Film and Radio Guide (Oct 1945-Jun 1946)

24 FILM AND RADIO GUIDE Volume XII, No. 7 on the basis of an elaborate system of self-deception, talking one thing and doing another. It is not only a matter of psychology. It is a matter of spiritual honesty and character. It is a matter that should be widely publicized, and on which the public should have the benefit of the point of view of both psychology and religion. There should also be films on the nature and origins of neuroses, psychoses, and how these may develop into serious mental illnesses. The Protestant Film Commission could make a special contribution by making films which stress the spiritual basis of mental illness, and the role of the spiritual in maintaining mental health. And here again is a point on which the findings of religion and psychology should be coordinated and synthesized. Psychology generally regards the guilt complex as a thing of evil and the basis of many mental ills. Christianity regards a recurring sense of guilt as an inevitable and almost wholesome influence in stimulating the individual to new endeavors. It would be extremely valuable, it seems to me, to have a film which brings the moral vigor of religion into an area of psychology in which many synonyms have been devised for moral weakness, and where such weakness is often coddled or regarded with clinical detachment. Tremendous good has been done for the human race in the fields of psychology and psychiatry, and these fields are today beginning to be a favorite subject for Hollywood films. A further contribution, I believe, can be made by bringing the point of view of religion to bear upon a field to which it is so intimately related. 3. In the field of applied eth ics, the Protestant Film Commission has an unusual opportunity for the production of films to influence behavior. Ethical problems form the basis for much of literature and the plots of many Hollywood films. Nearly everyone, regardless of creed, is vitally concerned with the standards of right and wrong, and tries to apply these standards, in one way or another, to his own life. Here is an opportunity for the church to produce films, utilizing the dramaticstory technique, which will show people in modern life-situations facing their problems in a practical way and working out ethical solutions. The right solutions must be made to appear more attractive, dramatic, and exciting than the “wrong” ones, and “goodness” thus dramatized and “sold” on its own merits. This brings up the question of technique, a problem which applies to all of the films which the Protestant Film Commission will produce. These films must utilize the subtlest, most effective, and most persuasive techniques yet devised in the field of the propaganda and attitude motion pictures. We cannot simply tell people to be good and expect to achieve results. We have got to make them want to be good. These films cannot be obvious, or preachy, or moralistic, or inept. They must be genuinely effective. They must really change people — not just talk about changing them. They must actually do the job. 4. One of the most important issues in the world today is the question of social and race relations. Next year, this field will be the subject of study in the Protestant churches. A Protestant film program devoted to human betterment cannot be silent on this important question. And in this field it is vital that we speak with that real persuasion that I mentioned a moment ago. It will do little good if we view with alarm, or dramatize, existing conflicts. We should not merely dramatize the problem and suggest a solution which is utopian, synthetic, and pollyanna. Films in this area should be genuine attempts to minimize the prejudices against other g r 0 u p s, races, and cultures which nearly all of us possess. We must not make films which say what wonderful, broadminded people we are for making such a film. Too many films in the attitude-forming field are made merely to please the people who make them, and thus we go around and around in an eternal squirrel cage. We have got to face realistically the status of our audience, and make films which will really have an effect. And to do this we cannot merely say how terrible it is to be prejudiced. We have got to be realistic— we have got to go to the root of the problem, figure out why we are prejudiced, and make a film which portrays the harmful effect of prejudice on us. 5. The Protestant Film Commission must make films which will instill the attitudes basic to the solution of many other vital issues of the day. One of these is the relations between capital and labor. I believe that the churches can make a real contribution to the solutions of problems in this controversial field. I believe that this contribution can be made, in part, through films. Here, as in all other areas, we must analyze the problems. We must get the facts. We must see both sides of the question. Then we must utilize the most effective psychological a n d motion-pictui’e techniques