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11
TUESDAY
The Library of Congress’ holdings are so deep that a satisfying program can be curated simply by picking a random keyword from the catalog. As was the case for this week’s offering, found under the subject “how-to.” The results are a stupefying collection of “informational” and “instructional” films made in the days before the word “media”—never mind the concept of media literacy—held such sway. Corporations once felt confident that their customers and employees would sit still for such nonsense as Drive the Difference, a 1957 epistle for Buick dealers. Or that TWA stewardesses (and they were all stewardesses) needed to be told how to Keep a Beautiful Head on Your Shoulders (1960). Surprisingly, Arthur Murray was teaching the Shag as far back as 1937. Though Eugene Raskin’s 1964 word portrait of the Big Apple, How to Look at a City, may be timely and inspiring, I’m much more interested in the Para Communications Group’s 1971 effort How to Kill. These and more show at 7 p.m. at the Library of Congress’ Mary Pickford Theater, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Free. (202) 707-5677. (Dave Nuttycombe)