Pickled Liver

This sort of silly visual aid illustrates the damage done to a liver after long term alcohol abuse. It is a plastic jar with a model of a liver with cirrhosis floating next to a model of a pickle. I only show this in conjunction with a picture of a healthy liver to compare.

Youth are usually really interested in this item, but mostly want to know a)is it a real liver (no, but it was cast from a real one), and b) can I eat the pickle (nope, it is plastic). I actually prefer my liver poster to this item, but this is easier to transport.

A Stone's Throw: Adult Alcohol Use and its Impact on Youth Attitudes and Behavior

Produced by: FACE
Year: 2005
Length: 5 minutes, 30 seconds


Really this is a elongated public service announcement, with artistic photography and a soothing voice-over. It illustrates adults inadvertent endorsement of alcohol use as children watch parents use and may emulate in their play and in their actions this use. Touches on parents' ignorance of youth use and the consequences, including death due to alcohol poisoning. Would be best used as an introduction to a coalition meeting or parent presentation.

Sort of dated-looking.

this place.

Created by: FACE
Year: 2005
Length: 16 minutes


Addresses adults in alcohol soaked communities, outlines the different ways youth get alcohol, the number of places that youth encounter a pro-use message. Testimonies from various youth drive home the idea that youth are drinking younger and younger and often their parents are completely unaware, or in some cases, actually provide the alcohol.

Very arty, with music, beautiful photography, and a dramatic voice-over. Calls for the communities to rally together to reduce youth access and exposure. Good idea for an introduction to parent/community meeting addressing social host ordinances and/or environmental prevention.

Has an optional version with an introduction from FACE CEO Penny Norton.

Alcohol Exposed

Distributed by: Human Relations Media
Year: 2000
Length: 16 Minutes


This video, hosted by two high school aged youths, defines alcohol, alcoholism, the various effects that alcohol can cause and alcoholism in the family.

It opens with several youth testimonies on what alcohol does. I felt throughout the video that these testimonies were less than genuine, and sort of unhelpful. Many of the youth reporting used the "I knew a guy who..." type stories that did not sound truthful.

The hosts' scripts and the video clips, etc. were very good, informative. They covered the 'What is a "drink?"' topic, noting that the amount of ethanol is the same in a beer as is in a shot. Also addressed the length of time it takes for the liver to process alcohol, noting that old myths like drinking coffee and taking cold showers would not speed the process up. It also depicts an alcohol poisoning ER scene.

There is a pause in the middle for discussion.

The video also touches on other issues associated with drinking, like accidental death, hangovers, and alcoholism. They mention social and environmental cues that lead youth to drink. The video also shows a youth whose father is an alcoholic and discusses resources for such youths.

I thought the video contained some good information. However, it looked dated, with older clothing and hairstyles. The information is very introductory and I would probably only show it to middle school, 7th-9th grade audiences.

Don't Drain Your Brain: How Alcohol Damages the Brain

Distributed by: Human Relations Media
Year: 2003
Length: 15 minutes


This video approaches the way the brain works and the interruption to normal brain activity when alcohol is introduced into the system. The video features very young hosts, lots of sound effects and animation, and a theme park ride-like musical score through the course of the video.

Opens with a close up of a real human brain, so huge gross-out factor. The youth hosts are barely in their teens. The video employs a lot of flashing graphics flying in from all sides. They interview several health professionals to discuss brain activity and in the middle there is a cartoon to demonstrate how the brain works. The animation is very young and sort of crudely drawn.

The youth hosts use a lot of "teen speak" terms--only they come off sounding like they were written by an adult (as I am sure they were). An example: The female host is talking to a professor from Duke university and asks him "Why do you think the brain is cool?" I did enjoy a demonstration featuring sober and intoxicated rats in a water maze.

The dialog and animation is very young--I wouldn't show this video to an audience older than 5th or maybe 6th grade, and follow it up with a frank discussion. The information is good, just the format is very MTV circa 1984. I am not a fan.

Alcohol and Sex: Prescription for Poor Decision-Making

Distributed By: Human Relations Media
Year: 1998
Length: 21 Minutes


This video chronicles the problems that can result from alcohol and sexual encounters. The video focuses on date rape in particular, but also discusses STD/HIV risk and focuses upon Spring Break culture and the poor decisions made during this time in a young person's life.

This video felt pretty dated to me, with older hair and clothing styles, plus the opening scene featured a girl bungi-jumping.

Interspersed throughout is a very believable portrayal of the he-said/she-said date rape scenario, with the boy assuming that it was consensual, while the girl feeling that she was too intoxicated to have given consent. Note: I am not sure if the youth speaking on this are actors or the real participants in this issue. The video does really outline the lingering problems that occurred for each party, including the girl gaining a "reputation" and not wanting to participate in any further social activities and the boy being disciplined and kicked out of school.

The video also featured a small focus group of youth led by a health professional of some sort discussing the attitudes regarding girls using alcohol--whether date rape is the girl's fault since she got drunk, if the boy had a responsibility to stop if she was drunk and could not consent, if friends should intervene, etc. Additionally, rohypnol and GHB are briefly mentioned.

They also interview spring-break revelers to get their opinions about alcohol's role in the festivities and in sexual encounters.

While this video is noticeably older, the information is sound, and I will still use it. I might add a disclaimer to the youth that it was made more than 10 years ago, so the fashions might be different, but the information is worth listening to.

Binge Drinking: The Rite of Passage

Created by: Solano County Office of Education and Timeline Media Productions
Year: 2008
Length: 30 minutes

This 2 disk set includes the 30 minute movie, a movie trailer, a poster, and educational materials. These materials include curriculum to be read, activities to participate in over a 2-hour period, pre- and post-tests.

This is a good video, very recent (one setting has an Obama 2008 sticker in the background). This video would be appropriate for 9th-12th grade to college aged students--exciting since relevant videos for this age group are rare.

This one relies a lot on adult testimonies (doctors, parents, alcohol prevention professionals). Is California-centric (specifically central/northern). Shows a story from Chico State, so great local relevance for us.