Original classification rating: M.
This clip chosen to be PG
Clip description
Inspired by US movie Footloose (1984), John Safran returns to his orthodox Jewish high school to protest against the school’s ban on dances. In a meeting with School Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner, Safran quotes the same lines used by Kevin Bacon’s character to try to persuade Footloose’s ultra-religious town leaders to allow dancing. Safran then stages a Footloose-style dance intervention in the school grounds.
Curator’s notes
This is one of John Safran’s most memorable stunts and it is great fun, as well as touching on two recurring Safran subjects – religion and Safran’s own life experiences. In a 2009 interview with The Australian Jewish News, Safran singles out this conversation with Rabbi Groner as a moment when his own nervousness is a source of humour:
I remember when I wrote it, thinking 'I’m going to go there and I’m going to say all this sarcastic stuff and zing – I’m going to zing him’. But it ended up the humour came from me looking so scared.
Safran developed this element further with his religious road tests in his next series (see John Safran vs God – Episode 2, 2004). John Safran vs God also sees the Footloose (1984) dance routine memorably recreated by a Palestinian Safran impersonator.
This segment was directed by Kenny (2006) director Clayton Jacobson.
Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer Footloose from the television program John Safran's Music Jamboree – Episode 2 as a high quality video download.
To play the downloadable video, you need QuickTime 7.0, VLC, or similar.
You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before downloading the clip:
australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.
All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.
When you access australianscreen you agree that:
- You may retrieve materials for information only.
- You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
- You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
- The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.
All other rights reserved.
ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.
This clip is available in the following configurations:
File name | Size | Quality | Suitability |
johnsamj1_pr.mp4
|
Large: 14.6MB |
High |
Optimised for full-screen display on a fast computer. |
johnsamj1_bb.mp4
|
Medium: 6.9MB |
Medium |
Can be displayed full screen. Also suitable for video iPods. |
Right-click on the links above to download video files to your computer.
Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer this clip in an embeddable format for personal or non-commercial educational use in full form on your own website or your own blog.
You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before embedding the clip:
australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.
All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.
When you access australianscreen you agree that:
- You may retrieve materials for information only.
- You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
- You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
- The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.
All other rights reserved.
ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.
Copy and paste the following code into your own web page to embed this clip: