The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 20 The Educational Screen The Film and International Understanding The Cinema in World Educalion Dr. Paul Monroe THE school must include the cultural range of a society. Hence in these modern times the school should include the cinema. In fact, education, though not always through the formal education of the schools, has already included the cinema. One argument for the general recognition of the edu- cational power of the film for good or for evil in world affairs is the general use that has been made of it by the totalitarian countries to produce the subordination of their youth to their ideology. The cinema becomes with thtm one of the most favored methods in modern education to produce the results which they desire. The advantage of this method is that it is not confined to the formal educational processes of the school. It is a well known fact that America is best known in many foreign lands through the cinema. Perhaps b}' no other method could America be made known so intimately to foreign observers as through this in- strument. Its possibilities are almost unlimited. The cinema as now used in many modern schools in geography, history and related subjects is a vital aid to auditory impressions, and as a visual aid is always very effective. This use is only a beginning, and may be but a very slight indication of the possible future use of a method which is capable of a mighty develop- ment. DR. MONROE'S optimistic view of the potential expansion of the use of the educational film cer- tainly is being borne out, even as these very lines are being written. Even the most enthusiastic advocates of visual aids have been amazed by the size and scope of the tremendous contribution which the educational film already is making to the war effort in so many ways—and the end is not yet 1 The statement that the present use of the educational film "is only a beginning, and may be but a very slight indication of the possible future use of a method which is capable of a mighty development" is nowhere truer than it is in the field of international understanding. Here we have only begun, and a whole world of op- portunity lies ahead. Two fundamental causes may be responsible for the slower progress in this field .... one of them technical, and the other psychological: First of all, certain technical devices, such as color, sound, montage and synchronization, which enable the film more easily to overcome barriers of time, space, and language, have only recently been brought to a high degree of refinement. Secondly, there was no intense demand for use of the film in international understanding until the present world crisis arose, and therefore even the techniques which were available were not seriously considered in this particular connection. Some travel films have used these techniques with Edited by DR. JOHN E. DUGAN Haddon Heights, New Jersey, Schools EDITOR'S NOTE—Dr. Monroe, who wrote this brief ar- ticle exclusively for this page, is a world renowned authority on educational history and international education. In addi- tion to service as President of the World Federation of Education Associations and as Director of the International Institute of Teachers College at Columbia, he has held distinguished educational posts in various parts of the world, and holds honorary degrees from the University of Peking, the University of Brazil, and the University of Dublin. This page is honored to have Dr. Monroe's comment on "The Cinema in World Education." great effectiveness. Although not usually made with an eye to developing international understanding, some of these films nevertheless contain material which may prove to be of great value in that direction. Although we still are learning some of our first lessons in the use of the film in developing international understanding, experience in the present crisis already has evolved certain principles which seem to be valid in this field. Purely militaristic films, films which are chiefly concerned with the movements of masses of troops and equipment, do not seem to be particularly effective. Films which are purely nationalistic, which seek to portray the power and glory of some nation to the exclusion of almost everything else, do not con- tribute to friendly understanding. Films which preach about abstractions do not achieve very concrete results. Those films which center about ordinary human beings and reach out from them for their lessons seem to be most effective. When Mr. Proudfoot shows a light, he creates more real understanding and sym- pathy than many a lofty flight of cinematic artistry might achieve. "Village School" seals a bond of friendship that a film tour of all the universities in England could not create. This principle of ordinary human interest applies even when the film is concerned with military matters or with abstract ideas. We can sense the drive and determination of an army which is marching along with Corporal Jones, and we can become emotional about some abstract principle which is pressing in on the hopes and fears of some ordinary mortal on the screen. Perhaps this principle of interest in the human individual may be the seed from which will come the power of the film in bringing about international under- standing and influencing reconstruction in the post-war world. Will this sort of film be the type for those days.and those needs? Will the documentary film play a major role? How will these films be financed, produced, distributed, exhibited, interpreted? These questions challenge all those who are inter- ested in visual education. Answering them will demand intelligence, ingenuity, and practical ability. They de- serve all 9f that. For how they are answered ma>' have much to do with determining the course of re- construction in the post-war world.