The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

November, 193 5 Page 249 A Discussion Concerning the Proposed American Film Institute IF THIS were a discussion in economics, one of the major topics of discussion would hinge around this query: \\"hy is it that we produce goods and services so well in this country, but dis- tribute them so badly? Interestingly enough, we face the same dilemma, and perhaps there is a relationship, in the field of education. We have an excellent cultural heritage; we have brilliant scien- tists and able artists. There exist in the minds and writings of experts, knowledges and skills and attitudes which, if diffused into the population, would immeasurably improve the quality of hu- man living. But education, like our productive resources, has not Ijeen adequately socialized nor its benefits satisfactorily diffused. I am not suggesting that there ought to be any moratorium on research or the development of new ideas. They should go forward as briskly as they ever have. I do want to suggest, however, that there are certain bottle necks between the production and distribution of ideas which need careful study. The avenue by means of which ideas are distri- buted is called social communication. It proceeds by face-to-face contacts with persons, by group ob- servation of environment and by indirect methods of communication through print, through the telephone and its variant, the radio, and through pictures—still and moving. The aim in each case is for the verbal or pictorial symbols of the speaker or author to evoke parallel experiences in the minds of the listeners or viewers. These channels for the distribution of ideas may not work well for a variety of reasons. We are here concerned only with those types of mal-distri- bution of ideas which arise because of our failure to adequately understand and utilize one of these media—the motion picture. My discussion in this particular field should not be taken as an indica- tion of propagandizing for this particular method as opposed to the radio and the press. They, too, need to be more wisely and more extensively used. I do wish to point out, however, that we have by no means utilized the inherent possibilities in the motion picture as a medium of social communica- tion. Considerations such as these have led the United *Speecli given at DeV'ry Institute in Chicago, June 26, 1935 By EDGAR DALE Bureau of Educational Research Ohio State University, Columbus. Ohio States Office of Education, the American Council on Education, the Visual Instruction Department of the N. E. A., and other groups to a study of ways in which these factors might be eliminated or ameliorated. The United States Office of Educa- tion has, of course, been supplying information re- quested by schools and teachers as to the availabil- ity of films and other types of equipment. The American Council on Education under the presidency of Dr. George F. Zook, has in its mem- bership 23 national education associations and 18 other groups. It has 20 associate members from departmental organizations and over 200 institu- tional members froin among the universities. The work of the American Council on Education has been that of coordination, as the term "coimcil" implies. In the fall of 1934 the Council made a re- quest for a small organization budget to develop plans for an American Film Institute. The Payne Fund of New York City made such a grant. On December 4th and 5th of last year a small group of educators, representing the varied interests in this field, met in the Council's offices and discussed this whole matter. The following tentative objectives were adopted after considerable discussion: 1. To develop a national appreciation of the potential contribution of the motion picture to the cultural life of America. 2. To collect and distribute significant informa- tion concerning motion pictures in education at home and abroad. 3. To stimulate the production and use of mo- tion pictures for educational purposes. 4. To promote the cooperation of all agencies interested in the production and use of motion pictures in education. 5. To initiate and promote research pertaining to motion pictures and allied visual and auditory aids in education. Following this conference several of the mem- bers present carried out a program of interviewing leading educators and organizations to secure their reactions to the proposed program. To date more than 200 such organizations have been interviewed or have written comments concerning the program. I should like now to briefly discuss these objectives as a whole and certain of the reasons for them. When the various educators agreed to the ob- jective "to develop a national appreciation of the