A/V Geeks and Kino International team up to present two new DVDs! They can’t currently be ordered from the A/V Geeks site yet, but can be purchased online from your favorite DVD site..
How To Be A Man
For centuries, parents have struggled to usher their children through the magical, often treacherous, journey to adulthood. But in mid-century America, a new form of tutelage was engineered: the classroom film. Suddenly, the prickly issues of sexual development and juvenile delinquency could be addressed in tidy, ten-minute sermons disguised as dramas. To deal with the subtleties of behavior and the importance of fitting in, social guidance films were made on such topics as coping with failure (Planning For Success) and teasing (The Other Fellow’s Feelings). The films in this collection-curated and introduced by Skip Elsheimer, founder of the A/V Geeks educational film archive sample some of the lessons that were routinely taught to boys. In them, one sees slices of Americana, discovers the world of educational cinema (with a language all its own), and gains an insight into the hopes and fears of the parents and educators who relied on the power of cinema to initiate, educate and indoctrinate the young.
How To Be A Woman
As the daughters of the baby boom reached adolescence, the American school system struggled to educate them on matters of sexual and social development lessons that were not always being taught at home. To the teacher uncomfortable with such topics, classroom films were a godsend. They depicted the reproductive system in anatomical detail (Growing Girls) or through puzzling symbolism (The Wonders of Reproduction, produced by the Moody Institute of Science). Beyond sex education, classroom films addressed a wide array of social issues, from the importance of cooking skills (You’re the Judge, starring a young Bonnie Franklin), to self-defense (Attack) and how to appear more pleasing to others (Improve Your Personality). Often corny, sometimes frightening, these cinematic life lessons curated and introduced by Skip Elsheimer, founder of the A/V Geeks educational film archive provide a fascinating window to the hopes and fears of parents and educators in mid-century America.
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Educational films featuring celebrities – either before they were famous or as a PR move after their careers slumped. Films include: Bookkeeping and You (with ‘Bewitched’ star Dick York), Is That A Happy Hippopotamus? (with ‘That’s Incredible’ host John Davidson), Learn Not To Burn (with Dick Van Dyke), First Aid Action (with Burt Reynolds), Chickenomics (with the Famous San Diego Chicken) and A Different Approach (featuring an all-star cast).
The A/V Geeks present films made during the late 1970s push for the nation to adopt the metric system of measurement. Gee, it seem so easy to learn compared to the English system. Hmmm, wonder why it was dropped in the 1980s? Films include – Metric America, the rarely seen Schoolhouse Rock metric system shorts and much more!
A compilation of 1970s ecologically-themed school films featuring Uncle Smiley – a clumsy, heavy guy with a heart of gold. Films include – Uncle Smiley Goes Recycling, Uncle Smiley Follows the Four Seasons, Uncle Smiley Goes Up the River, Uncle Smiley Goes Camping, Uncle Smiley Goes To The Beach, Uncle Smiley Goes Planting and Uncle Smiley and the Junkyard Playground.
In the 1940’s and 50’s America faced a menace even more frightening than the Bomb: teenagers with cars. Discover how we dealt with this new and terrible threat. Films include: Tomorrow’s Drivers, Alco Beat, The Talking Car, I Like Bikes, But…, Highball Highway, Crossroads Crash, Last Prom, Joy Ride, The Bottle and the Throttle, Safety-Belt for Susie. Includes special classroom environment audio track!