Social guidance film
Encyclopedia
Social guidance films constitute a genre of film
s attempting to guide children and adults to behave in certain ways. Typically shown in school
classrooms in the USA
from the 1950s through the 1970s, the films covered topics including courtesy
, responsibility
, sexuality
, drug use
, and driver safety
; the genre also includes films for adults, covering topics such as marriage
and how to balance budgets.
, Centron Corporation
, and even Encyclopædia Britannica
, but the films were also produced by maverick independent filmmakers such as Sid Davis
, dubbed by author Ken Smith as the "King of Calamity" for his often calamitous narratives.
Social guidance films notorious for dated or dubious sentiments often appear as unintentional comedy. Notorious social guidance films include Duck and Cover
(instructing children to duck under their desks in case of nuclear war
, and including the famous cartoon with the turtle and the stick of dynamite to illustrate the point), and Boys Beware
, a film warning of the dangers of male homosexuals, actually described as pedophiles.
to provide padding
for episodes in which the featured movie and host segments could not fill out the program's roughly 90-minute running time. On The Weird Al Show
, clips from still other films were taken and edited together with new voiceovers to make parodies.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s attempting to guide children and adults to behave in certain ways. Typically shown in school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
classrooms in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from the 1950s through the 1970s, the films covered topics including courtesy
Courtesy
Courtesy comes from old french 'courteis' is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the gentry was compiled in courtesy books...
, responsibility
Moral responsibility
Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...
, sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
, drug use
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, and driver safety
Driver's Ed
Driver's education or driver's ed is a formal class or program that prepares a new driver to obtain a learner's permit or driver's license. It may take place in a classroom, in a vehicle, online, or a combination of the above. Topics of instruction include traffic code or laws and vehicle operation...
; the genre also includes films for adults, covering topics such as marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
and how to balance budgets.
History
Social guidance films were generally produced by corporations such as Coronet FilmsCoronet Films
Coronet Films was a producer and distributor of American educational films from 1946 to the early 1970s founded by David A. Smart...
, Centron Corporation
Centron Corporation
Centron Corporation was an industrial and educational film production company. Founded in 1947 in Lawrence, Kansas by Arthur H. Wolf and Russell A. Mosser, Centron would come to the forefront of the industrial and educational film companies in the United States. Centron competed with large...
, and even Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
, but the films were also produced by maverick independent filmmakers such as Sid Davis
Sid Davis
Sidney Davis was an American director and producer who specialized in social guidance films.-Early life:Davis was born to a housepainter father and a dressmaker mother. The family moved to Hollywood, California when Davis was four years old. He began working in the film industry as a child,...
, dubbed by author Ken Smith as the "King of Calamity" for his often calamitous narratives.
Social guidance films notorious for dated or dubious sentiments often appear as unintentional comedy. Notorious social guidance films include Duck and Cover
Duck and Cover (film)
Duck and Cover is a civil defense film produced in 1951 by the United States federal government's civil defense branch shortly after the Soviet Union began nuclear testing. Written by Raymond J...
(instructing children to duck under their desks in case of nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
, and including the famous cartoon with the turtle and the stick of dynamite to illustrate the point), and Boys Beware
Boys Beware
Boys Beware is a drama short film released through Sid Davis Productions. It deals with a perceived danger to young boys: that of predatory homosexuals...
, a film warning of the dangers of male homosexuals, actually described as pedophiles.
Appearances In Other Media
As films in this genre are usually in public domain, they have been used in more modern productions outside of their intended purpose. A number of short social guidance films, such as Posture Pals and Are You Ready for Marriage?, were featured and lampooned on the television comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
to provide padding
Filler (media)
In media, filler is material that is combined with material of greater relevance or quality to "fill out" a certain volume.-Early television:...
for episodes in which the featured movie and host segments could not fill out the program's roughly 90-minute running time. On The Weird Al Show
The Weird Al Show
The Weird Al Show is a television show hosted by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Produced in association with Dick Clark Productions, it aired Saturday mornings on the CBS TV network from September to December 1997. The show was released on DVD on August 15, 2006...
, clips from still other films were taken and edited together with new voiceovers to make parodies.
Additional resources
- Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945 - 1970, Ken Smith, (c) 1999, published by Blast Books, ISBN 0-922233-21-7
- Our Secret Century, a collection of 12 CD-ROMCD-ROMA CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s compiled by film archivist Rick PrelingerRick PrelingerRick Prelinger is an archivist, writer and filmmaker, and founder of the Prelinger Archives, a collection of 60,000 advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur films acquired by the Library of Congress in 2002 after 20 years' operation.Rick has partnered with the Internet Archive to make... - The Prelinger Archives at the Internet Archive
- AV Geeks at the Internet Archive