Educational Archives, Vol. 2 - Social Engineering 101

Starring:Educational Archives
Studio: Fantoma
Product Type: DVD

Description

Generations of American children sat in dark classrooms and absorbed wisdom in the form of 16mm educational and social guidance films. Through the flicker of dim projector bulbs and the warble of optical soundtracks, a blueprint for better living in the Atomic Age was spelled out in no uncertain terms. Fantoma is proud to present the first two volumes in our new series of educational ephemera. It's all here, from the etiquette do's and don'ts shorts of the 1950's to the anti-drug hysteria films of the 1960's, making the world a safe, clean, and polite place once again. In Volume 2, discover how to fit in, keep clean, choose between right and wrong, and behave in the cafeteria. Films include: Lunchroom Manners, Soapy the Germ Fighter, The Outsider, Manners in School, Shy Guy. Historical notes on each film by collection curator Skip Elsheimer of A/V Geeks; Bonus interactive filmstrips

Customer Reviews:

Those Old School Films of Mine.......2003-04-30

I'm watching "Social Engineering 101." The DVDs arrived today, and they are a HOOT. So far I?ve seen:

"School of the Living Dead" - 1960
Strangely shaped children stagger through the world's most terrifying lunch break, as staring adults serve unidentifiable food stuffs. Watch as the scary minions pick at themselves and obsessively collect and arrange used milk cartons, as a lone fly scurries across a freshly cleaned table. Very Bergman; very disturbing.

"Don't Drop the Soap" - 19??

Mike's Xstacy kicks in just at bedtime, opening the door for one of Satan's minions. A foppishly dressed bar of soap attempts to recruit Mike to the gay underworld, tempting him with visions of strapping, sweaty cowboys.
Sign me up!

"Honor Thy Father" - 1950
Tommy attempts to break through sexual stereotypes by taking up both cleaning and construction. Tommy's parents are thrilled, and pay him to continue his chores in a serf-like role. We know Tommy these days as Tommy Tune.

"Bewitched, Bothered, Besmirched" - 1947
Samantha's future husband, Dick "Darrin" York, is fed a line by his old dad, encouraged to emulate the sassy, select, snobbish elite at his new school. Dick gravitates towards the boys and girls with the worst possible hairdos and largest noses, which seems to decrease the size of his ears. The other students ignore him as often as possible because of his internal dialogue, which they can hear, and which terrifies them all. They eventually capitulate when he threatens them with his "oscillator."

"Groovy Kathy, Anorexic" - 196?
Educational films' first ethnic star has a dirty little secret...she won't eat. Even the announcer from the Chicago Dairy Council can't tempt her with hypnotic visions of ice cream or tacos for breakfast. What's wrong with this girl? Lord knows we've tried!

"Squealer" - 1951
Do-gooders ruin everyone's fun by turning in high-spirited teens to the police. Even worse, one is expected to play stool pigeon and turn in the rest of his pals! In this early version of "Scared Straight", we can tell Harry is walking a fine line between good and evil: He has big hair, but it's not greasy. A shyster takes him to his swinging bachelor pad with blonde hi-fi. Tell, Harry, tell!

"Emotion 10, Looks 3" - 1954
Amateur thespians and spooky children chew up the scenery when asked to express "emotion." Abandoned babies, over-crowded classrooms, and hormone-crazed adolescents are only a few of the horrors faced in the brave new world of the atomic age. Let's take a little blue pill called "Compoz."

I think that's all I can handle for one evening. You'll weep from laughing. Good night.

My favorite of the "Educational Archives" series.......2002-11-02

I own all four of the "Educational Archives" DVDs, and so far, Volume 2 is my favorite. I love "Lunchroom Manners" and "Soapy the Germ Fighter" best of all. Oh, and the one about Chalky -- that's a keeper. "Why Doesn't Cathy Eat Breakfast?" really takes me back to my own elementary school days, because our teacher actually SHOWED us that bizarre little film as part of a "good nutrition" unit. I love the ending -- "STOP PROJECTOR; DISCUSS MOVIE." Wouldn't it be great if more movies ended like that?

[...]

"They All Eat Chocolate Ice Cream Cones!!!".......2002-06-26

It totally rules!! "Why Vandalism?" is particularly amazing. "Shy Guy" is good because it has a very young Dick York. Actually, I recognized a few of these from Nick at Nite about 10 years ago...they used to show "The Patty Duke Show" and "Dobie Gillis" and all that, and in between they'd show snippets of old classroom films!!! Man, those were the days. The kid in "Soapy The Germ Fighter" kind of looks like a dirty, young male adolescent Bjork ..."Why Doesn't Cathy Eat Breakfast?" is WAY too short. I'd pay [price] for 2 hours of just her in her gloriously funky room. When I finally got 'round to the final film, "The Outsider", I got all giddy; after all, the last filmstrip in "Vol I: Sex & Drugs" was the brilliant "The ABC's of Sex Ed For Trainables." . Once again, Skip does not disappoint! This film is the most brilliantly melodramatic portrayal of basic young girl blues I have ever seen. Thank goodness Susan Jane's mother intervenes, before she has a total mental breakdown! I can't wait until I get "On The Job"!!!!!!!!!

Angry puppets and giant cakes of soap.......2002-06-10

All that and more can be yours if your order this disc today!

Vol. 2 of the Educational Archives series is an entertaining glimpse back to much simpler times when educators and parents felt that kids learned lessons in morality best when instructed by giant soap bars, talking chalk drawings, omniscient narrators, and Mike Wallace. This collection of films contains a lot of classic education winners: Lunchroom Manners features the puppet depot, Mr. Bungle, and Shy Guy showcases a very young Dick York, who went on to bigger and better things.

I adore this disc, and hope there are many more to come in the series. As a collector of 16 mm prints, I appreciate the opportunity to have some of these rarer titles. As an archivist and popular culture scholar, I can't express how strongly I feel about why sources why these should be documented and preserved for many generations to enjoy. These "hokey" films are in important part of the history of the culture of both adolescents and teenagers in the U.S.

Why doesn't Cathy eat breakfast?.......2001-11-20

Great DVD! Most of the films are funny and interesting. A couple of lame ones tossed in there, too, unfortunately. (4 stars vs. 5 star ratings).

This DVD features "Soapy the Germ Fighter," "Why Vandalism?" and my favorite, "Why doesn't Cathy eat breakfast?"

I can't wait for more to come out! Bring us more 60s and 70s features! Wooooooooo!

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