Am I Trustworthy?

Produced: 1950

Length: 11 Minutes

Young Eddie Johnson wants to be treasurer of his club, but he loses the election because he hasnt been trustworthy enough in the past. The narrator and Eddies father soon show him the error of his ways, and he learns that as a trustworthy person he must follow rules, keep promises, fulfill assignments, and return items hes borrowed. Totally converted, Eddie even makes a Trustworthiness Chart to track his progress.

Why We Respect The Law

Produced: 1950

Length: 14 Minutes

This 50s educational film explains to children how laws are good for society, and why they should be respected. Ken, a young boy, steals some lumber to build baseball backstops for his baseball teams field, but is later seized by guilt though he hadnt been caught stealing. Confused by this ethical dilemma, he goes to his familys lawyer, who tries to sort out the whole business for Ken. The honest lawyer takes Kens shoes in an effort to get Ken to see why stealing wrong, and to begin to understand a code of ethics. The free law advice continues, as he also notes that rules are necessary to keep law and order in society, just like natural laws keep order in the physical world. This and other examples of ethical principles make for important life lessons and the lawyer is clearly at ease talking openly with children. In the end, Ken realizes that if everyone stole, the world would not be a very safe and secure place to live. He and his friends arrange to pay for the lumber and Ken learns a valuable lesson. The ethical culture described in Why We Respect the Law exudes the attitudes of conformity and complete absence of ethical relativism that was present in the 1950s. One of the better educational videos of its time.

Cheating

Produced: 1952

Length: 11 Minutes

This absorbing vintage film explores the issue of cheating in school. John, a Student Council representative, is having trouble with algebra. He knows he has to maintain his good grades for his social status, so he gets his girlfriend Mary to allow him to copy from her answers on a test. Later, after hes been caught, his fellow students come down on him hard, eventually punishing him by kicking him off the Student Council. What makes this film different from others of its ilk is the Film Noir quality that the film employs to heighten tension and fear. The characteristics of film noir are ever present. The beginning is quite dark and scary, with a young boys loneliness, with many different close ups of a phone, faces, and disembodied voices. And of course, shadows and sharp angles are focused on with the stark black and white picture exploding off the screen. As this was part of the Discussion Problems in Group Living series, this film focuses not on what the adults do to John, but on what his peers think of his actions, and whether they will offer peer support or more peer pressure. This series of films was made specifically to stimulate discussion among young audiences who viewed it, instead of making rigid pronouncements about what is right or wrong. Cheating on tests in school is an ever growing issue and its fascinating to see how cheating was perceived in the 1950s.

How Honest Are You?

Produced: 1950

Length: 13 Minutes

This social etiquette film discusses how honesty can become difficult in situations where the stakes are high. One of the top high school basketball players at his school, Bob, is seen leaving the locker room, and shortly thereafter another teammates money has been stolen. Was Bob stealing? Are all the witnesses telling the truth? The highschoolers in this film must figure out for themselves where the answers lie. The film features strong acting for its genre, and the story becomes interesting: when one of the witnesses, a girl whos dating the number two player on the basketball team, confesses that she wants Bob to fail so her boyfriend can be the top player. As everyone works towards finding the truth, typical American family values are investigated as well as social conformity in the 1950s. Without question, the truth hurts, but the cost of dishonesty is greater. This educational video asks people to discover the difference between an honest mistake and being dishonest.

Law and Social Controls

Produced: 1949

Length: 9 Minutes

This educational video discusses the three methods of social control in 1950s United States: American customs (what we usually do), American morals (what we should do), and American law (what we must do). A group of teenagers serve as a microcosm of society, with the parents as the governmental authority. The story is about the group and how their teen curfews are causing difficulty at work (they work at the Teen Canteen) and at home. The adults are ready to give parenting tips about curfew that mirror American laws. The teenage behavior is pretty tame by todays standards, and its interesting to see how different parenting and parenting resources were in the fifties. To get to the heart of the matter, the teens and the adults responsible for them have a discussion and decide together what to do about this teenage behavior problem. The youngsters make the right choice, falling in line with their parents wishes and social conformity in general. This film is an excellent examination of social control theory and how it was perceived and presented in the 1950s.

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Let’s Be Good Citizens At School

Produced: 1953

Length: 8 Minutes

This 1950s social etiquette film overtly encourages good citizenship and proper manners to young school children, as well as unintentionally representing Cold War culture. The narrator of the film introduces Harvey as the happiest boy in school. While he walks through the school yard, he waves and smiles at the other children, and they all happily wave back as though he is royalty. And why shouldnt he be treated royally, hes a productive member of society (by being an utter conformist)! The film teaches the importance neatness and cleanliness, simply helping others, and being conscientious about making even new kids feel welcome, all examples of good citizenship. American family values and ethical behavior are stressed as vital to teaching teens good manners. Only slightly touched upon by the film are examples of bad manners: little Tommy is always late, which is poor etiquette! While the content of the film remains utterly positive, the underpinnings of all of the citizenship and togetherness used in this film are really social conformity. The 1950s were about searching for perfection in society and the wholesome overtones of this Cold War culture film exemplify that heightened push for American individual conformity.

Other Peoples Property

Produced: 1951

Length: 9 Minutes

Other Peoples Property is a prototypical 1950s social guidance film. All the telltale characteristics are present: a stern and masculine narrator, black and white morality, and uptight cultural values. The story concerns three adorable youngsters guilty of a (seemingly!) harmless prank: pulling the fire alarm at school. What happens next is the best part of the movie: a montage of various activities that the boys interrupted are shown and explained, bursting with 1950s cultural. School committees, classroom events, and vintage fire trucks are shown plus much more. Other Peoples Property is an enriching historical experience.