General Motors 1950 Driver's Education Video #comedy #youtube #driving #trending #documentary #new
Channel: TrendInsight Media
Date: 2024-02-02

This amazing film, designed to brainwash young drivers-to-be, covers many bases at once. First, it enshrines the freedom to drive as something equatable with Liberty and Justice. Second, it portrays driving as a wonderful, liberating thrill; a legal drug. Third, it paints the automotive industry as the indispensable linchpin of the American Way of Life. And fourth, it uses the fifties' big fist of conformity to tell its teen viewers that deviates who disobey highway "rules" will be cast out of society and/or caught and punished severely and/or worse. Not bad for an 11-minute film.
It manages to do all this by showing us a continuous stream of traffic and driving footage, overlaid with a nonstop grandiloquent narration purportedly provided by a talking driver's permit.
"I am your permit to drive an automobile," it begins. "I am only a card in your wallet or purse, yet I unroll before your eyes a magic carpet -- the millions of miles of highways and byways that crisscross the nation." The permit, it adds, is "your passport to pleasure," and Americans must realize that "no matter who they are, no matter where they are, I am with them." Just like liberty and democracy and Jesus, right?
Next comes the General Motors' vision of America, thoughtfully provided for young, impressionable minds. "Our way of living has become geared to the automobile," the permit tells us proudly. "The automobile has brought with it a new way of life, a new standard of living, matched by no other nation in the world" (we see shots of groceries being loaded into the trunk of a shiny convertible). Because of the motorcar, the permit informs us, new industries have been created that "help keep turning the wheels of our national economy" and "add billions to our wealth, providing goods, services, and job opportunities undreamed of only yesterday."
However, this rosy picture also has a dark side. "This year, I will be among the last papers of tens of thousands who will have no further use for me (mostly "18- to 24-year-olds," the permit adds). Over and over I ask myself, why? Is it the supposed thoughtlessness of youth that takes such a toll? Or is it my fault? Have I allowed myself to be -- taken for granted?" The permit is wracked with soul-searching agony. "I am a privilege and an obligation," it cries. "I try to tell people when they write their names across my face that they are signing a pledge -- a pledge to be the kind of driver they want others to be. We owe to each other the courtesy -- the fair play -- each of us expects!"
Next comes the plea for fifties' conformity. "As a nation, we set great store by sportsmanship," the permit declares. "Almost all of us, at some time, play the game." Sadly, the permit notes, our nation's highways have their share of "poor sports." "They are the reckless, who cause the accidents that maim and kill!" it cries. "Offenders, whose invasion of the rights of others may lead to curtailment of their own rights." For emphasis we are shown staged shots of a smug young man in a loud, plaid sport coat having his permit revoked by a judge. "Remember," the permit concludes, "I am your permit to drive, not your right to drive. You are entitled to drive only as long as you abide by the rules."
But the people who sponsored this film have too much riding on the automobile for it to end on such a sour note. "Perhaps the poor driver never learned the proper way to drive," the permit muses. "You have more opportunity than he. You have the opportunity to learn the right way to drive." The high-sounding generalities begin flying fast and furious: "Respect for the rights of others;" "a polite avoidance of contact;" "common sense safety;" "wholehearted cooperation and courtesy."
Finally, the driver's permit offers its concluding peroration, just in case the audience hasn't salivated enough yet about the prospect of driving. "I, your permit to drive, are the 'open sesame' to a lifetime of new experiences. I bring wings to your feet -- a freedom of motion you will learn always to cherish!" In other words, driving is like heroin, and your flag-waving, dream-weaving GM "dealer" is just that.


Safety education Drivers and driving Automobiles Detroit, Michigan (scenes) Rubber stamps Accidents (automobile) Driving (night) Traffic signals Traffic lights Driving safety Automobiles (safety) Drivers licenses Accidents (simulated) Detroit, Michigan (streets) Michigan (roads) Detroit, Michigan (history and culture) Surrealism Hospitals Sirens Lights Ambulances Highways Traffic Streets (city) Cities (U.S.)