The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

May, 194} Page 163 War Chemistry class at Howard University, Washington, D. C. From the OWI film, "Negro Colleges in Wartime." sential they are to morale, to victory and to democracy. This is a race against time. A race to see which hap- jjens first: whether a majority of the American people see and support these movies or whether a majority of "ur Congressmen vote down this particular appropria- tion for the Office of War Inforn^ation and the Office of Inter-American Affairs. And time is iniiwrtant in this war—just as important as the flashing minutes on a hattlefield. In March a handful of reactionary Congressmen opened fire on a few government pam|)hlets, published by 0\\^I. One of these revealed to foreign nations that a man named Roosevelt is our President and that he has had an en- gaging personal history. Another one chronicled in detail the Nazi method of destroying a modern city. .\nother pointed out the dangers of Hitler's divide and conquer technique. No-one asked the American people if they liked those pamphlets. No-one consulted authorities on psychological warfare to find out how etTective they might be. But a few weeks later 14 able writers resigned from the Office of War Information, because production of such pamphlets has been cur- tailed. OWI could not stand the one-way fire. With- out vocal support for such pamphlets, Elmer Davis had to back down on that program. Exactly, the same thing can and will happen with war movies. It can be achieved by the storm-trooper tactics of a liandful of Congressmen. Uninhibited by the laws of libel, they can paint a black enough picture to con- vince a majority of fence-straddling Congressmen— who haven't heard much about this from the folks back home. That's the daiiger ! .Mready this pressure has forced the Office of War Information to promise hereafter to channel its infor- mation through the regular mediums—newspapers, radio stations and magazines. .\nd in that direction lies chaos. Chaos, because public opinion cannot be marshalled for rationing programs through newspapers. if the papers have been viciously campaigning against the whole business. In Boston. OWI has had the sad experience of seeing its factual releases ground u]) be- yond recognition by a few newspapers more interested in discrediting \\'ashington than in making the pro- grams work. The same goes for many radio stations and many magazines. A few papers should be deco- rated for their contriI)utions to wartime morale, for truthful presentation of government information. But the rest have achieved no reputation that deserves OWrS latest move. If all government information is to be channelled through newspapers, radio stations and magazines—if all our eggs are to be placed in those baskets, we ought to expect an omelet of misinforma- tion. And that won't help win the war. and it will make inevitable the losing of the peace. It's not strange to riie that this storm should develop over government publications and movies—esjiecially movies. After experience in both newspaper and radio work and in showing war movies, I'm convinced that movies are the most effective medium for changing peoples' minds. Hitler was convinced of that when he filmed his blitzes and then used the movies to soften up his next victims. Fascist-minded persons in our own country are convinced of the same thing—so they fear our government entering the same field: to show up fascism, to get across the challenge of democracy, to beat Hitler at the vital game of converting people to a cause. This is a war of ideas and movies are the most ef- fective medium of thrusting the.se democratic ideas into anxious minds, spreading the ferment of the fight for freedom. And so the battle wages. For ll'hoiit the Bell Tolls has been completed and is being held up by Washington, until our State Department decides iust how far we should go in the dirty business of appeasing Hitler's satellites. Mission to Mosco7i' has had its (Concluded on page 175)