This Craze For Condemning The Cinema....

Radio Record, 4 September 1936, Page 5

This Craze For Condemning

The Cinema....

by

A. R.

McElwain

Il have no reason to ‘doubt, delivered himself of thie gem: ‘"There are many films exhibited throughout New Zealand that are totally unsuitable for-children. That is my reason for advocating a more rigid censorship. " When I read this at my office |. was in a particularly receptive mood, as I had just been planning with my colleagues how best we could continue to foul the child-mind. r I 1 HE other day, a member of Parliament, whose sincerity

You know, I take it, that. we .are always secretly plotting to flood our beautiful country with every conceivable sort of films totally unsuitable for the youngsters, and to screen them to audiences packed, entirely with little innocents. If you don’t believe me, ask any critic, listen to any sermon, read any paper. You'll learn, And it’s frightully encouraging, the wealth of support we obtain. While we callously — exhibit throughout New Zealand ‘many films that are totally unsuitable for children, the public libraries, with dastardly persistence, clutter up their shelves with all sorts of stuff besides Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales, ‘‘Peter Pan," and Aunt Lucy’s First Lessons for Lisping Mites. Days and days are devoted by the Broadcasting Service to

putting over the air information for adults, while children’s sessions are given a paltry hour here and there, They're teaching things in our schools and universities that are miles ahead of the kindergarten stage, and not a hand raised to stop it. The newspapers go on telling mothers and fathers about the war in Spain, and flaunt sex under the very noses of the adolescents per medium of the egg-laying competition results. Parliamentary debates that are totally unsuitable

for children are reported at length, and the police just ignore them. Authors are in this vile conspiracy up to their necks. Painters and sculptors prefer an occasional nude to a succession of infant studies; and as for those film-producing companies! Well, you must admire their stubborn refusal of all requests that they do the decent thing and ignore every phase of Life Beyond Ten Years. Aren’t we a lot of devils! Being serious (if possible), it must seem strange to right-thinking souls who are sickened by this constant repetition of banal theories about The Film and The Child, that people in responsible public positions are still propounding such simple nonsense. Actually, the fact that it is so easy to do makes for its perpetuction,. From my. own experience | find that

the majority * of critics-cim-would-be | "reformers of the pictures can be divided roughly (as they..deserve) into three classes? (1) The biased; (2) The ignorant; (3) The biased and ignorant. They would have to be one or the other or both, or else this infernal carping would have blown itself out long ago.

Instead, it drags on. .-. the child~ mind ... the child-mind .. . the child-mind.. . As I remarked in a recent address, you’ have no idea of ‘the child-minds we come up against in this business. The only sensible souls who don‘t bother about it in the slightest are the children themselves. I know dozens of parents who simply cannot persuade their tots to accompany them to a soulsearing drama of love that is as modern as to-morrow’s headlines. The kids respond with slightly raised eyebrows, turn another page of Pete the Pirate and remind Dad to keep sixpence aside as they're going to see Buck Jones next Saturday if it’s too wet for footy. All very strange. We are told from time to titne that it is our function to give the

public what it wants in entertainment. It can’t be done, if only because the dear old public itself doesn’t know from one minute to another what it wants. Theatre proprietors, film producers and entrepreneurs have been sent two things trying to find out-crazy and broke, Even Nero-and, Heaven knows, he was a showman !- discovered this back in his day of super-entertainment. No matter how original he tried to be, he always. had two

schools of thought in the Colosseum; and those who stood to get the _ lion's share of the performances provided ancient proof that tastes constantly change. _ Reverting to the child-mind-frequent attempts have been made by means of questionnaires discover what film fare children like best. The replies have been pretty varied, some exceedingly disconcerting, but this is clearthey've still to unearth the high-minded, model _ little chap who will answer: "Do please confine my Saturday matinees to lovely thrillers about the mysteries of irregular verbs, or corker dramas about the by-pro-ducts of the Himalayas, and, to satisfy my vicious craving fer excitement, throw in some nice history films about 1066 and all that." (Continued on page 8)

Dr. Malcolm Sargent, the eminent British conductor, comments.on music in New Zealand in next week’s signed article.

BUTE UE Introducing... A. R. McHLWAIN, publicity manager for the Fuller-Hayward Theatre Corporation.

Mr. McElwain, who was formerly «. well-known Auckland journalist, takes a keen interest in the cultural and educeational aspects ‘of, the cinema. Mrs. MeHiwain is also a figure in journal istic circles. ' Before her marriage last Haster she Was Miss Marjorie Simpson, well-known Auckland writer. URE TUTTE t