The daily worker. [volume], August 15, 1925, New York Edition, Magazine Supplement, Page 7, Image 13

About The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958

Image provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

                
The Picture and the Film in the Revolutionary Movement
By WILLY MUENZENBERG.
ARTICLE 11.
NUMEROUS means for agitation
and propagandation of the Com
munist Idea are at the disposal of
the Communist Parties and organiza
tions; the spoken word in mass meet
ings, factory meetings, demonstra
tions, etc. The printed word thru
leaflets, papers, manifestos, maga
zines, pamphlets, and books. These
means have been in use since the
first days of the working class move
ment.
Besides these means firmly estab
lished thru decades of use, more and
more, altho slowly and against oppo
sition, the picture is taking its place
in Communist agitation and propagan
da. Up to two years ago the picture
was virtually ignored in Communist
literature. It was seldom that in a
book or any kind of pamphlet a pic
ture was used to support and empha
size the text. In no daily paper, in no
youth organ, in no woman's paper
was it used. Fortunately this situation
within the past two years, had been
largely improved and more and more
the picture serves the Communist
daily, magazine, women’s paper, etc.,
to liven up the text —altho still in
regretfully limited extent.
OUR enemy controls in Germany
alone more than hundreds of
variegated illustrated papers, and in
Berlin alone there appear every day
numerous papers with special pictor
ial supplements. It is unquestionably
necessary and desirable that pictures
be utilized In Communist papers to a
far greater extent than heretofore.
The picture is most tellingly effective
upon the children, youth, on the primi
tively thinking, unorganized, indiffer
ent masses of workers, agricultural
labor, small peasants and similar
groups. Coincident with the illustra
tions in the dailies, youth and chil
dren’s organs, women’s and peasants’
papers, we must unquestionably
tarsia the development of the illus
trated workers’ paper.
Right in the factory an illustrated
paper is far easier to sell to an indif
ferent fellow worker than is a theo
retical pamphlet. We must make it
possible to stupifying in
fluence of the bourgeois illustrated
journals that are now circulated in
the millions.
Besides the creation and develop
ment of the illustrated labor paper
the picture must be fully utilized for
our propaganda, by means of photos,
cards, picture collections, etc. Parti
cularly for the popularizing of the
leaders of the Communist Interna
tional, for the combatting of the hero
worship toward bourgeois leaders and
military figures, and above all, in the
education and agitation work on be
half of Soviet Russia the picture can
and shall render priceless service.
Letters from Our Readers
When Workers Fight For Capitalists.
To the Daily Worker: —It takes very
little shrapnel to make a nasty mess
Cf ones anatomy; but it takes an aw
fnl lot of perseverance on the part of
a disabled veteran to impress this
fact on the government doctors, and,
if possible, weedle a little compensa
tion out of them. I was one of the
poor suckers that got mixed up on the
wrong end of the recent conflict. My
share of the spoils of war was one
fine assortment of wounds —the result
of a personal contact with a three
inch shell. One in the side has been
particularly troublesome, and has
made a serious dent in my otherwise
sweet and cheerful disposition.
I had no idea how really well off
I happen to be, however, until I went
to the veterans’ bureau to be examin
ed for a permanent disability rating.
This is what took place: One doctor
after another, as I was being exam
ined, took great pains to impress me
with my entire unworthiness. In fact
they as much as implied that I had
one helluva nerve to be looking for
money from our dear government, just
because I happened to be shot up a
bit. They told me I was extremely
A further extension of the use of
the picture is seen in the stereopti
can slide lecture, which in the rural
sections of Germany and Czecho-Slo
vakla, where they have thus far been
most used, have had best results.
These slides make it possible to pre
sent in most convincing and plastic
form such themes as the economic
upbuilding oL Soviet Russia, the life
of the Russian worker and peasant,
the children's homes in Soviet Rus
sia, the Red army, etc.
ON all these fields a start, altho
perhaps, a humble one, has al
ready been made. But next to noth
ing has been done to put the film in
to the arsenal of agitation and propa
ganda weapons of the Communist
Parties. Quite properly the enlarged
executive of the Comintern in March,
1925, called attention to this short
coming, and instructed all affiliated
parties to concern themselves much
more than formerly in turning this
weapon to their service. Leading
comrades of the International have
repeatedly and emphatically pointed
out the tremendous significance of the
film propaganda.
Vladimir Ilitch Lenin, in a conver
sation with Comrade Lunacharski,
said: “You must powerfully develop
film production, taking especially the
proletarian kino to the city masses
and in still a much greater extent to
the village. You must always consi
der that of all the arts the motion
picture is for us the most important."
A statement from Comrade Zino
viev on the motion picture: “The mo
tion picture in the possession of the
bourgeoisie is the strongest means
for the betrayal and befuddling of the
masses. In our hands it can and
must become a mighty weapon of
Communist propaganda and for the
enlightenment of the widest working
masses.”
N. A. SEMASCHKO, Peoples' Coiu
misar for Health, “. . . the kino
gives a vital and accurate picture
full of life and true to life, it can agt
tate thru the Fable, thru tfie~picturiz®
ation. These circumstances enhances
the value of this form of propaganda
also in the protection of public health,
for today, with the widespread in
creased popular interest in world
questions, with the prevailing univer
sal nervous tension, dry discourses
and lectures on public health, no mat
ter how learned they may be, cannot
always get to the heart of their audi
ence."
A. V. Lunacharsky, Commissar for
Public Education: , . The kino
proves itself extremely vital. Wo
possess mostly a very busy and high
ly promising production, but altho wo
have decided upon a salvation bring
ing unification of all motion picture
activity in the U. S. S. R., and par
ticularly in the R. S. F. S. R., our
steps in carrying out this decision are
fortunate to get off as easily as I had
—to have retained my arms, my lungs,
etc., some fellows would consider
themselves pretty lucky to be in my
shoes —and more to that effect.
This is a stock gag with the M. D.’s.
The idea of it is to put the veteran
in such a frame of mind that when
he goes before the rating board he’ll
be content if they hand him the min
imum amount per month, no matter
what’s wrong with him.
Well, I finally reached the rating
board. In our city this board is sup
posed to consist of their three best
doctors, medical “best minds” as it
were. (I’d hate to be treated by one
one of their worst).
My first impression of the members
of this board was by no means an
ordinary one.'No, Indeed! I felt that
here before me were three of the
dopiest looking old codgers that had
graced my sight in many a long year.
That was my first impression. My last
was even less favorable.
One of them woke up as I entered.
He blinked at me a while and then
nudged the guy next to him. They
asked a few of the usual idiotic ques
tions, whispered together a while, and
hesitant and uncertain.”
K. Woroschilow, commander of the
Red Army in the Moscow military
district, “The motion picture, as a cul
tural plane (the carpenter’s tool), has
won itself a place of honor in the
U. S. S. R. It is no less popular in
the Red Army than among the work
er and peasant masses.”
CLARA ZETKIN writes concerning
the significance of the film in the
Communist propaganda: “On no ac
count can the Communist movement
ignore the propaganda power of the
motion picture. For it seeks its fol
lowers in first instance from those
strata deprived of educational oppor
tunity and barred from books, it must
call out the foreign-speaking colonial
peoples against their masters, and
unite the proletariat of all lands. The
film is particularly significant for the
Soviet Union. Czarism left a heritage
of illiteracy and feudalism. Soviet
Russia includes great primitive, but
culture hungry masses, speaking hun
dreds of varying tongues. Here the
film is a means of popular education
of tremendous importance, a tool for
the raising of productivity, a weapon
in the struggle against unhealthy hab
its of living, and against plagues, a
disseminator of knowledge, an educa
tor, a bringer of culture and happi
ness.”
Let us value to film by the great
propagandistic, cultural possibilities
that it contains.
When we think of the masses that
daily, in city and tiny village, fill
the movie theaters, and that of those
eighty to ninety per cent are workers
or closely connected with the work
ers, and when we consider further the
effect of these pictures upon the mass
es, knowing their power of mass sug
gestion, then we welcome indeed the
decision and pledge of the Commun
ist Party for the full utilization of
this means. To make available and
use the film as a means of winning
support, in support of our efforts at
~enlightening the working masses, is
the most pressing task of Communist
propaganda and agitation. The film
can, for instance, be employed for the
unmasking and gibbeting of our op
ponents, in showing the development
of the social-democratic party from the
first beginnings under Marx and Eng
els down to the Barmat circle in
Hotel BristoL The effect of such a
film can be appraised when one re
members the effect of even only a
series of stereoptican slides, dealing
with this same subject, during the re
cent reichstag elections.
THE same applies to a film to meet
the militarist and monarchist prop
aganda prejudice films with a true ex
position of the old Russian militarism,
showing the torture in the barracks,
the beastly treatment of the soldiers,
and the grewsome horror of the war.
In districts where the clericals are es
then pronounced their momentous de
cision. The first was a German (hot
stuff!). “Veil,” he said, “I don’t see
how we could gif you more dan 10
per cent.” That means 10 per cent
disabled, and brings in the handsome
sum of eight dollars a month.
Since they hadn’t taken the trouble
to look at my wounds as yet, I sug
gested that it wouldn’t be a bad idea
to do so before pronouncing their
final decision. They didn’t take this
in very good part. It meant that one
of them would have to stand up. How
ever, he went thru with it, and they
began to pull the old gag about how
lucky I was to get off so easy, to still
have my arms, etc. He started to
compliment me on my good fortune
in being able to get eight dollars a
month, but he didn’t get very far. I
started to pass out a few compliments
of my own. I think I succeeded in
conveying to them gome idea of the
estimation in which I held their bu
reau, themselves, and their eight dol
iars a month. At any rate I actually
woke up the third member of the rat
ing board. Then I discovered why
they have three members on that
board; it is for protection, and they
need It.
The three of them stood up, faced
me bravely, and told me that they con
sidered my language very much out
7
pecially strong, a film showing the
horrors of the medieval inquisition,
would surely not fail of effect on the
hitherto loyal supporters of the Zen
trum.
But not only against the enemy can
our film be directed, it also bears tho
possibility to present positively the
aims and struggles of the Communist
movement and of the revolutionary
workers’ organizations. There can be
no doubt, that a film showing the life
of a youth, beaten in school, mistreat
ed by teachers, suffers, hungers, and
finally comes into contact with the
Communist Youth Movement where
he finds defense, protection, support,
of his interests, is drawn into the
mass movement, learns the meeting
routine, takes part in demonstrations,
etc.; such a film would surely exert
suggestive power upon thousands of
juveniles and bring great crowds of
them closer to the Communist move
ment.
rpHE same applies to a film showing
the life story of a worker, return
ed from the war, plunged into the
maelstrom of* the November events,
and on the barricades of Berlin de
fends his family and his class. Or a
really extensive picture along the
lines of the Griffith film, “Intoler
ance,” recreates historical periods of
revolutionary upheaval, beginning
with Spartacus, the peasant uprisings,
Thomas Munzers, the great French
Revolution, and closing with the great
triumphant victory of the workers
and peasants of Russia. In the fac
tories or after working hours we could
show the workers by means of trick
film the constant lowering of their
living conditions, of the actual lower
ing of their wages in conparison to
the rising prices, and thus demon
strate the actual working out of bour
geois control of politics and industry.
There are hundreds of motives and
objects that can be utilized in film
propaganda. We are not oblivious to
the colossal censorship difficulties,,
technical and organizational ob
stacles, that stand in the way of all
these suggested Til an s. ~STilflrV<ffrnd
would already be won if we could
put every Communist Party and or
ganization into a position to show a
monthly film chronicle of the most
important happenings in Soviet Rus
sia, and thus to bring the develop
ment of this strongest prop of the in
ternational proletarian and revolu
tionary movement into the clear vi
sion of the masses. Good and valu
able as our present agitational and
propaganda media, the spoken or
printed word, may be, their effect
would be tremendously increased if
they could be combined with the up
to-date medium of the film.
rjIHERE must no longer be any
country in which the Communist
Party and Us groups do not make ex
tensive propagandist use of the mo
tion picture film.
of place, and that if I didn’t pipe down
they’d have me thrown out. I told
them they’d have to throw me out or
else give me a decent examination.
They finally acquiesced and handed
me an order to have some X-rays
taken, with the promise that if the
pictures showed my kidneys missing
or a lung amputated they might in
crease my rating. Maybe they'll in
crease it one-half of one per cent.
Well, it was a great war while it
lasted.
Yours for world Communism,
Another Disabled Veteran.
The Walden
Book Shop
307 Plymouth Court
(Between State and Dearborn
Just South of Jackson)
CHICAGO
If you want to thoroughly un
derstand Communism—study It.