Mental Hygiene: Better Living Through Classroom Films 1945-1970
by Ken Smith
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ken SmithEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-11-19
ISBN: 0922233217
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Blast Books
Book Reviews of Mental Hygiene: Better Living Through Classroom Films 1945-1970
Book Review: Spookily Hilarious
Summary: 5 Stars
Ken Smith has tapped into a vein in the American cadaver with this clever and respectful survey of one of the most freakishly commonsensical forms of propaganda ever conceived. The mental hygeine film as a genre carved out a niche in the american psyche so clandestinely, with such subtlety, that until you read Smiths book you forget you ever encountered them.
But you did.
The implications of the mental hygeine movement, as personified in its perveyors so nicely profiled in this volume, are astounding and far-reaching. Certainly the lessons of 25 years of these films and their power were not lost on the moguls who now control the airwaves, such as Fox's Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes, a thought that chills me to the bone, personally.
Smith has exhaustively researched his topic, but susinctly captured the nuances and paradoxes that frame it. Mental hygeine was a well-intentioned movement absolutely shot through with cold war era-flavored suspiscion, fear, and conformity. Smith lifts these elements to the surface and touches on them just long enough to deconstruct them briefly, letting the reader connect most of the dots.
My only regret with this book is that Smith is satisfied simply to create a sketch of the genre. I found myself wishing for information on the films' impact on the generations who watched them, the classrooms of subsequent generations, and public school curricula in general. Many of the teens from the 50's and 60's who sat blank-faced, staring at these films in schoolhouses across this country are now running it. I should like to know where are that fear and conformity went...
Summary of Mental Hygiene: Better Living Through Classroom Films 1945-1970
Between 1945 and 1970, millions of public school students were subjected to hundreds of films designed to keep them on the straight and narrow. These cultural gems "enlightened" the nation's youth about proper dating, good table manners, the evils of dope, and what happens to teens who drive too fast on prom night.Author Ken Smith embarked on an exhaustive nine-year search for these obscure educational films. The result is this fascinating stroll down memory lane. Smith has gathered titles such as Worth Waiting For, Posture Pals, Last Date, Highways of Agony, and Soapy the Germ Fighter. Included are interviews with writers and directors, detailed descriptions of these unintentionally hilarious films, and commentary on the social engineering behind them.
In Mental Hygiene, Ken Smith takes a look at the endearingly gooney safety and "social guidance" films produced for classroom use between World War II and the early 1970s. Everything from dating to drugs to auto safety is covered in this lovingly compiled book. Smith even takes the time to discuss the stylistic differences of the various studios and analyze the peculiar obsessions of their auteurs. Though its subjects are bizarre ("Healthy Feet"), corny ("Teen Togs"), and often ineptly made ("Red Nightmare"), Mental Hygiene is no mere excuse to mock these films. Smith is careful to note bursts of good (or at least interesting) filmmaking and makes a convincing case that in their day these classroom movies were considered the new wave of liberal education. The films, catalogued at the end of the book, teeter between unintentionally hilarious ("More Dates for Kay") and just flat-out disturbing ("Boys Beware"). Most take the stance that teens who drive too fast or don't mind their manners deserve their horrific fates. For example, the auto safety films tend toward subtly titled epics like "Mechanized Death" and "Wheels of Tragedy," while the "image building" shorts mercilessly taunt their misfit protagonists. ("It's a little late for tears, isn't it, Barbara?") A thoroughly enjoyable read, Mental Hygiene is both funny and informative, but not so informative that it will put you to sleep in class. --Ali Davis
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