Educational Media Reviews Online

This DVD is a collection of “social problem” films made between 1949 and 1970, most of them from the early-mid 1950s, and almost all made in the Midwest. When a collection of similar short films are packaged together, of any content, there’s a decision made to either let the films stand on their own, or to tie them together somehow via an introduction or commentary. Here, A/V Geeks founder Skip Elsheimer, who has collected hundreds of short educational films from America’s past, offers a brief but crucial introduction, grounding the reasons for collecting these films as historically provocative, illustrating in usually awkward but occasionally prescient detail, what Middle America in the ‘50s and ‘60s saw as crucial issues facing adolescents of the day, most of which are perennial to growing up in America in any generation.

The issues addressed run the gamut from taking responsibility for schoolwork and chores, to decisions about sex before marriage; not throwing temper tantrums to understanding how puberty works and why your body is changing. Many of these films are quaint and do little to dispel any stereotypes of how “square” our nation was at the time, with stock characters of high school goofballs, aw-shucks dads, and prim, paternalistic teachers. However, there are also films which are quite ahead of their time, tackling issues our own society still hasn’t figured out how to address, notably venereal disease, sexual morality vs. sexual needs, and teen pregnancy. In these films, among the bad acting and melodramatic narration, there’s a obvious urgency which commends the filmmakers for being insightful enough to see that the traditional modes of communication about these issues, from parents, schools, churches, and doctors, isn’t happening well, if at all. It’s a fascinating turn to see cardboard characters suddenly become complex, confused, “real” people with real problems. This doesn’t just happen in the more adult-oriented films; the shortest film in the collection takes an incredibly mature, emotionally thoughtful approach to the issue of bullying, a social issue which has reared its head forcefully in our day as well.

Of course, because it’s the 1950s, there’s not one but two films about how stealing cars is wrong and drag racing is dangerous. While it’s tempting to laugh off most of these two films, it’s also fascinating to see the paranoia underlying a fear of teenagers having free time, mobility, and disposable income, a situation their Depression-era parents didn’t have and are somewhat uncomfortable with. And that’s the other benefit of this collection: along with the historical view on how these issues were addressed mid-century, these films shine a light on the social quirks of the time, what was important in how the middle class envisioned themselves and their society, and what fears—some overblown and some on target—permeated discourse in that era. It’s very easy to look back 50 years later and laugh, but these films give us a rare chance to insert ourselves into that version of American society and experience a little of what it was like, in an emotional and psychological sense, when it was the present moment.