This sex education film was created to educate students about sexual diseases such as gonorrhea and syphilis. Sexual education films are arguably more closely tied to film than any other subject in the public schooling system. The first sexual education film was shown in schools in Eugene, Oregon in 1948. It was a 16mm called “Human Growth’. It opens with shots of sports fans in a crammed football stadium (:12). The camera pans over the players in the field (:16). The film turns to provide statistics on recent reported contractions of STDS. The stadium holds 100,000 and this number is used to explain the ratio of those with syphilis (:37) and gohnneria (:45). The number increases after five years (:52). Half of this portion was teenagers and this is the film’s target area. The organism known as syphilis is called ‘spirochaeta’. This bacteria is zoomed in on through microscope (1:23). Today the bacteria is known as Treponema pallidum. The bacteria which causes gonorrhea is explored and is known as gonococcus (1:31). These bacteria can thrive in areas such as the trash can (1:42), dirty water (1:49) or unclean utensils (1:57). Soaps suds can kill the live bacteria (2:07). The door knob is not a place the disease can be contracted. Once the bacteria is airborne, it dies (2:07). An animation explains how the STD’s are passed through sexual conduct (2:55). Gonorrhea is passed only through the mucus membrane (3:46). The progress of growth of gonorrhea is explored in the males sexual organs (5:21) as well as the females (5:32). A pregnant woman can spread the disease to their unborn child (7:06). Students move through a school courtyard (8:07). A chancre sore appears on a patient’s hand (8:24). Another is located above a woman’s lip (8:47). Patches erupt on a patient’s skin; other outward displays of the disease (9:14). A sore has formed behind a person’s ear here (9:31). Left untreated the disease can lead to blindness or heart attack (10:24). Complications during pregnancy is explored (10:37). A male patient consults a doctor (10:50). A sore formed from syphilis is examined by a doctor (11:29). A female patient consults the doctor (11:49). Blood samples are pulled (12:03). Patients wait in the waiting room of the LA County Public Health Department (12:16). Mail order medicine will not cure the disease (12:36). The medication must be prescribed by a doctor (12:45) as one pulls the syringe full of fluid. Damages from the disease cannot be reversed (13:05). Young people ask questions about STDS (13:56). This film was created with the support of Los Angeles City Schools and the LA County Health Department (14:43). This was a Churchill Film (14:53).

Motion picture films don’t last forever; many have already been lost or destroyed. For almost two decades, we’ve worked to collect, scan and preserve the world as it was captured on 35mm, 16mm and 8mm movies — including home movies, industrial films, and other non-fiction. If you have endangered films you’d like to have scanned, or wish to donate celluloid to Periscope Film so that we can share them with the world, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us via the weblink below.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com