ON MOVING PICTURES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 154, 25 November 1914, Page 7

ON MOVING PICTURES.

_ THEIR USE AND ABUSES. (Much has been said and written about the influence of the moving picture on children. The bombastic utterances of certain religious individuals and •thers concerning the moving picture and its effect on children's minds go to show that their condemnatory remarks are evidently not taken very seriously by parents, judging by the number of .children who attend these wholesome entertainments in large numbers night and day. The introduction of the moving picture to the world a few years ago .wfts not considered a legitimate moral .teaching form of entertainment, taking the then type of picture plays as a criterion, but now this form of amusement is firmly established, and it is good to see that the tend is toward a production of high-class subjects suitable for family enterainment. The war pictures now being shown all over the Dominion will, in after years, bciir grim testimony to the European war now raging. The scenes, no doubt, were tken in dangerous proximity to the firing line, a fact which shows the intrepidity of the operators. The moving picture teaches ideals of right and wrong, and conveys instruction in history and morality in agreeable forms. AVhat better subjects could be desired than ''Sixty Years a Queen," '•Quo Vadis," "Last days of Pompeii," "The (Three 'Musketeers," and several Other pictorial representations of hi s--ieal interest —pictures to satisfy ';he most fastidious.

, also give profitable occupation to i. - iy hours tlmt would otherwise be spent in idleness. Parents would sooner see, their children occupying a seat in a picture) theatre than on the street, .where they are exposed to all the dangers of modern life. , Again, they afford agreeable relaxation from worries of life. If your mind is turbulent with some proposition that you can't unravel, invest your sixpence 'in a seat at the picture theatre, and you will find that your thoughts will be concentrated on the various objects screened, your mind relaxed, and all your worries forgotten. The moving picture has some attraction that is irresistible —we all love a good drama. Anything with a touch of the romantic in it is sure to be a draw. Ludicrous subjects always raise a smile, even from the most lugubrious patrons. Tliov arouse, our sympathies, by increasing our knowledge oi the people in different ranks than ourselves. We sit in a cosy seat and view crownings of Kings, openings of Parliament, visits of Royalties, and other personalities. Wo ,see, "London by day and night," its people, its attractions and its gaiety. Wo also view other great cities nnd countries, all per medium of the cinematograph, which, I consider has proved itself a valuable necessity to mankind in more wavs than one. R. A. HAKTXETT, Tongaporutu, November 23.