As a teacher, I feel my number one job is to help my students to develop their ability to think. To be honest, the exact content I teach is insignificant compared to the importance of helping my students to develop their critical thinking skills. My students can literally look up anything about World History that they would like without even having to pause the music they are listening to on their pocket sized computers.
But thinking... there is no App for that... yet.
Because my students have disabilities in reading and writing, it can be difficult to find appropriate materials to inspire deep critical thought. Luckily for me, I have a DVD player, the trust of my bosses, and the freedom to be creative.
One topic that really allows my students to develop and show off their thinking skills is the Cold War.
After a very brief introduction to the topic to ensure everyone is on the same page, I show my students the film Duck and Cover (1951). Actually, it is more accurate to say I turn my classroom into Mystery Science Theater 3000 for a few minutes so we can crack a few jokes at the absurdity of the film Duck and Cover.
Here are some of my favorite parts to make fun of:
1:50- The narrator compares an atomic bomb blast to a fire or a car crash. I normally hit the students with, "Yeah its just like a car crash... or 1 million car crashes all at the same time!!!"
2:29- Narrator "If you are not ready and did not know what to do, it could hurt you in different ways. It could knock you down hard, or throw you against a tree...". At this point I always add "Or it could turn you to ash!"
2:52 The narrator compares a nuclear explosion to a sun burn. He says "A nuclear blast can burn you worse than a terrible sunburn". Again I point out, "Yes. Much worse. Because sunburns don't turn you to ash!"
Come on Jimmy. Put on your sunscreen. We are going to grandma's and you know how she likes to set off those nuclear explosions after dinner.
3:30 In addition to laughing about the fact that the kids wear nice dresses and shirts and ties everywhere (even when playing sports), I always pause the video here to ask, "When can a bomb explode?"
My class responds with, "At any time!"
Yep at any time! Even if you are playing baseball in your Sunday best.
4:31 The narrator encourages a young girl to seek out an adult man (whom she does not know) in the event of an emergency. It then shows the two enter a dark shelter (basement). For this one I usually whip up the most sarcastic voice I have and say something like "Find a stranger and go somewhere dark with him."
That place looks dark and menacing. Come on. Let's go.
5:10 Some older boys (who are waring ties of course) are showing their fellow students how to duck and cove run the hallway.
I always point out that it really looks like they are about to kick this kid.
This fine young man is showing the other students exactly where to kick the other boy.
6:00 Again as the narrator explains that a bomb could drop anytime and anywhere, I pretend to be the mother and say "By kids, hope you don't get hit by a nuclear bomb today."
By kids. Have a great day. I hope a nuclear bomb doesn't fall on you anywhere at anytime.
6:10 I simply yell "Wham!" when the boy knocks his sister into the wall.
6:45 In case the kids still don't get it, the narrator again points out that a bomb can fall any time day or night... even on the way to your Cub Scout meeting. Here I point out that the kid appears to slam his face into the curb. When the narrator points out how still the child is laying, I shout, "Because he's knocked out!"
7:42 Is my favorite! Not only does the big voice narrator guy again say that the bomb can fall on "Sundays, holidays, or vacation days" he explains how you can protect yourself from a nuclear blast with a newspaper. Yes a NEWSPAPER! When I point that out, my students always lose it and we need to pause for them to regain their composure.
Ooooo there's a sale at Penny's... and we're all dead.
But the cherry on top of all of this, has nothing to do with "safety" or nuclear weapons at all. At the 8:20 mark, I pause the video and point out the boy in the bottom left of the screen.
Everybody is going to see this! Johnny is going to be famous!
I explain to my students that this film was intended to be seen by every grade school student in the U.S. Then I proceed to tell them that I am sure every parent of the children in the film was so proud. They probably called up all of their friends and family members to brag about how little Johnny was going to be famous! He was going to be seen by millions of people! How exciting!
Then at 8:26 mark, Johnny does this...
They lose it. Sometimes the students beg me to rewind. I do.
I have them right where I want them. The students are all laughing and engaged.
Then I get serious and say, "Now obviously I am biased and think this film is very silly. If it is so ridiculous, why do you think students in the 1950s and 1960s were required to watch this film?"
I always get the same two answers.
One students will say, "It is to keep people calm and convince them they will be OK."
Invariably, another student will answer, "No. They are trying to scare people."
Using these two answers I am able to lead a very interesting classroom discussion about how both answers can be correct. (Personally, I think being able to see value in opposing arguments is one of the greatest signs of intelligence.)
They wanted people to feel safe. They wanted people to feel scared.
This year, one student summed up the conversation with, "Maybe the government wanted people to be a little bit scared but not so scared that they panicked all the time".
Not bad.
Not only does showing this video allow my students to exercise their thinking skills, it helps them to understand why the American public was so willing (perhaps eager) to spend money to fight Communism during the 1950s and 1960s.
When we cover topics like the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, my students always make the connection between the fear of an atomic bomb being dropped and the public's willingness to spend tax dollars to help prevent it.
It also helps them to understand why so much money and effort was put into the space and arms race.
Does that make this expenditure of resources ok? Does our government do anything similar today?
That is for them to decide.
I guess they are just going to have to think about it.
But let's get back to the question in the title of this post. Is Duck and Cover part of government propaganda or a public awareness campaign?
The first line of the wikipedia page about this film reads "Duck and Cover is a civil defense social guidance film that is often popularly mischaracterized as propaganda."
"Popularly mischaracterized as propaganda" huh?
Wikipedia (siting Oxford Dictionaries Online) defines "propaganda" as "information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view".
Wikipedia defines a "social guidance film" as "a genre of educational films attempting to guide children and adults to behave in certain ways."
So I will leave that question to all of you.
Do you think the film Duck and Cover was government propaganda or a public awareness campaign?
Image 1
All other images and gifs are from the the 1951 film Duck and Cover which is now public domain.
Duck and Cover Film on Wikipedia
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