Educational
see all genres ›Educational films bring a cautionary or well-intended “instructional” perspective to topics ranging from driver safety to dating. Classroom films fueled a robust industry entirely independent from Hollywood for decades. As styles and social mores have changed, however, they've often acquired a delicious camp appeal.
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Genres / Ephemera / Educational
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Spectres of the Spectrum
The director of TRIBULATION 99 and SONIC OUTLAWS returns with his grandest work to date! SPECTRES OF THE SPECTRUM plunders Craig Baldwin's treasure trove of early television shows, industrial and educational films, Hollywood movies, advertisements and cartoons, combining these...Watch Movie
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The Smell of Burning Ants
THE SMELL OF BURNING ANTS is a haunting documentary on the pains of growing up male. It explores the inner and outer cruelties that boys perpetrate and endure. The film provokes the viewer to reflect on how our society can deprive boys of wholeness. Through formative events of...Watch Movie
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The Voyagers
In the summer of 1977, NASA sent Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 on an epic journey into interstellar space. Together and alone, they will travel until the end of the universe. Each spacecraft carries a golden record album, a massive compilation of images and sounds embodying the best of Planet Earth....Watch Movie
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As Boys Grow
"Puberty's a lotta things!" chirps track coach Gene Douglas in this sex education short whose juvenile actors were cast from the Boys Clubs of San Francisco. Handily armed with illustrative charts, he answers his curious charges' questions on everything from shaving to nocturnal emissions to how...Watch Movie
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The Big Bounce
An exploration of the visual, political and scientific development of satellite communications from the first message bounced off a balloon to the current communication industry. The first message sent to the other side of the world was developed during the 1950s and Eisenhower administration...Watch Movie
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Drug Attack
This world-class 1960s time capsule is almost entirely composed of rapidly edited stills showing ordinary life (working, playing, driving, shopping) set to groovy instrumental music. At a certain point, however, the focus shifts to youth life, complete with Be-Ins and drug busts. It is clear that...Watch Movie
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Lucy
This cautionary tale of New Jersey-accented everygirl Lucy is surprisingly sophisticated and non-judgmental in its take on teenage pregnancy. "It all started when I met Joe. We dug each other right away," she tells us, recalling that cutting school to make out was "our first mistake." Pretty soon...Watch Movie
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A Case of Beer
Subtitled "A Major Minor Dilemna," this short was designed to educate retailers (especially convenience-store staff) who might be fined, lose their alcohol license or even be sent to jail if caught selling booze to the under-aged. We see various ruses the young use to try scoring some sauce, from...Watch Movie
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Mike Makes His Mark
Several years before James Dean patented the type in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, leather-jacketed, gum-chewing Mike here is a cute malcontent who just needs a little understanding to straighten up and fly right. Secretly worried he'll be "trapped into making his decisions against...Watch Movie
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Fears of Children
Why are children afraid? Where do their fears come from? In FEARS OF CHILDREN, a young boy is afraid. His parents have difficulties with his fear. In turn, their son unexpectedly resolves these issues in unusual way. It is the 1950s after all. Things were different then. Or...Watch Movie
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Hors-d'oeuvre
HORS-D'OEUVRE is a collection of one-minute cartoons produced by National Film Board of Canada animators for government sponsors. Showcasing a playful selection of animation techniques, the clips include reminders about television programs, traffic safety rules, and admonitions from the...Watch Movie
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Civil Defense in School
"The threat of disaster is never pleasant," our narrator begins. But the old perils like tornados and fires are nothing compared to those looming in "the age of the atom." This alarming short from the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization barely stops short of recommending...Watch Movie
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The Show-Off
Herk Harvey (CARNIVAL OF SOULS) is behind the camera in this educational film that illustrates the frustrations of fellow classmates with the high school show-off. Are there no limits? If the students can't get the school to enforce some sort of discipline, perhaps the parents can do a thing or...Watch Movie
