International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1931)

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— 45i — films not only in form but in substance. The public is beginning to get restive. If a film is contrary to its taste, it stays away. Is not this perhaps the best of all forms of censorship? These different systems, theoretical or practical, must be examined to see which best satisfies the social aims of our enquiry, and there may be yet others more expedient. For the moment let us consider the opinion of teachers. Among the more noteworthy replies concerning the question of immorality and crime are the following: " The cinema is a source of immorality when it vividly depicts aspects of life about which children should be kept in ignorance. Only too often the drama turns upon breaches of the marriage-tie treated with inconceivable levity. Children who are shown scenes of robbery, follow the incidents eagerly, watch every movement of the criminal and are delighted if he escapes arrest. In such cases the cinema is a school of crime." " Assiduous attendance at cinemas where variety items are included is a cause of immorality and awakens the lowest instincts." " The bulk of present-day films are silly and inept, unaesthetic and corrupt. It is deplorable that the public should flock to performances which thus outrage morals and taste. And yet, in the hands of a real artist, the cinema might achieve so much." " The intellectual advantages of the cinematographic reproduction of places and characteristic scenes are undeniable, but they are outbalanced by the immorality pervading almost every film and the utterly false picture of life they give." " As everybody knows, the cinema's appeal is primarily through the senses. Even when it presents us with examples of virtue, the invitation to admire its heroes and heroines is not addressed to our highest senses. Moreover, cinema programmes are now supplemented as a rule by variety numbers and it is hard to understand why there is no law prohibiting the admission of children or punishing parents for encouraging the attendance of their children under such conditions. On purely hygienic grounds, too (bad ventilation, vitiated air, unwholesome surroundings, doubtful associations, etc.1', the passion for the cinema should be strictly confined. Cinema performances should not include variety numbers, which keep the spectators a still longer time inside the theatre, for the harm is physical as well as moral." " I once knew a girl of sixteen who was a striking example of the suggestion exercised by the screen: ' I like the cinema ', she said, ' and especially enjoy films with a strongly dramatic love-story. All the same, I prefer not to go at all, for when I come out I feel all funny and my head is full of strange fancies '." " Educationally, the cinema may be compared with reading, especially fiction-reading, both contribute towards the sound education of the young but at the same time encourage immorality and crime. The cinema's influence however, is greater and quicker than that of books." " Yes, when the story illustrates criminal acts under a cloak of honesty or decency; in such cases the child may be tempted to approve such acts." " In some cases, yes. A weak-minded and ill-balanced child is carried away by certain scenes of adventure and sometimes imagines himself the hero of them. A typical case in point was the two boys at Rovigo, children of good family, who three years ago