International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1930)

provoke certain nervous reactions in the passive spectator. Prof. Dr. Ackerknecht, the active investigator of the motion picture, says in this connection : « It is evident that the peculiarity of the motion picture as a cause of motor stimuli lies in the sphere of sensation, or more exactly in the gradation of its sensory power on the receptivity of individual minds ». The film exercises on the spiritual powers of man a strong direct influence, more or less effective according to individual sensibility. Consequently, the film can affect general morals and ethics. In view of the fact that about 12 million persons in the world attend daily the existing 60,000 cinemas, no rational person can doubt that the film possesses an enormous power. Now, the direction in which this force will operate cannot be a matter of indifference to Catholicism. With regard to this, F. Koch S.J. writes in the September 1929 issue of the old and well-known review: « Stimmen der Zeit » « ...When the art of printing commenced its victorious career the State and the Church endeavoured to secure themselves against it by enacting laws, and if possible to make it serve them. Through State and Church control on the writing, production, and sale of printed works (censorship, prohibition, index, privileges, etc.), an effort was made to keep writers in the right path. So also in the case of the film and wireless, State legislation is already intervening to protect public order, to safeguard the rights of morality, justice, and public welfare. But what means does the Church, no longer protected and supported in the accomplishment of its tasks by the Christian State, command to safeguard effectively its flocks from the dangers to which the film and the wireless expose or may expose them ? But it must go further than this, it must endeavour to win for itself these two powerful auxiliaries of modern culture and make them subservient to its aims. How can it succeed in achieving this end ? ». We must admit that Catholicism as a whole observed at first a reserved, nay a hostile, attitude to the film. We deeply regret that through that attitude much was lost that can be regained only with great difficulty. For while we folied our arms and looked on, Catholics attended the cinemas in great numbers, just as other people did. Then an aggressive procedure was adopted, but unfortunately only in a negative direction : rejection, legislation, boycott. There were reasons for this, of course. Thus, F. Friedrich Muckermann S. J. writes in the Catholic « Filmkorrespondenz » as follows : « We are aware that as regard:; the film there did not exist at first a sufficient consciousness on the part of the responsible persons of its artistic and moral effects. We are aware that the original sin of the film has gone on reproducing itself from decade to decade. We are aware that the general decay of sacred traditions has been helped also by the film... » Despite all this, among Catholics there have always been men who recognized with wisdom and foresight the great importance of the film and who did take action. These were generally men who, as leaders of great organizations and associations, dreaded the consequences which a misused invention would have on the people in general and on youth in particular. Their endeavours however, while also tending to avert danger, were at the same time constructive. The protective