Vintage Instructional Film Review: Fred and Food-borne Illness

by J. Clark Gardner, EdTech Dojo co-curator
 
I have an affinity for vintage educational films, and this one is a treasure. Recorded in “filmstrip” style, this was probably originally presented with a slide projector and tape recorder (complete with the “beep” sound to prompt you to change slides) and then converted to video.

In this short film produced by the FDA, the disembodied voice of the narrator keeps telling a father what he’s doing wrong while he prepares food for his family.

I find this film to be a surprisingly effective teaching tool. It seems to embrace the inevitable campiness of the filmstrip medium and present its content in a clear and entertaining way. Employing Fred as a somewhat buffoonish foil that keeps getting things wrong was a smart move—we are able to learn from his mistakes, and perhaps recognize some bad habits we may have developed ourselves. It would be much less memorable if Fred stood at his counter and, in his all-knowing wisdom, rattled off the ways one avoids food-borne illness.

The review at the end was helpful, and they used the same language to iterate the points, which helps with retention. I even learned one or two things I could improve on. I’m just glad I learned them this way, and not by having an uninvited disembodied voice criticize my food preparation skills.