The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1912-09-20
THE MOTION PICTURES



come 20 stay. In a comparatively
short time they have rivaled the
newspapers as an educational force.
Every village almost. has it's film
houae The larger towns support
several Cities are thronged with
them Their patronage is drawn from
hH classes and conditions of people.
Their most persistent and constant
drtofees are the little folks. Mere
cots aho cannot read, kindergart-
ners and little chaps in the primary
Hoa Grades flock 70 the film shows
uHu Unattended Il is the fact of
sradlalous child patronage that
.a the moving picture show its
tremendous significance
w IMPRESS ons are very strong
Psychologists tell us that an inn
un made upon the sensitive
caud can never be eradi-
Ilpnotsm seems to prove
rfl u this statement A case
ader hypnotic influence,
woman VINO knew not one
Hebrew. recited long pass
te Bible in Hebrew Il was
aaon inquiry and Investigation
fs Rasu She was a child of two
sae had heard an old minister
raad hese passages. Pedagogists
10. THAT tae child is influenced
mar profoundly by what he sees
au - aha, he hears. Now, if eye
rsssIons are the deepest, and if
m IMPRESSIONS are lost, and if all TO
.rearer or lesser extent lend their
difference tO he fashioning of charac-
.r chem the influence Of the picture
.aae- can hardly be estimated. What
are tae children seeing at the "mov-
la- Ltteuke portrayal of murders,
droeu.ues. suicides, incendiarism,
fetts burglaries, can can dances,
marital uddelties. gambling, etc. 1t
ls hsre Young Washers" can get post
graduate lessons in the art Of attract
na be attention OF girls. 1t is here
thar most forms OF crime are depict
40 n shocking detail OF course, as
q rule. the criminal is overtaken. and
has Justice melted out to him. But is
10 not equally true that the average
81 ght patron sees how the criminal
might have escaped? Furthermore,
Wee IS monster of such frightful
mein.
To be hated, needs but to be seen.
bur seen too oft familiar with her
face.
We first endure then pity then en-
brace
Now. this article is not written to
condemn the movies" Far from it.
We would not presume to put wholly
under ban an agency SO fraught with
possibilities for good. The idea is to
urge the selection an5 the patroniz-
ing As far as possible of those which
are wholesome in their educational
work More than this, it would be
better if a more careful censorship
were exercised before a picture is al
lowed TO go before the public at all.
Many things our children see in the
shows We would shield them from in
real life. But are not the pictures
very real? Among those that are
shown in the average play house,
many are even now innocent, whole
; me and instructive But there are
others \ lady who lives in a west
ern city. not much larger than Ocala,
writes II attended the picture shows
on five successive evenings, and. saw
sixty films Many of them were beau
tiul and instructive, some were
harmless comedy, but the great
amount of crime and tragedy could
not have been we'll for the young"
Here is how she divided them:
Eight were educational, twenty were
harmless comedy. thirty-two were
tragedy There were represented in
these eight thefts, sixteen death
scenes, eight murders. six suicides,
fourteen scenes of jealousy. two bal
lets, love-makiEg in all, and l lost the
count on fights"
Should there not be an insistent de-
mand on the part of parents who are
charged with the grave responsibility
OF directing the destiny of children.
for the elimination of all films which
tend to familiarize the child-mind with
deeds OF blood and cruelty?
In this connection We are more than
pleased to see that the wide-awake
school board in Alachua county is
preparing to introduce the Edison Xxi.
Microscope in the public schools Of
that county. We clip the following
from a recen, issue of the Gainesville
sun. being part of an address deliver
ed by Or Kelley, the county superin- |