World Film and Television Progress (1938)

Continuing 'Four out of Fifty 35* \ 4* " War is one thing and murder is another . read "Paths of Glory" to get how terrible war can be. boy : The person you are fighting is not always some wild, dumb beast. He is apt to have as much intelligence if not more than you. His father has done something you don't like, and your father has sent you out to fight. girl : It (the picture) was so stirring. Anyone looking at it might think that war was thrilling. If they could be sent out to the battlefield they would see what war was like. boy : I don't think that the reaction of war is as strong as that. The Frenchman was sensitive. The average Frenchman and German would not have a bond between them. It would have less effect, because it is either he or I must die, and this would not have such a terrible mental effect on the person who committed the crime. girl: Anyone close enough to realise what was happening — a man sent out to lay wires — would know he'd be lucky to get out alive. They must realise what war is. boy: The mental effect is worse than the physical. The physical does not drag out so long. You are apt to go insane. If this man had not gone to see the family, he would have gone completely batty. girl: The average person feels badly when he kills, but if you are on the field and know that the Germans are killing you, it is not personal, you just want to kill. I think this was exaggerated in the movie. boy: Sometimes it might be a question as to who did the shooting. But when someone sees what he himself has done he will feel more effect. boy: War is a horrible thing. We should see what we can do to prevent it. boy: You can't prevent it. boy: In the fever of war time everyone catches it, and they are looked down on if they don't subscribe. 28 girl : It is human nature for people to fight, and I see no reason why it will stop. I don't believe in war, but we will have it. I don't believe it is entirely the munitions makers' fault — they are not the whole cause. girl : If you try to make world peace, and decide not to have so many warships, another country might try to get you in trouble. To prepare for peace we should be ready for war. boy : The purpose of the picture is to show that a great many people in Germany and France did not understand the people in the opposite countries. Maybe the countries could get together a little bit more and thus help to prevent war by understanding each other's feelings better. girl: The problem really has almost no solution. Now Germany is wanting her revenge. She wants her dominions back and she can't have them because they belong to England and France and they won't give them back to her. It seems to me there is no way to solve it. No country is going to give back what they have got. It is just hopeless. boy : Someone said a little while ago, that the way to preserve peace is to prepare for war. It is just such an attitude as this that keeps nations armed. We must correct this by education and teach people to understand one another. It is not hopeless. Improve the League of Nations and the World Court — teach people to understand one another. boy: Before the world war, did people talk about war in schools as they do now? leader: No. girl: People store up lots of energy that must be used for something. It has been proved that energy is put into arts, etc., and we know that energy must be used. Why can't we spend our energy in peaceful ways of education, how to spend our leisure, etc.? boy: If the people in different countries understood each other — this is not (A.B.F.D.) possible until the dictators are chased from the world. They do not know what is going on in the country. The dictators suppress speech. There won't be understanding as long as we have dictators. girl : As long as any country needs to spread out, as Germany thinks she does, then even if we do get together and get peace-minded, she has got to get more property some way or other, and will fight. girl : What if Germany and Europe go into war, why must we go in? boy : The President recently said that all the American citizens in Spain after a certain time, would not get any help from their country. If this would hold true in other countries and other circumstances, the country would keep out of war. It is just private interests in other countries that makes us get into war — munitions makers, the Ford company and other companies. There should be no protection for American citizens in a foreign country. This brings on war. boy: Someone said that it was absolutely necessary for Germany, Italy and Japan to expand. It is not true that they have to expand, because Mussolini says he must have an increasing population— more and more children — and then tells them Italy needs a place for their people. boy: There is a misunderstanding. Whenever people talk about war or going into war, they always place Germany on the other side to the U.S. You can't tell whether Germany will be on the other side in the next war. The last war is over and should be forgotten. girl: The picture shows that if you knew the person you killed you would not kill them. If you can't speak foreign languages, how can you understand them? girl: How did the doctor know that the young Frenchman was French?