International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1931)

-368 ground and analysing sensations and emotions observed at second hand, as it were. The examination is rather one for the family; the child goes home after the show and the parents can observe the immediate psychological effects of the film. Directly connected with the utility which children and adolescents can derive from public cinema performances is the examination, made by some hundreds of teachers, into the question of entertainment films proper, as distinct from teaching films, of which more will be said later. The answers, as before, are divided into favourable and unfavourable, and the following are among the most significant: " The entertainment film exercises a marvellous power of suggestion over the spectator, whether it is a psychological play, a great historical romance or scenes and events from contemporary life ". " The cinema is an undoubted source of public entertainment. The screen is replacing the stage, the sound film is killing prose-play, the opera and operetta; cinematographic scenic production outdoes the often questionable magnificence of stage scenery. The question of public spectacles in general and of the theatre in particular is essentially a problem of perfectibility. Spectacles please and draw the public if they are perfect in every detail. It should be realised that, as regards their present and future possibilities, the cinema and the theatre are two absolutely separate forms of art ". " With the drama the cinema is of all art-forms the most directly and immediately adapted for educational purposes. One of its virtues is to offer us, as it were, a mirror in which we see the reflection of our own feelings and passions, while it allows us to contemplate ourselves in detachment in a way that we cannot do when our individual emotions are concerned. Moreover, by presenting the spectator with pictures of every-day life or conjuring up visions of far-off persons and events, it acts as a direct stimulus to the imagination in proportion to the intellectual development of its public ". " The cinema suffers from one of its essential characteristics — speed — a temptation to which authors and actors alike succumb. Consequently, a film often leaves spectators dissatisfied, especially youthful spectators, who need explanations. The cinema-goer whether grown-up or not, becomes a child again by his mere pursuit of enjoyment. He goes to the cinema to be amused and seeks to cast from him his load of care. He reverts to his child's mentality and this produces a certain homegeneity among cinema audiences. Less endeavour should be made to impress and stir the spectators, more to make them laugh. Clean minds should be respected and minds less pure, refined. Reality with all its consequences should be aimed at and, in the case of children, teachers and parents can help in bringing these consequences home to the understanding ". " A glance at the answers given by my pupils to the questions asked of them by the I. E. C. I. has shown me how urgently they feel the need to cultivate the imagination, their young emotions and sensations. The cinema, which is their passion, is also the strongest stimulus to their latent moral and intellectual powers, and for this reason our cinemas should only show healthy films calculated to develop the feelings and inclinations lying dormant in children and adolescents. Films are to-day the most direct and effective means of popular education ».