Juvenile delinquency (1955)

206 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY REASONS UNDERLYING PARTICULAR APPLICATIONS I. Sin and evil enter into the story of human beings and hence in themselves are valid dramatic material. II. In the use of this material, it must be distinguished between sins which repel by their very nature, and sins which often attract. (a) In the first class come murder, most theft, many legal crimes, lying hypocrisy, cruelty, etc. (&) In the second class come sex sins, sins and crimes of apparent heroism, such as banditry, daring thefts, leadership in evil, organized crime, revenge, etc. The first class needs less care in treatment, as sins and crimes of this class are naturally unattractive. The audience instinctively condemns all such and is repelled. Hence the important objective must be to avoid the hardening of the audience, especially of those who are young and impressionable, to the thought and fact of crime. People can become accustomed even to murder, cruelty, brutality, and repellent crimes, if these are too frequently repeated. The second class needs great care in handling, as the response of human nature to their appeal is obvious. This is treated more fully below. III. A careful distinction can be made between films intended for general distribution, and films intended for use in theaters restricted to a limited audi- ence. Themes and plots quite appropriate for the latter would be altogether out of place and dangerous to the former. Note: The practice of using a general theater and limiting its patronage dur- ing the showing of a certain film to "Adults Only' 'is not completely satisfac- tory and is only partially effective. However, maturer minds may easily understand and accept without harm subject matter in plots which do younger people positive harm. Hence : If there should be created a special type of theater, catering exclusively to an adult audience, for plays of this character (plays with problem themes, diflBcult discussions and maturer treatment) it would seem to afford an outlet, which does not now exist, for pictures unsuitable for general distribution but permissible for exhibitions to a restricted audience. I. Crimes against the law The treatment of crimes against the law must not— 1. Teach methods of crime. 2. Inspire potential criminals with a desire for imitation. 3. Make criminals seem heroic and justified. Revenge in modern times shall not be justified. In lands and ages of less devel- oped civilization and moral principles, revenge may sometimes be presented. This would be the case especially in places where no law exists to cover the crime because of which revenge is committed. Because of its evil consequence, the drug traffic should not be presented in any form. The existence of the trade should not be brought to the attention of audiences. //. Sex Out of regard for the sanctity of marriage and the home, the triangle, that is, the love of a third party for one already married, needs careful handling. The treatment should not throw sympathy against marriage as an institution. Scenes of passion must be treated with an honest acknowledgment of human nature and its normal reactions. Many scenes cannot be presented without arous- ing dangerous emotions on the part of the immature, the young or the criminal classes. Even within the limits of pure love, certain facts have been universally regarded by lawmakers as outside the limits of safe presentation. In the case of impure love, the love which society has always regarded as wrong and which has been banned by divine law, the following are important: 1. Impure love must not be presented as attractive and beautiful. 2. It must not be the subject of comedy or farce, or treated as material for laughter. 3. It must not be presented in such a way as to arouse passion or morbid curiosity on the part of the audience. 4. It must not be made to seem right and permissible. 5. In general, it must not be detailed in method and manner.