Educational Media Reviews Online

These brief films address drug abuse in teens, a subject of concern for parents and educators (and filmmakers) for many years now. Directed at teen audiences, both films are up-to-date, well-organized, and coherent with excellent production values. More importantly, however, the films do not talk down to their audience. The narrators seem young and perhaps a bit too wholesome, but the teens and young adults interviewed in the films come across as quite genuine, with a representative ethnic diversity among both interviewees and experts. The adult experts from various fields (e.g., medical, psychiatric, and legal) present their information objectively and fully, even within the confines of the “22 minutes” time limitation. Although some of material presented might be interpreted as “scare tactics” by some viewers with a potential of being counterproductive, the tone is not unduly alarmist. This would make a nice introduction for a high school health class on the topic – in fact, there is a teacher’s guide included in the DVDs. Recommended for high school library collections.