The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

November, 1943 Page 337 The Film and International Understanding IX DEALTXG with a compound title such as The Film and International Understanding, it is very easy to lose one's balance and to emphasize one member of the title to the neglect of the other: and it is just as simple to fall into the custom of habitually approaching any discussion through one end of the title rather than the other. As educators in the visual Held it is only natural for us to gravitate to the first member, "The Film," and to end up with implications for the other member, "International Understanding." We should remember that both members compose the title, that they balance, and that at least occasionally it might be well for us to look at the whole matter from the angle of the second member in the hope of arriving at some implications for the first member. Because of the many fine films with international material which are being produced, it is very easy for educators interested in this phase of visual education to emphasize the film as such, to approach the problem through the possibilities of the film, and to gratefully accept, perhaps even magnify, the elements of inter- national understanding involved. It is not intended to criticize such procedure, since it often has accomplished much good and sometimes has sown seed where the ground otherwise might have remained untouched. It must be recognized, however, that at other times it has lessoned or lost the support for visual education of disappointed workers in subject matter fields who felt that the bearings of some film or films was not sufficiently pertinent or comprehensive for the subject at hand. Films in the field of international understanding re- quire as much care and discrimination in their selection as do films in any other field. There is no justification for showing a film in this field merely "because it has international implications." Some comprehension of the nature of international understanding is required to guide selection. International understanding is not a simple unity. It is a combination of various aspects and elements. It involves nations and individuals, governments and in- stitutions, languages and traditions, customs and ideals, independence and interdependence, facts and emotions, as well as a long list of other items. Not all of these can or should be studied at the same time and the same place. Therefore films should be selected for their bearing upon a particular problem at hand in a particular situa- tion. Is the film to be shown in school or out of school? Is it to be shown to children or adults; at home or abroad? What aspect of international understanding is involved? What about language? This last point is not limited to foreign languages; some sections of our country have difficulty understanding a London accent, and some Londoners may find southern drawl incomprehensible. The particular problem at hand should be clearly understood and an intelligent effort made to select the right film to meet it. Sometimes the problem may be merely that of the DR. JOHN E. DUGAN. Editor Haddon Heights, New Jersey, Schools transmission of facts or ideas from one nation to an- other. The ability of the film to do this effectively, surmounting the l)arriers of distance, time and language, need not be again emphasized here. Another time the problem may be that of the pre- sentation of some ideal. By showing the ideal in action in certain activities, the film maj- present it more clearly and emphatically than any mere recital of words ever could. Again the problem may be the portrayal of the daily life of a people. For the problem of getting througli the twenty-four hours of each day is a universal and fundamental one. All of us are interested in how the other fellow does it. An understanding of his traditions and customs, and how he eats, drinks, sleeps and has his amusements may bring us closer together than many a learned treatise. When we understand how and why the other fellow meets the problems of his daily exist- ence, he seems much less a peculiar stranger to us and much more a fellow human being with whom we have much in common. International understanding has a stake in the film's power to arouse emotion. The mere presentation of facts and ideals may die a dusty death unless there is also a motive or driving impulse to action or devotion. Sometimes a film may be used to portray the might of a nation or group of nations. The object ma\' be to arouse admiration, to inspire confidence, to encourage imitation, or even to create fear. Whatever the object, an intelligently selected film can do a better job. The production, distribution and showing of films in the field of international understanding involves the collaboration and cooperation of individuals and na- tions, and can in itself be an instrument of international understanding. Perhaps one of the best illustrations of this collabora- tion and cooperation on a wide basis is to be found in the film activities of the United Xations Information Service. Their publication Films on the United Na- tions* lists films under the headings: Australia, Bel- gium, Canada. China, Czechoslovakia. Denmark (including Iceland), Fighting France, Great Britain, Greece. India. Latin America. Luxembourg, Nether- lands, New Zealand. Philippines, Poland, Union of South Africa, United States of America, U.S.S.R. and Yugoslavia. In the Foreword. Henri Fast says: "One of the dif- ferences between the Axis and the United Nations in the field of propaganda is that Berlin, Rome and Tokyo consider films as the best weapon to galvanize the masses into collective war hysteria, whereas we regard them as being the best media for public education—as a means to bring about, in a constructive way, a better (Concluded on pag€ 357) *Films On The United Nations. 40p. il. 2Sc. 1943 United Nations Information Office, 610 Fifth Ave., New York City,