Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-09-26
THE PICTREU VS.. THE BOOK.
By Frederic j. Haskin.
NEW YORK.
moving |

pictures instead of books!
This suggestion, long championed by such ar
dent educators as Mr.. II. G. Wells, is now meet
ing with widespread approval in this country.
After many years of patient obscurity, the edu-
%cational film is distinctly coming into its own.
Not only is IT. greatly in demand by public
schools, universities and churches, but the gen.
eral public Is showing an unexpected enthusiasm
for it. Producers Of educational features are
finding 1t difficult to supply all the orders they
receive for home projection machines, while
New York moving picture theatres have recent
ment, that an exceptional animal or travel pic
ture, properly featured, attracts as many patrons
as an all-star theatrical film.
The fact is that large numbers of people who
would be bored by most travel books and VINO
would be incapable of concentrating on q scien-
tifc article. are quite eager to absorb informa-
ton through the comfortable medium of the
screen. The reading of books, with the excep-
ton of light, popular fiction, requires UNDER
standing and imagination on the part of the
reader, while looking at a film does not. Many
unkind things have been said against the movies,
but this may be said in their favor: They are
making the average American better informed:
They are bringing to the great mass OF people
who cannot afford to travel, .glimpses OF for
eign lands, interesting personalities and curious
facts. In other words, they are disseminating
useful knowledge in a painless, effective fashion;
The extent to which education films are USED
Is now so vast that a combination of non-theat-
trical producers was recently formed to es-
tablish exchanges throughout the United States
for the distribution OIL pictures VI pulSi oNu
cational character. This combination plans to en-
large the field for their products, but In the
meantime it is kept busy supplying the field
which already exists.
Movies in Church and Home.
According to one of these producers, there are
"A, 900 churches in this country which regularly
use motion pictures, of which the Roman Cath
Ollie churches number 1900 and the Methooise
10, 700. Departments of visual education have
been established in most OF our universities
while projection machines are owned by nearly
60 per cent Of our elementary schools.
Then there are numerous organizations ana
clubs which use educational MOVIES as a resu-
lar thing. Among these are Z. M. z; A, I. w.
C. A., the American Federation OF Womens
Clubs, and societies devoted to nature study, am
NAL lore, welfare work, health, civics, drama,
history and travel. The use of moving pictures
among such societies is growing at such a rapid
rate that the twelve manufacturers now produc-
ing standard portable projectors are planning
to turn them out during the coming year at the
rate Of 1900 to 1900 "a week in order to keep
up with the extraordinary demand.
The educational film has also become an IN
dispensable feature of the large MANUFACTURING
plant, which uses it not only to advertise lts
goods but for educational work among us en-
ployes. safety first films have done more than
any other one thing, it is said, to cut down the
number of industrial accidents, While they nave
also been instrumental in smoothing out diner
ences existing between employers and employees.
1t is estimated that there are 5000 manutactur-
ers in this country who provide moving PIC
lures for their employees every day at noon,
One large mining corporation has built nine
moving picture theatres for the benefit OF lts
workers, one of which cost 100000.
Besides these permanent sources OF demand,
there is an ever growing clamor for non-theat-
rical films for use in private homes. NOBODY
realizes how many portable projecting rnachines
are in use in private homes says one producer
Of educational features. There are $4,000 ot
these in use in the United States, and probably
$4,000 more which, are idle because ~ Is lmposa
sib1e to supply pictures for them. For these We
are asked to make up a program with COMEDY
suitable for children, a travelogue, an educatlone
al film, and perhaps pictures of the habits OIL
wild animals. or AUGMENTATION propaganda.
"One OF the very important uses OF the non,
theatrical picture is putting Americanizatlon
into homes in a language that even an llhterale
immigrant can understand.
Science Taught by Film.
"You can teach all sorts of scientific facts by
films which you can't with books, because people
won't take the trouble to read them; 1assans
boards, for instance. can put their lessons
across in pictures as they can in no other way.
We have one picture called 'Unhooklng the
Hookworm' which is unknown to the theatre-
going public, but is in great demand by the IN
ternational Health Board for use in all the
Soutl- ern statea.
major operation. We have films showing mocro-
scopic organisms and demonstrating physiologle
cal processes, as, for example, the circulation OF
blood. Then, of course, they have it all over
textbooks in teaching chemistry, biology, and
other scientific subjects in the schools
The producer handed us his authority Tor TINS
last statement-an article by Mr.. ii. q. Welis'
in which he says: =.
II ask for half a dozen projectors or SO in
every school and for a well stocked storehouse
of films. The possibilities of certain branches
of teaching have been altogether revolutlonlzed
by the cinematograph. In nearly every school
nowadays you will find a lot of more or less
worn and damaged scientific apparatus when
is supposed to be used for demonstrating the
elementary facts of chemistry, physics and the
like.
Now that is the sort of thing which still goes
on. But it ought to be entirely out of date. All
that scientific bric-a-brac in the cupboard hao
for better be thrown away. All the demonstra-
ton experiments that science teachers Will re-
quire in the future can be performed once Ior
all-before a cinematograph. They can be Done
finally; they need never to be done again; You
can get the best of most dexterous teacher IN
the world-he can do what has been done with
the best apparatus in the best light; AWNING
that is very minute or subtle you can magnify
or repeat from another point of view; anything
that is intricate you can record with extreme
slowness; you can show the facts a mile or SIX
inches off-and all that your actual class teacher
need to do now is to spend five minutes In get
ting out the film he wants, ten minutes In read,
ing over the corresponding lecture notes. ana
then he can run the film, give the lesson ques,
ton his class upon it, not what they miss anu
how they take it, run the film again for a second
scrutiny, and get out for the subsequent study
Of the class the ample supply of diagrams ana
pictures needed to fix the lesson. Can there pe