The videos were distributed on VHS tapes to secondary schools across Belgium. Teachers signed them out from the media library, and a generation of Flemish students watched the same clunky yet earnest scenes. Today, those tapes have been ripped, converted to MP4 files, and uploaded to obscure forums, YouTube channels, and personal archives. Search and you’ll find a subculture of nostalgic viewers dissecting every frame.
When the video ends, the disk melts inside the drive, smelling of ozone and burnt sugar. Leo stands up, but his hands feel different—colder, more precise. He looks out the window at the quiet Belgian street and realizes the "installation" wasn't for the computer. It was for him.
When they finally kiss, the narrator pauses to define consent in plain Dutch: “Nee is nee. Alleen ja is ja. En ja kan veranderen in nee.” (No is no. Only yes is yes. And yes can change to no.) This scene is frequently cited by aficionados of as the most tender moment in educational film history.
: For historical television clips and documentaries from the 1990s.
In 1991, Belgium was a country in transition. The state structure had recently been federalized, but socially, the conservative grip of the Catholic pillar was still strong, yet loosening. Sexual education wasn't yet the comprehensive, mandatory curriculum it would become in later decades. It was a patchwork: biology focused on anatomy and reproduction (sperm meets egg), while ethics classes attempted to tackle the emotional and moral weight of relationships.
Ethische en juridische overwegingen
The installation screen is unlike anything from the era. There are no pixelated windows or grey buttons. Instead, the screen bleeds a deep, visceral crimson. A single text prompt appears: “Do you wish to see the future of intimacy?”
