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MOVIES AND CONDUCT
Female, 16 years. 'Seeing such scenes has made me more receptive to love-making; before, I didn't like it and thought it silly, but the movies have changed my ideas.'
Male, i J years. 'By viewing one of those intense love pictures, I get a burning sensation within to perform those things which I see done on the screen, and I must admit that in doing so I get a great deal of pleasure.'
Female, 22 years. 'Going out with boys after a romantic love picture I would let them kiss me.'
It is interesting, too, that many boys and girls observe this kind of influence in their companions. Thus one youth states that a girl whom he kissed after taking her to a love picture told him that the only time when she had difficulty in restraining herself from kissing was after a show of this type. In fact, some young men deliberately use films as a means of creating a responsive attitude in their companions. Here the influence of films on conduct is being consciously recognised and utilised. One youth writes: T generally pick the movies we attend with that point in mind . . . the girl's emotional state can be regulated and used to what may be either advantage or disadvantage.'
It is clear from the material which Professor Blumer quotes that in general the emotional possession induced by love pictures constitutes an attack on conventional social restrictions. In some cases the relaxation of inhibitions may be quite temporary, but in others, where the film has made a very deep impression, the individual may be led to alter his mode of life completely, or to seek experiences which he would not otherwise have sought.
Thrill and Excitement
This form of emotional possession is more prevalent among children than adolescents. Everyone has at one time or another observed how absorbed children become when a 'thriller' is being exhibited, and how apt they are to give expression to their overstimulated feelings by shouts and cries, or even physical movement. This kind of behaviour is particularly noticeable at children's matinees when an instalment of the serial picture is in progress. There is tremendous excitement whenever the hero or heroine is in danger, or is rescued, and particularly when any kind of fight takes place. Groans accompany the successes of the villain, and sighs of relief are heard when the peril is past. One investigator has observed that little attention is paid to scenes which do not contain
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