International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1931)

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— 321 — formances which are organised by business managers and those which are arranged to meet the requirements of what are known as cultural organisations. The functions of the two are totally different. In the first case we recognize a dawning realisation of certain cultural needs of the mass of the people — needs which even the theatrical manager feels he must do something to satisfy. His patrons are unorganised spectators bound together by no outward or inward tie, drawn from every possible social and intellectual milieu and in the habit of regularly visiting the particular theatre, even when cultural films are shown. In the second case the ideal and the possibilities of culture occupy a place in the foreground. For this we cannot yet look to the public cinema. In its present form it is not adapted to exercise any conscious influence in the direction of what we here mean by culture. Such influence would still be slight even if the programme consisted entirely of cultural films, films not only cultural in name, but of definite and established educational value. The commercial cinema of to-day cannot serve really educational purposes for as long as it continues to appeal indiscriminately to all-comers, people who visit the cinema with the sole which has been in force in Italy for some years, is, it may be noted, spreading to other countries. Roumania , for instance, has recently adopted similar legislative provisions. To us both systems appear equally effective. Until a few years ago many countries were in the habit oj supplementing entertainment programmes by the projection of documentary , scientific or educational films. Little by little, this practice, worthy though it was of praise and encouragement, succumbed to the invasion of the screen by international news reels and then to the sound-film, which introduced a series of " shorts," animated drawings, etc. But why should not the sound-film continue the work of the " silent?" The accompaniment of sound and spoken explanations can surely only enhance the attraction and the interest of a documentary, cultural or scientific film. The success and popularity of sound news reels is the strongest evidence of this. Recently we have seen scientific films, which as " silents " would have lost half their interest, but which owe their success to the teacher's spoken comments and to the inter spersion of short scenes cleverly illustrated by sound. We very much hope therefore that a campaign may be organised in every country urging Governments , who cannot neglect the needs of popular education, to encourage action of the kind our contributor refers to and, more than that, to consider the adoption of one of the two systems mentioned above — the" German" or the " Italian " system — to the end that educational films may figure more regularly and more prominently in public cinema programmes. Such work would be a contribution to that gradual training of public taste essential to the development of better films.