OUR MOVIE MADE CHILDREN by HENRY JAMES FORMAN

By HENRY JAMES FORMAN Eighth THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OUR MOVIE MADE CHILDREN By HENRY JAMES FORMAN Here is a book showing the movies for what they really are a monster Pied Piper, with marvelous trappings, playing tunes irre- sistibly alluring to the youth of the present day. They have become, in fact, a sort of super- imposed system of education for the young, a system with which established social institu- tions, such as the School and the Church, can- not compete in attraction or appeal. The first book of its kind, "Our Movie Made Children" shows the effects both good and bad of random movie-going upon the health, conduct, and morals of the spectators, especially the young. In entertaining style it presents, without technicalities, for the general reader the results of a nation-wide four-year research the first comprehensive survey thus far at- tempted by a group of scientists, psychologists, sociologists, and educators especially selected for the task. This was initiated by the Payne Fund, at the instance of The Motion Picture Research Council, which is headed by Ray Lyman Wilbur, the President of Stanford Uni- versity. Mr. Forman, in preparing his book, had all their materials at his disposal, and Dr. W. W. Charters, Professor of Educational Research in Ohio State University and Chairman of the Committee on Educational Research of the Payne Fund, has written an Introduction for the volume. This book will appeal to every parent and teacher in the country indeed, to every American. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Publishers New York OUR MOVIE MADE CHILDREN THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO DALLAS ATLANTA - S.vN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LIMITED TORONTO OUR MOVIE MADE CHILDREN By HENRY JAMES FORMAN With an Introduction by DR. W. W. CHARTERS Professor of Education and Director of Educational Research in Ohio State University, Chairman of the Committee on Educational Research of the Payne Fund New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1935 Copyright, 1933, by HENRY JAMES FORMAN All rights reserved no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in magazine or newspaper 5V* up and printed. Published May, 1933 Reprinted July, 1933 Reprinted October, 1933 Reprinted November, 1933 Reprinted March. 1934 Reprinted May, 1934 Reprinted November, 1934 Reprinted August, 1935 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OK AMEIUCA BY THE POLYGRAI'HIC COMPANY OF AMERICA, N.Y. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION vii CHAPTER I THE SCOPE OF MOTION PICTURES i II WHO GOES TO THE MOVIES? 12 III WHAT DO THEY SEE? 28 IV HOW MUCH DO THEY REMEMBER? 54 V MOVIES AND SLEEP 69 VI OTHER PHYSICAL EFFECTS 90 VII HORROR AND FRIGHT PICTURES 105 VIII "UNMARKED SLATES" 121 IX MOVIES AND CONDUCT 141 X MOLDED BY THE MOVIES 158 XI THE PATH TO DELINQUENCY 179 XII MOVIE-MADE CRIMINALS 196 XIII SEX-DELINQUENCY AND CRIME 214 XIV DETERRENT AND CORRECTIONAL 233 XV MOVIES IN A CROWDED SECTION 251 XVI SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 273 INDEX 285 MOTION PICTURES AND YOUTH: An In- troduction, by W. W. Charters, combined with GETTING IDEAS FROM THE MOVIES, by P. W. Holaday and George D. Stoddard THE CONTENT OF MOTION PICTURES and CHILDREN'S ATTENDANCE AT MOTION PICTURES, by Edgar Dale THE EMOTIONAL RESPONSES OF CHIL- DREN TO THE MOTION PICTURE SITUATION, by W. S. Dysinger and Chris- tian A. Ruckmick, combined with MOTION PICTURES AND STANDARDS OF MO- RALITY, by Charles C. Peters MOTION PICTURES AND THE SOCIAL ATTITUDES OF CHILDREN, by Ruth C. Peterson and L. L. Thurstone, combined with RELATIONSHIP OF MOTION PICTURES TO THE CHARACTER AND ATTI- TUDES OF CHILDREN, by Mark A. May and Frank Shuttleworth CHILDREN'S SLEEP, by Samuel Renshaw, Vernon A. Miller, and Dorothy Marquis MOVIES AND CONDUCT, by Herbert Blumer MOVIES, DELINQUENCY, AND CRIME, by Herbert Blumer and Philip M. Hauser BOYS, MOVIES, AND CITY STREETS, by Paul G. Cressey and Frederick M. Thrasher HOW TO APPRECIATE MOTION PIC- TURES, by Edgar Dale INTRODUCTION THE basic material which Mr. Forman has used in preparing this volume is found in the studies which arc listed by title on the opposite page. These investigations, made during 1929 to 1933 at the request of the Motion Picture Research Council, were supported by the Payne Fund, an organization interested in the radio, motion pictures and reading in relation to children and youth. The investigators, whose names appear as authors of the studies, organized a program of research and dele- gated to members of the group the responsibility for studying one or more problems in the field in which they were competent. These studies were carried on independently. The investigators were not expected to pool their findings as a group and make a pronounce- ment about the movies. They rather conducted twelve independent investigations to furnish data for those who wished to use them. As chairman of the group I was requested to write a summary of the studies in a monograph of the series. To Mr. Forman was entrusted the task of preparing a popular summary, and I was charged with the respon- scientific sibility of attesting the accuracy of the findings as set forth in his book. I have examined Mr. Forman's manuscript. He shows a thorough grasp of the facts in viii INTRODUCTION the complicated materials presented in the nearly three thousand pages which constitute the report of the twelve studies. His interpretation of the studies, however, his selection of illustrative material, his literary style, his dramatic and emphatic presentation are of necessity en- tirely his own. Disregarding those differences in details of interpretation and individuality of style which are inevitable, I agree with the author in the fundamental position that the motion picture is powerful to an unexpected degree in affecting the information, attitudes, emotional ex- periences and conduct patterns of children; that the content of current commercial motion pictures con- stitutes a valid basis for apprehension about their influence upon children; and that the commercial movies present a critical and complicated situation in which the whole-hearted and sincere cooperation of the producers with parents and public is essential to discover how to use motion pictures to the best advantage of children. W. W. CHARTERS, Chairman of the Committee on Educational Research of The Payne Fund Miy 6, 1933 OUR MOVIE MADE CHILDREN CHAPTER I THE SCOPE OF MOTION PICTURES WHO, in these searching times, would not desire to have an answer to the question, Are the movies good or bad for my child ? harmful or helpful ? In a general way most of us are aware that the motion picture is a boon to mankind, second in importance if second it is only to the art of printing. So vast and far-reaching are its possibilities for the instruction and entertainment of humanity that did it not already exist we should, if we possessed enough imagination, pray for its invention. The all-pervasive and permeating quality it has demonstrated in the space of a single generation is surely in itself a proof of the pressing human need it represents. The attainment of many of the larger possibilities of mankind must inevitably be helped by its agency, and though we are, in moods of depression, all too prone to see no farther than a pauper's grave with limitless wealth lying all about us, many people already perceive the great possibilities for good in the motion picture and are not a little concerned lest it should be exploited in a contrary direction. "For the purpose of making and influencing public opinion and thought," declares Dr. John J. Tigert, former United States Commissioner of Education, now president of the University of Florida, "the motion picture in 2 OUR MOVIE MADE CHILDREN its present stage is the most powerful influence now known, and as its use increases and its field of operation develops, its power to influence the public will increase." A good motion picture, briefly, with its peculiar and inherent capacity to circulate throughout the globe, to penetrate into the smallest town and even into rural areas, represents a social force which may be described as nothing short of a godsend. In "A Generation of Motion Pictures" the Motion Picture Research Council lists, as representative of hun- dreds, possibly thousands, of commendable motion pictures that have been made, a few sample specimens as satisfying even exacting social standards: Ben Hur, The Big Parade, The Covered Wagon, The Vanishing Ameri- can, The Pony Express, Abraham Lincoln, The Ten Commandments, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Chang, The King of Kings. More recently we have had such examples as Sorrell and Son, Arrowsmith, Caval- cade, and doubtless many others. Impossible to quarrel with productions of this character. Pictures of that order, be they American or foreign and they are mostly Amer- ican should be a source of pride to the industry as they are a boon to audiences. Insofar as concerns the movie in education, its history has scarcely begun. Though educational films have been made and are being made, the domain of the textbook is still largely unimpaired, but its monopoly is dis- puted. As this is being written, Dean Holmes, of the Harvard School of Education, announces the discovery that where talking motion pictures supplement the textbook in class, knowledge of students increases from 20 to 40 per cent. For the visual aid, the semblance of living THE SCOPE OF MOVING PICTURES 3 actuality presented on the screen, is almost incalculably powerful.

Load more