Moving Picture Age (Jan-Dec 1922)

14 MOVING PICTURE AGE May, 1922 ings and telling the story of its service in the byways and hedges we believe is an important method of reaching men everywhere. Motion pictures are an important factor in this accomplishment. The story of motion pictures in farm-bureau work would be incomplete without a mention of their influence on the young people, the rising generation on the farm, for the boys and girls take a livelier interest in these meetings than do their parents. It is one of the ways in which the attractiveness of farm life may be played up so that the young people will get a vision of the possibilities of a career of success on the farm. Most of the films we use are naturally on agricultural subjects, but we also employ other themes for our exhibitions. Farm folks like to get away from shop stuff as well as do people in other vocations ; hence we frequently intersperse travelogue pictures, road building, manufacturing scenes, and humorous subjects. Here is a list we have found very satisfactory : U. S. Department of Agriculture : "Food for Reflection," "A Year with the Flock," "The Farm Bureau Comes to Pleasant View," "The Happier Way," "Grazing in Our National Forests," "Layers and Liars," "The Government Poultry Farm," "Control of Hog Cholera," "The Barbarous Barberry," "Vacation Days in the National Forests," and "Exit Ascaris." Illinois Agriculture Association : "The Homestead." Louden Manufacturing Company : "Farm for Sale." Barrett Company : "Orchards That Pay" and "Our National Capitol and Its Capital Highways." Perth Amboy Chemical Works : "Putting Your Uncle to Work." Carnation Farms : "Judging a Pure-Bred Sire." International Harvester Company : "Corn — Growing and Feeding" and "The Dairy Cow — Milk, Nature's Perfect Food." Gregory Farm: "PrizeWinning Percherons." Establishing Points of Contact (Continued from page 11) ment, nevertheless, is true: The church now has the most hopeful outlook it has had for many -years, and this hopeful outlook is due to the increased number of young people zuho now attend our services; and it is obvious that many of them have been attracted to the church by the picture programs. Scores of people whom we nevei saw before, come to our weekly community program; many of these we see later in the regular Sunday services. Such crowds, such occasions will bring problems, but most gladly will we welcome problems growing out of such crowds and occasions. Occasionally we have used our projector on Sunday night. It draws a great crowd, and, when the right kind of a picture can be secured, is a profitable service. My own experience, however, would lead me to doubt the advisability of using picture regularly on Sunday nights. This doubt grows chiefly out of our inability to get pictures suited to our purpose. Still, I would say, if the church cannot reach the people by the ordinary means, and if the picture will get a crowd, I would use the picture occasionally on Sunday night. It is better to preach fifteen, minutes to a multitude than an hour to a handful. If the picture will bring a great crowd of unchurched people, and no other available means will, then by all means use the picture. Before a church can do anything it must establish points of contact. Getting a crowd is the chief means by which this is done; therefore, getting a crowd is a thing of vital importance. The church must reach the multitudes or finally go on the rocks. There is, however, a special difficulty in using pictures on Sunday nights. The picture simply dominates the situation. If you try to make your address before the picture is shown, the people are thinking about the picture; on the other hand, to hold attention after the picture is shown is more than most of us can do. As to the use of the projector on Sunday nights, I would say that much depends on local conditions ; and every church contemplating the use of pictures must be its own judge. Occasionally, when we can secure a picture eminently fit for our purpose, we show it on Sunday night. Whatever may be said about the use of pictures on Sunday evening, there is no doubt, in my judgment, that they may be profitably used on week nights. Of course if the picture is religious one can speak of his service as such ; but we prefer to advertise our weekly program as "A Community Recreation Service." One can do this and yet make it as religious as possible. We aim always to use the moral-uplift picture, and of these there are many on the market. Usually we have had a combination service, with classes for an hour before the pictures. Our classes have been well attended, but we find the combined program too long. We now have our classes on Wednesday evening and the picture on Monday evening. All children who attend our midweek classes are admitted by pass to the picture on Monday evening without offering or admission. This gives us a quieter time on Wednesday night and makes it possible greatly to improve the program on Monday night. It shortens both services and makes an inducement for the children to attend the classes on Wednesday evening so as to get passes for the Monday-evening program, which we strive to make as attractive as possible. In addition to this we have a meeting for children each Monday afternoon immediately after school. In this meeting we use two carefully selected reels. At this meeting we teach the children hymns, prayers, scripture, and church manners. This is perhaps the most delightful and helpful service we have in connection with our projector. It puts the pastor and his helpers into direct touch with the child life of the community. The children come by the hundreds; they do not come altogether for the picture, but it is certain we could not get them without it. They delight to sing hymns, and recite scripture, and hear stories, and tell stories themselves. We have the tots sing solos and duets, and recite poetry. We close always with a picture. For this we get all the Bible pictures we can. We use also many geographical and industrial pictures. We try each week to have an amusing little cartoon, or fantastic kiddie picture. This program is free to all children. We are coming to use our picture equipment much as churches in former days used the lecture course. The picture is better than the lecture course. It is less expensive, far more popular, appeals to the children, and, if proper care is taken, quite as instructive and inspirational. It will not be questioned that the motion picture is the best crowd-getter in our day ; and, as far as our experience goes, people do not grow weary of it. This also ought to be said : The more wholesome the picture the better the people like it. When we first began we were told that unless we showed a suggestive and questionable line of pictures the people would not come. We haw found exactly the opposite to be true : The higher class the picture, the better the croivd; while a cheap, trashy picture always reacts unfavorably. We can bring a good picture back and fill the house a second time. Take, for example, a picture like "Behold the Man," and we can fill our house three times with it (and we have a very large auditorium!). The use of pictures in the program of the church will make plenty of work for the pastor and several others. Unless both pastor and people are willing to work, my advice would be never to equip your church with a motion-picture machine. And yet right here is one of its advantages, in that it affords an opportunity to employ so many people. Our crowd is so large on Monday nights that it takes a full set of ushers to man the house. Then there are the boys who take care of the booth, others who look after the screen, those who have charge of the lights, others who help the pastor in the children's meeting, still others on committees oi finance, publicity, bookings, etc. Classes in our Sunday school clamor for nights on which to put on a program in the interest of their enterprises. How to put people to work has been one of our problems, but the picture equipment has largely solved it for us. Perhaps it ought to be said here that our Sunday school is now double what it was when we began to use pictures. Some may say, "This may all be true, but it is not religious." To which I reply that we make no such claim. We have in addition to these programs all the religious services that are ordinarily found in modern churches. Still we never have a picture program without prayer, and gospel singing, and such remarks as can be made from time to time upon moral and religious matters. We use illustrated hymns, missionary lectures, and slides to advertise our Sunday-school and church services. We have music, instrumental and vocal, all of which is of the church type. We endeavor to maintain a positive religious element in all these services. Whether it is religious or not, this is what we face: Thousands of people are going to motion pictures. We cannot stop it ; we can protest, but that does not change the fact. What shall we do ? It seems wise to some of us to provide this very popular type of modern entertainment under the auspices of the church. And this is not to say that we will enter into competition with the picture shows. People have always gone to church as much for entertainment as they have for instruction ; perhaps never in the history of the church have SO per cent of the church-going people gone solely from a religious motive. The motion picture dominates in the world of entertainment today, so much so that lyceum courses of music and lectures no longer attract as they did a few years ago. Shall we turn our children over to the theatre? This is not meant to reflect upon the theatre; many of them are far better than (Continued on page 23)