Gen X Was Forced To Watch These Weird School Films

Gen X remembers the AV cart. If you grew up in the 70s, 80s, or early 90s, you probably sat through some of the weirdest educational films ever made. Drug films. Stranger Danger. Duck and Cover. Puberty films that somehow made everything even more confusing. Fire safety. Health class. Nuclear survival. Every classroom seemed to have its own collection of bizarre filmstrips and film reels. The educational films Gen X was forced to watch in school were never really about education. Every time the teacher wheeled that squeaky AV cart into the room, turned off the lights, and hit play, it was the Great Adult Abdication in action. For twenty glorious minutes, the adults handed us over to a projector for low-budget, wildly questionable “life lessons” and hoped a government filmstrip would finish raising us. In this video we're revisiting 26 of the weird educational films that shaped a generation, why they still live rent-free in our heads, and why so many of them would never be shown in schools today. Films and memories we revisit • The AV cart ritual that made every classroom cheer • Filmstrips, film reels, and the beep that meant "turn the page" • Drug education films that promised one bad decision would ruin your entire life • Stranger Danger and why every adult looked suspicious • Duck and Cover and the government's nuclear survival plan involving school desks • Awkward puberty films that somehow answered every question by creating ten more If you're Gen X, I want to hear from you. Which educational film do you remember most? Was it Duck and Cover? A bizarre anti-drug film? One of those unbelievably awkward puberty movies? Or one I completely forgot? I read every comment because someone always unlocks another memory I haven't thought about in forty years. If you enjoy Gen X nostalgia, 80s memories, malls, Saturday morning cartoons, toys, music, television, and all the wonderfully weird things that made growing up in the 70s and 80s unforgettable, subscribe to Just A Midlifer. Timestamps: 0:00 Roll the tape 0:06 The sound that changed everything 0:47 The filmstrip 1:45 The film reel 2:02 The films themselves 3:16 The drug films 4:42 Stranger danger 6:11 Duck and Cover 7:33 The puberty films 9:34 The Great Adult Abdication 10:40 Which film got you? Part 2 coming soon: driver's ed, Red Asphalt, Signal 30, and the films that tried way too hard to be cool. If you liked this, you'll probably recognize everything in my Saturday Morning Cartoons video too. #GenX #80sKids #SchoolFilms #80sNostalgia #EducationalFilms Thank you to Looperman ‪@DigitalCrates‬ for the cool music loop! Films featured in this video: Beginning Responsibility: A Lunchroom Goes Bananas (1978) Am I Normal? A Film About Male Puberty (1979) Dangerous Stranger (1972) Big Yellow Fellow (1977) Use And Care Of Books (1979) Drugs Are Like That (1979) Inside Out But They Might Laugh (1972) Taking Care Of Your School Building (1979) Are You Listening (1971) One Got Fat (1963) Dear Diary: A Film About Female Puberty (1981) How Light Helps Us (1972) Playground Spirits (1972) Getting It All Together (1972) Bus Nut (1980) Inside Out Because It's Fun (1973) The Glug (1981) You Can Say No To A Drink Or A Drug (1987) The Terrible Truth (1951) Duck and Cover (1951) Stranger Danger Better Safe Than Sorry (1979) Molly Grows Up (1953) It's Wonderful Being A Girl (1966) Ricky Raccoon Shows The Way (1978) Bike Super Stars (1976) Me (1972)