Part 2

Take a film about the volcano, of which most children have heard but never seen. It would explain that a volcano throws up smoke, calcined dust, red-hot stones, and melted matter called lava. The summit is hollowed out in a great excavation having the shape of a funnel, sometimes miles in circumference. The principal volcanoes could be shown, as Vesuvius, near Naples; Etna, in Sicily; Hecla, in Iceland.

A curtain of smoke filling the orifice of the crater denotes the forthcoming eruption. When the air is calm the smoke rises vertically to nearly a mile in height, finally spreading out like a huge blanket, cutting off the rays of the sun, and sinking down on the volcano, covering it with a dense smoke-cloud. A huge sheaf of fire bursts from the crater to a height of 6,000 ft., and the heavy cloud is illuminated by the fiery red of the sky. Millions of sparks dart out like vivid lightning to the summit of the blazing sheaf. These sparks, so small from a distance, are, in reality, incandescent masses of stone, and of a sufficient momentum to crush the most solid structure in their fall.

From the bowels of the mountain through the volcanic chimney ascends a flux of melted mineral substance, or lava, pouring out into the crater, forming a lake of dazzling fire in the sun. Through the crevasses as well as over the edges of the crater the lava flows in streams. The fiery current, formed of dazzling and paste-like matter, similar to melted metal, advances slowly; the front of the lava stream represents a rampart on fire. Animals and human beings flee before it, but all objects stationary are lost. Trees are seen to blaze a moment on contact with the lava and sink down reduced to charcoal; the thickest walls impeding its progress are calcined and collapse; the hardest rocks are vitrified, melted. The flow of lava eventually subsides; the subterranean vapours, forced by the enormous pressure of the solid mass, escape with greater violence than ever, carrying with them whirlwinds of fine dust floating in sinister clouds and sinking down upon the neighbouring plain. Finally the mountain ceases its activity and peace reigns again for an indefinite time.

Visualize the terrible eruption of Mt. Etna in Sicily of two hundred years ago. A dark night preceded the storm. Trees swayed like reeds buffeted by the wind; people fled to avoid being crushed under the ruins of their dwellings. They lost their footing on the quaking ground and fell. Mt. Etna burst into a fissure ten miles long, and along this fissure broke forth a number of volcanic mouths, vomiting clouds of black smoke and calcined sand. Soon seven of these mouths were united in one abyss emitting cinders and lava.

Torrents of lava poured from all the crevasses of the mountain down upon the plain, destroying houses, forests and crops. The stream reached the walls of Catania and spread over the country. There, as if to demonstrate its strength to the terrified Catanians, it tore away a hill and transplanted it some distance; it lifted in one mass a field planted with vines and let it float for some time, until the green was reduced to charcoal and disappeared.

A fierce battle ensued between lava and water. The lava presented a perpendicular front nearly a mile in length and forty feet high. At the touch of that burning wall, which continued plunging further and further into the waves, enormous masses of vapour rose with terrible hissings, darkened the sky with their thick clouds, and fell in a salt rain over the region. In a few days the lava had made the limits of the shore recede three hundred and fifty yards.

The stream, swollen with new tributaries, grew from day to day and approached the town. The inhabitants could be seen from the top of the walls watching the implacable scourge. The lava finally reached the ramparts. The fiery flood rose slowly but it rose ceaselessly. It finally touched the top of the walls, whereupon, yielding to pressure, they were overthrown for the length of forty-five yards, and the stream of fire penetrated the town.

The last scene was that of the inhabitants fleeing in terror. What a realistic geography lesson, never to be forgotten, would a film of this description make!

The films can show anything from the mining of coal to the manufacture of the needle; from the weaving of a dainty handkerchief to the building of a battleship. The films projected would be purely educational, though there are numerous incidents shown, which amuse and entertain, in addition to imparting information. A particular film series of an educational and scientific nature is now available.

The Smith-Urban “Kinemacolour” series depicting the budding flowers and the opening of blossoms--which in nature occupies several days--are disclosed with uncanny realism in less than two minutes.

Marvels of the universe, a scientific film of nature-study and general knowledge, finds many patrons.

HISTORY TAUGHT BY FILM.

It would be necessary for historians to collaborate very closely with the producers in the preparation of historical films. The mere fact of being called upon to provide a scene for a picture and a detailed explanation, however, would go far to arouse a new enthusiasm in their work among students and teachers of history. It might assist us to vision our forefathers out of their portrait frames and parish churches, which are, perhaps, their only extant monuments, and reveal them to us as they lived and moved.

In most cases the educative value was confined to actual performers, or those who took part in the preparation of costumes, and in general the action of a scene was too far removed from the audience for close observation and too quickly over for effective study.

Supposing one could produce a film, actually showing the scenes enacted during the life and times of the Romans; depicting their daily life, court ceremonial and ancient coronations, or their judicial proceedings, their tournaments,--we should add materially to our historical knowledge of the people; and one must not lose sight of the fact, that when we have passed to the “Great Beyond,” and the world still continues to be inhabited some thousands of years hence, populated with people actuated with the same ideas, the same aspirations as ourselves, our present period will stand exactly in a similar relationship,--in regard to time at least.

What could present a more magnificent visual panorama than the procession of events of the Elizabethan period to the eighteenth century, laying open to our view their lives, the arts and crafts of their time, and our progress is then made over the stepping-stones of the past? Imagine the royal events of history, the gorgeous scenes of the coronations of English kings, as they succeeded each other.

Supposing an authoritative film could have been produced of the Great War, showing the whole of Europe in conflict, from the invasion of Belgium to the Armistice. The whole of the incidents--the devastation of property by the mighty engines of war; refugees in flight from the oncoming enemy; the heroic attacks and defence by the British soldiers in spite of tremendous odds; the want, misery and suffering following in the train.

The scope of the cinematograph for educational purposes could be considerably widened by children and adults being shown how things have been and are being done. The use of colour films for explaining history would enable the teacher to demonstrate the growth of British Dominion in India--for instance, Bombay could be represented by a tiny red speck, which would expand in correct historical sequence until the whole of the peninsula was covered. The development of the colouring, as this or that successful campaign was completed, would explain to observers, more explicitly than any printed list, the political effects of history. The scenes would thus be indelibly impressed upon the minds of children. And the same idea might be extended to the other colonies, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc., depicting their history from the first settlement to the complete establishment of the Overseas dominions and their activities of to-day. The film, in short, is a fine medium for political propaganda if wisely used.

The following subjects lend themselves to effective treatment as film productions for educational purposes: the growth of the European Colonies, the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, the decline and renaissance of Poland, the historical groupings of the various States of Europe in the wars of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to name but a few.

THE FILM IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS.

The use of films in American schools is already an accomplished fact and is generally recognised as a great educational asset.

The American Red Cross during the War found it extremely useful in aiding its work, and it was decided, in view of the coming of peace, to extend this work and build it upon a solid and permanent base. A Bureau of Pictures was established and an important branch was the origin of a sister Bureau for Europe, its headquarters being in Paris; the aim in view being the formation of a library of films, demonstrating to the New World how the Old World lived and how it had suffered during the War.

The incentive for the development of this idea by the Red Cross was created by urgent representations made by thousands of schools and churches throughout the length and breadth of the United States, a stirring appeal which could not be ignored.

A popular feature in the early days of the educational curriculum was the extensive use of the magic-lantern hour, in which inanimate pictures were thrown upon a screen. This was capital as far as it went, but obviously the cinema could be utilised with a far greater effect and satisfaction. From the commercial standpoint it was found that the monetary return from the exhibition of “educational films” was not satisfactory. One film featuring Mary Pickford would produce greater profits than a perfect and complete library of educational films!

The churches wishing to give film entertainments on Sunday found the ordinary films not suitable to their needs and sought outside aid. The American Red Cross bridged the gap. Thousands of schools and churches are now in touch with this Picture Bureau, whose work is administered through fourteen divisions by which this movement is governed, and every independent division is building up its own library of specially selected films. The aim and object is to procure films of educational, scenic, hygienic, and industrial interest. It also endeavours to cement the allied friendship and cordial international relations between the two great Anglo-Saxon peoples.

This Bureau is equipped with a large and efficient staff of expert photographers, and when a film is taken this is duplicated and a copy is dispatched to every division, accompanied by a list of subjects which are at the service of the schools, and if a certain demand is shown for special films, this demand is supplied.

The range of subjects when this project has matured will be illimitable, and it will be possible to co-ordinate them so that they can be absorbed into the recognised curriculum. It has been proved that children are interested even by isolated subjects, contradicting any contention that a child does not remember a lesson which it receives by means of the “movies.” This film lesson provides a welcome break in the text-book grind, and is the most popular and eagerly sought feature in the school.

From an international aspect, the value of the film is undoubted. All the American children will by this means be able to visualize the marvels of Europe, and, in addition, form an idea of the surroundings in which many of their fathers and brothers made the supreme sacrifice in the defence of humanity.

These Red Cross films seen in their schools will convey to them exactly what is being done, and in this way the film will take its place as an ambassador of perfect understanding, cementing the already friendly relations existing between the two countries. Over 6,000 schools in America have cinema rooms and practically every new school being erected in America is equipped with an up-to-date cinema-operating room and theatre.

It behoves England to make greater strides if she is to keep abreast of the times. The question is asked: “What are we waiting for before taking the plunge into this educative speculation?” Possibly the deterrent is the belated appearance of the completed inquiries of the “Cinema Commission.” If it is truthfully said that England is ten years behind the American in dentistry, the same period applies as regards the possibilities of the cinema in relation to the school.

A conference of well-known educationists recently assembled at Columbia University, U.S.A., to examine a number of film subjects on geography, biology, industry, and popular astronomy, collected for the purpose by the National Committee for Better Films. The affiliated Committee for Better Films has asked for suggestions and criticisms regarding safety precautions, methods of furnishing pictures in large quantities and other matters.

The Federation of Child Study in conjunction with the Women’s City Club, the National Committee for Better Films and the Juvenile Motion Picture League, have formulated a scheme by which entertainments suitable for young people are given in the various picture theatres on Fridays and Saturdays, for which the Committee select the films to be shown and guarantee an audience. The University of the State of New York are making every endeavour to promote “visual education.” The town of Wellesley, Massachusetts, has “municipal movies” two days a week. The State censorship is strongly opposed on the ground that what is required is selection and not censorship.

INSTRUCTING THE DEAF MUTE.

“List with thine eyes, and I will list with mine,” is a revised version of a well-known quotation which applies with considerable point to the modern mode of conversation between deaf mutes, who are taught, by the close observation of the movements of a speaker’s lips, to see, instead of to hear, what is being said. This is where the cinema may help our less fortunate brothers and sisters. An effective film could be prepared which would depict with great precision the lip action which takes place as the various letters of the alphabet are being articulated, and also the similar change of appearance visible, as groups of letters or words are uttered. Such an alphabet and the graphic record of speech, available for use over and over again, enabling mute pupils to commit to heart, would make a tedious task simplified.

IN MENTAL HOSPITALS.

The effect of the film upon the healthy mind is obvious, and its introduction in various mental hospitals is now in the experimental stage. Cinematograph entertainment has already been provided in one of the Birmingham mental asylums, and it is anticipated that the exhibitions will materially help in the recovery of the patients.

MEDICAL STUDENTS.

The “daily press” tells us that the medical profession is the latest convert to the cinematograph as an aid to instruction. The instrument is being utilized to record operations, for presentation before medical students, and in this manner a large number of unnecessary operations will be prevented. It is maintained that many intricate and delicate operations can be more lucidly expounded to the student by these biographic demonstrations than is possible in the operating theatre, during the carrying out of an operation, or by means of anatomic diagrams.

Processes of bone-grafting have been thrown upon the screen. Serial radiographs of the stomach showing all the stages of digestion have been revealed to an audience of surgeons. One professor of neurology uses twenty-five thousand feet of cinema film in teaching and illustrating nervous and mental diseases. Even the blood has not escaped the cinema-worker’s relentless probing. By means of the ultra-micro-cinematograph the corpuscles of the blood are magnified to an enormous degree and one is able to follow with ease precisely what happens when the vital fluid is contaminated by different foreign organisms, and the terrific struggle that ensues for supremacy, and the exact action produced by the administration of various curative specifics. It is evident that, in the battle against human disease and death, the moving picture is destined to play an astonishing part.

The Great War has provided some interesting surgical opportunities, which, had they been witnessed by those other than medical students, would have been gruesome and revolting, yet are interesting to the strong-nerved who can withstand the odour of the warm blood of human life. Take the case of a soldier shot in the thigh by machine-gun bullets which have made the head of the femur resemble a sand sieve; watch the film, from the carrying of the patient from the ward to the theatre, the administration of the anæsthetic, and the deep-chested breathing of the patient who gradually succumbs to the sweet pungent odour; note the interested audience of white-robed sisters, nurses and surgeons; the well-placed incision, the parting of the sinews and muscles, and the removal of the head of the “femur” to be replaced later by an exact replica in silver.

In medical science the cinematograph should become a most important aid in the instruction of students.

III

LIBRARIES AND LITERATURE

SCHOOL, LIBRARY, AND CINEMA.

What a force to be reckoned with would be the combined efforts of school, library and cinema as factors in education. These two former sections have become more united during the last few years. It is only recently that the activities of the Public Library Authorities have been fully appreciated by the Education Authorities. The outlook is now brighter, and a recognized harmony exists; their efforts now being united for the furtherance of educational ideals.

All educational aims should be to broaden, deepen, improve and strengthen the childish imagination, both sympathetic and intellectual. If used without proper supervision, there is not a more harmful agency than the cinema.

Mention is made elsewhere of the Cinema Commission, the London County Council, and the Birmingham Education Committee and what they are undertaking on behalf of the school.

FILM COLLECTIONS.

A nucleus could be a collection of twenty films; four dealing with classics; four with the surrounding things of everyday life, forming general knowledge; four dealing with foreign countries, their social life, games, customs, etc.; four dealing with entomology, zoology, etc.; four depicting the commercial life, showing shipbuilding yards, steel works, cotton and woollen factories, pottery manufacture, etc. These films would broaden the views and strengthen the imagination of children.

The nucleus thus being formed, the films could be circulated throughout the surrounding counties, boroughs and towns; being exhibited at the local library once a week. In conjunction with these films, “reading lists” could be prepared of books for home-reading, and widely distributed. A change of film could be made once a week, which means that before the stock of films had completed one round, five months would elapse, giving ample time in which to procure future additions.

By bringing the cinema within his scope of activities, the librarian adds materially to the usefulness of the library to the community at large, proving the sterling worth of such an institution to the town. How this financial venture is to be met and supported will be the inevitable question, the answer to which is by co-operation; each town or borough taking a share of the burden and contributing financially towards their maintenance. An endeavour must be made to get the local Education Authority interested, and the battle is partly won. Submit to them a practical scheme, on a sound business footing, attractive and definite, and they will, after careful consideration, give unstintingly their financial support.

The whole of the country could be divided into areas, such as North-Eastern, North-Western, South-Eastern, South-Western, etc., where towns, etc., like Stretford, Manchester, Stockport, Bolton, Wigan, Liverpool, Southport and Chester could all produce a repertoire of film subjects. Each Authority could be responsible for the production of films relative to their own manufacture, which could be mapped out as follows:--

(1) Denton and Stockport, for hat manufacture, showing the whole of the process felt goes through, from the raw material to the finished “Sandringham.”

(2) Bradford could give a tour of the woollen mills.

(3) Nottingham the lace trade.

(4) Hanley the pottery trade.

(5) Oldham and Leigh the cotton trade.

(6) Atherton, etc., coal mining.

(7) Liverpool, the docks and shipping.

(8) Kent, for the strawberry and hop-growing industries.

(9) Devonport, the dockyards, etc., etc.

There is ample scope for the treatment of such subjects.

As described elsewhere, a Central Bureau could be established, every film classified according to subject, and from this Bureau would emanate a steady flow of purely educational films--teaching or imparting knowledge in a popular manner.

Again, where space does not permit, either in the schools or the local library, the allied sympathy of the managers of the local cinemas could be obtained, and one film could be inserted as part of their programme, securing for them the necessary audience, and at the same time advertising the Education Authority and the Library.

The aim of all libraries is to preserve knowledge for succeeding generations, and films such as those described in the preceding chapter--that portion dealing with history taught by the film--would be of permanent value for reference.

The general idea of providing a permanent record of historical events in the nation’s history is worthy of universal encouragement, and also of making these records easily accessible for public enlightenment.

It has been said that the public library should reflect every phase of mental activity, not only the high and educational kind, but also of the recreative, the social side of life. A vast amount of enlightenment and instruction, with remarkable force and rapidity, can be conveyed by the aid of the cinematograph. “Every picture tells a story,” whether it be of wonder or beauty, or of travels and national customs; some enlightenment may be gained from the exhibition. The seed sown by the pictures of this or that city, whether abroad or at home, may, eventually, be reaped in improved conditions of life and its surroundings. A clearer conception, a more sensible interpretation of the wonderful things around us, is shown than could ever be conveyed by a professor’s treatise, or an artist’s impressions.

PRESERVATION OF THE FILM.

Libraries in general have failed to appreciate the educational value of the cinematograph during the growth of the last fifteen years. For years now the National Board of Censorship has been urging the development of the use of educational films.

The first attempt at anything in the nature of a Lending Library of Films was inaugurated by Gaumont & Co., in 1904. The scheme enabled the amateur or professional possessor of a cinematograph-projecting apparatus, to hire or loan on reasonable terms a selection of film subjects, so that by the outlay of one guinea per night, the private exhibitor could command an inexhaustible supply of film subjects.