International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1931)

— 446 — Teachers attempt to distinguish carefully the separate impression made upon boys and girls and even to indicate the films which are more suited to their different temperaments. The distinction is of the first importance. Students of child psychology will find valuable hints in the replies that follow: " The cinema has no influence upon the mature adult; only now and then under strong emotion a man or woman may be led by a film to commit some fatal act. On the other hand, it has an unquestionable influence upon growing children, who are more susceptible to emotions of every kind and more easily stirred to enthusiasm by acts of courage, whether noble and generous or, as is often the case, reprehensible. The effect on girls is less, since they are by nature calmer and more placid, less easily kindled to enthusiasm. " " The cinema exercises a strong influence over female character; woman has a natural susceptibility which is more easily affected than man's. Its influence is also considerable upon the mind of the child, upon whose memory every scene or picture is deeply impressed. Such scenes contribute to form the child's character, stimulating its natural instinct for emulation. Accordingly educational films must be carefully selected. " " The influence of the screen depends upon the spectator's age and sex. In my opinion, boys, whose intelligence and character are better balanced, are also less impressionable. Children, with their inexperience, are naturally more susceptible than adults and adolescents. " " The cinema, which offers the spectator visions of real life, exercises its strongest influence on those who are its assiduous votaries. Girls, more than boys, are affected by stories of passion; they are moved to tears and are physically and mentally disturbed. " " The cinema is a refining influence on the child's mind and stimulates its imagination. In boys, however, it arouses a degree of nervous excitement which may become excessive; in girls, even quite small girls, it causes gradual cerebral exhaustion. On this account children must be prevented from visiting the cinema too often. " " Seeing how even books can stir the imitative boy to emulate gestures and actions, we can easily imagine how powerful is the influence of such actions and gestures when reproduced on the screen. By dint of repetition, the child may develop such qualities as overbearance, arrogance and even criminal tendencies. In the same way a long sequence of amorous scenes will suggest impure desires to even the least sensitive and impressionable of girls. " " Like the theatre, the cinema may help to form character if it represents figures that embody civic and political virtues; its influence, however, is greater upon men than upon women, and greater on young men than on the adult. " " The influence of the cinema is considerable. It is good, provided the film not only sticks to elementary moral principles, but aims at depicting situations and characters which reflect the harmony and not the discord of life. The films best suited for boys and adolescents are those which invite admiration for patterns of strength, bravery, heroism, patriotism, etc. Films for girls should encourage modesty, family affection and the spirit of devotion and self-sacrifice. " " The influence of the cinema upon the morals of youth depends upon individual temperament and susceptibility. If the film is well-made and is duly commented and explained by grown-up people, it may have a great influence upon children, who are more malleable than adolescents, especially adolescent girls. "