The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-02-13

screen brought from the crowd Q
yells Of delight and excitement
which stood In fair way Of sham
ing an American gridiron spec
tacle. We failed to discover the
true intent of the man in the pro-
lection booth as the evenings en-
tertainment ground on. No doubt
he had good Intentions! But he
insisted on running the ancient
silent film we witnessed, COM
mencing with the middle portion,
progressively forward. with, of
necessity. long pauses to change
reels, then bravely again. pro-
jected the latter part of the thing
and proceeded to its conclusion.
The title and cast were sand
wiched In somewhere in the midst
Of this confusion. The delight of
the Balinese herded In that "cin-
ema palace" though. was dcafen-
ingly audible and we had no desire
whatever to dispute the point OF
the films value with the half
naked audience surrounding us!
Perhaps the previews were the
top-spot of the evening. COM
ING! Douglas Fairbanks In "Don
Juan" and most rabidly received,
Flash Gordon and the Martians
in another thrilling chapter Roc
keting To Earth" 1--WE wondered
II Orson Welles had hand In any
Of thisD
Flash u Favorite
Later, on inquiry from our
Chinese friends, we learned that
Flash" as he Is affectionately
known to his followers through
out the world. leads In Balinese
favor. Not too difficult to under
stand-this appeal. After all we
used to go in for Ruth ROLAND,
as she leapt with the succeeding
weeks from one hair-brcadth es-
cape to another, always Of course
exerting a fatal fascination which
drew us In on Saturday afternoons
for IL or is weeks!
We found other signs of disturb
ance beneath the surface of Balls
apparently well-ordered existence.
We visited q school In Den Pasar.
Here was an unforgettable sight.
A hundred on more attractive,
dark-eyed, Balinese children re-
citing aloud, singing the same
songs the American child encoun-
tiers in. the early years of gram
mar school. The teacher. unable,
evidently to cope with our Ian
guage effectively, land we with
hcrs) finally left the room Of pure
embarrassment.
Out on the great playfield,
which forms the town square OF
Den Pasar. Balinesc boys played
soccer, baseball and tennis with
an accuracy and enthusiasm typic-
ally western. Along the streets Of
Den Pasar, and even In the out
lying country, we frequently heard
recent hit tunes Of the American
films and stage, hummed and
yodelled perserveringly by Balinese
| VI tCSh dkS.
civilization" Creeping In
OF course we couldn't base justi-
fication for cultural influx of
western character on these small
points. Admitting that, though,
| there was Enthusiastically evident
near the larger centers of Den
Pasar and Boeleleng. a stirring in
terest, and dissatisfaction on the
part Of the coming generation
with the old life of placid. bound
ritual. which has made Bali the
unique island of the world.
After all, basically. these peo-
pie are just as human as any
and II is quite logical to expect
that with the increasing influence
of western habits. radio. film and
mechanics, and the tendency al
ready 30 evident to emigrate tc
ncighboring Java and Singapore
for European education, the Bali
nese will assimilate western ways
with increasing rapidity a. ths
years pass. 1t should be made
clear, though, that these mani
festations are, generally. inevita
BILE with the passage Of time
Enough cannot be said on TIT
whole for the tact and insight will
which the Dutch have handled THU
island to date.
With improvements. generally II
, the direction of sanitation, roads
, and elimination of abuses whicl
had crept into the Hinduism o
the Balinese. the Netherlander
, have as far as possible left thes
, people to themselves to live on
| their serene lives In their cw'
fashion.
fTo Ne CO0tinuefil