Protect Your Family

Seeking to trade on the pervasive paranoia following the 9/11 terrorist strikes, this shrill polemic aims to advise citizens on how to minimize their families' exposure to the threats of biological and chemical weapons attacks. In fact, the video slipcase's cover illustration says it all with the picture of a happy nuclear family--Mom, Dad, two kids, and Fido smiling in a park--above a picture of a gas-mask clad adolescent in front of Old Glory. Gad, talk about invigorating graphics! While this may bring a lump to one's patriotic throat, the program itself (with it's own peculiar seal of approval emblazoned on the jacket: "Proven Israeli Know How") is highly reminiscent of those overstated doom and gloom screeds that saturated the video marketplace concerning the "millennium bug" that would bring the civilized world to its collective knees. For the record, the program touches on creating a shelter, purchasing appropriate protective gear, detecting an attack, and administering first aid. Admittedly, my residence in the Midwestern hinterlands of Fortress America probably lessens my perception of the immediacy of a devastating biological or chemical attack, but this program--with its over-the-top tone--lacks the calm and reasonable approach that would be most useful in addressing these doomsday scenarios. Not recommended. Aud: P. (M. Tribby)