and in the kitchen where food is being prepared. A woman sets the timer on her electric oven, and works a top loading washing machine with an electric mangle, and electric clothes dryer. Other electric items are shown, including a hoover, a radiator, an electric blanket, a teasmade, a hair dryer, a shaver, an iron and a train set.
The film then switches to show children collecting hockey sticks at school as a demonstration of the benefits of clean air. A man picks flowers while new flats are shown being constructed.
End notes – The staff at our local electricity service centre will be pleased to help and advise you about using electricity in Smoke Control Areas.
A Yorkshire Electricity Board film.
Context
This film was made in 1956 by the Yorkshire Electricity Board (YEB), who promote their electrical appliances throughout the film, whilst aligning with their role to advertise the Clean Air Act. The popularity of public information films began in the Second World War and its use bled into the 1950s. The role of public information films here is to relay information across from the government to the public in a manner that will appeal to them. Following World War Two, public information films...
This film was made in 1956 by the Yorkshire Electricity Board (YEB), who promote their electrical appliances throughout the film, whilst aligning with their role to advertise the Clean Air Act. The popularity of public information films began in the Second World War and its use bled into the 1950s. The role of public information films here is to relay information across from the government to the public in a manner that will appeal to them. Following World War Two, public information films were comforting to many who felt as though they needed guidance and instruction from the government.
This film takes place in West Yorkshire, including footage of the town of Batley, as the film pays particular attention to Soothill Lane, named after its history of wood burning. This film seeks to explain the environmental reasoning behind the Clean Air Act of 1956. The Clean Air bill was passed in response to the environmental disaster seen in 1952, otherwise known as the ‘Great Smog of London’. The UK as a whole relied on coal as an energy source, which, combined with a bad spout of weather, led to a polluted blanket of smog across London in 1952. The term ‘smog’ was coined in 1905 by Harold Antoine Des Voeux, a member of the Coal Smoke Abatement Society, in order to describe the mixture of smoke and fog that was forming across the UK. The polluted air directly killed around 4000 people, leaving thousands more with breathing difficulties. The streets of London remained dark even during the daytime, leading to travel restrictions, going so far as to include ambulances, requiring many to find their own way to hospitals. In order to avoid a repeat of this disaster, the Clean Air Act was introduced in 1956 under the Conservative government of Anthony Eden. Following 480 subsequent deaths across London in January 1956, Eden was led to acknowledge the impact of pollution on the health of the national public. The government targeted many cities that would be labelled as ‘Smoke Controlled Areas’ across Yorkshire. These areas were the largest contributors to pollution, resulting in them being given particular attention. This film particularly focuses on the use of electric fires to heat homes. For those living in these areas, they could apply for a grant from their local council in order to cover a portion of the cost of conversion. The audience are asked to play their part in tackling pollution, which is strikingly similar to the type of language used during the war to entice patriotism. In this case, pollution is the enemy, and through government guidance it can be defeated. In showing a range of new domestic appliances, it is clear that the switch from coal to electric energy was something that was sought after. Not only were new appliances a sign of the post-war consumerism boom, the switch to electricity would limit pollution across the United Kingdom. These appliances would appeal to many housewives, whose roles would be made simpler. The promotion of these electrical appliances would appeal to the audience watching as the 1950s saw a time of full employment. Meaning, appliances that required less effort to use we particularly popular as more men and women were employed. These products were more accessible as many more had a higher amount of disposable income. Ultimately, this led to a boom in domestic consumerism, working hand in hand with the growing electricity supply reaching the majority of the UK by 1956. Pollution effected the everyday lives of the public, this is shown through its domestic setting, displaying that even putting the freshly washed laundry outside to dry is affected as it will be soiled in sut. The convenience of these new appliances is what made them so appealing as there would be no need to clean coal from the fire, instead, your room could be heated by a simple on-switch. The 1950s saw a huge increase in consumer demand for domestic appliances, which worked hand in hand with the need to reduce smoke emissions. This demand was built on the need for conversion and presented itself as being a symbol of modern consumerism of the 1950s. The legacy of the Clean Air Act remains prevalent today as there remains provisional policy surrounding public health up against air pollution. In 2019, the secretary of state revealed plans to invest £10 million into researching air quality and its impact on the nation’s health. Therefore, the Clean Air act of 1956 can be seen as an environmental turning point in terms of government intervention to reduce harmful emissions. Issues surrounding global warming are more prominent in the 21st century, as audiences in the 1950s would not be particularly concerned with this. However, the film raises concerns about the lives of children, who would benefit from growing up in a healthier atmosphere. This holds similarities to environmental activism seen today as its lasting message surrounds the future of the planet and those living on it. Sources: Find here the ‘Clean Air Strategy’ of 2019 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/770715/clean-air-strategy-2019.pdf Find here the original 1956 Clean Air Act https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/4-5/52/enacted Find here information on the impact of smog. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/case-studies/great-smog “URBAN AIR POLLUTION.” Atmospheric Pollution: History, Science, and Regulation, by Mark Z. Jacobson, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002, pp. 81–114. Find here an article on how the 1950s paved the way for the modern home https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/a-decade-of-domesticity-how-the-1950s-made-the-modern-home/ |
