Educational film magazine; (January-December 1920)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

AMERICAN FILMS SPREAD YANKEE IDEAS IN JAPAN Geisha Girls Have Their Special Sob Corners in Theaters—Policemen Cannot Be Insulted and Wives Must Kiss Their Own Husbands on the Screen M fii nis, ANY thousands of Japanese are movie mad. As prac- tically all of the films shown here are American the pictures are accomplish- ing much towards educating the E^n^K {a orientals in the details of American i^ A 1^ life, character, dress, fun, and trag- "i ^," edy. And the movies are working ~ a gradual change in the Japanese attitude toward American dress and habits of everyday life. \^ hile only a few Japanes women have discarded the kimono and the fetching sash, with its saucy obli, or loop of richly tinted silk at the back, the number of those in skirt and blouse and tailored suit is growing daily. Gradually the girls and women are discovering from the screen beauties that the oiled and stiffly conventional coiffure which has been tlie distinguishing characteristic of Japanese hairdressing these many ages is not to be compared. with the American coils and braids and knots that bring out the individual graces of the dearies in America. So they are taking to American styles in hairdressing. The American Wifeocracy One wonders whether the Japanese ladies, watching breathlessly the conduct of film wives, may not be learning also that the American woman has much more freedom and independence in her home than has the Japanese woman. She is fascinated by the manner in which screen scolds boss their henpecked mates about. Again, the Japanese boys and girls regret that they cannot read the English captions and titles on the pictures. At present these are translated for them by a man who stands on the stage behind the screen and delivers an interpretation of the pictures. I went to the Komparu theater on Sunday afternoon and witnessed a show without paying much attention to the pic- tures. For 70 sen (about 35 cents) I obtained a seat in the balcony. At the bottom of the stairway I had to pick my wav among hundreds of clogs and sandals which had been left there by movie fans. Strong for Sob Stuff At the stairway there was a tele- phone and it jingled merrily as I was waiting to have my shoes at- tended to. The American owner of the theater explained to me a mo- ment later that the call was from a Cieisha girl, representing a little part of Geishas who wanted to come over to see the show if the manager was quite sure that there would be plenty of pictures to "make them cry." "The Japanese women and girls would be ashamed and afraid to weep before their husbands and brothers at home," said the manager, "and so they welcome the sobby film as a grief producer.' They come and sit in the public theater and crv and splutter to their heart's content, and go away feeling fine after the April shower." 10 Wife or None There was some confusion at the door owing to a Jap anese law which forbids men and women to sit together ii a theater unless they be united in the holy bonds of matri mony. "Are you married?" is not an uncommon question ad dressed to some man who seeks tickets for himself and lad'l together. "Yes," says the ticket buyer. "Prove it," demands the ticket seller. "You prove that we are not mar- ried," retorts the ticket buyer. The ticket seller surrenders. He is sure the man and the little lady are put- ting one over on him, but he has no time to search the official records and take depositions and so he tells the couple to go along inside and not keep the line waiting. The Japanese youth and sweetheart step inside, smiling behind their fans. In the Sob Corner For a distance of ten feet behind the balcancy rail there is a space without chairs. Mats are on the floor, and on these sit the Geisha girls, their legs doubled under them in a fashion that would be torture to an American girl. But thev sit there for hours, smoking cigarets. crying, laughing occasionally, but all the time thrilling with the ebb and flow of emotions. How Laura Jean Libbw could work on those Geisha girls with one of her varus of suffering love and shivering dis- aster ! The Japanese are quick of percep- tion. They get all there is on the film. No flash of an eye or curl of a lip is too swift foi them and the significances are duly registered. The Police Censor This was the only movie theater in Tokio where childrei may go. The police are the censors in Japan, as in Chicago and they perform their task of weeding out the immora and the unethical and the dangerous without aid of civiliail Iicards. In a Japanese picture show an actor is not permitted U, lieat up a policeman, or hit him in the eye with a custarcj pie or in any way to discomfit or discredit him and hiil dignity. The policeman always comes out on top or elsi there is no j)oliceman in the reel. Mary Pickford cannot kiss anybody excepting her bus band in Japanese picture houses. She might possibly b< permitted to kiss her brother, but that would require deej ronsideration on the part of the police censors. Tliere car he no violent struggles or knife plays in Japan.