Evening star., 1932-01-12
RADIO DECLARED
STEP IN SOCIALISM
British Publication Shows
Change in Values of HUI
man Entertainment.
BY MARTIN CODEL.

~ Ado broadcasting after the
- British manner represents zone
IN of the biggest experiments in
Il Socialism that the world has SO
far watched" writes Leonard
woolf in an article on how radio has
revolutionized entertainment in Radio
Times, published by the British Broad
casting Corporation. Mr.. Woolf declares
that the civilization or barbarism of
people or age is largely shown by their
entertainments, and points out that
radio has entirely changed entertain
ment values for the British people.
In the B, B. c." he writes, $50
eiety is organizing very considerable
part Of its entertainment communally,
on non-proflt making and non-com-
petitive system. The B. B. C. is pub
lie corporation, owing its existence TO an
act of Parliament and controlled ulti-
mately by a minister OF one Of the
great state departments, the post Office.
State Behind Service.
Behind the B. B. c., the microphone
and your wireless set is the state or So
ciety, ard it is the state which is play
ing you the Jazz band which you will
listen to this evening, just as 1t Is sup
plying you with water If you go and
turn the tap on in the bath room or
with a postage stamp If you buy one
from the post Office around the cor
ner."
This socialization Of entertainment,
Mr.. Woof continues, and its with
drawal from private competition is on
q scale that is astounding" A thea
ter or cinema seats few hundred at a
time; $4,000 may attend a foot ball
match; book that sells 100000 copies
Is a superbest seller. But these figures
of the number of people that the great
private entertainers cater for are mere
fiea-bite compared with the number
who are the clients Of the B. B. c."
Mr.. WooH says that broa oadcasting, be-
ing so easy to obtain, Is competing with
concerts, theaters, operas, music halls,
variety, debating societies, newspapers,
books, recitations, gramophones and
sports, because "by using his wireless
set man can get, in varying degrees,
the products of all these different
branches of entertainment" He sees
much significance in this in the mod
ern age, and some dangers.
Ancient Greek Custom.
"The ancient Greeks, when they
wanted to amuse themselves, sat for
hours on the stone seats Of public thea
ters listening to the produced
plays of Sophocles, Euripides, or an
Aristophanes; the Roman expected his
government % provide him with gladla-
torial shows in gigantic buildings where
he could watch slaves and captlveS fight
to the death or Christians thrown to the
lions; the Englishman in the eighteenth
century preferred to see two cocks fght
or several bulldogs hanging on to the
nose OF bull"
The passive" attitude toward en-
tertainment, because it is so easy to
get by radio, is not recommended by
the writer, although he has nothing but
kind words for radio.
The danger Of broadcasting,' he
concludes, lis that it makes entertain
ment too easy. 1t is too easy TO turn
the little switch and be provided with
something just sufficiently entertain
ing to kill the next half hour. 1t is
also like dram drinking. IncesSant sip
ping encourages the passive attitude Of
the man who Just wants 20 be amused
and saved from thinking. That is 8
great pity, for many people thereby
never discover that one Of the best
forms Of entertainment is to use ones
own mind"