The production of Chinese moving pictures is perhaps the most recent industry in China. For the last decade, since its introduction, its progress has been by leaps and bounds, until it now becomes a signi-leant factor, one not to be ignored.
the rapid improvement made, I wish to draw attention to certain facts which have apparently been overlooked, and hope that this it not fall short of its purpose, which is to be of some help to those who are interested in the industry. In the first place, our motion pictures Inck the adequate setting and the proper theme. It hardly seems appropriate to say so, considering the 5,000 years of history which we own. But we tend to forget "the golden past" and the rich material it affords in our eaverness for the modern and the new. T have witnessed no less than a score of Chinese pictures, bat have found them to be largely reproductions of foreign scenes. Remove the Chinese actors and put in foreign ones, and you will notice comparatively: little difference in the exchange. Some of them have only the shadow of a plot, others have no climax, while still others need hardly be mentioned for their absurdity.
Foreign to our Race It is amusing to note that although the love element is never absent in foreign pictures, yet it evolves naturally rather as an accident or by-plot, and leaves the purpose of the story untarnished. More than half of our pictures, however, are centred around sex love and the marriage problem, and they harp on these subjects so persistently thay they become trite.
The bequest of properties " by means of wills is also of common occurrence in the movies. This not a Chinese custom, should be avoided. In short, we ought to fight shy of unfamiliar themes and habits, that are foreign to our race, and give more consideration to that which is our heritage. Foreigners have time and again envied us our glorious history: can there be anything better than take advantage of it? With modern themes, we have the foreigners to cope with, and we must admit ourselves beaten if we attempt any competition along that line, Since-anys is but a child compared with their "development.
However, we. possess something which is solely ours, and we cannot fail tobe original and interesting if we treat such topies as: chivalry and heroism. or benevolence and justice £2 8 upon which Con-{foins and Mencius have laid stress, and which we have been brought up for generations to. admire. Furthermore, we cannot help being appreciated "if we bring our me exhaustible supply of historical romanees to life.
Traditions Against Emotion Next, more discrimination should made in the choice of actors.
Education is very essential, for they need to be impressed with the importance of their mission as social reformers, and particularly to made to realize that acting is an art and_not entirely 2 vehicle for obtaining a few paltry dollars. Concerning the acting itself, the actors fare Tittle more than puppets, waiting for a word from the director as to when they should summon a few tears or work their faces into the semblance of a smile. They are too self-conscious to be natural, they lack spontaneity, they do not live their parts. Action is scarce and slow; the whole picture drags if encumbered by a heavy weight, and emotion finds no real experi sion. In. the midst of such artificial acting, it is very refreshing to find baby' actors like Tan Eth Chun 1 who won our hearts through naivete, Still we should show more lenin ency towards the others, as they fare faced with a difficulty. Our forefathers have so emphasized the suppression of emotions thay to display them now without a certain Tapse of time, would be the hardest task. 'The movie people have an idea' which needs correction, Apparently they are of the opinion that stars are born not made, in view of the hundreds of stars that sre "eclleeted in this metropolis. Every leading lady, every leading man is a star, and some have gone far as to have 20 oF more s0- culled "stars" in one picture, Tysnot that preposterous? Do they wish to make themselves Innghing-stocks?
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.