While looking through the Prelinger Archives, I stumbled
upon an eye-catching title that quickly caught my attention, “Seduction of the
Innocent.” I wasn’t really sure what this film would entail, but the date next
to the title hinted at counter-culture and the need to “fit in” with its
glaring 1960s stamp. The film was exactly that. A bunch of images of teenagers
doing drugs and drinking alcohol to “fit in” and “feel better.” The 1950s were
all about conservatism and listening to your parents, while the 1960s
counteracted that. The 1960s liberated teenagers and made them have a voice.
This film was able to show that to future generations, almost in an attempt to
say, “don’t go too far free or this will happen to society.” And the 1960s was
not a bad society, just more untamable and loose.
What I found particularly interesting with this film was the
importance of “happiness” and “good feelings.” The film shows a car full of
four teenagers, driving down the highway and popping pills. Pills in this era
were very popular as they were thought to solve every problem presented. There
was a sleeping pill, a vitamin pill and even a happy pill. The teenagers appear
to be taking the “happy” pill and the narrator exclaims, “After the drug wears
off, and the “coming down feeling” as they say is set in, you feel put down and
sad. But the temptation steps in and it isn’t long for you to try again and
again and again.” That quote is very indicative of the era; temptation played a
tremendous role on the culture. This temptation led to trying new things, like
drugs, alcohol, and sex to override old traditions and ways, and often people
became addicted and it became a habit that was difficult to kick. As a society today,
we too have to be wary of temptation. Lust and desire like that only lead to
habits that become very difficult to break and behavior that is difficult to
manage.
https://archive.org/details/Seduction_of_the_Innocent
3 comments:
Good argument! I really enjoyed this video, what I saw from it very well relates to our present day students. This video reminded me of the Tonight video that UW makes us see as freshman. However, I think this video along with our school's video over dramatize the effect of drugs/alcohol on teenagers.
This video really caught my eye because despite the fact that this was made over 50 years ago, the issue is still prevalent in society. The quote that you picked out about all the different pills for each mood interested me also because it reminded me of the quote from Wolf of Wall Street, which was a set in the same time as this video, with Jordan Belfort describing all the drugs he needs to take throughout the day. I actually disagree with the previous comment that the effect of drugs/alcohol is over dramatized in these videos, since the video does show how these substances can be highly addicting. I personally think its very scary how after half a century, society, especially the youth, is still struggling from the effects that drugs have on their bodies and mind.
I really enjoyed reading what you had to say about the mood of culture in the 1960s. I like how you emphasized that it was a reaction, or a backlash to a more conservative time. This counter culture is seen a lot in history, as people respond to trends that did not work well for society. I feel like it relates to students today because it reveals the unleashed desires we all have and would take advantage of if we had the chance, but simply can't due to our restrictions. Our modern society reminds me of how the control revolution took over print culture. It was a way to bring order to something that turned out of hand, just as our society today has harnessed the wild behavior of the 1960s.
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