The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 102 The Educational Screen The Film and International Understanding Omaha Students "Listen to Britain" FRANK M. RICE English Department, Omaha Central High School THE OWI film Listen To Britain is unique in that it has no dialogue. It portrays directly the sights and sounds of Britain, and the audience liter- ally "listens to Britain." How would a group of high school students in the heart of America, far removed from Britain, react to such an experience? With this question in mind, the films was shown to approximately 800 eleventh and twelfth grade high school pupils of Omaha Central High School. As soon as they had seen the film, and without discussion, they were asked to write answers to the following questions: (1) How did this film aflfect your previous opinion of England ? (2) Did this film improve your opinion of Britain as our ally? (3) Did this film make you more anxious to help in the war effort? (4) What other effects did the film have? In order to trace the trend of reaction, without en- tailing burdensome tabulation, eight questionnaires were selected at random and analyzed in detail. The answers to questions one and four were so similar in many respects that they may best be grouped together. Since these were free response questions, they revealed various interesting reactions to the film. Many were surprised to find the English people much the same as the Americans in respect to their work and recrea- tion. Others were ashamed of the little effort we have made so far as compared with the English effort. Some were impressed by the number of women doing men's work, the presence of so many uniforms, the efhciency of the black-out. A number were .surprised to see al! classes working and playing together. In respect to question two. sixty-six answered affirm- atively; six were unchanged because, as one put it, "I have always admired England as our ally" ; and eight were not favorably impressed. In response to ques- tion three, sixty-nine were affirmative; nine unchanged because they already were doing all they could; and two were unmoved. Though the majority were a bit confused by the technique of the film, since they were given no pre- liminary instruction as to what to expect, they did enjoy the musical background, the nicely balanced contrasts, as exemplified by the small children and the implements of war, the rural and the urban life, the practical and the cultural, night and day, fog and sunshine, the lark and the factory whistle. The fact that the technique of the film caused some confusion suggests that ade- quate preliminary by the teacher or in the beginning of the film itself might increase its effectiveness con- siderably. In general, the reaction to the film was good, a pleasant experience. Many were very enthusiastic. There were a few who took exception to the film on the basis that it was propaganda, but they were not Edited by DR. JOHN E. DUGAN Haddon Heights, New Jersey, Schools EDITOR'S NOTE—The very variety of reference in the material in this month's department bears implicit evidence of the broad scope of the film in this field of international understanding. Reference is made to a mid- western high school and to a great eastern university, to an English film for Americans and American films for Britons, to 16mm and 35mm and possible changes between them. This field of international understanding is a new field which is opening up great possibilities. It is not a narrow field, but a field as wide as the world itself and as com- prehensive as the whole field of motion picture art and pro- duction. opposed to Britain as our ally. Interestingly enough, some pupils compared this picture with Mrs. Miniver. preferring the latter becau.se "it was easier to listen to." Visual Interpretation Courses in Yale Foreign Area Studies "Visual Interpretation Courses" will be part of a program of "Foreign Area Studies" which the Graduate School of Yale University has inaugurated to train college graduates and other qualified individuals for service during the war and in the post-war world. Intensive language and analytical courses will be offered on various countries and areas of the world. Stu- dents will normally specialize in one country or area, and will divide their time evenly between a language course and analytical courses. As an integral part of these ^ courses, a jjrogram of lectures illustrated by carefully selected moving and still pictures, showing the physical environment, economic life and culture of the people and the country will be offered. A more comprehensive report on these "Visual Inter- pretation Courses" will appear in a later issue of this department. Film Series Builds Morale at Home and Good Will Abroad Under the title This Is America, RKO is currently issuing for theatre showing a series of two-reel features based upon our war effort. The series is being released both here and abroad in the expectation that it will con- tribute to morale at home and to better understanding of America overseas. The first of the series. Private Smith oj the U.S.A., takes a typical small town lad through the first thirteen weeks of his basic training in the army. Women In Arms, the second release, shows how each of a score of typical American women finds her place in the war effort. Another release. Army Chaplain, portrays the heroic and useful life of a typical U. S. Army chaplain, and tells the human story of all faiths on the fighting fronts. It is planned to release a new picture in the (Concluded on page 115)