Don't Be Like Brenda

Don't Be Like Brenda(1973)

05/27/1973 (US)Drama, Documentary0h 8m
3.2

Overview

The brutally entitled Don't Be Like Brenda (1973) is an eight-minute lecture to young women, telling them not to be sexually promiscuous like the film's hapless heroine – although heaven knows, the promiscuity hinted at here is tragically modest. Poor Brenda goes all the way with a boy who does not marry her. The film is stunningly without any useful educational content on contraception and makes it entirely clear that the woman, not the man, is to blame. The film even makes her poor unwanted child suffer from a heart defect, so that no one wants to adopt the poor little thing – just to hammer the point home. (from: http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2009/feb/11/sex-education-films)

W. Hugh Baddeley

Director

W. Hugh Baddeley

Writer

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Part of the The Joy of Sex Education

A survey of sex education through the ages. Many of the early films highlight Britain's horror at the very thought of sex and sexuality. Euphemisms abound and, if you can get away with making your point with the aid of a few birds or rabbits, why not? Even some mildly amorous pollen gets in on the act as a stand-in for something otherwise far too unpleasant to show. At least it saved the teachers' blushes. Despite the often unintentional humour, the films provide a vivid snapshot of the nation's concerns and anxieties across the decades. Not only did they teach us to keep our trousers firmly zipped, but also managed to underline the establishment's attitude towards women. Loose of morals and self-control, women are invariably portrayed as the spreaders of disease and responsible for just about every 'misfortune' that comes their way.

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