Director: Marke Slipp, Penny Ritco
National Film Board of Canada. 1997. $39.95
Length: 52 minutes
Audience: High School, Teacher Training, Parent Councils
Topics: TV violence, influences of television

NFB film description:

"A fact-filled...fascinating look at how families use television."

Starweek

By the time they leave school, most North American children will have watched enough TV to see 8,000 murders, 100,000 other acts of violence, and over 600,000 commercials. This documentary on the world's most powerful medium tackles key issues such as TV violence and addiction, commercialism, the V-chip and the death of imagination.

Strangers in the House features interviews with culture critic Neil Postman; George Gerbner, the guru of TV violence studies; John Pungente of the Jesuit Communication Project - and, of course, TV-watching kids. The video raises troubling questions, avoids simplistic solutions, and inspires both parents and children to action. It suggests that one of the ways to counter TV's effects is to widely promote media literacy - so children can learn to be smarter than television.

Strangers in the House can be ordered online through the National Film Board.