Filmstrip Nostalgia

Mine was probably the last generation to enjoy filmstrips in class. By the late 70’s, these manually advanced instructional films accompanied by their annoying beeping cassette tapes were already becoming antiquated and kitschy.

When our teacher needed a break, we would be treated to one of these gems, which could be anything from “How Rubber is Made” to “Soapy the Germ Fighter” to “Images from the Louvre”. Or maybe it was a cautionary tale about the evils of drugs or a grizzly and graphic set of photos that showed exactly what your fate would be if you exceeded the speed limit or did not wear a seat belt. And there were always the dire warnings of what would happen to your reputation if you bent to peer pressure and allowed Jimmy to get past first base.

While the majority of my fellow students took these filmstrips as an opportunity for an afternoon nap, I was fascinated by the inner workings of these machines. Many of these films were scratched from overuse, and the sprockets were broken, which caused them to advance incorrectly, so you’d be treated to the top half of the last image coupled with the bottom half of the next. It was like looking at abstract art.

I loved learning how to thread the film into the machine, not because I wanted to be the teacher’s pet, but because I was interested in all things mechanical. And I was also anal enough to think that if I weren’t the one advancing the strip each time the cassette beeped, then we’d get woefully behind and kids would miss out on a learning opportunity. We couldn’t have that, now, could we?

If there isn’t some archive out there that is storing these little tiny windows on the culture of our more innocent past, there ought to be. The comic relief alone would be worth the cost of the storage.

Author: The View from a Drawbridge

I have been a bridgetender since 2001, and gives me plenty of time to think and observe the world. View all posts by The View from a Drawbridge