16 mm was Kodak's first entry into the amateur market. It was about ⅙ the cost of 35 mm film. The film base was cellulose acetate, making it safe for home use. The width of 16 mm was chosen deliberately to ensure that it couldn't be manufactured by simply splitting 35 mm nitrate stock. It was a reversal film, i.e., instead of printing the negative to a second strip of film, processing turned the negative into a positive on the same strip, further reducing cost. Having long experience with film-based media, Kodak took a systems approach, developing the camera, process, projector, lenses, film stock and processing stations.

16 mm was used for home movies until it was supplanted by 8 mm. It saw widespread adoption for educational, industrial and military applications. It was used extensively for television programming. 16 mm kinescopes recorded live television programs before videotape became available. Relatively lightweight cameras made it possible to put a camera on the shoulder and move around, making it ideal for news gathering and documentaries. Its lower cost and reasonable quality made it popular with independent filmmakers.

Like all visual media, 16 mm was quickly adopted for pornography and erotica. "Stag" films like this one were produced by amateur film makers and typically watched by gatherings of men in places like fraternities and social clubs. The genre survived into the late 1960s.