Passed, March 10, 1937, by unanimous action of the General Conference Executive Committee, in Spring Meeting assembled, at Washington, D.C. The council included, in addition to the full headquarters officer and departmental secretary staff, several veteran leaders, all the North American union conference officers, and numerous educators, editors, and medical, institutional, and young people's leaders. Prepared upon direction of the Minority Committee, by its standing Committee on Visual Education, it was reported to the Spring Meeting after months of wide consultation and painstaking study. Long needed, and anxiously awaited by the field, for the dependable guidance and moral support it will provide, this statement of fundamental principles is commended to the careful study of all our denominational workers, and for their earnest promulgation*.—J. L. McElhany.
The projection of motion pictures into the modern world, followed by their vast exploitation, has thrust upon the church a problem of grave proportions. The seriousness of this problem calls for a clear statement of the fundamental principles involved, and for a courageous stand thereupon by the leadership of the church.
Pictures are not wrong merely because they move. The motion picture is simply an animated photographic reproduction. There is legitimate use of motion pictures for purposes of education, enlightenment, and recreation. And there are sharply defined basic principles involved that determine the right or wrong of the motion-picture film, as verily as of reading, dress, or association. These principles we should recognize and apply firmly, consistently, and unitedly. They involve what is taught, the way it is taught, where it is taught, and by whom, it is taught.
There is, first of all, a fundamental distinction between natural pictures, or pictures of real life, and pictures of dramatized theatrical plots. This is a basic line of demarcation. By the former are meant scenes which are reproduced through the motion-picture camera wholly of natural life,—whether of persons, animal or plant life, events, or places,—and which are recognized, within certain limitations herein set forth, as legitimate and proper for Christians, and for the organizations and institutions of the church.
In contrast, there are the motion pictures of dramatized theatrical plots, usually produced by professional actors and actresses. The very principle upon which these are constructed is inherently wrong, and cannot be approved or condoned by the church. The history and the present estate of theatrical drama show it to be opposed to the highest ideals of morality, and alien to spiritual life. Its themes are built upon human passion. It graphically presents, by portrayal and by suggestion, the sins and crimes of humanity,—murder, adultery, robbery, and every other evil. Even its attempted depiction of virtue is feeble, and frequently false. And its conception of love and of lovemaking desecrates the most intimate and sacred relation of man and woman.
Theatrical films are evil in their influence, and consequently unacceptable, because they confuse the thinking of our people regarding the Seventh-day Adventist attitude toward the theater, the opera, and novel reading; because they create an appetite for emotional reaction which can be satisfied only by further indulgence; and because they make an unwarranted play, upon the emotions. This is wrong, because emotional stimulation without appropriate action is destructive to character development. Pictures which play upon the emotions create an appetite for the sensational, causing the individual to live in the realm of the unreal, destroying responsiveness to duty, and resulting in emotional instability.
The motion-picture house has so popularized the theater that millions are daily in attendance at exhibitions which can only exert an influence toward lowered standards of Christian purity. We believe that to no small degree it is responsible for the present breakdown of morality. There can therefore be no compromise here without tragic loss and fundamental mistake. While it may be necessary at times to go to theatrical buildings for evangelistic meetings, or to hear wholesome lectures or musical concerts, we should avoid, just as far as possible, attendance at places devoted to shows and theatrical performances.
In education we are directed to build upon only the real, the actual, and the true, and to turn away from the false, the speculative, and the fanciful. In literature we are cautioned against the fictional and the unreal. In dress we are to abandon the artificial, the showy, the merely decorative. In diet we are asked to discard the impure, the corrupting, and the hurtful. In character building we are admonished to reject all sham and pretense. So, likewise, in our relation to the motion picture, silent or sound, we must definitely choose only "whatsoever things are true," honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report; and deliberately refuse that which is untrue and unreal, which involves sham and pretense, or which is impure and corrupting. All such pictures should, because of their inherent wrong, be barred from use by the church, its organizations, institutions, and members.
Dramatized Motion Pictures
With such basic principles clearly established, we therefore take a definite and positive stand against all dramatized motion pictures which use character representation for the purpose of acting out a theatrical plot. Such dramatization of imaginative plots, as a method of creating impressions, influencing life, or conveying information, should not be employed in God's service, and is not to be countenanced by His people. We, therefore, call upon our entire church membership, young and old, to take their stand upon this platform.
With such basic principles clearly established and accepted in our selection of films, we are convinced that certain motion pictures can be used effectively and helpfully in God's cause, for purposes of education, enlightenment, and wholesome entertainment. For the aid of those charged with the responsibility of selection, we here submit a list of suggestions, further expanding and applying the aforesaid principles, by which motion picture films to be used in our churches, schools, sanitariums, or elsewhere in connection with our cause, may be adjudged, and either approved or rejected. We believe that the fundamental principles and standards here set forth will prove helpful to committees, boards, and individuals required to make decisions in the choice of films. These are tabulated under two heads, (1) "Acceptable Films" and (2) "Unacceptable Films," though we are conscious of the fact that this listing is neither final nor complete, but is only a general guide in selection.
1. Acceptable Films:
a. Industrial Pictures. Pictures showing processes of manufacture, lumbering, mining, oil production, public utilities, transportation, commerce, transmission of news and information, etc.
b. Scenics. Pictures of national or other parks, natural scenery, mountain climbing, exploration, and the like.
c. Travelogues. Pictures of other countries, their national habits, customs, and life. (Excluding scenes that may have a corrupting influence.)
d. Nature and Wild Life. Pictures of the Forest Service, of animal life in various States and nations. The life development of insects, plants, fish, birds, and animals. (Excluding those which emphasize cruelty.)
e. Art and Archeology. (Excluding films that portray indecent and corrupt art.)
f. News Reel and Current History. (Excluding films which are contrary to our recognized standards.)
g. Educational Films which impart information and teach truth in any branch of learning.
h. Pictures of Places associated with historical incidents.
i. Our Denominational Work and Activities.
II. Unacceptable Films
a. Films portraying Christ and inspired men.
b. Pictures portraying romantic love-making.
c. Films portraying scenes which are contrary to Seventh-day Adventist standards and ideals, such as popularized dancing, card playing, gambling, drinking, etc.
d. Films portraying crime or glorifying criminals.
e. Films portraying scenes of violence or cruelty, such as prize fighting.
f. Films which lower the esteem for the sanctity of marriage by portraying family disruptions, or ridiculing home life and home relationships.
g. Films portraying scenes of night life, drinking, carousing, gaiety, revelry, rowdiness.
h. Films portraying scenes of smoking as a social activity. (Pictures portraying processes of manufacture, for example, in which the operator might happen to be smoking, might not be included in this category because the attention of the observer is centered upon the process rather than upon smoking as a desirable activity.)
i. Films which by ridicule, suggestive insinuation, or crude comedy lower in the estimation of the observer, religion, or the ministry, or the dignity of human personality, or law-enforcing agencies.
j. Films of a scientific or historical character which blend misrepresentation of facts with the actual.
k. Popularized historical films which distort facts of history and pervert truth, or which present scenes of cruelty and bloodshed.