Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1921-11-10

grasp OF picture making IS only equdf
ed by his grasp of the cinema's future
the needs and wants of the public, anc
the motion picture is part of every
mans life.
In introducing motion pictures as
Americas fourth or fifth largest indus.
try, one might also identify them as
Americas largest and most popular
target for criticism.
Where lives a person who hasn't
said: 'The movies are awful" or said
something to that effect
That is as it should be- 1t proves
motion pictures are important and pro
crossing. You hear no such criticism
from all sides for our American music
painting, writing or stage. That is
because the public does not expect
any great improvement in these arts,
but does expect it in motion pictures.
A savage and ruthless denunciation
of nation pictures by one of the most
prominent dramatic critics in this coun
try, first awakened me to the fact that
motion pictures were to become the
dominant educational and entertain
ment force in the world. | was too
busy at the time to give much thought
to the future. But realized that this
shrewd gentleman saw in them some
thing more powerful than his beloved
stag or he could not have spurred his
thoughts to such high tide of fierce
protest.
We do not spend much time critics.
ing something unimportant or dying.
If the public ever stops complaining
about his motion pictures, we shall be-
come alarmed.
Enter Prohibition.
Criticism has its fads and fancies
just as much as anything else. At
present it is popular to criticise the
motion pictures harshly. In way
feel that prohibition has had some
thing to do with this public irritabili-
ty regarding pictures. People substi.
tuted motion picture shows for the
customary drinking diversion And
quarrelled with the films because they
didn't get the same effect.
There need be no alarm about mo-
tion pictures as long as the makers
strive to interpret life as naturally as
they can. Superficial critics shout
with outraged despair about something
in motion picture not being realistic.
Realism isn't the important thing.
Naturalism is.
Courtroom scenes, | believe, are cri-
ticised more generally than any others
in motion pictures. That is because
Mr.. and Mrs. Audience went to court
in condition of high interest, when
either they or someone close to them
was involved in the action, and what
ever occurred affected them vividly.
They remember how impressed they
were with everything occurring. When
they are not SO impressed by court
room scene in a picture, they immed-
lately think it is badly DONE If any
of the details are not exactly as they
remember, they think that is the rea-
son. These few demand detailed real
ism that would be boring beyond toll
erance to the other millions.
The critics should pay more atten-
ton to naturalism and less TO realism
They keep running after rabbits in.
stead of following the fox.
No Art Interest
1t will be several decades yet before
producers can make motion pictures
that do not also classify as entertain
ment for every grade of intelligence
America has no sincere or even con-
scious interest in art. 1t is first and
almost completely interested in indus
try. One can prove it by thousand
means.
For instance Your hero is yourself
Then the national hero becomes the
one who expresses in the highest de-
gree the achievement the people of the
nation would like to achieve individual
ly.
Until recently We were all fight
ing people, and our heroes were fight
ers. But now we have no soldier for
a national hero, even though the great
est of our wars has just ended.
| should say that the popular hero
of America today is Henry Ford.
When he makes some changes in his
plant and pays his debts, the public is
SO interested that the metropolitan
newspapers print three and four col
umns on their front pages about it
and continue to comment for days
Now We will make a comparison.
If a person We're to show motor
picture ten times better than any yet
made; and he were to show this with
music better than any ever composed
in America; and if he were to give
away as a souvenir volume of poetry
far better than any yet written in A
merica; and he were to have painted
on each of these volumes miniatur,
better than anything yet by an Ameri
can artist-do you suppose if this wer
done, the newspapers of this countr,
would give it three columns on tn