Film Censorship and Control Precipitate action without inquiry ought not
to be taken in the matter of the censorship or control of films, but action of some kind is necessary. The deputation which was received by the Rime Minister last Tuesday stated in restrained terms the nature of the influences to which 20,000,000 film goers, including children and adolescents, are constantly exposed. The Board of Film Censors, appointed by the trade, eliminates much that can easily be labelled as noxious ; but there remain, as Sir Charles Grant Robertson pointed out, the " 200 unsatisfactory films making a special feature of crime, cruelty, and loose morality," -which were shown on Sundays in one district in twelve months. A censorship is not a very desirable way of dealing with any art, though it is an obvious absurdity that stage plays should be officially censored and films not. A censorship can only be justified in either case when it affords fair opportunities for appeal and a hearing. But the question of the films cannot be left where it is. It is one which touches deeply the character and culture of the whole nation, and will modify its future. A matter of such importance ought to be examined in all its aspects. The Government ought not merely to institute an inquiry, but an exhaustive public inquiry.
Previous page
