Wam Ethics

[BillShipton]

Slightly more light heartedly but with some relevance...

A couple of years ago Hayley and I saw clown Clive Webb and his troupe perform (the same guys who pied the Sky presenter) and naturally sat at the front. During one of the more vigorous slosh routines, Hayley's jeans were splashed with slosh from the stage and she wanted to march in on the act and 'complain' hoping they would 'go with it' and give her a total messing up. Of course, cowardice meant she didn't. However, discussing it later, we decided that they would almost certainly not be allowed to under some health & safety guideline unless it was pre-arranged. Also there was a small logistic problem of replacement clothing. We are now firmly of the belief that anyone who gets pied properly in the audience is a plant.

The audience did get soaked with huge water pistols though - and thankfully nobody sued anyone.

[Beatrice]

If i was dressed in my best outfit female or male and it was done to me i think i'd be on a GBH charge! if i wanted to be gunged i would ask

[DungeonMasterOne]

Firmly agree with what everyone else has said - non-consensual gungings / pieings of strangers are just plain wrong.

From a legal POV, I should think if anyone did this in the UK they'd be very lucky to avoid a conviction for assault (and possible prison sentence), not to mention being bankrupted by compensation suits.

The "clowns at the Circus" situation is potentially at least rather different, as the circus audience has clearly (by paying) chosen to attend, and I suspect nowadays the tickets would have warnings along the lines of "spectators choosing to sit in the front rows of the audience should be aware of the risk of being splashed" on the back, as part of the terms and conditions for attending the show.

Presumably the big water parks which have jumping dolphins, etc, do something similar, ditto the theme parks with water rides. In fact I can remember seeing a sign saying "you may get soaked, you will get wet" at the entrance to a log-flume ride, either at Blackpool or Lightwater Valley.

Finally, just to clarify, the UMD user "gungemaster" who posted in the thread being discussed is nothing to do with me or The Gungemaster Photosets, I never thought to check the UMD's memberlist for already-taken names when looking for the domain.

[mhalver]

From a legal POV, I should think if anyone did this in the UK they'd be very lucky to avoid a conviction for assault (and possible prison sentence), not to mention being bankrupted by compensation suits.

Not just in the UK - in general, that would be your fate here in the US as well (provided the person had brought charges).

[Miss T]

I agree with most of the things said here and at that other place re consent... however, to be honest, and call me cynical by all means but I just assumed it was all one big marketing ploy!!!

[General Custard]

I just assumed it was all one big marketing ploy

Surely you can't be suggesting that someone would use a potentially sensitive topic purely for the purposes of advertising?!
A pox on the cad I tells thee!!

[easy_as_]

I agree with most of the things said here and at that other place re consent... however, to be honest, and call me cynical by all means but I just assumed it was all one big marketing ploy!!!

Yikes !

If that's true, then I feel used and exploited without my consent . . . and not in a good way !

[Richard]

I just know that nobody else will remember this but in the late 40s & early 50s (I think) there was a show on Radio Luxembourg called 'Shilling a second'. It was basically a giveaway game show sponsored by the Co-op where contestsnts were given one shilling (5p) for every second they were on air.

Anyway, one of the games was the contestant couple were taken to a randomly selected house and had to force their way in and redecorate a room as messily as possible regardless of what the occupants did to stop them. Afterwards the victim's house was given a makeover by professionals. I have no idea if it was done for real, I suspect not .

Can you imagine, the classic slapstick 'Decorators Sketch' done by amateurs on radio? and not even in the studio??? How pointless can you get; and what's next? Ventriloquism? Come back Peter Brough & Archie Andrews, all is forgiven; well, perhaps not ALL! (He was the vent whose lips only moved when the dummy was talking ).

I wonder what modern audiences would think of the ethics of the decorating business though.

Rich.

[Etonman]

I just know that nobody else will remember this but in the late 40s & early 50s (I think) there was a show on Radio Luxembourg called 'Shilling a second'. It was basically a giveaway game show sponsored by the Co-op where contestsnts were given one shilling (5p) for every second they were on air.

Anyway, one of the games was the contestant couple were taken to a randomly selected house and had to force their way in and redecorate a room as messily as possible regardless of what the occupants did to stop them. Afterwards the victim's house was given a makeover by professionals. I have no idea if it was done for real, I suspect not .

Can you imagine, the classic slapstick 'Decorators Sketch' done by amateurs on radio? and not even in the studio??? How pointless can you get; and what's next? Ventriloquism? Come back Peter Brough & Archie Andrews, all is forgiven; well, perhaps not ALL! (He was the vent whose lips only moved when the dummy was talking ).

I wonder what modern audiences would think of the ethics of the decorating business though.

Rich.

I can't remember Radio Luxemburg myself, but I guess that audiences for TV and radio in the 50's had much fewer expectations than we have now.

I feel sure that the majority, if not all, the "practical joke"-type progs are now largely pre-arranged and staged, for two reasons....there are all the potential liability issues already discussed...and the producers want to get entertaining results which they will be able to show on TV. If a presenter "forced their way" into a house uninvited and caused criminal damage or injury, I don't think that they or the producers would last long in their jobs.

[Woofwoof]

Sorry for dragging this back up, I've just remembered an experience I'd like to share.

About 10 years ago I saw the Tokyo Shock Boys. This was in a theatre setting.

One of their acts involved putting various things (an apple, watermelon, onion, bottle of bleach, etc) on a big chopping block in front of one of the other guys with a hammer. The others moved away. Someone then asked 'Do you like ... xxxxx'?. Dude with hammer said 'I DON'T like xxxxx', WHACK, and the audience in the front few rows got sprayed. Theatre setting, people dressed up, yeah. I don't think there were any complaints but it was a bit striking.

That's about as close to unsolicited WAM as I've seen. (no, I wasn't anywhere near the front, unfortunately. The bleach bottle was filled with water - the guys moved totally off stage when it showed up, and many people in the front rows got up and ran!)

[moddermonster]

Do you all think this is for real?
That site from ThatUnfairTV.com is from the States, isn't it?
And as usual, everything in the States is staged!
So I don't think these pieings and gungings are for real. The girls all knew what was coming and then it is ok I think.
It's like those wwf wrestling games. The Americans still believe it is a real fight where those guys or girls really hurt eachother. But that is all a well trained show.
Well these are my thoughts about it.

[Devo77]

Actualy according to him he has stage accouple of pieings
and slimings. Also according to him, he just found it to be
more fun to suprise the people in these places. The newest one
freatures a woman getting messy in a cab. I asume this was
a staged event, cab rented woman asked if she would mind
playing before hand like before that night and she came
prepared thou from the looks of it not prepared enough.

[pieclown]

Hi All,


I found this and thought I would share.

"
Man Charged After Santa Gets Pie in Face
1 day ago

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A college student accused of shoving a pumpkin pie into the face of a shopping-mall Santa Claus has been charged with misdemeanor assault.

Clint Westwood, 22, said he "lightly smooshed" the pie into the man's face Wednesday and shouted, "What do you think of that, Santa?"

Westwood, a drama student at the University of Montana, was charged Friday. He said he videotaped the encounter and plans to include the clip in an upcoming film.

He said that after the pie ruckus, he expected to approach Santa for a signature on a film-release form, but police arrived first.

"It's a good thing he didn't wait around, because I think Santa would have laid him out," said Sgt. Travis Welsh of the Missoula Police Department.

Westwood said he and companions had waited for a girl about 15 years old to finish sitting on Santa's lap before the pie hit his face, "but then we just decided it would be funnier if she was still sitting there."

(This version corrects that the episode happened Wednesday, and the charge was filed Friday.)
"


There has been some comment about pie in the face being an attack, this sound like a true example. Santa was working, and was talking to a kid(15). Also, the clothes may have been messed up and some Santa's can't afford to many outfits, for a good one cost $, then if the beard and hair was a wig, there is more $. Some malls and other Santa places dont pay the best( that is where the story of drunks doing the job) and if the Santa has to bring his own gear, it is not good.

When do the pieing, most of the time, the person getting it, knows. I have had 2 times where they did not. One was a grandma, she was a good sport. I feel that mom may have had some revenge in her mind.

The other was a large party and dad was to take the pie, but he was called a way. So the sister, who hired said to use the older brother. Well, he was not up set but gave me the rest of the pie on a sleave/arm.

I had to was that shirt as soon as I got home. Real food stains, and a $45 clown shirt is not something to get messed up.

[stonecastle]

Bascially I think it is a good idea. But it could be refined to avoid any liability so that the person agrees beforehand. This could be done if they are being set up by a friend with the friend telling them and asking if they would agree to it.

By the way members of the public at often gunged at things like charity events and village and school fetes etc. The firm that make the gunge material natrosol takes most of its orders from such events and also hires out gunge tanks too.

I also saw a member of the public gunged on an outdoor edition of Noels House Party back in 1996 which was held in Battersea park. Contestants volunteered to take part from the audience which had assembled. And the person who got gunged in the end was a really good looking blonde Spanish woman.

[ThatsUnfairTV]

Well it is a couple of months too late but it looks like I have finally joined the party!

Still learning my way through the various sites that share this affinity and for some reason, I had just heard about this fine site through a google search of ThatsUnfairtv. Love the subject line of WAM Ethics!

Just wanted to introduce myself to this forum as I understand that this is more of a UK oriented site.

Looking forward to more conversation in the future and sharing some of the behind the scenes stuff that we have been through!