International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1934)

790 EDUCATIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHY silence had been lifted all over the country. Even up to a few years ago, the hygienist found himself, in many cases, facing not only negligence or red tape but also a determined opposition to any kind of organized and systematic teaching. In fact, both in educated and in other circles, we were faced by a kind of insurmountable wall whenever we tried to deal with the subject of venereal diseases. In practically every family, parents and teachers maintained absolute silence on this subject. Family reviews dealing with hygiene, which published information and articles on every other problem in this province, refused to accept contributions referring, even with the greatest prudence, to the subject of venereal diseases. Fortunately, that state of things has come to an end. Those who have not yet made up their minds on this subject are at least ready to consider it, and those who still refuse to allow the problem of venereal diseases to be dealt with under the same conditions as other problems of social hygiene are at least willing that young men and girls should be initiated in regard to its difficulties. The greater number of parents, however, although accepting the principle and insisting that they alone are qualified to instruct their children, are apt to wait for a suitable occasion for doing so, and to put off the subject from day to day in their embarrassment in dealing with such a subject, so that in the end they do nothing. How are we to reconcile this need of a warning with the respect due to one of the finest feelings of infancy and youth, the pure faith that lifts fathers and mothers learned and respected teachers above all physiological matters ? A few years ago we wrote in the International Review of the Educational Cinema that a suitable film is undoubtedly the most delicate means for educating a youthful mind. By its means we can avoid putting either parents and masters on the one hand or children on the other into an embarrassing situation. The cinema presents nothing but pictures which show life to a young man, who will first retain the impression received and will afterwards be gradually influenced by the long and necessary work of mental penetration and adaptation. It is life which will teach him this lesson and not he whom, in his faith, he places above all human weakness. How are we to make the films which are to illustrate the danger of venereal diseases to the public? We do not hesitate to answer the question by asserting that there can be neither standard films nor films of a single type. There must be, indeed, as many kinds of film as there are different publics, which cannot all be warned in the same fashion. The sailors of a ship sailing for a stay of months or years in the Far East, the young recruit entering barracks, the young woman undergoing her training as a teacher, the young lad just leaving college, the nurse training for work in social assistance and the great mass of the public formed of old and young, parents and children, all need their special kind of film. The film, like the lecture, must be suited to its audience; we must have a complete scale of films. An attempt to educate all in the same way is the greatest mistake that could be made. Let us consider, first of all, what sort of film should be prepared for what we may call the « great public ». It is obvious that such a film should make evident the possible risk of a simple kiss, the serious danger of making suspicious acquaintances, the harm that a neglected attack of syphilis may cause, the terrible law which afflicts the descendants of a subject suffering from neglected syphilis or one who has been imperfectly cured, and also the resources of modern therapeutics and the certainty that a perfect cure will result from immediate and able treatment and the proper care of a good dootor, pro