Juvenile delinquency (1955)

84 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY They do want to give a picture whicli is popular to the largest possible number. I would say here that I think it is somewhat like a vein of coal in a mine, which might suddenly give out. We find that trends and demands for certain types of films give out. The public for a time has a run on this or that or the other. I would say here that I believe that this crime and violence has to go in two directions. It either will peter out or it must become pro- gressively worse. That places the motion-picture producer in a diffi- cult position. Each succeeding producer who makes another, to add to this chain of crime and violence pictures, must make it more vio- lent, he must make it more sexy, you see. And unless he does, then the appetite for that type of picture is satisfied, and some other type of picture for the time being becomes predominantly in demand. I think that is proved by the history of the cycles in the motion- picture business, although I don't deny perhaps the aptitudes of the motion-picture peo])le themselves, as well as the appearances of public demand, control the type of picture we are getting here and now and then. For instance, if there is a certain type of play on Broadway dealing w^ith, as now, certain miserable aberrations, somebody else will intro- duce it in another play on Broadway. The fact that Hollywood draws very heavily upon Broadway results in Hollywood's attempt to bring that kind of thing to the motion-picture screen, and when one motion picture has been made on that subject others are made, until the sky is the limit. I thing very, very largely the trend we notice now has developed out of this cycle habit in motion-picture production. Mr. Bono. You si)oke of a symbolism in a ])icture involving 2 animals and 2 actors at the corral. Do you think that a juvenile, a person of juvenile age would interpret a scene such as this in the same manner in which an adult would interjn-et, such as yourself? Mr. Mooring. Yes, I do. I think—I am thinking now of knowl- edgable children. I would say that American youth generally is very well poised. I am not one who subscribes to the idea it is inherent in the Ameri- can nature, this passion for crime and sex, I believe that people in America are usually very well imbued Avith a fine sense of citizenship and decency. I think it is too bad on so many of them that this aspect of delinquency, in a minority sense, has to be so emphasized. I think in this specific case an average intelligent youth, of average intelligence, would see this and what he would likely get from it would not be arrived at so much through—be arrived at so much through his mind as through his senses and his emotions. Down there would be im])lanted a feeling that instinct is important in these matters and there is nothing per se wrong in yielding to an urge. Now, what I would suggest is that a picture should not convey that, because, as we must acknowledge, if we are not on the way to social anarchy, and fast, that we must acknowledge in these matters man is controlled and conditioned by reason and by conscience; neither of wdiich have any effect or hold on an animal. I hope I make that clear. I am giving a long answer. I do think that children are influenced, emotionally perhaps more than mentally, but, nevertheless, any boy who starts to think about it couldn't get any