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stumpweasel
Reviews
Don't Be Like Brenda (1973)
Sexist and not at all educational
Don't Be Like Brenda was made in 1973 in response to a Head Teacher saying that Hugh Baddeley Productions should add a sex education film to their roster of educational film and slide set titles.
Hugh Baddeley had a track record of making low budget but well scripted and shot educational films to support the then history and geography curriculum. The production company also made corporate films for Rolatruc, STC, The Salvation Army and other clients.
However, Brenda is a prudish misstep which attributes all the blame to the wanton and working class Brenda while her paramour, the middle class Gary, is staunchly defended by his mother and completely let off the hook. There is nothing to show what a healthy relationship might look like.
The film was out of date from its release. There is no educational content to explain conception, contraception and any consequences or options. Instead we are told Brenda has the baby out of wedlock only to be further punished when the baby is found to have a problem with his heart and is therefore unlikely to be adopted.
The film was included in the BFI release on DVD of a number of sex education films under the title The Joy of Sex Education.
Brenda lives on as an anachronism showing how things used to be, when sex mostly wasn't mentioned and girls (and their families) were shamed for having a child out of wedlock.
It's ironic that clips from Brenda have been used so frequently, eclipsing much of Hugh Baddeley's other work.
24 (2001)
More quality drama like this please
Am thoroughly enjoying the series - puts me in mind of another great series Murder One from Steven Bochco, which also made you think and probably got cancelled because of it. 24 has had me on the edge of my seat - so much so that I can forgive it the occasional cliche and soap opera twist. Congratulations to cast and crew for a top-notch drama. Keep up the good work - we need more drama to make you think instead of sit-coms with a moral carefully built in. Some of us out there have a brain, can use it and don't appreciate the dumbing down of television fare.