How To... How To...

Cooking Frozen Beef - USDA
Shows housewives how to cook frozen beef (steak, beef rib roast, hamburger patties, stewed beef). Narrated by a faceless self-assured woman who we can only assume is our nation's Home Economist General.

How To Get Cooperation (1950) Coronet Films
Explains the need for a variety of methods of securing cooperation. Shows how desired ends can be reached more easily with cooperation of others. But I really like this film because it centers on recruiting members for the student audio-visual engineers club (a.k.a. a/v geeks!). Ed is so excited because the new 16mm projectors have arrived, but he has a lot learn about recruiting. The physics teacher helps Ed figure out that the soft approach works best than a blunt one.

How To Be A Friend (1977) Alfred Higgins Films
Friendship requires an active process of involvement and growth because it involves trust, respect, and sharing. It requires effort to make friends, to keep friends, and above all, to be a friend. Explores qualities which help to create rewarding friendships, such as trust, shared interests, supportiveness and candor. Lots of girls with wings and each scenario in the film is punctuated by a Judy Collins-esque two line song about friendship.

How To Conduct Yourself In School (1985) Sandler Films Inc
Depicts consequences of careless behaviors in school and at play. Two student ambassadors very dryly inform us to behave in school, and whatever you do, DON'T DAMAGE SCHOOL PROPERTY.

Talking with Your Teenager about VD (1974) Glen West Films
Shows parents effective ways of communicating with their children. Includes teenagers discussing communications with adults in general and the subject of VD in particular. Features a leading public health official who presents information about venereal disease. The film is an encounter group with teenagers talking about how they can't communicate with their parents. This group is very awkwardly inter-spliced interview with a doctor who awkwardly describes VD transmission, symptoms, treatment. For example, the doctor points to an illustration of a woman's reproductive organs "This is a woman who has been cut in half."

The Shoplifter (1964) Highway Safety Foundation
Shows in detail techniques used by amateur and professional shoplifters and explains how alert employees can prevent thefts. While this film was made for retail employees, the film really is a how-to for potential shoplifters. The biggest hauls are made by women who can carry up to 25 pounds of meat, cigarettes, typewriters or shoe polishers under their dresses. If you are a store owner, its hard not to watch this without assuming that everyone is your store to steal from you...

How to Build an Igloo (1951) National Film Board of Canada
A demonstration of igloo building in Canada's far north, showing how the site is collected and how blocks of snow are used. Presents a step-by-step demonstration by two Eskimos of how to build an igloo, showing how the site is selected and how blocks of snow are used to make a snug shelter against the Arctic cold. Explains why the snow must be carefully chosen, why the blocks are built up in a spiral and how an igloo is ventilated. An awesome film! Available at the National Film Board site.