This week's installment of Tales from the Archives comes from a Parish Monthly Calendar dating from August of 1940. Here is the cover page:
There are two related articles within this calendar on the topic of children watching movies. Both articles are fascinating as they show that children were a large demographic of the movie-going public in 1940. I've heard some people say that movie audiences are younger in 2011 than ever before, but I'd like to see some data to back that up. The first article not only says kids see a lot of movies, but that they are going by themselves without parents/families. Where the first article brings up religion and morals, the second article is secular as it is about a doctor discussing the effects of movies on children. The doctor says that constant movie watching may cause youngster to be high strung and want to be "always on the go." I find this fascinating as we often here this argument today, not only with movies but with video games as well.
Come back Sunday 9/11 for the Weekly Wrap-Up. My article for the Juxtaposition Blogathon will follow a day or two later.
Very interesting find. Where did you come across these?
ReplyDeleteThanks! I was helping out at an archives this summer when much to my surprised I came across several primary source articles pertaining to film history. Read Tales from the Archives Part 1, 2, and James K. Hackett Follow-up research for more information.
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