Film Culture (February 1958)

unless they have a man in old clothes in front of the camera.” And among the “‘some,’ to judge from his films, we must put Fellini himself. It is evident that the flag, the pin-on-thelapel, of neorealism is not the rags, at least in the external sense of the word. Fellini remarks, moreover, in his interview that we have not even scratched the surface of Italian life, and he is right. “Cinema Nuovo” has always stressed the need of a progress from chronicle to history, from short story to novel, that is—from neorealism to realism. From this came our public and private discussions with Zavattini, a genuine exchange of ideas. We have not agreed with Zavattini—to take one example —on his insistence that the director must not try to influence reality in order to expose it, that his job is merely to register what goes on in front of the camera. This is chronicle, and not history. To this, let us say, Zolaesque method, we have preferred and insisted upon an approach like that of Balzac or Stendhal—a method which would lead us not to neorealism (naturalism in its various aspects) but to the great, the true and authentic realism. Confronted with the scattered remnants of the postwar effort which was the crisis of Italian society, we must now understand the crisis of our cinema. We must perceive the reasons behind the decadent suggestions of loneliness, the return to the past, the search for style and expressive moods as seen in some of our “greats” (Visconti, Antonioni, Fellini, Castellani) as well as the simultaneous warmth and color that, in Fellini’s case, have ascended into the clouds of mysticism. But we would like to stress again here that an understanding and acknowledgment of stylistic (and in part, artistic) values do not necessarily indicate agreement and support. Today it is more necessary than ever to get out from under the autobiography, the restricted and subjective view of reality, and onto that road that has been traveled in the literary field in varying degrees by Pavese, Vittorini, and Pratolini. I wanted to say this to readers of ‘Film Culture” because, in fact, Federico Fellini has not distinguished the negative critical judgment from the friendship and honesty of the critic, and because these casual accusations of dishonesty that he directs at Italian critics in general and “Cinema Nuovo” in particular are quite undeserved. GUIDO ARISTARCO. THE. FILM. SOCIETY SCENE Edited by Robert Hughes and Gideon Bachmann C. Cameron Macauley is a film producer and teacher at the University of Wisconsin. For six years he has served as faculty adviser for the Wisconsin Film Society, and he is now the Information Officer for the American Federation of Film Societies. A CRITICAL AUDIENCE FOR FILM — IN WISCONSIN The importance of film as a major cultural force is in evidence everywhere. Critical consideration of its value and character is not solely the domain of the film critic; it is also very much the business of the film-consuming public. Do those who make up this great nebulous audience wish only to be lulled by the moving images and sounds? Are they empty of all desire to develop within themselves an inquiring and critical attitude? Perhaps too frequently the answer is “Yes.” It is common to find an entirely passive majority. But there are encouraging signs that within the film’s heterogeneous audience a unique minority is growing: a minority marked by a keen critical interest in film as a major cultural force and a modern art form. Within the past three years, for example, the Extension Division of the University of Wisconsin has offered more than ten special adult classes in the study of film — not in Wisconsin’s largest cities, but in small cities and towns. More than 25 major feature films from a dozen different countries are available from the Bureau of Audio-Visual Instruction for in-state educational use at low rentals: films like Orpheus, Ivan the Terrible, Hamlet, Louisiana Story and The Great Adventure. A film study manual with study guides for these films has gone through three editions. In spite of such encouraging signs, our colleges and universities are traditionally slow to establish film as a subject area in their curricula. Too often film is taught as an adjunct to education, drama, or television. It is seldom accepted, full stature, as a unique medium of expression. Informally, however, many universities and colleges have fostered a serious interest in the film through campus film societies and film series. This is seen throughout the land — from Reed College to Dartmouth, and from the University of Alaska to the University of Puerto Rico — campus film societies showing and seriously considering important old films and exciting new arrivals. In fact, it is doubtful whether the statewide film study program in Wisconsin would have gained University support without the sincere interest paid to film throughout the rematkable history of a student film society on the Madison campus. February will mark the three-hundredth scheduled film and the tenth continuous year of the Wisconsin Film Society. Governed from the start by a democratic constitution, the society was organized by students who felt the need of a carefully selected film series, in spite of ample opportunities for seeing fine films in the area. It is a Society in the truest sense, too. Its membership is voluntary, and its common goals stem from a serious interest in good film. Many major decisions are resolved by the deliberation of the entire membership. The constitution requires that large expenditures be controlled by the Society as a whole. Even the selection of films is determined by an annual vote of the membership. Seven regular film programs are shown each semester, usually with the addition of a bonus program: often a film-maker presenting his work, Membership means much more than a chance to attend the film showings: each member may take part in film discussion forums, work actively in the Society's administration, write program notes, become a candidate for election to office, and enjoy many additional privileges through the Society's proud affiliation with the American Federation of Film Societies (film and magazine discounts, regional previews, grants-in-aid to attend the national convention, etc.). In turn, the Society has given AFFS its fullest support, even in the planning stage before the Federation’s inception. An international archive of film program notes is maintained by the Wisconsin Film Society, and volunteer workers also operate a program-notes exchange service for all AFFS member societies. In addition, a film source and information project is getting a start here. At least a dozen AFFS members from various parts of the country are working with the Society to create a comprehensive filmsource card index. Information on over 200 films has already been supplied from Wisconsin to AFFS members in reply to their special requests. The Wisconsin Film Society's five annually-elected officers (traditionally students) form an Executive Board, advised by any number of regular members wishing to attend their open meetings. Election is in February, at the end of the fall semester, and the officers-elect join the incumbents to launch the second semester's program. Then the new season is begun in the fall with experienced officers. Good leadership usually seems to rise by election; and in recent years, especially, the leaders have done a superlative job. Those students most enthusiastic and discriminating about film seem eager to help continue an ongoing program, democratically supported and smoothly presented. The Wisconsin Film Society has always taken pains to discover the will of its members. Each year there have been ballots to determine what films members wish to see or what past films they found best, to determine if they approve a 21