International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1931)

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— 454 — We will now quote some of the more interesting replies to this point: ' ' The cinema cannot serve as an incitement to crime, but it can undoubtedly help in distorting moral values and encouraging trivial and erroneous conceptions of life. Screen representations of passion may have these effects upon boys and girls, especially round the age of puberty, when they are to some extent the victims of their senses." " The cinema does much harm to adolescents, whose powers of judgment are still undeveloped. They flock to see exciting films, which give a picture of a life they would like to but cannot lead; a vain desire is aroused in them for wealth and luxury, comfort or adventure. What they see they do not understand and they are the victims of uncontrolled sensations that they themselves are unable to define." " When asked whether she preferred films or plays, a little girl of twelve answered that she preferred ' variety numbers '. Children of this kind do not care for scientific and teaching films because they only want to be amused; they do not appreciate or understand a political or religious film; at the most they will tolerate historical films, since these mostly contain a love element." " So-called historical films are nothing less than a distortion of history and truth." " The cinema gives a false idea of life by representing vice, violence and passion in a false and sentimental light. Thus lawless impulse is encouraged and reflection stifled." " The films our children see are entertaining, but not helpful. Not only do they teach very little that is good, but they draw such false pictures of life that the damage they do enormously outweighs their good effects. Without wishing to exaggerate or to condemn the cinema as a source of immorality or crime, I am sure that it is largely responsible for spreading a materialist conception of life, encouraging a love of luxury and distorting moral values. In all these respects the present generation suffers by comparison with the past." " The cinema distorts the meaning of life when it makes heroes of the immoral. This is proved by the recent case of the high school boys who, when tried on a charge of house-breaking and theft of documents, confessed that they had acted in imitation of a film hero." " The cinema has a strong influence upon boys and girls, who even before the age of puberty become acquainted with the mysteries of love, the wildest expressions of passion and with surroundings of refined luxury and vice totally different from their daily environment. Premature excitement of the senses, insensate desire for wealth, the ambition to emulate the easy victories of screen heroes and heroines, incitement to acts of violence and disregard for the most sacred family ties and ideals — such are the pernicious effects of the whole presentday cinema, effects which are more especially felt by the young." (To be continued) G. d. F.