The attitudes expressed in this film are very dated, but represent the goals of desired behaviour for teenagers in the early 1950's.
What makes it different is that this film is much more frank than similar films made in the USA at the same time. Unlike those films that couch sex-education in euphemisms and are limited to teaching abstinence, this film outlines the level of education that should be doled out at various stages of a child/teen's development. The focus is actually on teaching parents how to raise their children to behave correctly, rather than on telling teenagers what to do or not do. The production is paid for by the McGraw-Hill Book Company, so books also figure prominently in providing good guidance.
There are gender attitudes in this film that will grate on modern viewers, and the two white middle-class teenagers shown may be too idealized to resonate with modern teenagers, but the film is a frank, realistic look at teenage development in the 1950's. It is too realistic to be campy, but it does serve as a valuable record of a moment in history.
What makes it different is that this film is much more frank than similar films made in the USA at the same time. Unlike those films that couch sex-education in euphemisms and are limited to teaching abstinence, this film outlines the level of education that should be doled out at various stages of a child/teen's development. The focus is actually on teaching parents how to raise their children to behave correctly, rather than on telling teenagers what to do or not do. The production is paid for by the McGraw-Hill Book Company, so books also figure prominently in providing good guidance.
There are gender attitudes in this film that will grate on modern viewers, and the two white middle-class teenagers shown may be too idealized to resonate with modern teenagers, but the film is a frank, realistic look at teenage development in the 1950's. It is too realistic to be campy, but it does serve as a valuable record of a moment in history.
