Mental Hygiene
What can be learned from the 50’s?
Well, plenty, I’m sure, but mainly it’s just fun to point and laugh! I was sitting on the floor watching television with my wife the other night and noticed a book she bought a long, long time ago called
Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945-1970. It’s a real hoot! It’s a guide to all the “mental hygiene” and “health” films from the mid-1940s through 1970. There are some real winners in here!
My favorite is either “Duck And Cover”, which is about surviving a nuclear blast, or “The making Of A Shooter”, which is all about gun safety, not psycho-killer snipers. These are really fun films and provide a hillarious look at what kinds of things infulenced our parents growing up. For instance, I noticed that the “Red Threat” seems to loom large in their awareness. So, too, did teaching kids about sex and interpersonal realtions. In particular, making sure everyone was all properly socialized. I wonder why we don’t seem so worried about that today?
In any case, if you want to find out more about how the communists are behind the pornography industry, or what to do in case of acne, or any of a number of terribly usefull things, you can check out the Prelinger Archives at the Library of Congress. (Just click the link.)
