Cultures of Europe

Meant to introduce viewers to the melting pot of European culture by pointing out major language families (Latin, Germanic, Slavic), religions (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox) and ethnic communities (such as the Basque), Cultures of Europe is too brief, too sketchy and too boring to engage much of anyone's attention, let alone the target audience of high school students. Street shot footage is combined with narration often quickly rattling off names and places that students would be hard pressed to catch (not to mention utterly lost when it came to spelling, since no onscreen titles are used--even on the maps!). While the general idea that European culture is a hodgepodge of various influences from a wide variety of sources is requisite to understanding the wars, conflicts and divisions that have rocked Europe throughout history and continue today, this video does a poor job of presenting that important concept. Not recommended. Aud: H. (R. Pitman)