International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1934)

190 THE CINEMA IN EDUCATION economy of a country. They have taken gigantic strides, particularly in the last ten years, in order to be more completely equal to the exigencies of the new times, first among which comes a more active propaganda of thrift. In a certain sense, they can even be considered as institutions of the future, participators in that New Economy which is now being fashioned under the mallet of the exceptional experiences of this period, on account of the wide and coordinated direction they give to their own activity in relation to the entire productive organization of the country in which they live, and on account of the criterion of social function, dominant and exclusive, by which their work is inspired. Side by side with the collection of savings, they have always been engaged in the propaganda of thrift, which has never assumed the character of publicity, aiming at attracting money to their counters. It has always been inspired by educational ends, already connected with their activity ever since their foundation, namely by an essentially ethical conception of providence and thrift as a propelling and harmonizing element of the life of the individual in society. The principles of the wise use of time, of means and of energy, of the distribution of means among present and future needs, of the prudent management of money, of the function of thrift for the individual, the family, society, etc. ; these are, in brief, some of the fundamental pivots on which turns the modern propaganda of thrift, and which the disheartening experiences of this period of general depression bring out in particularly striking relief. It must be stated that this propaganda has never been based on principles of abstinence and self-denial but on motives of strength of mind, of constructiveness for the future, of the victory of the will over the spendthrift tendencies of today in favour of the necessities of tomorrow. Moreover, this propaganda aims at placing the active life of the individual within a vast framework of productive work, of economic and monetary order, of social well-being and co-operation. These are programmes which seem to ring with bitter irony in the times in which we live, but which, notwithstanding this, do not cease to exist in the aspirations of everyone. They must be taken as guiding lines, if we wish to get out of the present painful situation. In this essentially social activity, the Savings Banks have not neglected any group or class of the population, but it is quite understandable that they should first of all have paid particular attention to the young people, precisely on account of the enormous importance of sound principles and sound habits of life being imprinted in good time on the minds of the citizens of tomorrow. It will therefore not appear strange to anyone, and especially not to the readers of this Review, if the Savings Banks, without renouncing their venerable traditions, but rather in order to carry them on in a more effective manner, have applied themselves betimes to the increasing use of the cinematograph in the development of their educational work. Immediately after the war, Savings Banks here and there in the various countries were able to experience the success and undeniable effectiveness of educational screenings in their propaganda work. But it was only after the First International Thrift Congress (Milan 1 924) and the subsequent foundation of the International Thrift Institute as a centre of union between all Savings Banks in the world and of exchange of their experiences in the various fields, ranging from administrative technique to legislation, social economy, and education, that the Savings Banks, being at leisure to get to know one another better even across frontiers and to compare progress made, began to make more general use of films for their educational propaganda. It was in this period that the Savings Banks also began to deal with the problems connected with the adoption and use of thrift films, in the first place the financial problem, of capital importance, as can be well understood, which necessarily leads to