The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

CAN A LEGISLATOR stimulate the thinking of his constituents through the use of motion pictures? The answer, of course, is yes. It is not an answer based on guesswork; it has been proven with the 16mm sound motion picture America in Crisis that I produced and distributed last year throughout my state of Wisconsin. The film was produced so that through the magic of the audio-visual medium I might acquaint the people of my state with the basic problem of world peace in our times. A small number of 16mm motion pictures had previously been prepared from time to time by other members of Congress. Most of these films consisted merely of collections of standard travelog shots — scenes of the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol, etc. Although it is essential that our people become familiar with these great landmarks of American freedom, it seemed to me infinitely more important to focus the attention of our people on some of the crucial present-day legislative and executive dilemmas. How the fifm was made My staff contacted various government agencies to see what footage on current problems might be available in their film collections — the National Archives, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Signal Corps of the United States Army, and other federal agencies as well as private film collections (the latter were used ultimately only for ideas contained in their films rather than for actual "borrowing" of footage) . The staff quickly confirmed that there are available literally millions upon millions of pertinent film shots made by government photographic departments and that probably 99.99 per cent of this footage has been used exclusively by the Executive Branch rather than by members of the Legislative Branch. Unfortunately, we could devote only limited time to this motion picture project at irregular intervals amidst the heavy schedule of the Senate. The project could not have a high priority in the office since I had to attend to an average of 300 letters arriving each day from constituents in addition to participating in meetings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and later the Senate Crime Investigating Committee. Moreover, beginning actively in August, 1950, I was engaged in a political campaign in the Republican primary and then for re-election. I recognized, of course, that any film released during a campaign season would almost inevitably be labelled "campaign propaganda" even though it might be sincerely intended for educational purposes. Meanwhile, in June, 1950, had come the North Korean invasion which brought to a head the very problems I had been intending to present on the motion picture screen. Therefore, I felt it worthwhile to carry through with the project even though its educational effectiveness might be reduced to some extent by the partisan campaign. The month of September saw the actual work begun on the picture. Members of my staff went to various government projection rooms and there scanned some thousands of feet of tentatively chosen film in order to make the final selection. From one Signal Corps film they selected scenes showing American infantry in battle and scenes of the first atomic explosion in the New Mexican desert. From another film they chose scenes Congress, The People, and Educational Films by the Hon. ALEXANDER WILEY U.S. Senator from Wisconsin of a 1930 dust bowl, an industrial dispute, a breadline. Gradually the clipped footage was assembled into a coherent pattern. Some twenty musical pieces (carefully selected to be free of copyright so as to avoid the problem of royalty) were secured for the soundtrack. And then one morning we put the finishing touches on the film at the Engineer's Research Development Laboratory in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, which had been loaned for our use. There I recorded my portion of the narrative on the soundtrack. This part of the film lasts for but a few moments. Thereafter, the narration is taken over by a professional announcer and by voices of my staff. Thus, my own role in the film both on the soundtrack and on the screen is very limited. The film itself revolves around issues and principles rather than around any single personality. What it's all about We chose as the basic theme of America in Crisis: "Senator Wiley Reports to Bill Jones, An Average Wisconsinite." The opening scene shows a veteran (one whose arms had been amputated because of battle wounds) ascending the steps of the Capitol. We hear the veteran tell why he has come to Washington — to see what the government for which he fought is really like. •*I9 Educafional Screen