Moving Picture Age (Jan-Dec 1922)

'A child is an angel dependent upon man," says Count de Maistre. And shall we shirk or fail in this divine responsibility? RECREATION THAT RE-CREATES Mrs. Charles E. Merriam Chairman, Better Films Committee, Illinois Council of Parent-Teacher Associations MY interest in motion pictures lies in the fact that all of our work in the home, the school, and the church is practically undone if we do not extend our guidance to the recreational centers of our youth. These centers are a new development in life, and most of us do not realize our connection with them. Before the people all flocked to the cities, the farmer ruled his own home, everyone toiling from morn till night. No thought was ever given to recreation; the children found theirs in picking berries, fishing, swimming, snowshoeing, etc. Coming to the city and living in cramped quarters, the child is deprived of all these simple recreations ; and there is nothing about a four-room flat to interest one with inquisitive tendencies. In most city homes there is really no place for a child, and the average mother, I am sorry to say, is glad to have it out of the way. When she turns it out in the street to play, the problem of the community begins. So we have been providing playgrounds, parks, bathingbeaches, libraries, and other centers to care for our children. We were really making some progress in handling these centers when a new recreation was discovered, with financial possibilities so great that a big industry was established. The new pleasure greatly appealed to young people, and today the motion picture is our greatest recreational problem. The dance halls were once our greatest problem, but while about 89,000 young people visit our public dance halls in Chicago every week, nearly our entire population, from, babes in arms to our oldest patriarch, marches in one continuous procession to the film theatres from 8 a. m. till 10 p.m. We may easily be divided on what constitutes the best films for the adults, but there should be no division of opinion as to what the young people should see, or perhaps, rather, not see. Even on the liquor question most people, whether "wet" or "dry," felt that minors should not be allowed in saloons, and there were strict laws to that effect. So we should all be united in demanding clean and wholesome pictures for our young people. At present our method is to license these commercial centers of recreation. I maintain that it is a crime for the community— which means you and me— to license any recreational center that is demoralizing our youth. The very license that they frame and hang over the entrance should be a guarantee to any parent that his children will be given clean, wholesome recreation within. We would not think highly of any industry that placed its stamp of approval on an article that was found untrustworthy. So we really are to blame if we license any recreational center that is demoralizing our youth. "Am I my brother's keeper?" someone may ask. Yes. It isn't just a question of keeping your own children away; it is a question of the responsibility of the community. We cannot evade it, for if we do not take care of these young people now and supply wholesome recreation, we will take care of them later in jails and insane asylums. We cannot evade the issue. Our young people are our greatest asset. Of what avail is it to build up a great fortune, or a great industry, or a great educational system, if we do not build up with it a fine, healthy group of people to inherit these gifts? So it is very necessary that we work out some method of supervising these centers. Our county sheriff, Mr. Peters, who does not class himself as a reformer, is quoted as saying that uncensored films are one of the big factors in sending boys to jail. We have censored films in Chicago, but / do not think that censorship alone, as it is now zvorkcd out, zvill ever solve the problem for a conscientious community. Last November we formed a committee in Chicago, from the Illinois Council of ParentTeacher Associations, the Illinois League of Women Voters, and the Woman's City Club, to review all films as soon as released in Chicago. From these we have been preparing a list of the films we consider suitable for the family group. Some states prohibit children from attending film houses alone. We do not believe in encouraging them to do so, so we are not making out lists of films specifically for children. But we keep the young child in mind, and do not endorse anything that is not appropriate for the children. We are trying to encourage parents to attend motion-picture exhibitions with their children. In this commercial age, when so many things are tending to break down family life, it is very singular and very gratifying to find that the two new great industries, the cinema and the automobile, are both splendid methods for holding the family together. Many people are finding the automobile a splendid means of keeping the companionship of their boys. They can also use the cinema as a means of keeping the companionship of all the children. But this cannot be done with our present methods. In the first place, we find many films suitable for adults but unsuitable for children. This does not mean that the pictures in question are vicious and should be banished. We meet the same problem in our libraries, and we have solved it with the children's book-shelves. We also have children's concerts, but it does not mean that adults will not enjoy them. I have heard of young men "borrowing" a child so that they might attend ; it was the finest chance of really learning music. If the producers are wise, they will work out the problem, and when they attempt it the problem will require more than the services of a good political organizer, no matter how splendid his intentions (Continued on page 28) 13