Our Secret Century Vols. 3 and 4

Hilarious, disturbing, and immensely revealing, these sixteen archival films are irresistible. "Its a little late for tears, isn't it Barbara?" the narrator scolds a sobbing teen shunned for her poor grooming habits. "Why don't they look?" wonders a railroad worker tidying the tracks after a grisly accident. Delving beneath their campy charm, Our Secret Century considers these "national home movies" for what they really are: odes to an idealized national identity fabricated by the corporations, institutions and government who made them and whose purposes they served.