A History of the American Film Institute
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The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Spring 5-2010 A History of the American Film Institute Deborah Jae Alexander University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations Part of the American Film Studies Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, and the Social Influence and oliticalP Communication Commons Recommended Citation Alexander, Deborah Jae, "A History of the American Film Institute" (2010). Dissertations. 870. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/870 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of Southern Mississippi A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE by Deborah Jae Alexander Abstract of a Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2010 ABSTRACT A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE by Deborah Jae Alexander May 2010 The American Film Institute (AFI) is a highly politicized, powerful organization. To date, most historical documentation and recording of AFI events and activities has been disseminated to the mass media from within the organization through its own publications or in other historical documentation as incidental history in relation to another topic. This dissertation, written as an overview, is the first comprehensive, independent historical examination of the AFI. The examination begins with an exploration of the development, activities and decline of the American Council on Education‟s original AFI and other film organizations that existed prior to the present day AFI. It then follows through to suggest an explanation for the contentious public discussions concerning the AFI‟s purpose and direction during its early years, which favored commercial film interests over educational/instructional film interests, as well as limited opportunities for women. This examination continues with documentation of the accomplishments of the AFI and the programs it sponsors concerning film education, preservation and promotion of U.S. films. ii COPYRIGHT BY DEBORAH JAE ALEXANDER 2010 TheUniversity of SouthemMississippi A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE by DeborahJae Alexander A Dissertation Submittedto the GraduateSchool of The Universityof SouthernMississippi in PartialFulfillment of the Requirements for the Degreeof Doctorof Philosophy Director lrll,-te C-t({L-- May2010 The University of Southern Mississippi A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE by Deborah Jae Alexander A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved: ____________________________________ . Director ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Dean of the Graduate School May 2010 DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my mother, Marion A. Shearer, who is always there for me, and to Grace, my faithful Italian Greyhound, who was there with me, in my lap or beside me as I wrote, and in my heart forever. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to thank committee chair, Dr. David R. Davies, and committee members, Dr. Phillip Gentile, the late Dr. Arthur Kaul, Dr. Chris Campbell, Dr. Deanne Nuwer and Dr. Gene Wiggins. Special thanks goes to Dr. Davies for his expert guidance through the writing process and to Dr. Nuwer for her kindness, guidance and support through beleaguering difficulties and beyond. Special thanks goes out to my friend and colleague, Dr. Christina Chung, Ramapo College of New Jersey, who encouraged me and supported me throughout the course of this dissertation and Taco, her Chihuahua, who often provided much needed comic relief while working on parts of this dissertation. A special thanks goes to Jan Haag, former founder of the Director‟s Workshop for Women, for her enthusiastic support. The author would also like to thank Dawn Letson, Women‟s Curator/Librarian at Texas Women‟s University in Garland, Texas, for her help and hospitality while researching the Jan Haag Papers located there. Special thanks go to my stepsister, Christine Shearer Kaewpraedit, for her warm hospitality in housing and feeding me while researching the Jan Haag Papers. Thanks also goes to Kay Loveland, former assistant to Toni Vellani; Jill Bogard, of the American Council on Education; Carol A. Leadenham, Assistant Archivist for Reference at the Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford University; Ronald Bulatoff, Archivist Specialist at the Hoover Institution Archives; Elizabeth Dunn at the Duke University Special Collections; Richard Johnston at the Stanford Research Institute and University of Kentucky Librarians; Craig Amos, Cindy Parker and Bethany Croteau. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................ii DEDICATION....................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................iv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................1 Purpose of the Study Significance of the Study Review of Selected Literature Terms and Definitions Methodology Research Problems Chapter Outline II. THE ORIGINAL AFI................................................................................34 Chaos and Confusion Early Educators Argue for an American Film Institute International and American Plans for Cooperative Film Institutes Five Interim Projects of the ACE AFI The Hays Commission The ACE AFI and the Beginning of World War II The ACE during WWII Post-World War II Chapter Conclusion III. FILM CLUBS, SOCIETIES AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS............75 The Art House/Film Society Movement The Post-WWII Art House Movement in the United States Back to the ACE Chapter Conclusion v IV. THE 1947-1967 INTERIM......................................................................102 Rise of Television The Art Film Movement, Film Schools and Foreign Films Colin Young‟s 1961 Proposal International Film Importers and Distributors Association (IFIDA) Chapter Conclusion V. THE NEA, THE AFI AND GEORGE STEVENS, JR., 1960-1979.......129 LBJ‟s “Great Society” and the Formation of the NEA, NEH and AFI George Stevens, Jr.—A History Leading to the AFI Post The NCA and the Formation of the NEA AFI The AFI is Established The Women‟s Movement and the AFI Selected Accomplishments and Programs Chapter Conclusion VI. A NEW AND LASTING DIRECTOR: JEAN FIRSTENBERG, 1980-2007………………………………………………………………171 Background History of Jean Picker Firstenberg Educational Services Controversy Selected AFI Accomplishments, 1980-2007 AFI Projects, Events and Programs AFI‟s Expansion—Partnerships and New Physical Sites Chapter Conclusion—From Firstenberg to Gazzale VII. CONCLUSION—THE AFI: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.........201 Briefly, What Happened? Reasons for an American Film Institute Definitions and Functions of an AFI The Lack of Connection between the Two AFIs Motion Pictures and the Computer Age The Need for Further Research BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................233 vi 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Few are aware that the American Film Institute (abbreviated AFI) of today, an institution that celebrated its fortieth anniversary on June 5, 2007, had a predecessor that shared the same name. In 1934, the American Council on Education (ACE), a firmly established organization founded in 1918 during the Woodrow Wilson administration, created the Advisory Committee on Motion Pictures on Education. Under the auspices of this committee, a nationwide “Educational Film Project”1 was launched a year later in 1935. The project was subsequently and informally dubbed “The American Film Institute” (hereafter, the ACE AFI) and publicized as such. This original AFI, and its purpose, was nationally known among educators from 1935 until 1947. The ACE archival guide indicates: The Advisory Committee on Motion Pictures on Education, formed in 1935 and soon known as the Committee on Motion Pictures on Education, was to serve as a national clearinghouse to promote the use of motion pictures in organized education. The committee was to catalog educational films available, prepare bibliographies of pertinent books and periodicals, and devise plans for classroom implementation of such materials. From 1943 to 1947 it was known as the Committee on Visual Aids. In 1947 it became inactive.2 Few educators were unaware of this project. As early as the 1920s and prior to the ACE AFI announcements, there had been numerous discussions in educational circles calling for an American film organization of national scope. Thus, there was already a 1 Lorraine Noble, “Modernization by Way of the Educational Film,” Journal of Educational Sociology, Vol. 10, no. 3, The Motion Picture in Educational and Social Aspects, (November, 1936): 151. The author credit after the article title indicates