HUMAN RELATIONS AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS A HUMAN RELATIONS MOTION PICTURE TRAINING SERIES

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HUMAN RELATIONS AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS A HUMAN RELATIONS MOTION PICTURE TRAINING SERIES

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Sponsoring Committees Professor Louis E. Raths, Professor Frederic M. Thrasher, Professor H. H» Giles, Chairman

HUMAN

RELATIONS

AND

MASS

COMMUNICATIONS

A Human Relations Motion Picture Training Series

HENRY A. SINGER

Submitted in requirements Education in New

partial fulfillment of the for the degree of Doctor of the School of Education of York University

1950

p* 201* p* 7• "Problems of Mental Health in The Life ofSociety", StatementbyInterna­ tional Preparatory Commission of International Congress on MentalHBealth, London, England, 19ii8, p. 20.

6 address ourselves to the use of that medium*

However, it should be noted

that other media such as the radio, press, television, magazines, period­ icals and books, and the arts themselves, such as drama, music, dance, and the fine arts, are all influencing devices in our culture* C.

The Motion Picture and Education The relationship between the motion pictures and education then becomes

more apparent since both are avenues of social change. That the motion pic­ ture, as a medium of communication, can have a powerful effect on learning and attitudes has been the subject of several studies.

Stoddard and Hola-

day offer the following findings in their volume, "Getting Ideas From the Movies*11 1*

The general information of children and adults is increased to a considerable extent by correctly shown information from motion pictures*

2*

General information presented incorrectly ty the picture is fre­ quently accepted as valid unless the incongruity is quite apparent •. *The content of a picture is accepted as authentic by a large percentage of the audience unless the errors contained are glaring.^

Items 3 and 5 from Stoddard and Holaday seem especially significant for the purposes of this study* 3*

Retention of specific incidents of motion pictures is high* Child­ ren, even very young ones, can retain specific memories of a picture with a high degree of accuracy and completeness.

U*

On some individual test items and occasionally on entire tests, an age-group had a higher average retention on tests a month and a half or three months after the picture than it did the day after the picture*

5*

Action was remembered best when*.•it occurred in a familiar type of surrounding, such as home, school, or tenement*2

Ruth C* Peterson and L. L. Thurstons investigating the impact of motion pictures on attitudes by measuring attitudes of children before and after

1*

Macmillon, 1933, PP* 77-79, as quoted in Edgar Dale, Audio-Visual Methods of Teaching, New York: Dxyden, 19l|6, p* 207*

2*

ibid, p« 207*

7 seeing such films as "Birth of a Nation" came up with this conclusion: "•••that the picture, 'Birth of a Nation', had the effect of making the children lesa favorable to the Negro is undoubtedly justified.•.it is in­ teresting to find that the change in attitude was so marked and that, after an interval, the attitude of the group was still definitely less favorable to the Negro than before the film was seen."-*In conclusion we may that motion pictures have attitudes of children and the same issue may have a

say that the experiments we conducted show definite lasting effects on the social that a number of pictures pertaining to cumulative effect on attitude.•*2

Frank K. Shuttleworth and Mark A. May also studied the attitudes of children vuho went to the movies frequently and those who went rarely. Among their conclusions are the following: From the data thus far presented it is apparent that the movies are only one of a larger number of forces which determine the attitudes and conduct of school children. That the movies are an influence there is no doubt. The question concerns the degree and kind of influence which they exert and on what types of children. ...The movies tend to fix and further establish the behavior patterns and types of attitudes which already exist among those who attend most frequently. 3 The motion picture from the broad educational point of view is essentially a multiple method of communication. It is especially effective as a technique for telling a story. It presents facts re­ alistically. It dramatizes human relations and events. It arouses emotions. It transmits attitudes. It records and reproduces phe­ nomena for scientific study and analysis; it depicts the imaginative. And it can enable one to see the unseen. By means of the sound motion picture, the whole gamut of human experience may be communicated from teacher to learner, whereever a learning-teaching situation exists.!* The importance of motion pictures as an educational experience and their influence upon social change are further amplified by Dean McCluskey in his chapter on the Nature of Educational Film. From the viewpoint of lifetime learning, the motion picture is not only applicable at all levels of formal education, but it also may be used for the communication of ideas, attitudes and experiences to the 1.

E. Dale, op. oi£., p. 208.

2.

Ibid> pp. "55-66.

3.

F. Shuttleworth and M. A. May, The Social Conduct and Attitudes of Movie Fans, New York: Macmillan, 193i*j pp. 66, 80, 93. fieIan F. McCluskey, "Nature of the Educational Film", Film and Education, New York: Philosophical Library, 191*8, p. 21.



8 masses of people outside the schoolroom* ••.the theatrical cinema has tutored tie American public with respect to mores, manners and customs•••While the philosophical and ethical values which have resulted have been the subject of much debate, the fact is that the motion picture is a powerful educational tool whether it be used to 'entertain' or to formally 'teach' Another scholar investigating the motion picture, Herbert Blumer, summed it up this way:

"Motion pictures are a genuine educational insti­

tution; not education in the restricted ani convential sense of supplying to the adolescent some detached bits of knowledge...but educational in the truer sense of actually introducing him to and acquainting him with a type of life which has immediate, practical, and momentous significance*"2 Professor C* W. Mills of the Institute for Applied Social Science Research at Columbia University has referred to the "Vocabulary of Emotions" in directing social change.

It is often, he points out, through the device

of the motion picture that we learn to speak emotionally* One picture can tell mors than 1,000 words.,.Films offer relaxation and entertainment and create a receptive audience for ideas* The medium of the film lends itself exceptionally well to stimulating emotional responses through which beliefs and atti­ tudes are formed or changed*3 There is increasing evidence that the medium of the motion picture has become one of the most important educative techniques among the more advanced school systems, social agencies, labor and industrial organizations and govenmental departments*

The use of the medium to illuminate areas of human be­

havior was developed by the Commission on Human Relations of the Progress­ ive Education Association some twelve years ago*

The fifty-two excerpts

they produced from Hollywood films have had continual and extensive use 1.

Dean F, McCluskey, ©jo. cit., p. 22.

2. 3.

H. Blumer, Movies and Conduct. New York: Macmillan, 1933, p. 196. K. Eby, "Cultural Understanding", Approaches to Group Understanding, New York: Harpers, 19U7, p* 107*

9 although their use collectively has not been too widespread.

The pioneer

work done by this group has been of great significance in the field of human dynamics* Professor Alice V* Keliher, who was chairman of the Human Relations Commission of the Progressive Education Association, has herself made con­ siderable use of the Human Relations films in her several Elementary Educa­ tion courses and seminars, notably in the New York University, School of Education.

Professor Louis E. Raths had developed a teacher training pro­

gram in human relations at Ohio State University, and later at New York University, utilizing films from the Human Relations series* Several graduate projects were initiated as a result of the program at Ohio State.

Noteworthy, but not exclusive, were the studies by Dr*

Alberta Young and Dr* Henrietta Fie ck. Professor Young developed a resource unit in Human Relations for secon­ dary teachers in home economics* jects as part of her unit*^

She used ten of the Human Relations sub­

Professor Fleck organized several resource units

around a first year teacher training program and included three Human Rela­ tions subjects together with the 16 mm documentary, "And So They Live. "2 The following fifty-two subjects compose the series:3 Alice Adams - dance Alice Adams - money Animal Kingdon Arrowsmith Big House Captain3 Courageous - fishhook Captains Courageous - race

GoodEarth - woman Hit and Run Driver If I Had a Million - china shop The Informer La Matemelle Last of the Pagans - labor Last of the Pagans - marriage

1* Alberta Young, Resources Materials on Human Relationships designed for use in Teacher Education Programs for High School Teachers of Home Economics, Ohio State University Press, 19U5* 2. Henrietta Fleck, The Co-operative Development of Resource Units for a Freshman Orientation Course in Teacher Education, Ohio State University Press, 19i|i(* 3* The subjects of the original Human Relations series are available through the New York University Film Libraiy, Washington Square, New York, for a small rental fee* The distribution of these films is limited to schools and closed membership groups following a definite course of study under a trained leader*

10 Cradle Song Captains Courageous - school Dead End - children Dead End - gangster Devil Is a Sissy - electrocution Devil Is a Sissy - gang Devil Is a Sissy - juvenile court Dodsworth Educating Father A Family Affair Fuiy - lynching Fury - trial Good Earth - famine Good Earth - locusts

Men in White Oil for the Lamps of China Road to Life Splendor Story of Louis Pasteur - anthax Story of Louis Pasteur - hydrophobia Wednesday's Child Wife, Doctor, and Nurse Woman Against Woman Your Uncle Dudley

It is the purpose of this present project to extend the early efforts of the Human Relations Commission.

To make available material that has come

into being in the last decade*..to incorporate current ideas in human dy­ namics. •.to tie this new material together into a related training unit in human relations and to develop a manual as a guide for the series* In this opening chapter, the writer has attempted to introduce his general bias regarding the effect of culture upon personality, the function of education in bringing about purposeful social change and the role of the motion picture in education.

A compendium of the work completed by the

Commission on Human Relations of the Progressive Education Association is also included. The writer is aware of many other factors in personality which have been ignored in favor of this emphasis upon environmental determinants.

The

factors of heredity and chance in human behavior would themselves require considerable study*

The experimenter has been specifically concerned with

the cause and effect patterns of cultural traditions, mores, and folkways. Because of this orientation, the series of motion picture excerpts produced for this stuufy, contain situations which reveal the social determinants of behavior. The excerpts are primarily illustrative of the inter­ relationships of the individual with environmental forces*

11 Chapter II BACKGROUND OF STUDY A*

Beginning of the Project The general idea of this project and a great deal of its philosophical

content was derived from the work of educators and students who had made experimental use of some of tho films of the Human Relations Series*

En-

route to White Plains, Nervr York, one day in November, 19U8, as a consultant to the school system there, Professor Louis E. Raths discussed with the writer the possibilities of making a new series of excerpts to be used as human relations films*

Since 1937, when the original series was undertaken,

very little effective new material had been brought into the field.

There

was an increasing demand for audio-visual material in human relations and an inadequate supply*

In the decade since the original series was made by the

Commission on Human Relations of the Progressive Educational Association, a wider understanding of group dynamics, individual behavior, and human developmen has emerged*

At the time the original series was made, many of its

pioneers were exploring and experimenting with ideas in human relations that have since become more widely recognized*

Many of the ideas held then,

such as agression being the major human response to frustration, have been altered* Most of the illustrative film excerpts were made from motion pictures that were produced back in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s*

The realistic

treatment of human problems both in terms of dialogue, acting, setting, fashion, styles, etc., was not common to Hollywood films in that era.

In

the late ’’thirties” and during the present decade the motion pictures have begun to reflect social and human problems more realistically and more dynamically* As the possibilities of a new series were discussed, it was soon

12 realized that many of the films in the original series had become somewhat dated because of the technique of acting, styling, interior settings, and the general technical quality of the films and sound track*

And, since the

original Commission had done a great deal of the exploratory vrork in design­ ing the project, it was felt that many problems they had faced could be circumvented. B*

General Considerations Leading to a Definition of the Problem of this Work The problem as defined, consisted of seven related major sub-divisions: 1* The first major problem was to secure the permission, approval,

and cooperation from the motion picture companies themselves*

This was

understood to be the most difficufc since the companies are believed to be reluctant to give time and support to non-commercial phases of their opera­ tion* 2.

The big problem of course, was the financing*

Professor Raths

believed if some type of commitment from some of the film companies could be obtained he might be able to solicit financial support* posed the problem of costs and expenses.

This, of course,

The original Project of the

Human Relations Commission of the Progressive Education Association was financed by the General Education Board with $150,000, and took three years and some twenty people to complete

excerpts*

3* The next problem was the selection of the films, the viewing of the films and the manner of selecting the final films and the excerpts from those films* This meant some method of reviewing films.

Most Hollywood

films are in 35 nm and almost all educational equipment is in 16 mm* U*

Setting up the project became an involved and difficult process*

At a meeting of the writer*s doctoral committee, Dr. Giles and Dr. Thrasher believed a few films might be adequate.

However, Dr. Raths felt very

13 strongly that the usefulness of the completed work as welljas the possibility of financing would not be possible with less than six or seven films* 5*

Another important consideration was the contacting of technical

assistance*

Mich of the editing processes involved film cutting and sound

track matching, sound re-recording, etc* highly specialized*

This caUM for skills that were

Some person or persons had to be obtained who could

give time and estimates of costs* 6*

The factor of time was a very pressing one, since the writer was

employed as a teaching fellow with the Center for Research only until June, 19U9*

As the project shaped up in November, it did not appear as if it

could be completed by that date and there was no indication that funds would be available* 7*

How the completed series would be used was another concern*

Could

the excerpts be used individually as the original series or would they be best used as a continuing series? Who would use the films? tion would they be used? C*

In what connec­

What would be the areas of concentration?

Organizing the Project The project emerged as the writer began negotiations with the several

film companies, contacted the sources of information and help, and began structuring an over-all blueprint and dissertation outline*

Frequent changes

were necessary in the primary design in light of experience and experimenta­ tion*

As we went along, we discovered that the process of making arrange­

ments with a variety of executives, of negotiation for financial support, of planning screenings and coordinating individual time schedules and the technical processing it3elf, were all challenges to the practicing of good human relations* It was suggested to the writer that before many steps were taken to initiate the study, some of the members of the original Commission on Human

iu Relations of the Progressive Education Association should be consulted.

It

was fortunate for the project that Dr. Alice Keliher, who directed the ori­ ginal study, was available and near at hand at New York University.

There

were two or three consultations with Professor Keliher and she arranged for a joint conference

with Governor Millikin, head of the Teaching Film Custo­

dian’s Office, which is the educational arm of the Motion Picture Associa­ tion.

Governor Millikin,

who was most gracious, presented a full, dear

picture of the obstacles and problems to be expected.

His report was

unusually pessimistic and it was his conclusion that it would not be possible to excerpt a two-reel subject from a standard Hollywood motion picture for 3e ss than $2,500.

Since Prof essor Raths had indicated that his efforts to

obtain financing for the project would be predicated on a minimum of seven excerpts to be completed, Governor Millikin's estimates would have brought the costs up to $17,500.

This sum would have been more than twice the amount

of the anticipated financing. D.

Technical Assistance and Consultants During the weeks that followed, the writer made inquirae s around the

film centers and through the good offices of Sidney Meyers, director of the documentary study, “The Quiet One”, contacted Ralph Roseriblunu

Mr. Rosenblum

had worked as an editor and film cutter for the Teaching Film Custodian's Office a short while before and had made six series for secondary school studies, including the popular Huckleberry Finn excerpts.

He had undertaken

a great deal of free lance work and the writ er had the opportunity of colla­ borating with him on excerpting a documentary for the American Friends Service Committee.

Subsequently, Mr. Roseribltun became editorial assitant on

the popular documentary, "Louisiana Story", and a film editor for the United Nations Film Division. The writer in his associations with Mr. Rosenblum explored all the

lUa possibilities of excerpting at least seven films with a maximum budget of $7,000*

As a result of Mr. Rosenblum's contacts and investigation of inexpen­

sive sources, he agreed to undertake the technical responsibility for a prioe well within this figure*

By so doing, he placed himself in a rather precar­

ious position since this was almost one-third the estimate of Governor Millikin.

It is the writer's understanding that by cutting corners and

putting in a good deal of time, a film editor is able to eliminate many non­ productive costs such as producer's profits, lab rentals, etc*

Since the

writ er was to function as director and editor without any remuneration, a large portion of the production cost was also eliminated.

Another major

saving was effected by the cooperation of some of the major film companies who made screenings, prints and equipment available without charge.

In this

connection, mention shouH. be nade of the splendid cooperation of United Artists Corporation and of two its executives, Mr. Paul Lazarus, Jr. and Mr. J. Hilton, of Mr. Nate Blumberg, president of Universal, of Mr. Albert Ho w b o u of Warner Brothers, and of Mr. Nate Spingold and Mr. W. G. Brennan

of Columbia Pictures* Another source of help was Mr. A1 Picault, editor of a weekly motion picture trade publication known as Harrison's Reports.

Mr. Picault made

available a complete set of reviews of every motion picture produced in the past ten years.

It was a major source for listing of films to be screened

for possible inclusion in the series*

Since Harrison's Reports does not

accept any type of advertis ement, his motion picture revfews are unusually candid.

A copy of one issue included is under appendix b*

In addition,

-Mr. Picault was a frequent source of advice as to the protocol and policies of the various major motion picture companies. He was able to guide the writer through some of the delicate negotiations with their various execu­ tives*

l£ The Film Library of the Museum of M o d e m Art made available its copies of the reports of the National Board of Review and the British Film Reviews* Another invaluable source for guidance and assistance was the New York University Film Library and its director, Miss Celia Anderson.

Miss Ander­

son not only made possible screenings of some 16 mm films but helped person­ ally in the long, tedious process of eliminating films after group screenings and re-screenings.

Her high professional skill in helping to prune out

material from the films was a major contribution* Others who helped in the screening process, as well as the validation of the final excerpts, include Ralph Bennett, H. Brown, Joseph Peters, Victor Pitkin, Dr. Helen Brill, Professor Dan W. Dodson, Robert Anderson, Frank Mann, Stephen Abramson, Martha Long, Miriam Haydon, Professor Fred Wale, Dixon Bush, Professor H. H. Giles, Helen Wale, Grace Langley, Margaret Monroe, Vivian Beaman, Professor Louis E. Raths, Joseph Rozner, Clara Appell, Dr* Morris Appell and members of his Southhampton and Riverhead, Long Island Teachers’ Workshops, members of the Washington, D.C* Teachers' Workshops (New York University Field Services)*

Others who took part include graduate

students in the classes at New York University of Professor Christian 0* Arndt, Professor Frederic M. Thrasher, Professor Howard Lane, Professor Alice Keliher, and Professor Dan W. Dodson, and members of the Center for Human Relations Studies, and the Bureau for Intercultural Education* In June 19U9, a grant was obtained from the Rockefeller Foundation's General Education Board.

Professor Louis E. Raths negotiated for some time

on this phase of the project and has, in addition, supervised much of the emerging series. Dean Ernest 0. Melby of the School of Education was also most helpful in the financing and in solving administrative problems which arose from time to time* Professor Frederic M. Thrasher served as a consultant for the series

16 and was a source of valuable counselling in the preparation of the blueprint of the project* Professor H. H. Giles, Director of the Center for Homan Relations Studies, nerved as chairman of the sponsoring committee for the study. His active interest and generous guidance was responsible for helping to meet the endless deadlines and requirements of the project*

17 Chapter III SCOPE OF STUDY A. Purpose The purpose of this project has been to take selected recent Hollywood feature films, analyze and reconstract the most useful ones, in order to develop a unified training series in human relations and, in addition, to prepare a manual that would serve as a guide for their effective usage* B. Significance of the Study The series may be used as a medium for graphically illustrating certain patterns of human behavior and interaction so as to serve as a frame of ref­ erence for improving interpersonal and intergroup relations*

It is hoped

that against this matrix of dramatic presentation, three responses will be set in action* 1* Awareness of Human Relations Problems a* So to stimulate those viewing film or films that they may be alerted to the existence and intensity of a specific problem or of several problems* b* The showing of the films may provide the emotional setting which is most conducive to changing or altering attitudes* 2* The Environment as Cause - to point up phases of our culture which contribute to problems in human relations* 3, Emergence of a Rational Design for Understanding People a. To train people to be aware of signs and clues in human behavior that express the growing needs of others* b. To show specific ways by which we can reconstruct more wholesome relationships • This material, therefore, may be used as a training tool for persons en­

18 gaged in human relations activities such as teachers on ete mentary, secondary, vocational and college levelsj personnel directors, guidance counselors, educational directors in social, industrial and labor organizations.

It is

the premise of this study that the medium of the motion picture serves as a tremendously effective device for pointing up critical and delicate areas of friction between peoples*

$y dramatically underlining typical human situa­

tions, it is hoped that a permissive setting for intelligent discussion will be created* lu

Some evidences of need for the study are: a. The increasing demand for mass communication tools in human rela­ tions in the face of inadequate and insufficient material* b* Motion pictures are among the most effective educational devices* There is need to use the motion picture because it,"*..can reconstruct with such dramatic intensity, with such realism and poignancy, that even the slowest* •.will react to its meaning. "3c* There is developing a growing reservoir of motion pictures rela­ ting to human relations*

So far as the writer can determine, there

has been little attempt within the last ten years to collate and construct new film material into a complete unit series as a training and study program in human relations* d* As indicated previously, there exists one such series completed some eleven years ago, under the supervision of the Progressive Education Association*

Since that time, a tremendous amount of material has

come into being.

Not only has the amount and volume of that material

increased but the treatment of human relations and human problems has become unusually forceful and effective. 1*

E. Dale, Audio-Visual Aids in Teaching, p* UU*

InThile the Commission on

19 Human

Relations of the Progressive E ucation Association had the

difficult task of digging out pertinent data from the existing films of the time, the motion picture industry has begun to incorporate our growing knowledge of human dynamics and reflected more social problem material than in the past.

The styles of hair,

clothing, and interior decoration, the technical quality of sound, music, and film, the general atmosphere which dates many of the earlier excerpts, are all factors tending to interfere with a total desired impact between persons being trained and the motion picture scenes* There is need, therefore, to augment the excellent study made in 193638 with more recent material selected from the variety of films which have been produced during the past decade* The documentation incorporated in this study embraces a complete process: 1*

A series of film excerpts.

2*

A manual for usewith the series.

3*

The person using this series and hispurposes

inmaking use

of

the series* In the course of dealing with these three aspects, the following assumptions have been made* C* Assumptions 1*

It is assumed that four areas ofrealsignificance

ment of good human relations have been selected*

in thedevelop­

These areas are:

economic security, emotional security, the effect of power, and inter­ personal relations*

The free choice of these areas is defended in

Chapter 17, Procedures, Item A, Selection and Definition of Areas of Concent ration*

20 2*

It ±3 assumed, that the situations in the series as a whole will

be representative of the many diverse situations which occur in real life and in which our four major areas function*

Care has been taken

to see that these four human relations areas as demonstrated in the films selected will reflect real life situations* 3.

It is further assumed that through the experience of viewing prob­

lems in human relations in different contexts, the issues involved will be pointed up.

The process of having the issues recur from time

to time in the series in different settings constitutes a basis for developing sensitivity to these issue. ll*

It is assumed that the device of using the motion pictures for

training in human relations is of itself no panacea to the problems that grow out of human interaction*

The showing of the series of

motion pictures is a means and not an end* 5>*

It is assumed that the use of the excerpts will be most effective

as part of a continuing series rather than when used individually. By pointing up the same human relations problems in different settings, the accumulative experience will create a more dynamic impact* D.

Delimitations 1.

The series is limited in scope to the above mentioned four areas

of human relations as they reflect the cultural patterns common to the social structure of the United States. 2.

The series is also limited in terms of the funds available for the

excerpting process.

On the basis of seven thousand dollars, made

available by the General Education Board, six excerpts were possible. The budget is listed in Appendix A. 3.

The series is limited because of the availability of original

a motion pictures.

Many of the desired films are out of print or tuider

legal restrictions which prohibits their being excerpted.

Some motion

picture companies did not make pictures available until after the deadline of this study. )+. The excerpts have been limited to one or two-reels of a ten to twenty minute time duration.

It is believed that this length is most

effective in order to provide time for introducing the film as well as time for adequate discussion during the balance of a conventional two-hour session. 5. This series is limited to but one of the media of mass communica­ tions.

Belated media would include printed material, both fiction

and non-fiction, exhibits, radio recordings, charts, dramatizations (plays, scripts,etc*) and sociodramatic presentations, as well as actual field experiences and case studies. 3B.

Related Studies 1. The writer has already referred to the one human relations motion picture series in the field; this is the very excellent series pre­ pared by the Commission on Human Relations of the Progressive Educa­ tion Association headed by Alice V. Keliher.

Some of the problems

relating to the project are described in Walter C. Langer's, "Psycho­ logy and Human Living".

The people who initiated the project are

among the outstanding psychiatrists, sociologists and educators in the country.

They include, Lawrence K. Frank, John Dollard, Robert

K. Lynd, Margaret Mead, James S. Plant, Daniel Prescott and Alice V. Keliher.

The editor of the series, Helen 7an Dongen, is one of the

leading cinematic technicians.

It is the writer’s understanding that

some $150,000 was devoted to the project and some fifty-four two-reel excerpts were completed.

Almost all the excerpts are available for

experimental use through the New York University Film Library »nri for

22 regular rental from the Teaching Film Custodians* 2*

Two training programs have been developed around human relations

film resources.

Both were established at Ohio State University.

Dr.

Henrietta C. Fleck, who is at present on the School of Education fac­ ulty, developed as part of her study, a resource unit making use of three subjects from the Human Relations Film Series plus the documen­ tary study in 16 mm by Willard Van Dyke, "And So They Live.

Alberta

Young made more extensive use of the Human Relations Film Series for her study using ten subjects.^ Professor Fleck^ in her study, demonstrated the advantages of using resource units, such as motion pictures, in home economics teacher training courses.

This is especially significant as a related study

since the bulk of the films used were excerpts from the original Human Relations Series* "The experiences derived through seeing a motion picture," writes Dr. Fleck, "are frequently so real that they tend to stimulate ideas, to provoke discussions, to develop a sensitivity to the influence of social pressures, and to produce self-activity on the part of the stu­ dents. "3 In her analysis of the use of motion pictures as resource units in teacher training, Dr. Fleck points up ways in which films may provide a veiy rich educational experience.

She lists seven ways this may be

achieved: 1. 2*

3*

Henrietta Fleck, The Go-Operative Development of Resource Units for a Freshman Orientation Course in Teacher Education, Ohio State University Press, ±9U5 Alberta Young, Resources Materials on Human Relationships Designed for Use in Teacher Education Programs for High School Teachers of Home Economics, Ohio State University Press, 19lUj!* Fleck, isp* .cit*, p* 2$9.

23 1, Provide a common basis for discussion. 2. Expose students to unfamiliar educative forces. 3* Stimulate discussion around aspects of social and educational problems. U. Acquaint students with issues and problems in relation to school and society# 5. Offer opportunities to challenge and clarify values. 6. Aid in developing desirable attitudes and social concerns# 7. Suggest other forms of expression.! In evaluating the results of resource materialsin teacher train­ ing, Dr. Fleck indicates that the use of resources brings to light values that the student did not realize existed.

This experience

definitely broadened the horizons of all studerfc s but particularly those students who had limited experience with certain social aspects.2 The findings of Dr. Fleck tend to support the authorities quoted earlier with respect to the effect of motion pictures in education. Used in the effective and constructive ways that are outlined in Dr. Fleck’s study, film excerpts may provide opportunities for stimulating perception and learning. The study of Alberta Young contained more extensive use of film excerpts in teacher training courses.

As in Dr. Fleck’s study, Dr.

Young’s study was centered in the area of home economics.

Since both

were concerned with problems in human relations, their findings have value far beyond departmental orientation# Dr. Young holds that films, among other resources, bring to the attention of teachers the relationship between the problems of human relations which people experience, the probable needs of these indi viduals, the ways in which the techniques of interpersonal relations further good human relations through meeting needs or through frustra­ ting the individual as he attempts to meet his needs, and the social 1#

FLeck, op. cit.& 260#

2.

Ibid.

pVljliIi.

2k

values expressed in -the situation.-*Dr. Young1s purposes in teaching human relations are as follows: 1. To develop a sensitivity to the methods by which individual in our society relate themselves to others and an awareness of the consequences of these methods, 2. To develop a resource of methods which will give a greater security in meeting a great variety of situations and to help her to be competent and informed in handling problems in human relations, 3. To clarify the operations which further good human relation­ ships . U. To place an increased emphasis on personality development as a primary educational objective.2 Utilizing this motivation, Dr. Young developed a learning situation using the human needs hypothesis, some major operations whereby a teacher may further good human relations and a number of major ideas relating to democratic living and the social values prized in a democratic society. The material developed in Dr. Young's study is rather extensive.

A

depth analysis of the nine films was earned out and Alternative methods for their use indicated. tal.

As a resource guide, the study appears monumen­

As a practical study guide for persons using the source material

this writer believes it to be somewhat repetitious.

This in no way is to

detract from the quality of the content but rather a comment upon its utility as a practical guide with films. Governor Carl Millikin, head of Teaching Film Custodian's Office, has cautioned the writer to avoid complex and involved treatment of a study guide for films in education.

There appears to be the perpetual conflict

between brevity and stating all that needs to be said.

1, 2,

Young, £©• jsifc*, p* 6, Ibid.. p. 510

215

Chapter IV PROCEDURES A. Areas of Concentration Allport has set forth 17*953 personality behavior traits, but he has cautioned us as to the great amount of variability within these classifi­ cations.1 It is difficult in analyzing the dynamics of human behavior to abstract a single personality trait and set it forth as the most signifi­ cant element in a continuity of interaction. This study, therefore, is developed within those areas of human behavior that are generally believed to affect most of the individuals within our American culture.

It is the

writer’s belief that the following four categories represent some of the most significan problems in human relations; economic security, emotional security, the use of power, and interpersonal relations as a key to individual personality* 1. Economic Security Perhaps one of the most important factors affecting human behavior to­ day is the extent to which our economic needs are being met.

If we could

clearly see the effect of the frustrating of physical ’ wants or the meeting of physical needs upon individuals, we would come to understand the behavior of people against this frame of reference* Perhaps the most ubiqu&us desires and the most common anxieties of all Americans, regardless of class, caste, or category, centers about the problems of personal security. In America, one defines his security most commonly in terms of friends or money, or both.2 Man’s character has been molded by his everyday work and the material resources which he thereby procures, more than by any other influence*3 1. 0. W. Allport, Personality, New York; Hemy Holt, 1937* p* 30iu 2. J. Gillin, "Personality in Preliterate Societies", American Sociological Review, 1939* vol* U, p. 681* 3* A. Marshall, Principles of Economics, New York: Macmillan, 1925* p. 1*

26 2. Emotional Security We have come to realize that economic security is not enough for 'whole­ some adjustment and that large sections of our population behave in ways that reveal tremendous tensions and anxieties which arise from emotional insecur­ ity*

Veiy often, one type of behavior is a manifestation of an opposite

type of need, such as aggressive behavior masking the need for love and af­ fection*

If we could examine closely the meeting or frustrating of certain

emotional needs, we might come to see more sharply the reasons people behave as they do under various circumstances* The most serious frustration of the individual personality is found in the field of security needs •••here are included economic insecurity, and the uncertainty as to affection, status, prestige - all that goes with the whirling pattern of change with which we are confronted.-^ •••the individual has basic emotional needs, and if these are not satisfied adequately, he suffers pain and discomfort arid must try to do something to relieve himself of these unpleasant feelings. In fact, we can say that if the behavior*.*deviates too much from the normal pattern, one or more of his basic emotional needs are not s&tisfied.2 3. Power One of the most challenging areas in human relations is the anxietyproducing effect of power* The mutual impact of power and personality is a topic of endur­ ing human interest. Our aim is to discover whether the recent expan­ sion of the social, psychological and medical sciences has added to our knowledge of power and the power seeker. A further step is the consideration of how to put what we have learned in the science of human dignity...to undertake to devise ways and means of putting power in the service of a democratic society*..Power is cue giving and cue taking, in a continuing spiral of interaction* 3 The lust for power manifests itself as the desire to maintain the range of one’s own person with regard to others, to increase it 1. 2* 3.

G. Murphy, Personality, New York: Harper, 19U7, p. 908* 0* S. English and G. H. J. Pearson, Emotional Problems of Living. New Yorks llorton, 19li5, p. 31* H. D. Lasswell, Power and Personality, p. 7.

27 or to demonstrate it •••the desire for power is closely related to selfishness, but it is not identical with it. For the typical goals of selfishness, such as food, shelter, security, and the means by which they are obtained, such as money, jobs, marriage, and the like, have an objective relation to the vital needs of the individual. The desire for power, on the other hand, concerns itself not with the individual’s survival but with his position among his fellows, once his survival has been secured.^i+. Interpersonal Relations We often get an insight into the personality of an individual by the way he treats others around him* The attitude toward the self is exhibited in the attitude as­ sumed by the individual towards others ,2 Whatever you do to others, you also do to yourself. To violate the forces directed towards life in any human being necessarily has repercussions on ourselves. Our own growth, happiness, and strength are based on the respect for these forces, and one cannot violate them in others and remain untouched oneself at the same time. The respect for life, that of others as one's own, is the concomitant of the process of life itself and a condition of psychic h e a l t h , 3 Accultural evolution begins.•.and when it succeeds when one evolves, then one respects oneself, and as one respects oneself so can one respect others...The attitude toward the self is mani­ fest and real as the attitude toward others,U B.

Selection of Films The writer has examined some twenty-five thousand feature film reviews

of the past ten years.

The primary source of these reviews has been Harri­

son's Reports, a weekly film review trade publication.

Other review sources

include the National Board of Review summaries and the British Film Monthly. Some five thousand educational titles and reviews were examined in the Educational Film Guide, 19l+&-li9 edition. The selection of the final working list of films to be screened was 1.

H. Morgenthau, "Ethics and Politics", Approaches to Group Understanding, New Yorks Harpers, 191+7, pp, 33l+-33E>. 2. G. Mead, Mind, Self and Society, University of Chicago Press, 193k>p.29. 3. E. Fromm, Man for Himself, New York: Rinehart, 191+7, p. 22!?. 1+. H. S. Sullivan, Concepts of Modem Psychiatry, Baltimore, Maryland: William Alans on White Psychiatric Foundation, 191+7, p. 107 •

28 upon the availability of the films, the aforementioned reviews, the infor­ mation of reliable informants and experts and upon the criteria listed below. 1.

Criteria for the selection of original list of films for possible

inclusion in the series. a. The material will be illustrative of one or more of the four areas of concentration. b.

The material will include a variety of settings.

The series

will have been richer educationally if the purposes and perspec­ tives of this study recurred in different cultural settings and locales. c. The material will contain scenes and sequences with educational settings, since it is expected that the series will have widest use in teacher training institutions. d. The material will contain scenes which demonstrate human conflict or that reflect deep emotional impact^ 3uch as happiness, tragedy, puzzlement, etc. e. The material will have scenes or sequences showing possible techniques in solving or helping to resolve human relations prob­ lems. f. The material will contain scenes that show the strengthening of social values, wherein we do not jeopardize the group in aiding the individual, or hurt one individual while helping another. In addition to the criteria noted above, the author belie ves it is usually possible to glean from a critical review whether a film contains genuine human problem material or whether it is trite, ordinary, obvious, uninteresting, poorly structured or synthetic.

All these qualities are

factors in evaluating the potentialities of a film for use as an excerpt in

29 human relations. The writer must confess that, from time to time, films ihat were thought to contain material for this series did not come off as expected. This was due in part to the variation between the situation as outlined in a critical review and the impact of the human interplay, as unfolded in the medium of the motion picture. The variation between the printed and the cinematic word was nowhere more apparent than in those cases where it was necessary to read a script of the film, before structuring the possible excerpt.

This occurred in a

few cases where the film was not readily available and an analyses of the script had to be made before determining whether or not it was necessary to arrange for screening the film itself.

When it was decided to go ahead

with screening, after marking out possible scenes for excerpting, often, the pre-selected scene appeared quite different in the dynamics of cine­ matic projection. Another experience has been the discovery that some films are just not excerptable.

The material as woven together in the original film is so

integrated that is is impossible to edit out scenes to be used independtly. 2.

Criteria for the selection of final excerpts: a.

To select material that will be illustrative ofone ormore

of the major areas with which this

study is concerned.

b.

which can be put togetherto

To select scenes and sequences

form a unified excerpt. c.

To pick material from a variety of settings.

Since the series

will be used in various regional locations, it is necessary to have material from urban, rural, suburban, and industrial areas. d.

To include in the series as a whole: 1. Scenes which demonstrate human conflict or that reflect

30 deep emotional impacts such as happiness, tragedy, puzzlement, etc* 2* Scenes that show possible techniques in solving or help­ ing to resolve human relations problems* 3*

Scenes that show the strengthening of social values,

wherein we do not jeopardize the group in aiding the individual, or hurt one individual in the process of helping another* e*

To choose scenes which tend to provoke and stimulate thinking

rather than set forth conclusions* f*

The acceptance or rejection of certain scenes from the feature

films or the 16 mm short subjects, to illustrate the four areas of human relations, will be measured in terms of how effectively the action demonstrates the dynamics of behavior as it relates to these areas*

In this connection, the combined responses of experts,

representative audiences, and selected teaching groups have been utilized to validate the selections.

However, the writer assumes

final responsibility for the completed excerpts and their validity* g*

Some additional technical considerations in appraising the

selected sequences were:* 1* Credibility of situation 2.

Realism of setting

3* Effectiveness of acting U* Natural flow of dialogue 5* Empathetic response of audience 6* Emotional scope of scene 7* Universality of appeal This chapter described the procedures used in selecting and defining * As indicated by the success of original film, by responses of panels viewing the film, and by the author^ judgement*

31 the four major areas and in selecting films for the series* The study, itself, has been directed toward developing motion picture excerpts that would stimulate discussion around one or more of the following areas of concentration: economic security, emotional security, effect of power, and interpersonal relations*

It is believed that these areas often

contain the most significant problems in human relations* The original selection of films was based upon content material relat­ ing to the above mentioned areas.

In addition, scenes were desired that

would reveal deep emotional situations, or that would show techniques in re­ solving conflicts or that showed the strengthening of social values.

A

variety of settings and locales were sought along with educational situations* It was thought necessary to select excerpts that were believeable, realistic, and that reflected aspects of American culture.

Some films that

met these criteria were found, after screening, not to lend themselves to being excerpted.

Sometimes the original story is so tightly woven together

that material cannot be pulled out of context* Frequently, the problem of excerptability was solved by the motion pic­ ture companies themselves.

Films desired after pruning through the reviews

were simply not available from the companies, for one reason or another* In the next chapter, there will be discussed the process by which the final excerpts

were selected, the evaluation of some of the excerpts, and a

brief description of the technical editing process itself.

32 Chapter V EVALUATION A.

Selection of Excerpts After the investigator prepared several lists from the sources already-

quoted, e.g. Harrison's Reports, he initiated negotiations with the motion picture companies. Paramount Pictures, through the offices of Mr. James Polk, was one of the first companies to arrange for the screening of films. films requested from them, four were available.

Of the twelve

They were: "The Great

McGinty", "Wild Harvest", "Lost Weekend", and "Sorry, Wrong Number". Although the latter two films contained some material relating to emo­ tional security, the general consensus of opinion of those viewing the film was that the films were not excerpt able •

The films were screened at the

Paramount Building in New York, in the early part of March, 19U9.^RKO, through the offices of Mr. Leon Bamburger, made possible the screen^ ing of a number of films in February and March, 19U9.

They were: "Cross­

fire", "Citizen Kane", "Magic Town", "They Knew What They Wanted", "Long Night", "Pride of the Yankees", "Sister Kenny", "All That Money Can Buy", "I Remember Mama", "The Boy With Green Hair".

A number of other films re­

quested were not available; the control of some films having reverted to the original producer, whereas the rights to other films had been sold outright to another distributor* The RKQ films created problems in evaluation since many of the films contained dynamic material for our purposes.

It was necessary, therefore,

to arrange for re-screening of several motion pictures, as well as to select a different group of reviewers to double check the responses of the first 1.

A complete list of originally selected films is included in appendix B.

33

group. The following films were re-screened in June and July of 19H9: "Boy With the Green Hair”, "Citizen Kane", "Crossfire", "I Remember Mama", and "Sister Kenney"• In evaluating the films with a different group, there were some varia­ tions in responses.

However, the new group did agree that "Citizen Kane" con­

tained a wide variety of human relations sequences in terms of our four areas, and other criteria. It was felt that two excerpts were possible.

One, on the impace of

power upon human behavior and the other on emotional security. Although there was not the same unanimi ty over the selection of "Boy With the Green Hair", there was enough support for going ahead with an excerpt to illustrate inber-personal relations and the use of power. Whereas RKO had been unusually cooperative in arranging screenings, legal snarls created difficulties when final plans were made to clip out the desired sequences. After a great many delays, RKO agreed to allow us to go ahead with the excerpting.

Suddenly, after the footage had been ordered, RKO withdrew its

agreement.

As the matter stood in March, 1930, there was no evidence of re­

consideration of this decision. United Artists responded early to our requests for screenings.

Although

"Home of the Brave" and "Champion" were popular, newly rele ased features at the time, United Artists made them immediately available.

United Artists

was also quite gracious in the matter of giving the project immediate clear-

ance and cooperated in reproducing footage for our use. United Artists had four of the ten requested films for our use. ately, these four were among the best films.

Fortun­

The group viewing the films,

together with the author, agreed almost immediately on their use.

They were:

3U "Body and Soul", "The Champion", "Home of the Brave", and the "Southerner"* "Body and Soul" lent itself to demonstrating the effect of economic insecurity upon human relations.

It also contained some effective poirer

material. It was felt that "The Champion" told much the same story as "Body and Soul" hut not quite so well. "The Southerner" showed the effect of economic insecurity in a rural setting, as contrasted to the urban setting of "Body and Soul".

It also

pointed up some remarkably realistic problems relating to personal relations. "Home of the Brave" was very forceful but it presented a problem in terms of excerpting.

The entire film is set in a war situation.

Since it

presented the Negro-White problem honestly and vigorously, one felt most anxious to use some material from the film.

The writer decided to use just

that portion of the film which is a flashback to pre-war days.

Since this

sequence Is only four minutes long, it was felt it might be insufficient for the purposes of this study.

The writer was pleased with the response to

a questionnaire at subsequent screenings which supported the selection. The war-related sequences were excluded simply because the universality of appeal and usefulness of the excerpt would be limited if it contained such an unwholesome setting as a war battlefront.

Human behavior during

wartime does not seem to have quite the same relationship as day-to-day prob­ lems in a so-called nonnal cultural setting. Universal-International was the next company to cooperate in the project. Universal made available seven of the eleven requested films because the others were out of their control.

The films screened were: "All HSy Sons",

"The Killsrs","Anather Part of the Forest", "Scarlet Street", "This Love of Ours", "Brief Encounter", and "City Across the River". The film, "City Across the River, revealed forceful behavior problems

35 centered around the emotional needs of youngsters. unusually provocative school situations.

It also contained some

At a subsequent re-screening, it

was agreed to pull out material from this film. Warner Brothers, through the good offices of Mr. Albert Howson, made screenings available of their films.

Unfortunately, Warner Brothers had

only three films out of a list of thirteen choices submitted.

The films

screened included: "Angels With Dirty Faces", "Johnny Belinda", and "That Hagen Girl". At a re-screening of the "Hagen Girl" it was felt that there were some excellent scenes of teacher-pupil and teacher-supervisor relations#

It

also pointed up the impact of social class power in terms of upper-class discriminations against a teen-ager from a lower socio-economic class group. The most recent company to cooperate in the project was Columbia Pic­ tures.

One of Columbia’s top executives, Mr. Nate Spingold, made "All the

King’s Men" available for the writer’s use without delay or difficulty.

It

is interesting to note that at the time, the film had just won some twelve citations and was about to win the Academy award.

The film itself is a

dynamic story of political power and its effect upon people. The excerpt was made after a screening before a group which included Dean Melby, Professor Arndt, Dr. Appell, Milton Pearlman, Charles Winick, Ralph Rosenblura, and the author • Another Columbia executive who facilitated the excerpting of "All the King’s Men" was Mr. W. G. Brennan.

Mr. Stott, head of Columbia's lab, Du-

Art, was also most helpful in working out technical details. This studio proved so efficient that the balance of our work was shifted to their lab.

1.

A list of all panel members viewing films with the author is included in Appendix D.

36 B.

16 nan Material In investigating films in the 16 mm field, the writer did not find a

great deal of material that could be used as effectively as the excerpts for the puxposes of this study.

This is not to indicate that films produced in

16 mm cannot be used in human relations*

Professors Fleck and Young, in

their studies, used several 16 mm films*

More recently, the work of the

Canadian Film Board, UNESCO, and other agencies has gained prominence among persons using audio—visual aids in human relations.

Most of this material

has been oriented around different concepts and to different ends from this project.

The writer has been concerned with the non-directive development

of insight into the problems presented, rather than the stating of specific answers.

Much of the 16 mm material tends to overstate ideas or, frequently,

to offer pat solutions to problems.

It is the purpose of this series to

stimulate discussion rather than offer simple solutions to complex human be­ havior situations. Through group discussion under the guidance of a skilled leader and using whatever material tte manual may offer, it is hoped that the analysis of human relations conflicts will emerge in the group process.

This will pro­

vide opportunity for the pointing up of not one, but many alternatives to human relations situations. "Willie and the Mouse", a short ten minute MGM miniature, distributed through the Teaching Film Custodiand, provides a basis for considering tra­ ditional and progressive concepts of learning and education.

This was an

original 16 mm film produced as part of an MGM series, known as "The Passing Parade".

The primary concentration of the film is the experiments with white

mice revealing the Impact of frustration upon animal personality. Brandon Films provided a short ten minute 16 mm film produced by Artkino in Moscow in 19U7.

It was felt that the experiments with animals held

37 several implications for human behavior. In the selection of both 16 mm short subjects, the writer feels that using animals in experiments which contain human relations symbols was a tension reducing device* The selection of Millie and the Mouse” to open the series, it is be­ lieved, may counter some resistance which might be set up by persons cautious over approaching problems in human relations.

Then, too, using animals does

not offer the same emotional blocks as humans might in the same situation. Whereas many persons might object to human situations that revealed some unwholesome effects of frustration or that showed mixed marriages suc­ ceeding, they may readily accept the animal situations.

In addition, most

of us are somewhat pleasantly moved by white mice or observed animal behav­ ior. C.

The impact of the ideas, though indirect, can be most forceful. Validation of Bxcerpt3 Although it had not been set forth as a possiblity in the original out­

line, the writer has been fortunate in being able to obtain some three thou­ sand responses to a questionnaire regarding the excerpts. The excerpt of "The Southerner" was screened befcre public school teach­ ers attending two New York University Field Service Workshops, under the di­ rection of Dr. Morris Appell at Southhampton and Riverhead, Long Island. The questionnaires were answered before group discussion, so that the responses reflected individual reaction rather than group-influenced or 3eader-influenced responses.

This was true of all the other occasions

when the questionnaire was used.

38

Table I SOUTHHAMPTON - RIVERHEAD NEW YORK UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP RESPONSES NOVEMBER 30 - DECEMBER 1, 19U9 TOTAL RESPONDENTS*. 6U THE SOUTHERNER 1.

2.

Economic Insecurity Does this film show the struggle for economic security that has significantly affected the behavior of the people involved? Emotional Insecurity Does this excerpt show the meeting or frustrating of basic human needs? Does frustration of human needs result in the following behavior?

3*

NO

?

62

1

1

$h

3

2

3

Aggression Submission Withdrawal Psychosomatic Illness

9U 1 6 6

Does the film show the causative factors which relate to an individual’s emotional security or insecurity?

52

3

use or abuse of power? 59

1

Use of Power Does this film show the

Does this film show the impact of power upon the individual or group who wields it or upon the individual or group affected?

lu

YES

U7

1

3

Does this film show the effects of social class 50 competition for positions of control, or power or influence?

7

h

Interpersonal Relations Does this film reveal the personality and Inner values of an individual by the way he treats others around him?

59

U h

39 Table I (cont.)

YES Select most significant points.1 Economic insecurity sometimes results in emotional insecurity.

hS

Economic insecurity often leads to aggressive behavior•

la

People who suffer often become bitter.

la

People need to be free from fear.

27

People have need for sharing.

26

Does the excerpt stimulate discussion?

5>9

NO

^

1

How would, you rate this excerpt? Excellent Very Good Fair Inadequate

26

29 (No response - 9)

Only first five choices of group are included.

Uo

The same excerpt and the questionnaire was used with the New York University Field Service Teachers' Workshop in Washington, D.C., on December 13, 1914-9.

At a preview of three of the excerpts on December

7, 19U9 at the New York University, School

of Education Auditorium,

further responses were obtained. Copies of the questionnaires are included in Appendix E.

Other

testing instruments are expected to be developed, to further test the effectiveness of the material in this series. The items, listed in Table II, are a composite of the reactions of the Long Island Teachers' Workshop,

the Washington, D.C. Teachers'

Workshop, and the graduate students and persons present at the preview at New York University, to the excerpt of "The Southerner”.

la Table II THE SOUTHERNER

1.

2.

YES

NO

?

2hS

1

1

Emotional Insecurity Does this excerpt show themeeting or frustration 229 of basic human needs?

6

3

218

10

7

use or abuse of power? 225

9

3

Does this film show the impact of power upon the199 individual or group who wields it or upon the individual or group affected?

5

9

Economic Insecurity Does this film show thestrugglefor economic security that has significantly affected the behavior of the people involved?

Does frustration of human needs result in the following behavior? Aggression Submission Withdrawal Psychosomatio Illness Does the film show the causative factors which relate to an individual's emotional security or insecurity? 3*

Use of Power Does this film show the

222 8 16 16

Does this film show the effects of social class 182 competition for positions of control, or power, or influence? U*

5*

Interpersonal Relations Does this film reveal the personality and inner values of an individual by the way he treats others around him? Select most significant points Economic insecurity sometimes results in emotional insecurity. Economic insecurity often leads to aggressive behavior. People who suffer often become bitter. People have need to be free from fear. People have need for sharing

6.

Does the excerpt stimulate discussion?

7*

How would you rate this excerpt? Excellent 7ery Good Fair Inadequate

228

38 12

7

5

162 170 138 100 91 230 116

95 7 2

/ (No response - 22

U2 In producing this excerpt of "The Southerner", the writer believed it demonstrated economic insecurity in a rural setting with overtones of emo­ tional insecurity.

It was al3o believed to have revealed some strong inter­

personal relations sequences.

The writer did not feel that the element of

power was as significant in this excerpt as it is in others.

The reactions

thus far recorded indicate that the lowest response was in this area. Since one of the purposes of these excerpts is to stimulate discussion, it is gratifying to note that there was almost unanimous agreement in re­ sponse to this inquiry. The writer hopes the opportunity will be afforded to extend the inves­ tigation of the usefulness of this excerpt in Southern regions of the United States. The response to "City Across the River" is also significant, in that no one thought it "inadequate" and only three thought it less than "very good".

However, the number of respondents to "City Across the River" was

almost half that of "The Southerner". The items in the following table are the totals of the Washington, D. C. Teachers' Workshop and the New York University preview group.

h3 Table III CITY ACROSS THE RIVER 1 . Economic Insecurity Does this film show the struggle for economic security that has significantly affected the behavior of the people involved?

.

2

YES

NO

130

1

Emotional Insecurity Does this excerpt show the meeting or frustrating of basic needs?

127

Does frustration of human needs result in; Aggression Submission

120

Does the film show the causative factors which relate to an individual's emotional security or insecurity?

6 123

3. Use of Power 100

16

10

Does this film show the inpact of power upon the indi- 103 vidual or group who wields it or upon the individual or group affected.

3

10

27

11

Does this film show the use or abuse of power?

Does this film show the effects of social class comrpetition for positions of control, or power, or in­ fluence?

76

lu

Interpersonal Relations Does this film reveal the personality and inner values 107 of an individual by the way he treats others around him?

5.

Most significant points in excerpt Need for security. Rejected, lonely youngster. Economic insecurity results in emotional insecurity. Need for belonging. Need for understanding • Slums breed delinquency.

6,

Does this excerpt stimulate discussion?

7*

How would you rate this excerpt? Excellent Very Good Fair Inadequate

66 66 58 56 Ul la

108 77 37

3 (No Response - 16)

hk

The response to the questionnaire tended to support the initial premise of the writer.

This excerpt from "City Across the River" was developed

essentially to show the effect of emotional insecurity upon the behavior of adolesceit s „ However, it did not strongly support some of the secondary as­ pects.

It was felt by the writer that the excerpt contained some important

sequences relating to pupil-teacher relations and a short sequence related to pri.ncipal—teacher-pupil relations.

This was believed to be contained

under the general heading of interpersonal relations. As seen in Table III, this item was rated lower than either emotional or economic security.

Under the choices in Item 5, some additional state­

ments included: "Teachers in underprivileged areas often do not understand the students from these areas", and "Pupil-teacher relations in under­ privileged sections require sensitive and delicate handling11.

Both these

item were rated very low in choice frequency. The basic impact of the excerpi* of course, was revealed in the first four choices.

The items of security, rejection, and belonging were rated

high. Another excerpt with which the writer had some uncertainty was that of "Home of the Brave".

This excerpt is but four minutes long in contrast

with the others, which averaged eighteen minutes each.

Because of this,

it was felt that the sequence would not be long enough to be effective. "Home of the Brave" was screened at the preview and the responses were as given in the following table.

Table

IV

HOME 0? THE BRAVE

YES 1. Economic Security Does this film show the struggle for economic security significantly affecting the behavior of the people involved?

12

2. Emotional Security Does this film show the meeting or frustrating of human needs?

bs

Does the frustration of needs result in:

Aggression Submission Withdrawal Psychosomatic Illness

Does the film show the causative factors which relate to an individual1s emotional security?

NO

1 10

n 31

is

5

15

3^

7

Does the film show the impact Of power upon the individual or group who wields it or upon those effected?

31

ib

11

Does this film show the effects of social class competition for positions of control, or power, or influence?

2

b

25

3. Use of Power Does this film show the use or abuse of power?

H. Interpersonal Relations Does this film reveal the personality and inner values of an individual by the way he treats others around him?

b&

5. Most Significant Points In Excerpt: The cultural mores of our towns and cities often inhibit good Negro-white relations.

50

Although accepted as athletic heroes in school, few Negroes are accepted socially.

33

VJhen two friends have a good relationship they are sometimes unaware of the dominant cultural patterns effecting their lives. 27 It is difficult for Negro-white school mates to be close friends. 22 What can we do to improve Negro-white relations in our schools and communities? 6. Does This Excerpt Stimulate Discussion? 7. How Would You Rate This Excerpt?

(No response - l)

12

**5 Excellent Very Good Pair Inadequate

3 7 2

U6 In terms of effectiveness, it would appear that the entire purpose of the excerpt was achieved.

The most the writer had hoped far was to show

how the existence of racial attitudes in many areas of our culture tend to affect even dose friendships.

The three strongest affirmative responses

were emotional insecurity, use of power and interpersonal relations.

With­

in the first five choices under Item 5 are included all the major antici­ pated responses of the excerpt. The writer had hoped for a stronger showing under the choice item, "How can we improve Negro-white relations in our schools and communities?". However, the pointing up of this item may emerge during the discussion of the excerpt, under the guidance of some competent leadership. Although this study contains validation of but three of the six excerpts in the series, it does indicate that the project seems to be going in the right direction.

The final judgement of the effectiveness of the entire

series will, of course, necessarily be deferred until it has had adequate usage in the field.

Perhaps the use of the series in some specific train­

ing program may become the basis for scientific exploration by others. It is the hope of the writer that the production of this series may have some influence upon the extended use of resource film materials in human relations.

Audio-visual aids are becoming increasingly valuable in

education during a dynamic and charged period of world history.

Albert

Einstein recently commented that the task for education must be to utilise maximum emotional methodology for reaching the most people and influencing them in ways to live together more constructively.

It is hoped that the

series will serve some small function in this educational process. D.

Editing Process Ary creative preparation which involves the acquisition of some tech­

nical skills^also involves an educational experience.

The writer feels some

hi space in this study should be set aside to pass on information regarding the processing of motion picture excerpts for educational purposes. The first requisite in any technical procedure is to have near at hand an excerpt technician.

The writer was fortunate in this connection, in that

Mr. Balph Roseriblum was his associate.

To lave attempted the production of

this series without his contacts and resources would have added considerably to the time and costs. Another consideration is a place to work.

Equipment necessary for

film editing is quite expensive and locations for use of rented facilities are few and far between.

Because of the limited funds available, it was

necessary to improvise much of our work and working space. In any case, we were able to use such equipment as a Movieola. a large portable machine used in motion picture editing.

It has two separate

spindle carriages for running through two reels simultaneously. the sound track and the other is for the picture.

This is

One is for

It also has automatic

forward and reverse foot pedals to aid in synchronizing sound with film. Whan the film selected had been re-screened to isolate the specific se­ quences , a work-print was requested from the companies.

In many cases, this

was not possible because of company policy or because of unavailability.

In

such cases, it was necessary to obtain a continuity script and pull out the exact footage numbers of the desired sequences. After a work print was obtained, it was put into the Movieola and was screened through a large magnified viewer.

This viewer enlarged the image to

four or five times its actual frame size which is approximately one square inch. We were never able to obtain more than one print, and it was necessary to spend more time to do careful and delicate editing in order to preserve both the same sound and picture tracks in one print. The work print was then cut and the sequences clipped together.

Later,

U8 they were spliced together* The next step was to order a fine grain print from the respective film company.

A fine grain print is one that may be used to reproduce a nega­

tive print.

It costs, on the average, from five to ten cents per foot to

reproduce through the company's laboratory. times as much for independent processing.

The cost runs two or three Since the average excerpt ran

two thousand feet or so, this initial operation was one of the most expen­ sive.

YiTe are still working with 35 mm size film during this phase of the

operation*

This is the standard commercial size used in all professional

movie houses.

It is terribly explosive and inflammable andthis is one rea­

son why locations for its processing are limited.

The smaller 16 mm size

is used in nearly all educational and home projectors, and is a safety film. The fine grain print is then matched with the work print to determine beginnings ani endings of sound and picture.

The fine grain print was, in

our case, always a composite print, containing both sound and picture. For more perfect reproduction, separate prints are preferred.

In many

cases it is essential, since the sound which is worked onto the print pre­ cedes each frame picture by 20 frames in 16 mm and 16 frames in 35 mm.

To

synchronize sound with picture often necessitates re-recording the sound because the approximate speech or music will not always be where you desire to cut the picture* The composite fine grain print is then brought to an optical effects lab, where they "shoot-in" the fades, dissolves, or blends that you see in most films.

Often the same optical effects lab is used to print and "shoot"

the titles and the endings* this case.

However, there are two processes necessary in

The titles and fades after they are "shot" must be sent to

another lab to be developed.

Then the editor or technician must splice this

k9 material into the negative of the fine grain print.

Tflhen the titles, fades,

etc., have all been worked into the composite negative, a final print is made. This is a reduction print in the 16 mm size so that the fUa may be used in standard educational projectors* The processing of film material is both fascinating and challenging. To achieve best results, one should have at his disposal the following mini­ mum essentials: 1. 2. 3. U. 5. 6.

Adequate funds Versatile and experienced technicians Proper work locale Proper and good working editing equipment Accessible and cooperating lab services A degree of pressure, such as time commitments and due dates 7. Knowledge of the limitations and latitude of the film medium 8. Imagination 9. Patience

This chapter has been concerned with the selection of excerpts for this series.

This selection was a long and complicated process.

It involved con­

stant and continuing pressure upon the individual film companies, in order to obtain screening of their films, re-screenings, when necessary, and the use of work prints for the editing process.

The most difficult phase in most

cases was the legal clearance from each company for permission to use ex­ cerpted material and to supply original footage. The writer offered the criteria, limitations and areas of concentration to all who sat through screenings.

The final selections were based, in part,

upon the unanimity of the persons viewing the films and judging the degree to which these films met the criteria listed above.

The pulling out of the

exact sequences was the work and responsibility of the writer. The questionnaire responses included in this chapter supported the pur­ poses for which at least three of the excerpts were made. may have opportunities for extending this inquiiy.

In time, others

So The process of editing film material was described in this chapter. Although, at times, it was necessary to improvise working locales, the technical process was made easier by the skill of the technician associated with the project, Mr. Roseriblum. D.

Summary - Part One The first portion of this document was devoted to a general introduction

of the problem, including the writer's frame of reference and orientation in human relations.

It emphasized the psychocultural approach to human rela­

tions, and was primarily concerned with the environmental determinants of personality and behavior* Part One of this study also contained a review of how the project devel­ oped, its scope, purpose, significance, and some assumptions and delimita­ tions.

The procedures in selecting the four major areas of concentration

were discussed.

These included economic insecurity, emotional insecurity,

the effect of power, and interpersonal relations.

In Chapter IV, under Pro­

cedures, the methods and criteria in selecting the films and the excerpts were described.

And, finally, a chapter on Evaluation was included.

The

validation of three of the excerpts and details of the editing process came under the heading of this last chapter* Our knowledge of human behavior has increased greatly in the past decade. Although the field of human relations is the newest of the social sciences, the urgency of its growth is evidenced in the breakdown of human relationships on family, community, national and international levels.

There is desperate

need for very rapidly bringing to bear whatever concepts are available to help improve intergroup and intexpersonal relations* As the writer sees it, opportunity must be provided for people to under­ stand the basis of conflict in human relationships.

Men and women need op­

portunities for objectively appraising the cause and effect process of be-

$1

havior, if they are to understand, much less appreciate, differences in others• It was the purpose of this project to set up seme important areas of our culture as a background for the exploration of human problems, dramatized through the medium of the film.

Since the motion picture is one of the most

far reaching of the mass media, this resource in education may well prove effective in disseminating these newer concepts of reconstructed human relations. The Second Part of this document is concerned with the development of a manual for use with the series.

It is hoped that it may be of value to

persons who wish to use the series in human relations situations.

CHAPTER VI BACKGROUND OF HUMAN RELATIONS

Human society became complex when, in order to improve or protect a way of life it was necessary for two men to join forces. Thus too, did human relations emerge.

As man learned to share, to participate

with others, human growth flowered.

In its simple form and in many-

isolated cultures even today, man has developed many wholesome inter­ personal relationships. We see evidence of this flowering of the human spirit in our own culture.

Recently the water shortage in New York City became acute.and

muncipal authorities asked the population to cooperate in a one day water abstinence campaign.

In spite of a 35% increase in population

(almost two and a half million), the public had the loweBt water consumption since 1922.

What made strangers in a huge metropolis make

a sacrifice or suffer an inconvenience for other strangers? Was it selfish fear of eventual suffering, or was it something more? The daily press is filled with details of unselfish efforts during many crises:

plane crash rescues, flood workers, volunteer workers

during disasters and the unending voluntary financial support of worthy causes mainly by persons of modest means.

Are these efforts based upon

selfish motivations, or are they something more? Those of us concerned with the educative processes will want to explore ways and means by which we can extend the use of wholesome and

constructive human relations to serve humanity during non-crisis periods.

There are those of us who feel that this effort, if success­

fully carried on, may eventually modify if not eliminate many of the crises in human interaction. In investigating the problem of improving human relations, we shall need to examine some notions of human behavior as well as the relation of the individual to the culture.

Where then shall we begin?

"The proper study of mankind is man," said Pope. point is he to be studied?

As a new bora infant?

But at what

As a growing fetus?

As a symbol of the accumulation of ideas, taboos, mores of his parents and of their parents before them?

Which comes first?

Obviously no

attempt can be made here to reconcile the age old question of priority. Perhaps the answer must be found among all the questions. Ai

HOMAN GROWTH

Behind the controversy of "which came first," lies the theoretical setting for an approach to an understanding of man.

If we accept in

this context the proposition that growth and the desire for growth constitute the dynamics of human development we have a base upon which to construct our analysis. Applying this growth thesis, we should evaluate the democratic society as one which provides for the maximum growth of all.^Those in the field of education are already familiar, or should be, with the factors of variations in individual physical and mental growth.

1.

The increasing importance of this concept has been evidenced

This orientation and its ramifications were gleaned from lecture notes, mimeographed material of, and the unpublished dissertation f ^ 3r * H * Glle3’ Human Growth and Education. Ohio ®tate University

54

in our changing attitudes about readiness and learning. We now know that each individual is unique and each individual grows differently and at different rates of speed.

Most children differ from each another

in the magnitude and pattern of combination of many factors which determine individual characteristics and actions. Some of these highly variable factors are body build, physiological stability, available energy for activity, rate and timing of growth, mental capacities, knowledge and skills, attitudes and values, general experience background, number and nature of unusual experiences, relationships to parents and siblings, status with peers, and ways of regarding himself. 1 Individual growth appears to be a major factor in human develop­ ment.

Yet have we fully understood its significance as part of the

educative process?

Growth is probably the most important, most help­

ful, most deceiving, most confusing, most neglected fact in education. Most important, because the first consideration throughout, the school years should be that healthy growth be achieved; most helpful, because the plasticity and vigor of growth offer multiple opportunities for education; deceiving, because education is constantly mistaking for its own accomplishment -frhat really come about through maturing; confusing, because growth involves constant change; neglected, because it is so obvious and yet so subtle.2 The thwarting of growth often results in frustration.

Recent

medical investigations have thrown light upon the degree and extent of mental and physical breakdowns in the face of growth frustration. A new branch of medicine has developed around the investigation of individuals whose emotional frustration has resulted in physical

1. 2.

D. A. Prescott. Helping Teachers Understand Children. Washington, D.C.; American Council on Education, 194-5, pp. 10-11. S. L. Pressey, and F. P. Robinson. Psychology and the New Education. New York: Harpers, 1944-, p. 11.

55

malfunctioning. This field called psychosomatic medicine is discussed by Halliday. Viewed from a physical viewpoint, growth is seen in terms of physical development. Viewed from a psychological view­ point, it is seen in terms of emotional, mental, and social development. A life may be frustrated (Latin frustra - in vain, brought to nought), even terminated, by its encounter­ ing noxious physical factors— traumatic, nutritional, chemical, microoganic— or by encountering noxious psychologi­ cal, psychomatic, and psychosocial effects impede its mode of emotional development.! Seen in this light, inter-human conflict is symptomatic of a basic struggle over opportunity to grow to maintain and to extend the privilege of free exercise of individual capacities. Being concerned in democratic education with providing for the maximum growth of all, we shall examine those factors in the culture which tend to restrict or encourage this growth. B.

Culture and Human Behavior What do we mean by culture?

Linton speaks of culture as a pattern

of learned behavior and results of behavior whose component elements are shared and transmitted by the members of a particular society.2 In order to fully understand human interaction and the causal factors in individual behavior, we should explore the cultural setting from which all human action springs.

1. 2.

J. L. Halliday, Psychosocial Medicine. New York: Norton, 194-8, p. 89. R. Linton, The Cultural Background of Personality. New York: Appleton-Century, 194-5, p. 32.

56

One can understand the individual and the meaning of life to him only as he understands this identification of the individual with his culture patterns, and that problems of behavior, normal and abnormal, are a reflection of the interaction of the individual with this cultural structure. In fact, personality derives its meaning and integration from the culture.^We have here been considering culture as a group way of life. In order to understand human behavior within our western and more specifically our American culture, let us examine some of our cultural demands, values and patterns. It is one of the stated tenets of American democracy that all men are ’created equal,1 and this implies that every man has the right to assume any status within the socio-cultural system which he can achieve. American society expects the individual to be many things to many men, but, in spite of the numerous positions and parts he is expected to take in adult life, he is also expected to conform to a rather vaguely defined type known as the generalized American personality.2 Gillin makes mention of the tremendous importance of security in the lives of people.

His statement has been quoted earlier, in

support of the inclusion of economic security as one of the major areas of this study. Perhaps the most ubiquitous desires and most common anxieties of all Americans, regardless of class, caste or category, centers about problems of personal security. In America one defines his security most commonly in terms of friends or money or both.3 There are many who feel we are not adequately meeting our American ideal. inadequacies.

1. 2. 3.

There are phases of our culture which reflect many Siepmann speaks often of Ihese inadequacies as the

P. H. Landis, Social Control. New York: Lippincott, 1939, p. 82. J. Gillin, Personality from the Comparative Cultural Point of View p. 60S. Loe. Cit.

•57

"I's", Ignorance, Indifference, and Inertia. According to a recent study, less than a quarter of adult Americans can correctly identify the Bill of Rights. There's ignorance for you. We pay lip service to education. But how much do we care about it? Our indifference may, perhaps, be measured by the fact that annually we spend three times more on liquor and six times more on sports and gambling than we spend on education. As to inertia, look around you. Who is active? Most of our leisure is given over to passive roles, such as movie going, listening to the radio, watching, not participating in, sports. And how often, when there is trouble, do you hear people say, "What can I do about?" These examples are all symptoms and signs— of the unfinished business of democracy, or democracy tested but still not wholly proven. 1 Lynd speaks of the inadequate planning and the inadequate distrib­ ution of the functional means of living. and the extreme differences in power.

He speaks of the sex conflicts

Lynd points out some of the

contradictions in our culture between competition and success as goals and values, while we attempt to maintain brotherly love and humility. He further points up the conflict in American culture, of opportunity on the one hand and frustration on the other. It is a pattern which presents, from the vital point of view of liveability defined in terms of the satisfaction of individual rhythms and growth, a large measure of inversion of emphasis between means and end; a pattern of competing individuals struggling singlehanded in exaggeratedly big and little, and structurally defective, ant-heaps; of rootless people wanddring from farm to city in quest of gain; with youth favored but frustrated, and sex roles in conflict; believing in a future which for most of them will never happen...For the individual it is a pattern of extreme complexity, contradictoriness, and insecurity.2 Inquiring into the nature of American culture, Landis draws an analogy between the American ethos and the values of a child.

1. 2.

He finds

C. A. Siemann. The Radio Listener's Bill of Rights. Chicago, 111.: Anti-Defamation League, 194-8, pp. 6-7. R. S. Lynd, Knowledge For What?. Princeton University Press, 1946, p. 105.

58

the characteristic essence of America in her emphasis on (l) bigness (we value mere size), (2) speed, (3) novelty (we are attracted by the new and sensational), and (4) power (we desire superiority over others)i There are, of course, other values, they are so numerous it is sometimes difficult to isolate them all or even to select the most important ones.

One of the most significant however, is the

competition-success pattern in our culture. It is based on the assumption that in the economic sphere every man is free to work out his own economic destiny, to take possession of the means of production, to appropriate natural resources, to acquire authority and prestige through the use of money, and to manipulate large blocks of the social-economic domain to his own personal advantage. Because of these prevailing patterns in our social world, the success pattern has become a driving force in the personality of the individual. 2 The competitive pattern in American life has had its influence upon education.

Our schools foster the spirit of competition, often

neglecting more important values. Individual pupils are rated against each other rather than against standards.

The object of all

our athletic events is to win and most of the games are competitive. Debating is a popular type of competition along with other traditional school rivalries.

Even little children boast of being the best reader

or receiving the best mark, stimulated by the symbolic awards of gold stars, or threatened by demerits.^

1. 2. 3•

P. H. Landis. Social Control, p. 124. Ibid.. p. 125. Loc. Cit.

59

One outgrowth of the competition-success complex is an emphasis upon the spectacular which, in the eyes of cultures with differing values undoubtedly approaches the childish or the naive. That wed do exaggerate the importance of size is reflected in our predilection for big houses, long bridges, high dams, tall towers, and big cities. Bigness has merit in itself in our culture, considerations of quality seldom receiving attention.1 No attempt will be made here to evaluate this pattern in our society. It has its advantages and disadvantages. Our interest is merely to indicate that it is a basic pattern of life laid down in our culture, and that as such, it inevitable controls and becomes a motivating force in our activities. Theoretically in our open class society every door of opportunity is open to every man.2 Another phase of our culture which has emerged as a critical factor in human relation is that of social class.

Social class

structure is the inevitable result of our success-competition pattern. We all want to be better than we were or are.

This thrust toward

improved status has resulted in a socio-economic grouping of our society.

Family, friends, wealth, housing, occupation, are some of

the more significant factors in this stratification. There is no uniform number of social classes in American communities. The number and complexity of social strata vary according to the age and economic complexity of the community and according to the rural, urban, and ethnic composition of the population.3 In the social class studies of Warner and Lunt and others, individuals in one culture tend to be grouped into three major socio-economic classifications.

1. 2. 3.

These classifications were made on the basis of their

Ibid.. p. 126. Landis, jjp. cit.. p. 127. W. L. Warner and P. S. Lunt. Social Life of a Modem Community. New Haven: Yale University Press, 194-1, P* 201.

60

prestige value in the thinking of inhabitants in several small cities studied. These strata may be termed upper, middle and lower. Within each of these major status groups and cultures, there are also an upper and a lower status. Thus, there exists a middle class, differentiated Into an uppermiddle and a lower-middle class. The accompanying diagram is meant to represent the six cultural strats in such a small city. The arrows pointing upward and downward, in relation to the horizontal strata, indicate that the social class system in this country still allows individuals to improve or to worsen their class position. 1

1.

Ibid.. p. 201.

61

Upper-upper class Lower-lower class Upper-middle class Lower-middle class Upper-lower class Lower-lower class Diagrammatic representation of the ranking of social classes in a small American City-*-

1.

Ibid.. p. 204.

62

Another area in our culture which tends to contribute to problems in human relations is that of inter-group tensions and attitudes towards minorities.

There are many who feel that minority attitudes

in many of the communities in our culture tend to contribute to unwholesome human relations. Cox speaks of our "master race" concept in practice and reality in conflict with the opinions of our democratic tradition. "Probably," Cox states, "In no other country of the world are the philosophies and practices of racial mastery so openly and tenaciously held to as in parts of the United State s.n^Measurement of social distance, dealing with the attitudes of some Americans toward other Americans reveals a high degree of resistance tward acceptance of members of minority groups as equal fellow humans.

Bogardus concludes from his social distance studies

that the "whole matter may be concentrated in the one word, 1status’ ." Where a person feels that his status or the status of any­ thing that he values is furthered by race connection, there racial good will is likely to be engendered. But where a person’s status or the status of anything that he values is endangered by the members of some race, then race prejudice flares up and burns long after the unrest has ceased.2 C. Psychocultural Approach We have seen but a few of the more critical areas in our culture which reflect problems in human relations.

There is a growing body of

material which has begun to reveal the individual and the culture in

1. 2.

0. C. Cox, Caste. Class, and Race. New York: Doubleday, 194-8* p. xxxviii. 0. S. Bogardus, "The Measurement of Social Distances", Newcomb, Hartley, and others, Readings in Social Psychology. New York: Holt and Company, 194-7, p. 507.

63

a different perspective. approach.

This has been called the psychocultural

Heretofore, we have thought of problems as stemming from

individual misconduct and that they must be corrected and punished. We now conceive of culture and personality in terms of the forces in the culture which tend to permit or inhibit good human relations. This approach reconstructs our traditional concepts of individual guilt and begins to examine the cultural patterns and sanctions. This revision of our thinking will modify the doctrine of individual responsibility and guilt that is not only an active factor in the growing criminality and insanity, but also a complete block to any understanding of the problem or any attempt at modification. If we accept the conception of society as the patient, absolve the individual from guilt, and regard these various social problems as symptoms of progressive cultural change, we can at least relieve some of our anxiety since we then have a definite and possibly manageable problem. 1 Spreading the psycho-cultural approach into the field of human relations holds many implications in terms of individual and group growth.A group too may be A group

viewed both physically and psychologically.

in a physical sense may appear as a population with material

needs, such as food, shelter, clothing, and freedom from infectious diseases. If these needs are not satisfied its 'physical health* declines and the group becomes a sick population characterized by high rates of sickness and death due to reasons such as malnutri­ tion, infectious diseases, infestation, and so on. In its psychological aspect a group appears as a society with psychological or social needs. If these needs are not sat­ isfied its 'psychological health,' which is also its 'social health,' declines and the group becomes socially sick, that is, a sick society.2

1. 2.

L. K. Frank. Society As The Patient. 1949, p. 6. J. L. Halliday, Psychosocial Medicine, p. 10.

64

From the psychocultural viewpoint an individual can only be understood in terms of the whole system of social relations which has produced him.

A doctor cannot diagnose individual ills without

taking the whole environment into account.

The total situation of

a patient in a hospital, in the neighborhood, or in the world is more important in effecting a cure than any particular doctor, or in the wider society, is more important in effecting a cure than any particular doctor or therapy. The late Harry Stack Sullivan, from whose Conceptions of Modern Psychiatry, the above statement was gleaned, also views society as the patient. The tensions present in our society lead in extreme form to the protest of schizophrenia, more frequently to the varying degrees of rigidity which we call 1normal behavior1.2 II The Individual We have thus far pointed up. some conditions in our culture which contribute to problems in human relations.

Both the examination of

some values in our culture and the reorientation of viewing society rather than the individual as the patient have been attempted. Let us now look at the effect of this upon the individual.

We

see the transmission of culture by parents as not simply a process of moulding passive clay into shapes required by the culture and preferred by the parents, but as a dynamic process. Just as we are discovering that within the atom a varying number of the basic electrical charges of enormous energy are constellated into a pattern of behaviour unique to each element, so we are learning how the fundamental

1. 2.

H. S. Sullivan, Conceptions of M o d e m Psychiatry. Chapter I. Ibid.. p. 49*

65

physiological processes and needs of the human organism are repressed, inhibited, frustrated, and released in the patterns that the culture, as interpreted by the parents, requires or permits, and as the unique individual child has adapted them idiosyncratically to his life career. 1 Frank goes on to describe the interaction of the individual with his newly acquired environment.

He draws on biology and physics to

present analogies to the discharge of human energy in life situations. The drives, urges, impulses, needs, and similar terms we use to designate these basic organic functions are the dynamic energy that moves the organism to react upon the world that impinges upon him. But those reactions, it must be emphasized, are interactions between the prescribed pattern of the parental expectations and requirements and later group prescriptions, and the energetic needs of a child to whom that pattern may or may not be wholly appropriate and to whom the parental mode of application may or may not be satisfying.2 Since we have set forth our thesis that all humans grow and desire to grow, we must investigate the effect of the blocking or interfering with this growth process. We shall call this blocking of individual growth, frustration. The frustration of growth and more particularly, the frustration of the individual needs of the human organism produces basic behavior patterns.

The author has identified and used throughout various

needs which must be met if the growth process is to be as full and wholesome as possible. A great deal of research into the blocking of individual needs has revealed that most human disturbances and conflicts are based upon this frustration.

1. 2.

Frustration induces a number Qf different

L. K. Frank. Society As The Patient, pp. 174-175* Loc. Cit.

66

types of response.

We shall here consider the following: 1. 2. 3•

Aggression Submission Withdrawal

4-. Psychosomatic illness In the studies of Dollard and others the frustration-aggression theories were promulgated.

They believed that the intensity of

the aggression was a direct correlate of the amount of frustration. They held that the strength of the punishment inhibitated the degree and extent of aggression. At one time there was much support for one of the theories which contended that the strongest instigation aroused by frustration is to acts of aggression directed against the agent perceived to be the source of frustration. lighty subsequent research.

This concept has been revised in The response to frustration now is

believed to be a very complex one.

Individual circumstances are

the determinants of the intensity of aggression. They also held that the displacement of aggression often resulted in sublimation or self-punishment. Since self-punishment is necessarily involved, aggression turned against the self must overcome a certain amount of inhibition and therefore tends not to occur unless other forms of expression are even more strongly inhibited. If the amount of inhibition of various acts of aggression is held relatively constant, the tendency to s&lf-aggression is stronger both when the individual believes himself, rather than an external agent, to be responsible for the original frustration and when direct aggression is restrained by the self rather than by an external agent. Frustration may also result in submissive behavior.

1.

As already

J. Dollard, and others, Frustration and Aggression. New Havens Yale University Press, 1939, p. 4-0.

67

indicated the inhibition of aggression sometimes turns the aggression inside the individual.

This often sets off feelings

of guilt, or repression and is manifest in submissive or with­ drawal behavior. In studies of children under frustrating situations-*- we see some children developing hostile behavior (aggression) and still others giving up social participation (withdrawal) while others became completely submissive to the adult leader. These studies have tremendous implications for educators. For example, in teaching situations where there is authoritarian, domination by the teacher we see the frustrating experiences of the pupils resulting in submissive and withdrawal behavior, which may lead to possible adult psychopathy. Lewin reporting on Lippitt's experiments at the Iowa Child Welfare Research Station^ compared the behavior of children in autocratic and democratic teaching situations.

The members of the

autocratic group were at least twice as submissive to the teacher as the democratic group.

Not only that, but the autocratic group

as a social unit manifested aggression, when given the opportunity, by ganging up on two of their own members. Halliday3 and also Plant^- speak of delinquency as a

1. 2. 3. 4-

R. G. Barker, T. Dembo, K. Lewin, "Experimental Studies of Frustration in Young Children," New comb, Hartley, and others, Readings In Social Psychology,p. 289. K. Lewin, Resolving Social Conflicts. New York: Harpers, 194-8, p . 80. J. A. Halliday, Psychosocial Medicine, p. 104. J. Plant, Personality and Cultural Pattern. Chapter 1,

68

manifestation by the individual of aggression against society. Thrasher in his studies of the gang has pointed up ways in which anti-social behavior of teen-agers is the direct result of some form of frustration in their early experiences. The young life that is unduly frustrated is therefore in a painful predicament. It cannot really flee from the parents that sustain it and provide its basic needs, for the deprivation of these is experienced as a threat of obliteration, that is, as anxiety. And being small and defenseless it cannot really fight those same parents, those towering, omnipotent, godlike figures who are also the source of its frustration.! The young child must then discover ways of adjusting to this confusing and frustrating environment.

The ways in which a child

is able to adjust during this stage often foreshadow patterns of adult functioning. In the early phase of complete dependence it can do little toward active adaptation and may even react to an unsatisfying maternal environment by entering a state of withdrawal— as if, feeling its surroundings hopeless, it was abandoning interest in extrauterine existence and surrendering to the pull of some backward drag or in­ voluntary impulse whose retrogressive goal was the breastless womb. Withdrawal is usually attended by considerable physiological disturbances especially of the gastrointestinal tract and may actually result in death.2 In the face of frustrative experiences children often react organically in a behavior pattern which is called psychosomatic illness.

Dunbar^ recalls case after case of adults whose lives

have been permanently crippled by experiences in childhood result­ ing from emotional disturbances affecting the bodily functions.

1. 2. 3.

J . L . Halliday, Psychosocial Medicine, p . 99. Ibid.. p. 99. F. Dunbar. Mind and Bodv. Chapter 12, Random House, 194-8.

69

Every child naturally experiences frustration which indeed is a basis for conditioning to living in society. In one sense defenses therefore are not abnormal. But they may become abnormal if frustrating forces are applied too early, too harshly, or too intensively and irrespective of biological rhythms. Under such conditions the resulting defenses may be so overdeveloped, so rigid, and so fixed that they continue to operate irrespective of the actualities of the life situation. 1 The immense extent to which defenses are used often is symptomatic of a disturbance.

Defenses are sometimes classified

by being divided into two groups.

There are those which take the

form of avoiding social contacts and those which take the form of maintaining them but in restricted or stereotyped ways. Examples of defense by avoidance are overshyness and retirement; excessive indulging in daydreaming and fantasy; being stand-offish or superior; being overindependent; dodging authority and avoiding responsibility. Examples of restricted communication are being always 'good1; being always submissive and self-effacing; being always smart and clever; being continuously busy; being always the boss or the authority.2 The child who during the second phase is seriously checked and frustrated is compelled to suppress the hate originally directed against the parents.

The hatred, turned inward is directed against

the child itself so that it lives in a state of chronic unexpressed and unexpressible hostility, unlovely and horrid to himself and to others.

This situation is attended not only by distressing anxiety

but also by such feelings as guilt (biting the hand that feeds it), grief (loss of the loved object), isolation (being connected with

1. 2.

Halliday, jrg. cit.. p. 100. Ibid.. p. 101.

70

others neither by the bond of loving nor of being loved), and depression.

To placate the demons inside as well as the gods

outside, the child may be driven to adopt certain devices for living which are illogical and primitive. For example he must never lose his temper (or something very dreadful may happen) ; or he must always be clean (for dirt is dangerous); or always be orderly (this defends him against the wrath of the gods) j or always be truthful; or always do his duty; or always be on time in performances; or always be busy; or never owe anybody anything— not even a bean; or keep himself to himself; always be perfect, and so on.l By adopting such trends as modes for living the child realizes a degree of adaptation to his environment— but at a cost, for by so doing he cuts himself off from his inner emotional life, especially from its destructive hate which would, given time, have become available for construction and selfassertion.

At the same

time he also cuts off his inner emotional life from other people, who come to regard him as retiring or 'stiff1 or lacking in spontaneity; and in adulthood as a 'safe1, conscientious, methodical, punctual worker. When the desire to give love to and receive love from a person are unduly checked or obstructed the inturned, sexually tinged energy may became so painfully exciting as to be unbearable. By the time early adult life is reached the general modus vivendi has become more or less settled and fixed, the personality trends more or less predictable, and their modification difficult to achieve spontaneously.^

1. 2*

Loc. Cit. Ibid.. p. 102.

71

Many of these defenses to which we have referred, regardless of their origin, retain a quality of drive and "inner necessity". This means that the individual is actually driven to live as he does by blind inner forces derived from experiences of early childhood, of whose existence and nature he is consciously and completely unaware. Some of ■the defenses give rise to character traits which are estimated as socially virtuous. 'Yet many persons possessing them are virtuous, not by choice, but by an inner compulsion against which they cannot, even if they would, rebel' We have seen that the human personality craves the sense of growth and that it suffers in an environment that denies growth or frustrates it periodically.2 Certainly the denial of opportunity to satisfy basic human needs is an example of this frustration. But what are some of the basic needs and drives of the individual? Much has been written about them and in order to understand and improve human relations we shall want to appraise the most significant theories. Freud found in the libido the dominant urge of life, the compelling organic purpose in social adjustment. W. I. Thomas, named four desires— the desire for new experience, the desire for recognition, the desire for response, and the desire for security— as motivating the individual with reference to the environment. Theologians of the old school saw in natural man the 'carnal nature' which gave him a 'bent to sinning.' Adler conceived of the individual as being dominated by the masculine urge which could be appeased only by the recognition of the group.3 Linton speaks of individual needs as the ultimate motivation of all behavior as well as being responsible for the operation of society

1. 2. 3.

Loc. Cit. R. S. Lynd, Knowledge For What? p. 193Landis, .Op. Cit.. p. 95*

72

and culture.

In addition to the obvious physiological needs such

as food, sleep, escape from pain, and sexual satisfaction he holds there are also psychic needs. 1. 2. 3.

These psychic needs are:

Response from others Security of a long term sort Novelty of experience!

Murray enumerates several basic needs, which he believe to encompass human behavior.

The following represent some of his

major classifications: Achievement Acquisition Affiliation Autonomy Construction

Dominance Exhibition Recognition Retention Seclusion Sex Succorance^

Lunger has a similar list of ten needs.

1. 2. 3. A* 56. 7. 8. 9. 10.

They are:

For affection To love and be loved Succorance Nurturance Autonomy Acquisition Retention Cognizance Achievement Dominance3

Professor Keliher speaks of eight needs in children being met if: ”1. 2. 3.

1. 2. 3.

He is loved and wanted— and knows it. He is helped to grow up by not having too much or too little done for him. He has some time and some space of his own.

R. Linton, Cultural Background of Personality, pp. 8-11. H. A. Murray, and others, Explorations In Personality, p. 119* W. Langer, Psychology and Human Living/Chapter V, VI, VIJ, Applet on-Century, 1939.

73

A- He is a part of the family, has fun with the family, and belongs. 5- His early mistakes and 'badness' are understood as a normal part of growing up; he is corrected without being hurt, shamed, or confused. 6. His growing skills, namely, waling, talking, reading, making things, are enjoyed and respected. 7. He knows his parentsare doing the best they can; they know the same about him. 8. He has something to believe in and work forbecause his parents have lived their ideals andreligious faith."1 Professor Raths has developed a concept which he calls the major emotional needs of children. 1. 2. 3. A. 5. 6. 7. 8.

They are:

Belonging Achievement Economic Security Freedom from fear Freedom from intensefeelings of guilt Love and affection Self-respect throughparticipation Variety, relief from boredom and ignorance

In considering the frustration or the meeting of human needs, we will want to reflect upon the warnings of Dr. Frank. Anyone concerned with the problem of the child's needs inust begin by trying to be honest about his or her own personality bias and beliefs, emotional attitudes, religious loyalties, and socialeconomic and political leanings. .. .these often unconscious feelings and values play so large a role in our attitudes toward the child and in our willingness to recognize some of his needs or our strong denial of them. Probably the most general statement that we can make about the child1s needs is that he should be protected from distortions, from unnecessary deprivations and exploitations by adults— parents, teachers and nurses, physicians, psychologists, and others engaged in dealing with children.2

1. 2.

A. V. Keliher, "Community Neglect of Children," Journal of Educational Sociology. Vol. 20, No. 5, January, 19A7, pp. 261263. L. K. Frank, Fundamental Needs of the Child. Paper read at C o n ­ ference of National Association for Nursery Education, Nashville, Tennessee, 1937.

The critical points in the preceding chapter had to do with basic considerations in a study of human relations.

For the

broadest definition of human relations in a democratic society the writer has used Giles* hypothesis, "...all human beings grow and have a desire for growth..and...a democratic society is one which provides for the maximum growth of all.” The major emphasis in this study has been upon the psychocultural approach.

It has been concerned with the interrelation­

ship of the individual with the culture.

Some questions were

raised with respect to an examination of American value systems and such issues as social class stratification, and minority attitudes. Since the excerpts of the films in this series are essentially glimpses of human behavior relationships, attention has been given to individual motivations, needs and behavior.

Some points made in

this chapter with respect to the individual included the frustrationaggression theories of Bollard and others.

Often aggressive, sub­

missive, or withdrawal behavior and even illness may be traced to some frustrative experience of the individual. In order to investigate ways of reducing frustrative experiences that result in unwholesome or anti-social behavior, we have considered the basic needs of individuals.

Most investigators agree that when

one or more of the basic needs of individuals are blocked, unwhole­ some behavior results.

Some of these needs include: belongingness,

need to be loved, economic security, achievement, freedom from fear or feelings of guilt, sharing and under .standing.

75

Care has been taken to incorporate some of these findings in the various excerpts and to point them up in the accompanying manual through questions, analyses, synopses, and suggestions for discussion* In the following chapter these aspects of the manual will be discussed.

76 Chapter

VII

A HUMAN RELATIONS MOTION PICTURE TRAINING SERIES

The group of excerpts and films discussed in this chapter have been developed as a motion picture training series in human relations. The writer has attempted to excerpt material from motion pictures that would point up critical situations in human behavior.

Only some of

the more significant areas, and not all of these, could necessarily be touched in a short series.

Perhaps there will be some areas that

seem to have been overlooked completely and others that seem to be overstated.

This of course has not been either the purpose or the

desire of the author.

Each of us necessarily brings a little of himself

to everything created.

Ruesch and Bateson speak of the double role of

the scientist and researcherer in the creative process.

"He cannot

be guided by a script, but he must still speak and write as an inter­ acting participant member of his culture and epoch. The characteristic scientific approach to the process of living seems therefore to depend upon active participation in interactive systems and upon the use of systems of thought which will expect circularity in the phenomena studied. With such an approach the scientist may hope to achieve synthesis rather than analysis, an understanding of process rather than an anxious definition of static factors.2 The writer then must attempt to participate in the process and be able

to objectify it as well.

human relations here

1. 2.

It is felt that the basicproblems in

set forth, will find some agreementamong those

Structure and Process in Social Relations, Washington, D.C.: Psychiatry. Vol. 12, No. 2, May, 194-9, p. 123* Ibid., p. 124-.

77

involved in the supervision of human relations situations. The writer has been concerned in this series a n d i n the study with four major areas.

He has quoted some a u t h o r i t i e s and will quote

others to support some of the points made w i t h i n t h e s e areas and relating to the excerpts.

In the analysis of e a c h f i l m an attempt

will be made to relate appropriate data to support th e material for use in discussion. As stated above, two original 16mm films are I n c l u d e d in this series.

One is a Hollywood short subject the o t h e r is a short Russian

film with an English sound track. behavior.

B o t h are c o n c e r n e d w i t h animal

The writer feels both are effective devices for pointing

up some implications for human behavior.

T h e w r i t e r believes the use

of these animal behavior films help to b r i d g e the g a p b e t w e e n tension human situations and the introduction of a course o r training program in human relations. "Willie and the Mouse", an M 3 M short subject,

shows the behavior

of white mice in terms of frustration and a c h i e v e m e n t with implications for learning and human behavior.

Frequ e n t l y t his f i l m series may be

used to help in tension areas or where a n e e d ar i s e s t o investigate concepts in human relations.

In these cases th e u s e o f animal symbols

will afford an indirect approach and m a y h e l p t o d i s p e l any resistance some viewers may have to an indoctrination program.

T h e use of animals,

and especially white mice, is a painless and e v e n amusing device,

^here

is minimal resistance and often acceptance v i a a p l e asant and whimsical route.

78 I.

Introducing the Series— Willie and The Mouse. A.

Techniques 1.

Live mice - If lab mice are available, their use with a learning maze or other experimental animal equipment may prove effective in introducing the first film.

This

may also add to the novelty and permissiviness of the opening session.

However, it will be necessary for the

group leader to relate the animal experiments to human behavior.

If live mice are not available, perhaps a

large Disney cartoon or an animal photograph may be substituted. 2. Socio-drama

- Perhaps the instructor will want to preceed

directly to problems in human relations.

If so, an

effective technique Is to have members of the group present, dramatically and spontaniously, some real problem situation.

You will want to select persons for

the various roles who will most effectively communicate emotions and ideas to the rest of the group.

If it is

a new group, this may require role-testing to determine the various role players. 1

In any event it will again

be necessary for the instructor to relate the sociodramatic material to the problems of learning and frustration as they are set forth in the film to follow.

1.

Role testing Is a method of trying out various members of the group for the several parts in the problem situation. One may clarify characteristics for each role by asking the group to list personality traits of each character to be portrayed.

79

3.

Mass Media - Just as the socio-drama helps to make the treatment of human relations problems real and applicable to life situations so may other media of communication. For example, an item from the local paper pointing up some tension situation in the days' happenings may serve as a very meaningful introduction for the film.

A story

in a national magazine especially with news pictures may help relating the study of human relations to life.

U.

Personal o r Written Accounts of Conflict Situations or of Resolving of Conflict Situations - It may help in relating the film t o life b y bringing into the group some actual data of problems in h uman relation.

This may be a case

history, a situation common to the group or some documented group problem.

The instructor would summarize or quote part

and then g o on to relate the material to the film. 5.

Review Experiments in Animal Psychology - The group leader may want t o refer to some of the experiments with animals that have had great influence on increasing our understanding of human behavior.

Pavlov's dog's and conditioned reflex is

one, Mullers cross fertilzation of chickens is another, etc. Again the material should be woven into the situations contained In the opening film. 6.

Advance Questioning of Group - Another technique of introduc­ ing the initial film might be to throw some questions at tie that would alert it t o the problems in the picture.

Since

some suggestions concerning animal psychology have already •been introduced, perhaps the instructor may want to employ

80

this questioning technique with human behavior illustrations. Earlier in Chapter VI, mention was made of some basic human needs.

The instructor may want to concentrate on this aspect

of the film.

Such questions as the following are suggestive:

When children are held up to ridicule in front of the class does this improve or hamper learning? You will see a child made the butt of the teacher's enger in this film. D oes this technique help the child or the teacher? In another situation in the film, a different teacher seeing a child frustrated in an attempt to do a drawing shifts the child to a new situation. Is this a good educational procedure? Whatever the method used it is necessary to introduce the film with some alerting of the audience about what they are about to see. The instructor should have previewed the film beforehand in order to point up some of the critical issues in advance.

This gives the

entire group some basis for observing and thinking about the problems that will be discussed after the screening. The synopses, analyses^ questions and summaries included with each film in this manual may be used in any way the instructor sees fit.

Perhaps the group leader will want to read or give a synopsis'

of each film before screening.

Perhaps some of the questions may be

raised and even discussed before the film.

B y experimentation, each

group leader will discover for himself what techniques and procedures are most effective.

F or each group, alternative solutions to human

problems may be relevant.

There is no absolute solution to every

human problem but rather there are different ways of trving to solve them.

For different groups under various circumstances the nature of

these attempts may vary.

81 II.

Suggestions for Introducing Each Film. We have seen a film that shoved how animal

experiments have

helped us to understand some of our human problems.

We have bee n

told that frustration appreciably effects personality and learning. In one situation, children wereireated with undue severity, in another with m uch warmth and understanding.

^he next few films

will be concerned with human situations in different sections of our culture.

The first of these concerns the problems of tenent

farmers. A.

THE SOUTHERNER - Concerned primarily with the effect of economic insecurity upon human behavior in a rural locale, this excerpt also provides opportunities for raising questions of emotional security and interpersonal relations.

The

instructor may want to speak to the problem of the share­ cropper or tenent farmer.

He may discuss problems of poverty

of poor housing, of inadequate, diet, of family living under such intolerable conditions as will be illustrated in the film.

Or the instructor may want to bring out the problems

of why people respond as they do to life s i tuations.

H o w some

persons going through great privations become bitter and want others to go through the same process, while others going through similar situations want to make it easier for others. As we see this excerpt of The Southern perhaps y o u m a y be thinking of this issue? B.

B o d y and Soul - In The Southerner the unhappy consequences of economic insecurity were illustrated.

I n this next excerpt we

see some similar problems, in an urban setting.

M o s t of this

82 excerpt takes place in the rather specialized field of professional b o x i n g .

However,

see if there are any problems

that might be related to other aspects of city life. C.

Home of the Brave - We have discussed the problem of economic insecurity in both urban and rural settings.

Now let us

look at another aspect of our culture which often contributes to b a d human relations.

This is the problem of intergroup

relations, primarily, Negro-White relations.

In this brief

excerpt some of the issues of Negro-White relations in our smaller towns and cities are raised.

How are we going to

improve Negro-White relations in our communities? That Hagen G i r l - When we discussed racial problems in connection with the previous excerpt some questions of caste and class were raised.

T o d a y we shall see a film that illustrates

some problems in social-class in American life.

Recently

Harper's and Life magazine have popularized the classifications given by Warner and Lunt to the socio-economic groupings of American life.

Most people think of themselves as being members

of upper,middle or lower class.

Sometimes great problems

present themselves in communities where the class lines are tightly d r a w n .

We shall see in this excerpt how the cards

are often ’’stacked" against the child from "accross the tracks". B y symbolic awards, b y privileges, by overt discrimination boys and girls are sometimes confused by the contradiction in our culture over the American ideal of all men being equal while in practice, some are not regarded as being equal.

City Across The River - This excerpt returns us from the suburb to the city.

We are again concerned

with the emotional security of children.

I n this case,

they are adolescents growing up in the crowded u nder­ privileged areas of our big cities.

T h i s particular

story is tragic, not only because it is taken from a true story, an retold by Irving Shulman in his novel "The Amboy Dukes", but because we shall see a boy, Frankie whose capacity for constructive growth is being destroyed by his environment. All The King1s Men - In B o d y end Soul we saw h o w power sometimes operates.

We shall see another effect of power,

one which is illustrative of Lord Action's classic statement, "Power currupts, absolute power currupts absolutely".

Here we see the rise of a seemingly

well-intentioned individual who by the strange peculiarities of political cfestiny becomes Governor of one of the American states.

Once he gets this power it becomes a

club that eventually destroys those around him. Life At The Zoo - We have touched, upon some areas of human relationship in this series. animals.

Wow we are b a c k to

In most of the excerpts, we saw illustrations

of unwholesome relationships.

To suggest some other

alternatives let us look at an interesting fil m of animal behavior again.

Life At The Zoo (cont'd) This one is about recent experiments being conducted in M o s c o w with all species of animals.

See if there are

any implications for human behavior and if you agree or disagree w i t h these implications. j

The discussion leader should attempt progressively to turn over to the group the initiative in discerning the problems presented by each excerpt, and the w a y s of meeting the problems.

The extent to which

the g r o u p ’s perception of the problems and of possible viable solutions to them increases,

is a good index of the effect of this

series. In using this material for discussion there are some points of v i e w regarding discussion leadership that may prove helpful. The wr i t e r is grateful to Professor Alice V. Keliher for permission to use some of her material in this connection. Outline of Factors in Discussion Leadership 1 I.

Basic considerations .. essentials of leadership Respect for each member of group and for what he says. Genuine (non-piying) interest in each member, his background, potential contribution and statements. Concern for maintaining atmosphere in which all feel secure. Awareness of time factors, essential fairness in distribution of time interms of contributions available from members of group. Awareness, study and possible modification of one’s own type of leadership. dominant?

1.

non-existent? (antiseptic neglect)

C.F. also H. S. Elliott, Process of Group Thinking, Chapters H , I I I , V, VII, XI, XII, New York, Association Press, 1938.

85

straight line? (no tangents of deviations allowedl) tangent chaser? interrogator? projector? (always gets a group member to make his point) Awareness of own point of view concerning subjects being discussed and fairness in presentation and in relations to group members points of view. Consciousness of importance of physical factors; seating arrangement so that group members see each other and share leadership role; placement of leader for optimum awareness of group; light; heat; ventilation; rest pauses and the like. Advance planning and preparation for material and tools to be used. II.

Factors and techniques in discussion leadership Awareness and helping group to be aware of desirable scope of discussion to be covered. Where feasible, having group participation in building agenda. Concern for, and building concern in tne group for, optimum use of time. (However, non-compulsive, not edgey, non-irritating, relaxed I) Awareness of significance of opening statement, sentence, or question for setting initial direction of discussion and effecting tone, calls for thought in advance of desirable opening. Could be question, statement of issue, presentation of facts, delineation of a situation, etc. Caution in not going beyond the material that is authentic. Awareness of difference between fact and opinion and insistence that group members know and respect the difference. Spreading discussion among as many members of group as possible. Bringing out members who may have contribution but do not speak up. (Awareness of facial expressions, body posture, glances between members, head shakes, flushing, etc.

86

Awareness of psychological significance of statements by group members. (Content, points of opposition, persons agreed with or opposed, persons consistently chosen to sit next to, those never chosen, etc.) Bringing out minority opinions or positions held by group members. (Insistence on right of person to be heard, temporarily supporting his position if nec­ essary to get it heard, instituting a two or three person discussion for few minutes to give minority chance to clarify position.) Dealing with "smart alecks". Attempt to find validity in point and concern to seriousness of issue.. .maintaining sense of humor. Refusal to get "fussed" over heckling. Dealing with "monopolizers". (Firmly and with sense of humor suggesting that group have opportunity to deal wit h first point made. Even monopolizers stop to take a breathl)

87 WILLIE AMD THE MOUSE An M G M miniature produced by John Nesbitt on The Passing Parade Available for general rental Teaching Film Custodian Motion Picture Association Available for Educational Usage New York University Film Library 16 mm film - Sound - One Reel - Eleven Minutes

SYNOPSIS* The film, Willie and the M o u s e , contrasts the methods used in the traditional school and those used in the pro­ gressive school, and indicates some of the reasons for the changes. The school room of thirty years ago is shown with youngsters sitting in rows; all children are supposed to learn the same things in the same ways; the teacher is an autocrat} strict order and discipline are maintained; and children are disciplined by isolation from the group, end by physical punishment. In the modern class there is activity; individual differences in learning are taken into consideration; the personality of the teacher is considered important; and the child is respected as an individual. Experimental work with white mice is shown as well as the ways in which these results have helped educators to see the need for changes in school r oom practices. All mice did not learn in the same way; one by sight, another by sound, a third by texture, and another by exploration in the cage. One mouse developed an inferiority complex, and insight into behavior led the experimentor to see how to overcome this attitude. These results helped to explain the frustration of a. child, in the traditional school. In contrast the m o d e m teacher prevented frustration and inferiority byallowing children to express themselves in different media, by recognizing differences in the learning of individuals and in individual rates of growth, and b y using different methods of instruction with the children.

* The synopsis and most of the accompanying material on Willie and the Mouse has been taken from an analysis developed at the Bureau of Educational Research, Ohio State University. Participating in this analysis were Professor Louis E. Raths and Dr. Alberta Young.

88 ANALYSIS

1.

Emotional Security

In the first classroom a teacher of the traditional school is shown. The children are expected to "be quiet, to listen to the teacher and to recite their lessons. The behaviors of two children in particular are shown in more detail than that of theothers. Willie is not listening to the teacher and is bored. Why is he not interested in the arithmetic problem she is explaining on the board? W h y is he bored? Why does he put the little girl's curl in the inkwell? Is Willie looking for activity and something he can be doing for himself? Does he have a desire to be doing something interesting? After the teacher punishes him for putting the little girl's curl in the ink in the way she did, ishe likely to feel guilty and frustrated? Is he apt to get into somethingelse to free himself from guilt feelings he may have? In this same school w e see the little girl who cannot recite correctly, becomes frustrated, and runs out of the room and home. Why does she behave in this way? Does she want to be accepted? Probably loved? Does she want to feel secure? Does she want to recite correctly and gain status and recognition from the teacher and classmates? In the modern school, we see a different classroom. Children are active, interested and busy. We see one child who becomes frustrated while trying to paint a Valentine. H o w did she show this frustration? Little behavior other than the frustra­ tion is shown. We believe that when needs are not met frustration results. She was not showing the ability to make an attractive Valentine and she recognized this. Did she lack a sense of satis­ faction in her work? Could things have happened before school that frustrated her end these led to the poor workmanship on the Valentine which increased frustration?! We have discussed elsewhere the effect of frustration u p o n behavior. We know that constant discipline in the form of aggr e s s i o n often begets aggressive behavior in response. We have also p o i n t e d up some patterns of behavior response to frustration. Is it p o s s i b l e that the little girl who was frustrated by the teacher during h e r recitation might develop psychosomatic illness symptoms? Is it possible she might become submissive, withdraw, or take out h e r own aggression in some other way?

1.

Bureau for Educational Research, Ohio State University, Op. Cit.

89 ANALYSIS

2.

Interpersonal Relations

We see the relations of two individual teachers with the children in their classes. Although they were supposed to he separated b y time (thirty years or so), are there teachers today who believe that rigid discipline is still the best for learning? Many people hold that aggressive behavior as we know it in our cul­ ture stems from the learned responses in childhood. If teachers solve problems thorugh aggression will not children come to do so as they grow up? What are some ways in which teachers can relate themselves to others in order to improve human relations? When the teacher in the modern school put her arm around the frustrated little girl was she helping her out of an unrewarding situation or was she doing something more? Are we able to communicate adequately to children in warm, security-giving ways? The frustrated little girl was not afraid or embarrassed to admit inadequacies to the teacher. Could she have done so if the teacher had not created a permissive atmosphere beforehand?

90 Some other problems in human relations raised b y the films1 1. In the experimental situation two mice have been expected to race for a piece of cheese. Each time the same mouse has lost. The first time the glass door went down just in time to prevent him from entering the box. The second time he started more slowly and the door went down some time before he arrived. Now he is expected to run a third race. How shall h e m e e t this situation? What effect does competition have on learning? Does it motivate the learner? What is the effect on relationships? 2. The mouse who had been defeated twice developed an "inferiority complex" and would not compete a third time. He was put into a cage with a rope attached to a. piece of cheese in such a way that when the rope was pulled correctly h e got the cheese. After a period of exploration the m o u s e learned to pull the rope and to get the cheese. Repeated trials made the mouse very skillful in this procedure. A second m o u s e was put into the cage with him. How will the mouse wh o has become very expert behave in this situation? What effect does skill and competency have on relationships with others? 3. Three little girls were painting Valentines to take home. Two were succeeding but one was making a very m e s s y Valentine. She had paint smeared over her face and hands, as w e l l as all over her Valentine. A wise teacher saw the situation and suggested that this little girl use the typewriter for making her Valentine. What effect did this method of handling the situation h a v e on human relations? A. In the experimental situations in the picture the mouse who won not only got the cheese first but he got all the cheese. It became a matter of getting there first and getting all the cheese, or of getting none. "The early b i r d not only go t the worm" but he got all the worm. Why did the experimenter arrange his equipment in this way? Is there an implication that in our society we win and get everything, or we lose and have nothing? 5. In the traditional school the little girl was called before the class to recite. She was unsuccessful and w a s criticized by the teacher. Then she became frustrated, ran out of the room and ran home. How can a person m e e t public criticism? 6. A little boy in the traditional school finds noth i n g interesting to do during class, and becomes quite bored. He takes out his aggression on the little girl who sits in front of h i m by putting her curl in the inkwell. Why did he do this? H o w might a normal outlet for his feelings have prevented this situation?

1.

Ohio State University, Bureau of Educational Research, O p . Cit.

91

7. The experimenters arranged the situation to test the ways in which the mice learned. One mouse learned to run the maze b y sight, another by sound, and a third by texture. A fourth situation gave the mouse an opportunity to explore the cage for a ne w w a y of getting the cheese. How does freedom from restraint, from the inhibitions, and from competition with others affect learning? How does such freedom affect the development of the individual? 8. Rewards served to motivate behavior of the white micej for them the reward was food. Children in the school were rewarded by recognition, approval by the teacher and the gaining of a. sense of achievement. What constitutes a reward? Are rewards the same for all individuals? Is the reward to the "learner" necessarily a reward in the eyes of the "giver”?^-

1.

Loc. Cit.

92

SUMMARY We have considered two of our m a j o r areas of concentration in this film. One was emotional security. Here we saw the effects of frustration upon the behavior of m i c e and children. Some of the questions raised had to do with competition and its result in human behavior. Others pointed u p h o w the needs of young children must be met if they are to grow u p as healthy h uman beings. Some of these included: The n eed for love and affection, The need for achievement and recognition, The needs to be free from fear and guilt feelings. Another area of concern in this film is that of interpersonal relations. We can begin to structure s. personality profile of people by the way they treat others. Individual behavior is apparent in the off-guard tension moments as w e relate ourselves to others. In the analysis of the film, Willie a n d the M o u s e , the fol­ lowing problems in human relations w e r e raised: (1) How shall a person who formerly lost in competitive situations meet a new competitive situation? (2) A competitive situation is arranged. One person is veiy skillful in this activity, the other person is inexperienced. How shall each relate himself to the other? (3) A wise teacher recognized the frustration o f one child and suggested a change of activity. What bearing d i d this handling of the situation have on human relations? (4-) The experimenter arranged his equipment in such a way that the m o u s e won and got all the cheese, or he lost and got none. W h y did he make this kind of arrangement? Does our society follow a similar scheme? (5) Ho w can a person meet public criticism? (6) H o w m i g h t a n o r m a l outlet for aggressive behavior prevent "behavior problems" in school? (7) How does freedom from restraint, from inhibitions, from competition affect learning? (8) Rewards and p unishment are factors in motivating behavior. Are these rewards to be rewards in the eyes of the "giver"? What determines whether or not a thing is a reward to the "receiver" or "learner"?!

1.

Loc* Cit.

93 THE SOUTHERNER UNITED ARTISTS RELEASE An Excerpt of the NEW YORK UNIVERSITY Center For Research 16 m m Sound - Two Reels - 18 Minutes Produced and Excerpted by Heniy A. Singer Edited by Ralph Rosenblum Release date:

June, 1950

This excerpt illustrates economic insecurity in a rural American area. It shows the impact of insecurity upon the behavior of individuals. It demonstrates the emotional needs of people, notably the need to be free from fear and the need for sharing. Another area with which this excerpt is concerned is inter­ personal relations as an index of individual values. 1.

Economic Insecurity Need for tools and other means for providing adequate standard of living. Need for decent housing. Need for proper diet and other health essentials. Need for sufficient clothing.

2.

Emotional Insecurity Need for sharing. Need to be free from fear.

3.

Interpersonal Relations Index to individual personality and values. SYNOPSIS

This excerpt deals with the acute problem of economic insecurity among tenant farmers in the South. A young man named Sam Tucker, his wife, two children and grandmother take over a desolated broken-down shack near a rivers edge on a sharecropping arrangement. The well is broken and unser­ viceable. The family agrees to stick it out and borrow water from the neighbor's well until it can raise the necessary funds to fix its own well.

94-

Fishing in the river, S a m catches a big fish and brings it to the neighbor. The neighbor, Devers, is a bitter, ex-share­ cropper. He grudgingly agrees to share his well but criticizes Sam because of his attempt to run a farm without capital. Devers recites the price he paid for such a venture. He had lost his wife and a child through sickness and insufficient funds for doctors. His crops had often been destroyed b y hailstorms in previous years. Sam's boy comes down with pellagra and a visit to the doctor indicates that only milk: and vegetables can counteract the deadly sickness. The child's condition becomes worse until Sam in desperation goes t o Devers to borrow milk. Devers uses his milk in a hog mash to feed his pigs and refuses to give any to Sam. Devers nephew runs cattle and pigs spitefully through Sam's vegetable garden. Sa m follows h i m to Devers and has a fight. During the fight Sam discovers that Devers resents Sam because he had previously hoped t o get the land Sam cleared and cultivated at a low price. He further resents Sam as a threat to the security he has acquired at a great sacrifice over the years. W hen Sam dumps Devers in the hog pen, Devers sets out to kill him.

95 ANALYSIS 1.

Economic Insecurity

There are many who hold that possibly the greatest problem facing large segments of people in our culture is the wide financial disparity between the poor and the wealthy. The problem of the small farmer and especially the tenant farmer is his abject poverty. It is a study in man's perpetual struggle with nature. Facing insecurity daily, the sicknesses, the lack of proper diet and medical care, the uncertainty of a good crop, the inability to receive long term credit, the inadequate tools, farming equipment, seed and fertilizer, the completely -unsanitary, colorless, monotonous, badly equipped housing, are some factors that inevitably affect human behavior. In addition to man's struggle with nature, there is man's competition with his fellow man. As one achieves some form of security in the face of the factors indicated above, he often becomes aggressive and defensive against even the slightest threat of imagined threat. It is possible, therefore, that economic insecurity often leads to overt aggressive behavior. And it is possible that his aggressive behavior often remains even after the symptoms of economic insecurity no longer exist. Economic insecurity therefore may have overwhelming and lasting effect upon the personalities of people even after the occasion for the insecurity disappears. 2.

Emotional Insecurity

We see evidences in this film of the terrible need people in rural areas have for sharing. Devers may be the product of rejection, insecurity and loneliness. If some neighbor had been more friendly or helpful to hi m perhaps he would not now be so bitter. In order for Tucker and his family to survive even as minimally as they did, such basic needs as water must necessarily be borrowed from a neighbor. When Tucker's boy becomes ill, Tucker, knowing De v e r s 1 reaction, goes to borrow milk. Tucker's pride and Devers’ unfriendliness call forth an offer to work for Devers. What does Devers fear? He has everything. "A good farm worth lots of money," he says. Maybe the answer is in what he says after that, "Only I c a n ’t forget what it cost me." Does the traumatic experience of deep personal loss as well as the forces which make one powerless to help, prevent the loss, perpetuate one's fears? Is Devers afraid of recurring sickness, or death, of loss of dearly bought security?

96

3•

Interpersonal Relations

It Is interesting to see how people living under the same conditions react differently. Devers and Finley, his nephew were both hostile, suspicious and unfriendly. Beekie, the daughter, was the opposite. Wh y is this? She was friendly, concerned over Tucker's injury. In a scene not included in this excerpt, she even attempts to slip a small pail of milk to Tucker for his sick little boy. The doctor did not take any money from Nona, but told her instead to buy vegetables and citrus for the child. This was friendly and understanding behavior. The Granny negates the venture of Tucker's attempt at independence and refuses to cooperate in the beginning. We discover later that she lost three of her fawn children due to pellagra. Could this have made her sour about people and life?

97

Some other problems in human relations raised by the film: 1. When Tucker goes to borrow water he brings a token gift. Devers is curt and unfriendly. His first response when Tucker offered the fish he had brought was, "Do you mean do I want to bu y it?" W h y do people respond so often in material terms?" 2. Devers tells Tucker h o w he got started and how now he has everything. B u t he adds he can't forget what it cost him. What are some of the experiences in peoples lives which make them bitter or friendly? 3. Sam and his wife seem to function well as a team. When they first arrive at the shack, she gives him support to stick it out. i/hen the little boy gets sick, Sam comforts his wife tenderly. W h y is it possible for people in such poverty to get along so well as husband and wife while more financially secure people often do not?

U- The doctor did not take any money for his services but instead told Nona to spend his fee on vegetables for the sick boy. Are people ever really like that? What makes them so concerned about helping others. 5The sharing of water areas. Recently however, N e w to its 8,000,000 residents to water supply. What motivated to care?

is a v e r y common need in many rural Y o r k City found it necessary to appeal share the responsibility for the scarce some people to cooperate and others not

6. Devers was a bitter and unfriendly man, but his daughter was w a r m and friendly. She was concerned over Tucker's need for mil k for his sick boy. Whe n her father tried to kill Tucker she screamed a warning to Tucker. W h e n he left she was concerned over Tucker's knife wound. H o w is it possible for a child growing up under similar conditions to be so different from her father? 7. Although Devers had lost his wife and child due to the "spring sickness" he would not give a drop of milk to Tucker to save Tucker's child. W e discover eventually that he was after Tucker's farm and that he resents Tucker's successful survival. Are people ever so concerned about material things, that they would see a little child die before lifting a finger to help? 8. When Devers' cattle and hogs are spitefully set upon Tucker's vegetable garden, Tucker goes over and fights Devers. Tucker beats him up, but Devers sets out to kill him with his rifle. Devers resorted to overt aggression against Tucker. Tucker responded with aggression, Devers sets out to kill him. How can

93 we get people to solve their problems without resorting to destructive aggression? 9. Devers asks Tucker, "Why are you always coming over bothering people if you're so sure of yourself?" Tucker says, "some old fashioned notion about neighborliness." What are some ways in w hich people manifest neighborliness in a rural setting? 10. In the fight to be better than they orders, others to take way. What constitutes

Devers tells Tucker people shouldn't t r y are. He says some people were made to give them. Many people feel somewhat the same authority and/ or power today?

99

SUMMARY In the analysis of the Southerner, we have considered three of our major areas. They were Economic Insecurity, Emotional Insecurity, and Interpersonal Relations. We inquired into the effects of great hardships upon behavior and how bitter experiences leave t h e i r scars in terms of human interaction. How are we to respond to people who are hostile and bitter? Aggression begets aggression. What are alternative behavior responses? Why are some people f rom the same background friendly and others antagonistic? What can we do to improve conditions in some "backward" areas? People nee d to share in order to survive. How can we remove the feelings of fear and insecurity in people so that they may have a pleasant and more wholesome life? Men and women and their children in underprivileged circumstances are being demoralized to an extent that threatens the whole future of our social life. M a n y of the children, reared in poverty, will soon be citizens, parents, workers, expected to uphold and maintain the standards of personal conduct, of cleaniness and sanitation of ethics and morals, of loyalty and integrity, upon which our social order depends. Parents on the lower economic levels are making a desperate effort to rear their children and uphold these standards against these great obstacles of poverty, or the y have given u p hope and become apathetic and demoralized. It is not sentimental to say that as a nation, we cannot continue to subject so many children to the blight of poverty because in so doing we are undermining the very foundations of our country and destroying the basic character structure in childhood so essential to a strong, healthy nation.I

1.

L. K. Frank, C o m m e n t a r y , Radio Program: "Child's World", Subject: B eing Poor, F e b r u a r y 1, 19AS, American Broadcasting Company.

100

BODY M D

SOUL

A UNITED ARTISTS RELEASE An Excerpt of the New York UniversityCenter for Research 16 m m Sound - Two Reels - 20 Minutes Produced and Excerpted byHenry A. Singer Edited by Ralph Rosenblum Release date:

June, 1950

This excerpt illustrates the affect of economic insecurity upon human behavior in an urban area. The desperate need for economic security drives a young man into an easily accessible avenue which fulfills his needs as well as channels his aggression. As he acquires recog­ nition and security he begins to surrender values. And as he begins to surrender values he becomes vulnerable to exploitation and the manipulation of others. The medium used here is the sport of prizefighting. The excerpt also demonstrates the machinations of those who control and operate the sport. It demonstrates the extent and deadly effect of concentrated power in the hands of calloused operators. 1.

Economic Insecurity

2.

Emotional Insecurity Need for recognition Need for achievement

3.

Use of Power Effect of Power upon individual behavior. SYNOPSIS

Charlie Davis, a young man from a slum district of a big city, has just won an amateur boxing bout. His parents, who run a small candy store in the section, are unhappy over their son*s associations and interests. When a gang bombs a saloon adjoining the candy store, the father is accidentally killed. The mother, anxious for her son to gain an education and rise above the sordid atmosphere, seeks charity. The son, learning o f this, turns to professional boxing to make money quickly.

101 He develops as a contender after a series of fights throughout the country. In order to meet the champion it is necessary to make an inequitable financial deal with the men who control bigtime boxing. Davis by this time has become hardened to the gamblers, sports arena operators, and their associates. He makes the deal. The champion is a Negro fighter who has a dangerous blood clot on the brain. Roberts, the promoter, has the champion indebted financially a nd, in order to clear his debts, the champion m u s t fight Davis. Roberts promises the champ that Davis will take it easy. However, Roberts and Quinn, Davis' manager, withhold the infromation from Davis. Davis fights the champion and kills him. Shorty, Davis' neighborhood pal and no w his assistant, discovers the double dealing and has it out with Davis at the victory banquet celebration. W h e n Davis does not agree with Shorty, Shorty leaves him. L a t e r that evening, as they walk home, Davis’ sweetheart puts the challenge to him. She presents the alternative to Davis of remaining with the deceitful operators or of break i n g clean.

102 ANALYSIS 1.

Economic Insecurity

As.,we have seen with the "Southerner”, economic in­ security has a most pronounced effect u pon human behavior. Although in "Body and Soul", the victim of that insecurity has an opportunity of channelling his aggression in terms of socially acceptable violence, he does become a victim of its ill effects. His desperate drive for money in the face of poverty and charity makes h i m vulnerable for exploitation. He is manipulated by the fight promoter and is unknowingly allowed to murder his opponent. Faced with the fact that he was sent in to fight a sick man he attempts to rationalize the incident, b u t his sweetheart makes him face the alternatives of sticking with the operators or sticking with his values. As with the tenant farmers of the South, so with the "cliff dwellers" of the tenement sections of our cities. We see the evidences of unwholesome human relations as a result of economic insecurity. 2.

Emotional Insecurity

In contrast to the squalor and sordid atmosphere of the slum district, Charlie Davis wants to be "somebody". His mother wants h i m to have an education. In her mind this spells lasting security. She is concerned over status and growth. But Charlie wants early successes and significant financial achievements. He craves recognition and wants people to look up to him. He sees the life his father has gone through and feels it's not for him. "I don't w ant to be like Pop," he tells his mother. When his father is killed, the experience restrains Charlie's aggressive impulses. However, the awareness of severe economic hardship again releases his aggression. 3.

Use of Power

When one grows up with stark, cold poverty as a part of daily experience it is inevitable that other factors in life are often devaluated. Economically insecure persons are vulnerable to all types of exploitation and manipulation. We know that there are some institutions in our culture which tend to exploit and manipulate. And there exists in our society both men and institutions w h i c h appear to place greater importance upon material rather than human values.

103

Although the professional boxing field has manylegitimate business men and genuine sportsmen, it has also given rise to a sect of racketeers -who often dominate the sport. This would be true of many professional sports where large sums of money, both in gambling and gate receipts, were involved. As we consider the problem of the use of power in our time, we cannot help but consider the effect of men and institutions who control great amounts of wealth. Although the incident here relates to a specialized area in our culture, a professional sport, it has relevancy in the general problem of the relationship between power and human behavior.

104

Some Problems

in h uman relations raised by the film:

1. Charlie Davis is acclaimed as a local boy winning an amateur boxing championship. He sees a future of success, wealth, fame, recognition and security. VJhat are some of the experiences of childhood and youth that mold the life patterns, ambitions and values which eventually determines our adulthood? 2. Charlie's mother asks pointed questions of Charlie's girl friend at the dinner table. She is especi­ ally concerned with her background and her family status. She is pleased to discover that the father had been a professional man. Do we judge people by their status? Why is this? What are some other ways we use to evaluate a person's worth? 3. The heavy institutionalization of our own culture around personal competitive predation and risk gives to the pattern compensatory exaggerations of the importance of property as the source of security...and.. .thrusts up compensating emphasis u p o n securing the sense of immediate meaning through such stereotyped things as., .asserting one* s superiority.^- In the light of Charlie Davis1 behavior would y o u agree or disagree with this statement? 4. The feeling that no one wants our person or services, that we have no proper place or function in society, tends to destroy self-respect and bring demoral­ ization. Hence the vital importance of economic studies of the conditions in w h i c h society can provide full employment in satisfying w ork under the most humane conditions. Unemployment has serious psychological and social as well as economic consequences.2 VJhatare some of the social and psychological consequences ofeconomic insecurity? 5. The fight promoter, Roberts, likes "fighters almost as much as he likes horses". “When people with Roberts’ point of view are in control, what canwe do to improve their values? 6. It is always difficult to pass a balanced judgment on the rationality of killing, torture and humiliation... men of quick intelligence often see that they must use violence and impose disgrace as economic means to the ends of p o w e r . 3 To what extent does Roberts employ violence as a means of sustaining power?

1. 2. 3.

R. S. Lynd, Knowledge for What? p. 198. Report of Commission, Congress of Mental Health, London, England: 194-8, P* 19H. Lasswell, Power and Personality, p. 99.

105

7. Shorty, Charlie Davis' closest friend, has stuck with Charlie and himself profited immensely from the association. However, he sees the corruption and wants to give it up regardless of the consequences. Why was he able to see things as they were and why was not Charlie able to see them? When one has been insecure, is one able to give up security easily and if so at what point? 8. The mother, on discovering her son's intention to enter the professional boxing field, is displeased and tells Charlie, "If you must fight, fight for something, not for money." Is it a common experience among p e o p l e living in low economic strata to be aware of other, intangible values?

106 SUMMARY We have raised some of the problems of economic insecurity and their effect upon human behavior. We have questioned how some people exploit others to achieve their own ends. And we have provided a basis for discus­ sion of values. The mother wanted a good education for her son. Her son wanted money. The mother was concerned about professional status. The son wanted prestige and recognition through wealth. Roberts wanted power at the price of life if necessary. Charlie's girl and Shorty wanted integrity. The concept of power and its impact upon behavior is a critical problem in human relations. There is no better summary of this issue than that given by Mr. Frank. W e are beginning to recognize that the individual who ruthlessly strives for power, prestige, and property and utilizes our legally sanctioned patterns of competitive rivalry in business or politics for these strivings is us­ ually an unconscious victim of his own personality make­ u p and forgotten childhood. Thus, he is driven to sacrifice not only others but himself for achievement of his ambitions, as he attempts to show them or get even, or releases his otherwise intolerable feelings in his interpersonal relations or various psychosomatic disorders.!

1.

L. K. Frank, Society as The Patient, p.94.

107

HOME OF THE BRAVE UNITED ARTISTS RELEASE An Excerpt of the New York University Center for Research 16 mm - Sound - One Reel - 4 Minutes Produced and Excerpted by Henry A. Singer Edited by Ralph Rosenblum Release date:

June, 1950

This excerpt demonstrates Negro-white relations among high school boys in an American town. It also shows the need for sharing and the impact of racial class structure within our culture. 1.

Interpersonal Relations Negro-white relations

2.

Emotional Security Need for sharing

3.

Power Racial class structure SYNOPSIS

Two boys, one white and one a Negro, are starred on the high school basketball team. Jim, the N e g r o boy, is a good student as well as a good athlete. He helps his friend, Finch, prepare for final examinations. Finch plans a graduation party and invites his friend. Although Jim agrees to come to the party, he does not. Finch goes to Jim to persuade him to attend. Jim tells him it might embarrass h i m if others who aren't as close as Finch were unpleasant. F inch is con­ cerned lest Jim think of him as another i n tolerant white. Jim gives him reason not to feel that way, b u t does n o t go with Finch to the party.

108

ANALYSIS 1.

Interpersonal Relations

In practically all American towns, there exist strong and rigid racial barriers. These cultural patterns affect interpersonal relations. Often and on many levels of relationships, Negro and white school chums may develop deep and lasting friendships. However, the closer we get in social relationships, the more difficult is the adjustment. There appears to exist among our mores the concept, among Negroes and whites alike, that close social relationships are not possible nor desireable between the groups. There is evidence to support the notion that social barriers between groups are slowly disappearing in some areas. On the other hand, there exists a larger body of data which indicates that close Negro-white social relationships are disapproved by an overwhelming majority of the American people. Even when Negro and white friends do find common grounds for close friendship, it is not always possible for them to share it in the same easy, carefree way that two white friends might enjoy. What we can do to improve relations between groups in the school and community is a challenge to the study and practice of good human relations. 2.

Emotional Security

Two friends who are schoolmates and function successfully on a ball team soon discover the need for sharing. Extended to the wider circle of life, the helping of one friend by the other in some problem-solving such as preparing for examinations, it demonstrates a further supplying of the need for sharing which we all desire. 3.

Power

We see two young friends who have apparently shared many pleasant high school experiences together, struggling to sustain friendship in the face of restrictive racial attitudes. These attitudes are imposed by the culture in which both have grown up. Although a Negro is often easily d isc e m a b l e as such, this does not seem to hinder his successful acceptance in athletics. We have begun to recognize, or at least, the overwhelming skill of the Negro in many activities, has forced us to accept, the Negro As an individual. We are still a long way from allowing him the privileges we ordinarily give a white member of our society. As interested persons, we shall want to investigate the forces in our culture which continue to inhibit good race relations.

109 Some problems in human relations raised by the film: 1. The excerpt shows a Negro boy helping a wnit-j boy with his studies. Is it possible for Negroes who have been underpriviledged for such a great while to be intellectually equal or in this case to have greater competence than whites? Is there any evidence to support intellectual racial differences? 2. Negro athletes are sometimes school heroes such as Levi Jackson, last year's football captain at Yale Univer­ sity. At a school dance however, few girls would dance with the same hero they cheer at the game. Why is this? On what basis should people choose dancing partners? 3. Jim, the Negro boy appears to be aware of anti­ social possibilities at a party. Is it because he is unusually sensitive or has he some evidence for this attitude?

U- It would appear from the excerpt that the high school does not practice discrimination. In some communities this is not the case. Professor D a n Do d s o n has pointed out any number of instances in N e w York, Westchester, and Long Island communities where pressure influenced the school district allotments. Do Negro boys an d girls feel more secure among their own kind, or is it better to allow the races to meet on the same educational grounds? 5. Inter-group discrimination, is a manifestation of established social attitudes, m a i n l y attitudes that imply the sense of caste. These attitudes, w h e n widely per­ suasive, are pre-eminently the expre s s i o n of the respective indoctrinations of the discriminating groups, stimulated by the interests of these groups as conceived by them under the influence of their indoctrinations.^What are some of the ways we may change these attitudes? 6. Finch wants to know if J i m thinks of him as just another intolerant white or an understanding friend. Do some whites have a feeling of guilt a b o u t the treatment of the Negro? W’hat are some of the reasons for this?

1.

R. M. Maclver, The More Perfect U n i o n . New York: MacMillan Company, 194-8, pp. 20— 21.

110 7. "All x's are y ’s,this is an x, therefore this is a y. Carrying around these group images in our heads we see an x, in other words, a member of an antithetical group, and so we argue as follows: All x ’s are such and such— and the such and such is usually something unpleasant or at least undesirable— so and so is an x, he belongs to that groupj therefore so and so is such and such!"l 8. Professor Gunnar Mforrdal indicates thst although the treatment of the Negro issue is a moral one with Negroes, it is in reality a white m a n 1s problem. In what way is it a white man* s problem?

1.

R. M. Maclver, Group Relations and Group Antagonisms. New York: Harper and Brothers, 194-4* P* 5.

Ill SUMMARY The problem of Negro-white relations in school and community requires considerable research and investigation. In this discussion an attempt is made to touch but a few of the more glaring issues. A Negro schoolboy although fond of his teammate is unable to get himself to go to his graduation party. There are social forces behind this attitude and as persons interested in good human relations we shall want to know what they are and see what we can do to change them. Young people as they grow up have a need for sharing. This is especially true of schoolmates helping one another, whether on the ball team or with school work. There are forces in the community that tend to maintain and exploit segregation. This is considered under the heading, "The use of power and its affect on human behavior". Ita. many northern towns and cities segre­ gation in various aspects of community life is commonplace. The Negro communities in most of these towns have recently begun concerted efforts to eliminate the segregated school which is the most glaring of the areas of discrimination. In some of the small t o m s of the middle west and north Atlantic states where Negroes constitute only two or three per cent of the population their voting strength cannot furnish the basis for the elimination of discrimination.! "In such communities, the elimination of discrimination must depend upon changing the attitudes of the very people who are actively practising or passively acquiescing to discrimination. This change in attitude can only be regarded as possible if one believes with Gunnar Miyrdal that white America is devoted to the American creed of equality and has feelings of guilt about discrimination, causing m u c h conflict with that creed."2

1.

M. ¥. Perry, Community Action to Eliminate Racial Discrimination, The Journal of Educational Sociology. Vol. 23, No. 3, New York, November, 1919, p. 168.

2.

Ibid., p. 168.

112 THAT HAGEN GIRL A WARNER BROTHERS PICTURE An Excerpt of the N e w Yor k University Center For Research 16 m m - Sound - Two Reels - 20 Minutes Produced and Excerpted by Henry A. Singer Edited b y Ralph Rosenblum Release Date:

June, 1950

This excerpt deals with the problem of social class status in a small American town and its affect upon "tken-agers" going to school. It demonstrates the impact of power, especially social class structure as it dominates the behavior of people who live within its cultural framework. The excerpt also illustrates pupi}.-teacher, and principalteacher relations in a small town school. 1.

Power Social class

2.

Interpersonal Relations Pupil-teacher Principal-teacher SYNOPSIS

M a r y H agen is a "teen-age" girl from the "wrong side of the tracks" . She lives In a small American city, where the class structure runs from the upper socio-economic group which runs the town, to the lower socio-economic class. Because she is from a lower class home, M a r y becomes the target for upper class discrimination. Embraced by a boy at the school dance, the called before the principal for misconduct. M a r y is given the leading part in the school play by an understanding teacher. However, the principal, mindful of status, replaces her with the daughter of a school board member. M ary's b o y friend is upper class. His mother and family force h i m to cancel his invitation to M a r y for the t e r m prom. Eventually his mother calls on M a r y to press home her concepts of strict class distinction and the impossibility of crossing the barrier.

113 When Mary's boy friend, as a result of family pressure runs off ■with an upper class girl, Mary accepts an invitation for a date with another classmate. At a night club where she goes with him, there is a disturbance. The resulting newspaper story causes Mar y to be expelled from school. Mary's teacher tries to reason with both the principal and Mary. The principal is firm. Mary cries out against the injustice that caused her to be born on the ''wrong side of the tracks*'.

ANALYSIS 1.

Power

One of the strongest manifestations of power in our culture is that of social class. The social pressure to move upward in our socio-economic classifications and the prestige loss in downward movement in these classifications are some evidences of power forces at work. Within the past y e a r a study was reported on the social class structure as it affects the lives of high school children.! An analysis of impact clearly indicates that the family status, wealth, housing, friends, father's occupation are all dynamic factors in the lives of school children. The extent of the influence carried over to the young people is evidenced in the cliques at school, the preferential treatment, special favors, awards, and other symbols disseminated on a socio­ economic class basis. M a n y sociologists hold that unpleasant experiences in adolescents caused b y overt socio-economic class distinction often result in serious disturbances as young people grow up. The studies of Warner and Lunt and Allison Davis on the social class structure of some American communities have inspired popular literature to the extent of supplying the material for recent best selling n o v e l s .2 In examining the causes and effects of bad human relations, we wil l want to explore the extent to which rigid socio-economic class barriers are a contributing influence. In preparing young people for democratic leadership, h o w will we be able to demonstrate this concept in t h e i r daily lives? 2.

Interpersonal Relations

In most small towns the upper socio-economic class tends to dominate the critical areas of a community structure. Thus a town's financial status, school program, housing, recreation, zoning, etc., are, b y and large, determined b y a small but powerful group of out­ standing citizens. Teachers and especially school administrators are aware of t heir responsibility to a community's leadership. The schooj program inevitably reflects this influence. We see sometimes how harmful an over-zealous acquiescence to this influence can be.

1. 2.

A. B. Hollingshead, Elmstown' s Y o u t h . New York: John Wiley, 194-9., J. 01 Hara, Random H o u s e . New York, 1949. J. P. Marquand, Point of N o R e t u r n . N e w York: Little Brown, 1949.

115

The dean in this excerpt is portrayed as completely authoritarian in his thinking and behavior. He is aloof, firm, autocratic, and arbitrary. One of his associates reflects his severe standards in her relations with pupils and colleagues. Another teacher, however, is warm, friendly, and sympathetic. She gives Mary Hagen friendly guidance and help. The teacher stands by Mary when the administrator mistreats her. Is it possible some school administrators still hold to the concept that punitive action is the most effective method of handling students? We shall want to examine the role of such administrators and teachers in the problem of improving human relations. How one administrator or teacher treats another or treats a pupil is sometimes a clue to the values and personality of that individual.

116

Some problems in human relations raised by the film: -L. The dean and principal were not as interested in Maiy H a g e n ’s growth and development as they were in the children of m ore influential parents. "The teacher, school administrator, the school board, as well as students themselves, play their roles to hold people in their places in our social structure."^ W hat are some of the ways in which teachers and administrators discriminate against children from the lower socio-economic classes? 2. The preparation of the senior play showed boys and girls in a cooperative effort. "Children are laregly social...In school and in play g r o u p s . . .They learn the why and wherefore of moral rules and laws made b y the adult society.''^ How can we teach cooperation for democratic living on the one hand and work within the framework of arbitrary, capricious decisions? What do boys and girls think of fair play when they see authoritarianism as the final arbiter? 3W h a t are some other ways in which the dean might have handled M a r y ’s case. Are administrators free to make less severe decisions? 4-. Mary's teacher took a personal interest in her. She asked he r to help w ith some minor chore so she could talk to Mary. She complimented M a r y on her poetry and encouraged her. The teacher then wen t on to invite Mary to take part in the school play. How do teachers help meet the needs of young people in the face of countless pressures? 5. Maiy's teacher stood by her when she was unjustly expelled. However, the dean would not be persuaded to modify his position. W h y should the teacher have jeopardized her position by constantly defending Mary? If one person is "out of step" with the crowd, is there very much we can really do about it? 6. The mother of Mary's boy friend tells her that people brought up differently just can't mix. Is it really possible for people wit h different backgrounds to get along together?

1. 2.

W. L. Warner, K. J. Havinghurst, M. B. Loeb, Who Shall Be E d u cated? pp. XI, New York, Harper, 1944. Ibid. pp. 55.

117

7. Mary's boy friend is torn between family pressure and his affection for Mary. In the end he follows his family's wishes. At what point and under what circumstances can people ever make independent decisions? 8. When Mary is expelled, she cries out against being b o m into such unhappiness. Is it possible that social class distinctions have such deep emotional affects upon individual personalities?

118

SUMMARY This excerpt and some of its problems point up the following hypothesis that..."The social behavior of adolescents is related functionally to the position their families occupy in the social structure of the community."^ It would seem as if the "cards" are often "stacked" against children from lower socio-economic strata. M a n y people hold the notion that it is impossible for people w i t h different backgrounds ever to mix socially. The schools reflect the influence of the dominant leadership in a community. This often results in teachers and administrators b eing more concerned on meeting adult regulations rather than c h i l d r e n ’s needs. Some teachers give warmth and security to the boys and girls in their charge. This sometimes helps adolescents face crises and prevents serious personality disorders. How are w e to help boys and girls grow up to be wholesome members of a democratic society? "Intelligent leadership should see to it that no child was looked down upon because of his parents. That is a matter of a deliberate reeducation of adult attitudes. Intelligent leadership could see to it that immediate advantages and future opportunities w ere n o t too much determined by the economic privileges of parents. T h a t is a matter of legislation, scholarships, and taxes. Medical aid, clothing, school books, the opportunity to join worth-while groups, the chance to go camping, the chance to continue in school, to go through college— these things should no longer be determined b y parental fortune or misfortune. Not if America really means fair p lay to children.

1. 2.

A. B. Hollingshead, Elmstown’s Youth, p. 4.39. L. J. Carr, Delinquency Control, p. 2l8.

119

CITY ACROSS THE R IVER UNIVERSAL - INTERNATIONAL An Excerpt of the New York University Center For Research 16 m m - Sound - Two Reels - 18 Minutes Produced and Excerpted by Henry A. Singer Edited by Ralph Rosenblum Release date:

June, 1950

This excerpt deals with the behavior of teen-age boys in a slum district of a large city. It illustrates the emotional needs of young boys and the affect of inadequate housing, of the daily absence of working parents, of unwholesome environment and of econ­ omic insecurity upon their behavior. The excerpt also illustrates pupil-teacher relations in a slum neighborhood. It provides a basis for analyzing the attitudes and values of teachers in such a setting. 1.

Emotional Insecurity Need for belonging Need for variety and relief from boredom Need for love and affection Need for -understanding Need for recognition and achievement Need for wholesome family living

2.

Economic Insecurity Need for decent housing Need for wholesome recreation Need for adequate income

3.

Interpersonal Relations Need for constructive pupil-teacher relations Need for friendliness and warmth SYNOPSIS

This is the story of Frank. He lives in the slum section of a large city. Beth his parents w o r k and he and his young sister must try and shift for themselves. 'When Frank takes his sister downtown for an outing she is overjoyed, but they return to the squalor of their noisy, smelly tenement home.

120 Frank belongs to a neighborhood gang which is given the job of beating up a restaurant owner who hap not paid off a local racketeer. Frank and his buddies go to a vocational high school. In the shop many of the boys make "zip guns", which are homemade 22 caliber pistols. When the shop teacher catches one in process, he is threatened by a hostile class. The school bell saves the situation for him. Frank becomes more involved with the gang. His father, returning from work one day, catches him being chased by a policeman for robbing telephone boxes. The father, realizing what the environment is doing to Frank, tells the mother that evening that they must move away immediately. The mother reminds the father of his dream to save enough money so one day they'll be able to move away and open a country store. The father tells her that dreams can be buried: ...the living child must be saved. Frank becomes more aggressive and when the gang goes to its pool parlor and discovers some Puerto Rican boys of a rival gang, he sails in to help beat them up. Returning to school after an unauthorized absence, Frank and a buddy cause a riot in the classroom by heckling the teacher. The teacher, unable to handle the class, runs to fetch the principal. The principal suspends the class. He consoles the teacher who feels only an atomic bomb on the slums will save the boys.

121 ANALYSIS 1.

Emotional Insecurity

As young children grow up, they have an increasing need for a feeling of belonging. They need the emotional security of feeling that they have a stake in this world and belong to s. group that has concern for their welfare. In most cases this group is the family. But when the family, as is often necessary among the economically insecure, has its members all engaged in separate activities which are necessary for them to survive, young people are not always able to fulfill this need for belonging. They must find a substitute. As we see in this excerpt, that substitute is often the gang. The gang belongingness may often be channeled into a constructive outlet. However, in the case of young people growing up in the slum districts of our cities it seems as if hhe environ­ ment often channels them into delinquent directions. Why this is and what can be done about it is the basis for discussion and the application of this excerpt. As children grow up, they have a tremendous need and capacity for love and affection. When both parents are actively engaged in full time employment, it is not always possible for this need to be satisfied. In this excerpt we see a brother and sister supplying each other's need for love and affection, and belonging. For the short hours that Frank takes his sister to see the sights in the big town y o u see the tremendous thrill that they share in the experience. Unfortunately, they are robbed of much of this when they return to the squalor of the tenement. While children are growing up, they do things and behave in ways which call for tremendous amounts of understanding. They themselves are curious to understand the world in which they live and as they acquire information or as they are frustrated in the pursuit of this understanding, it is reflected in their behavior. As y oung people mature, they want to have the feelings of accomplishment and they are constantly seeking opportunities to demonstrate achievement and to be recognized. The showing off behavior that is often observed in the young boys is an overt appeal to be recognized. When Frank tries to be more aggressive than the others in the fight with the Puerto Ricans, he is seeking the recognition of his friends.

122 2.

Economic Insecurity

Children growing up in underprivileged areas soon be c o m e aware that much of life is conducted on material levels. T h e y see parents working too hard and their own sense of values is sorely tested in the process. We all need decent housing which is free from squalor, dirt and unpleasant associations. Slum housing leaves disturbing impressions on children. Healthy, curious youngsters need outlets for their energies during the surging period of growth in adolescence. There is need for adequate recreation facilities and understanding s u p e r ­ vision if they are to be given opportunities for healthy constructive growth. 3.

Interpersonal Relations

The problems of teachers in the slums or undesirable districts of the cities are tremendous. Many of the teachers come fro m backgrounds much different than the ones in which they h a v e to teach. Or often, when they come from the same backgrounds, they n o longer care to identify themselves with these problems. H o w is a teacher in an underprivileged area to handle many of the pre-delinquents or delinquents that are in his class? We see in this excerpt a teacher who seems to b e c ompletely impervious to the needs and problems of the boys in his class. We see him very meticulously drawing a mechanical diagram w h i l e the people in the shop class are busily making "zip guns". The teacher shows his inability to cope with the situation w h e n the y threaten him menacingly as he discovers the "zip gun" activities. Again, in handling the situation, when Frank and his friend retur n after playing hookey, he continues to meet aggression w i t h a g g r e s s i o n which results in the class becoming completely out of hand. He must resort to the authority of the principal to restore order. V e see this order resulting in further disciplinary action. As we see a teacher in his relations with the pupils, h o w he speaks, how he behaves, how he acts, how he accepts or rejects them, we begin to see the character, personality and values o f this individual. We begin to get an index into the k ind of p e r s o n an individual is by the way he treats others, the wa y he behaves toward them. In this excerpt we see the very critical and delicate inter­ personal relations between a teacher and boys who are v ery troubled.

123 Some other problems in human relations raised by the film: 1. "The question of controlling the economic insecurities that contribute so heavily to the disorganization of many homes is a question not only of techniques, some of -which have not yet been invented, bu t of fundamental conflicts in life philosophies themselves.. .The problem confronting every community is how to mitigate the pressures of economic inequality upon the children. What are some of the ways we can improve conditions under which children in underprivileged areas grow? 2. Halliday2 speaks of delinquency as a defense against the environment and that defiance and rebellion are symptomatic of this defensive behavior. What are some of the reasons for young people developing this rebellion which so often takes the form of delinquency? What are some of the ways in which they manifest this defiance in their behavior? 3. Young boys identify with heroes. In this excerpt, all the boys would like to be like Gaggsy, the local racketeer. He has a flashy convertible, a flashy girl friend, is a polished and smooth dresser but more than these, he wields power. How can we show children different values when the more obvious successes seem so much more real? When local governments condone and even encourage local racketeers, h o w will the teacher show the practicality'' of intrinsic values? 4* The teacher in the first classroom sequence seemed deeply engrossed in a mechanical drawing while the class was making individual items including "zip guns". What are some other ways a teacher might relate himself to the youngsters? 5. Frank seemed like a youth with many promising qualities. He took his sister on an outing with his five dollar birthday present. He put his arm around her while they were walking. When the gang went to beat u p a ma n he held back as if not wanting to participate in violence. Later he becomes more and more aggressive, hostile and eventually delinquent. What can we do to save the youths like Frank who might well contribute to society if given the chance? 6. "It may seem a striking statement, but is is nevertheless perfectly true that no case ever appeared...in a juvenile court in which the act committed was not prompted wholly or in part by some impulse which u nder other relations and other associations could not but be both right and desirable."3 In light of this statement and having viewed the excerpt, what are some of the ways young people even in our underprivileged areas, may be channelled into construc­ tive outlets?

1. 2. 3.

L. J. Carr, Delinquency Control, p. 217. J. Halliday, Psycho-social Medicine, p. 104 G. D. Butler, Community Recreation. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1940, p. 81.

1247. We saw glimpses living in this slum area. family relationships under the personalities of young

in the excerpt of p r o b l e m s of family What are some of the f a c t o r s in these circumstances w h i c h contribute to people?

8. The gang of which Frank was a m e m b e r s a w some Puerto Rican boys in a pool room. They went in to b e a t u p the ”spicks", as they called them. How do we account for the s p e c i a l hostility against minority groups in these areas? 9. The principal told the teacher that he ha d to be firm with the boys. The teacher said he could only r e a s o n w ith them. In education what are some of the ways w e reason w i t h youngsters and what are some of the ways we are firm? 10. The teacher feels only an atomic b o m b can solve the problem of the gang and the environment. W h a t a r e some other ways?

125 SUMMABY We see young people growing up under tremendous handicaps. U nder poor and inadequate housing, under unwholesome influences, under great financial limitations, it is a miracle if one can escape untouched. Worse than these, perhaps, is the tragic impact upon young personalities. As adolescents, their need for belonging,, love and affection, good family life, va.riety, understanding and recognition are sorely neglected. Although we have made great strides in trying to improve living conditions, we have not done mu c h about the emotional well-being of our children. In the schools, teachers and administrators sometimes have an unsympathetic attitude toward young people. In the face of many pressures they project their own inadequacies by blaming the environment and doing little else to help the victims of it. In adolescence...although the role of the family is of great importance, a need for wider group participation emerges and provides a basis for the growth of social attitudes. "If the community makes due provision for this phase of development, and offers a constructive outlet for the group spirit, a great many minor dis­ tortions of personality in the young can cure themselves. If the community neglects these possibilities or is unsympathetic towards pre-adolescent experiments in social organisation, hostility resulting from the frustration of these developmental needs may issue in unconstructive activities on the part of the younger groups. Perhaps we need to view delinquency and crime as the result of w hat w e ourselves teach and do to our children, and of the way we treat and mistreat them. "The development of the concept of individual responsibility was a great achievement in its time, but today we can and must go on to a newer concept of cultural responsi­ bility. We are offered a new ethical, moral, legal concept, to the effect that a society may be judged by what it does to and for its individuals and, moreover, that we cannot expect individual moral responsibility unless we foster personalities capable of being responsible and of using their freedom wisely.

1. 2.

Report of Commission of Congress on Mental Health, London, England: 194-3, p. 17. L. K. Frank, Personality and Culture. New York, Pamphlet, Hinds, Hayden, and Eldredge, Inc., 1943, p. 15.

126

ALL THE KINGS' M E N A COLUMBIA PICT U R E An Excerpt of the NEW YORK. UNIVERSITY Center F o r R e s e a r c h 16 mm - Sound - Three R eels - 27 Minutes Produced and Exc e r p t e d by H e n r y A. Singer Edited b y Ralph R o s e n b l u m Release date:

June,

1950

This excerpt deals with the subject of power. The form of the expression of power in this case is political. Perhaps the best description of this e x c e r p t is found in Lord Acton's classic statement, "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely1 ." 1.

Effect of Power

2.

Emotional Security SYNOPSIS

Willie Stark, was a simple well-intentioned fanner. He saw local political abuses and a t t empted to raise his voice in protest against them. He is silenced b y the local political mahcine. In order to gain an additional we a p o n for fighting, the machine, he goes on to study law. A n accident at the school makes Willie's prophetic warnings materalize. Soo n Willie becomes popular in his community. The state political machine looking for a political "stooge" to divide the farm vote taps Wi l l i e for this role. Willie is ineffective until he is ms.de aware of h o w he is being used. Suddenly his deep irritation at being duped provides the stimulus for h i m to communicate effectively to the voters. As he barnstorms the state his emotional appeal grips the voters and he is swept into office in the platfonn, "no one w i l l h e l p a 'hick' but a hick." Once he acquires power, Willie S t a r k becomes ruthless. H e has made deals with all sorts of people to get into office'. B y playing people against each other, b y using blackmail and murder, he maintains and extends his regime. S oon Willie Stark has gained national attention. A n d soon people are beginning to wonder whether he is a messiah or dictator.

127

Some other problems in human relations raised by the film. 1.

To what extent must a political figure make committments to the professional and special interests that help him gain office? What are a statesmen1s committments to the voters who also elected him?

2.

In the long run does it make much difference if not all people share in making all decisions if the community at large appears to be benefiting.

3.

4-.

Does it matter very much how a person accomplishes something if in the end people benefit from his efforts? To what extent should the people share in the making of political decisions?

5.

Are all men who become leaders and who wield great influence ever really free of the corrupting effects of power? Can we name some leaders who have administrated equitably?

6.

Can one maintain integrity of personal and social life if he holds public office?

7.

There are many vested interests that desire privileged rights and influence upon political leadership. How can a democracy function in the face of privileged interests?

8.

The electorate are often appealled to through emotive symbols. The propaganda technique of dictator1s has often been to u s e . any emotionalism that would stir public support. H o w can we alert people to seperate fact from fiction during elections?

9.

Some psychologists claim that the strong authoritarim leader serves as a father image for many. He gives people the feeling of security b y his aggressive assurance. Is this true of Willie Stark?

128

ANALYSIS 1,

Effect of Power

Willie Stark, a Messiah or a dictator? Again we are considering the values which motivate individual behavior. Willie Stark had a real sense of injustice. In a fumbling, simple way he attempted to attack administrative abuses and political chicanery in his community. Yet when time and circumstances thrust him into power he had no real social values to sustain him. Having grown up in a culture where he observed that force and power, more often than not, were the social determinants of success, he eventually drew upon this reference for his own decision making. Willie did not have much more than a grade school education. In the backward rural area where he grew up, perhaps little opportunity was provided for an appreciation of some democratic values. When a person with little training or experience in democratic living is thrust into power it is difficult for him to understand or appreciate democratic procedures. 2.

Emotional Security

The needs for recognition and achievement appear to be very strong factors in Willie Stark's life. His early feelings of in­ adequacies, of thwarted efforts to influence people become the m a i n ­ springs of his driving ambitions. His concern for the interests of the wider community is soon exceded by a personal desire for power and authority. The question is raised as to what motivates some individuals in their unquenchable drive for power? Lasswell, has made a study of the power personality in our age. He believes that the power drive is a compensation for feelings of inadequacies. "Power is expected to overcome low estimates of the self, by changing either the traits of the self or the environment in which it functions."! "The low estimate of the self against which the demand for power is an overcompensating (and partly unsuccessful) reaction may not concern guilt so much as shame. Arrogance is often traced to an image of the self as contemptible, ridiculous, dishonorable."2 "In addition to arrogance, power holders often undermine themselves by provoking revenge against the terror and degradation which they impose upon others."3

1. 2. 3.

H. 13. Lasswell, Ibid, p. 98. Ibid, p. 99.

Power and Personality, p. 39.

129

"But terror is not to be dismissed lightly as an instrument of power, with the snap judgment that it shows an excessively sadistic motivation. It is always difficult to pass a balanced judgment on the rationality of killing, torture and humiliation. No friend of human dignity is biased in favor of these weapons. But no friend of truth will deny that men of quick intelligence often see that they must use violence and impose disgrace as economic means to the ends of power."1

1.

Ibid, p. 99

130

SUMMARY This excerpt was concerned with the issue of power. It w a s essentially a story of political power. The setting was bot h rural and urban. Most of the human situations were solved b y agression. There are many social values implied in this excerpt and some very critical questions are raised. For example, trDo ends ever justify the means?" "Does power corrupt, and absolute power corrupt absolutely?" "In a democracy how much do the people have a right to know about the inside of their government? If a seemingly, well intentioned, "man-of-the-people", becomes a victim of his own power, how shall we anticipate leadership? W h a t does constitute power and authority in our time and age? It has been suggested in the analysis, that the question of social values needs a raoare conspicuous place in our educational curricular. This excerpt is a challenge to a free people who are or should be zealous of a great democratic heritage. How can we anticipate leader­ ship that serves the purposes of vested interests rather than the greatest good for the greatest number? And how shall we evaluate concepts of power, power-seekers and the relationship of a leader to the electorate? It has been said by Hutchins, Conant and other educational leaders, that we need to provide opportunities for young, potential, leadership to understand the meaning of democratic living. Unless w e give young people many experiences in living together cooperatively and wholesomely, will we ever really insure the survival of a democratic and free society? In summarizing the emotional problems set in motion by the powerpersonality may we again turn to Frank1s potent statement. "We are beginning to recognize that the individual w h o ruthlessly strives for power, prestige, and property and utilizes our legally sanctioned patterns of competitive rivalry in business or politics for these strivings is usually an unconscious victim of his own personality m a k e ­ up and forgotten childhood. Thus, he is driven to sacrifice not only others but himself for achievement of his ambitions, as he attempts to show them or get even, or releases his otherwise intolerable feelings in his interpersonal relations or various psychosomatic disorders.

1.

L. K. Frank, Society as The Patient, p.

131 LIFE AT T H E ZOO AN ARTKINO PRODUCTION Distributed b y B r a n d o n Films

16 mm - Sound - One Reel - Ten Minutes SYNOPSIS This fil m made at the M o s c o w Zoo shows some interesting experiments wit h animals. The first sequence reveals the trans­ ferring of maternal care f r o m kittens to mice by a mother cat. This is achieved b y rubbing the characteristic odor from the new b o m kittens onto some n e w b o m mice. The cat nurses the mice, and cleans t h e m off as she would her own offspring. When she spots he r hereditary enemy the rat she goes after it. And when another cat tries to g e t a t her "mice-off spring" she chases the cat. The m a j o r sequence depicts the living together of animals of m a n y species in a compound. Although the animals are considered natural enemies in the forests and jungles, here they are shown living and playing together. The experiment indicates that this has b e e n the result of joint upbringing. There is regular schedueling of eating time, rest periods and play periods. The animals all seem to romp and play together without conflict. When a strange animal is added to the compound, a frog, even the tiger is frightened. Something n e w is strange and something strange may be dangerous. T h e f i l m ends w ith a bear manifesting some affection for a lion.

132

ANALYSIS 1.

Interpersonal Relations

There are many inferences to be drawn from this film on animal behavior with special reference to human beings. We see, for instance a mother of one species nursing offspring from another species. A species, interestingly enough, which is the traditional enemy. Again we see traditional enemies growing up together with a great deal of security. However, when that security is threatened, all react in much the same manner. We see many possibilities in such a setting of animals growing up together. It leads, instead of the predatory aggressive relationships, to harmony, and even love and affection. There will be some who argue that it may be well and good to live together but, who wants to live in a compound? Some very basic questions are raised by this film and we will want to ask ourselves how m uch freedom are we prepared to give up for how much security?

133 Some problems in human relations raised by the film: 1. Recently an ex-GI appealed to a New York newspaper to help bring a Chinese orphan child back from China so that he and his wife could adopt her. The ex-GI lives in an ItalianAmerican family setting. Is it possible for the mother to accept this strange child? H o w do you think they will get along? 2. Experiments with animals give the clue to some aspects of human behavior. If a women of another race or culture nurses a different baby what do you suppose the effects will be upon the child? Do we have any evidence for this question from our own culture in the U.S.? 3. "Men w o u l d willingly give up liberty, which they never really have, for food when they are hungry." Do you agree or dis­ agree w ith this point of view? 4-. Somebody once said that men in prison and detention have a great deal of security, even in time of warj but does that make t h e m g et along w i t h other people? What do you think of this comment? 5. A popular song some years ago went something like this, "Would y o u want to b e what you are...or would you rather be a mule?" If you had you r choice what kind of animal would vou like to be?

Why? 6. The lion and the bdar seemed to manifest some form of affection. Wha_t do you think and feel when you see a man and woman each of different racial physical appearance walking arm in arm? 7. W h e n somebody new moves into your neighborhood or building h o w do yo u feel? H o w do you feel if you discover he is of a different racial, ethnic, or religious background? S. W hen you've grown up all your life to dislike some group or people what are some of the ways you would go about changing your attitude, if y o u wanted to do so? 9. People are more complex than animals and it is not always possible to draw too many inferences from animal behavior. In what ways are humans like and unlike animals? 10. I f members of different races had a chance to live t o g e t h e r would t h e r e be better or poorer human relations? Have y o u some evidence to support this?

134.

SUMMAfff In this last film we have again turned to the field of animal behavior. We have seen some experiments with animals which implied that security and opportunities for living together improved animal relations. Although it is not so simple with humans, we have considered this film as a stimulant for discussion into human possibilities. What are some ways in which humans of different backgrounds can live together? Anything new is strange, different and a potential threat. How can we provide a more permissive atmosphere for the acceptance of difference? The animal kingdom seemed like fun and no cne should be offended if we try to relate human behavior to it. Some of our best friends are animals and in all deference to the late Lew Lehr, "Monkies are not the cwaziest peoples". Un­ less we can find ways of getting along better with one another, in the final analysis, people will still be the "cwaziest peoples".

135

B#

D i s c u s s i o n and, use of excerpts* The purpose of this manual has been to offer some material from

the general field of human relations, provide a synopsis and analysis for each excerpt and to set forth some questions and problems provoked b y the films# From the general literature and research in the field of h uman relations, our attention was concentrated in the following areas s 1. 2. 3. 4.

Human Growth Culture and Human Behavior a. American culture patterns and values Psychocultural Approach Individual Personality and Behavior a. F r u s t r a t i o n and d i s t u r b e d b e h a v i o r b. Individual needs

The questions were included in order to stimulate discussion. It m a y be possible that the situation in which the person using the series finds himself may require some variations in the use of the p r o b l e m material.

However, the basic issues set forth in the excerpts

can hardly be avoided if they are to be used effectively.

One cannot

a p p r o a c h problems In human relations with arbitrary commitments to some p r i o r discipline.

If, as we have discovered, economic insecurity

is the major problem In creating' bad human relations we must face ways of solving that problem in order to help people live more wholesome lives.

If, in our age, we find the values of the dignity

of m a n giving way to more material considerations, it is nonetheless incumbent upon

ub

to continue to examine the problem aggressively#

T h e atomic components of human relations are found in the culture w h i c h tolerates deprivation amidst the potential of abundance.

We

136 must scientifically go about re-examining everything about us to determine to what extent it is contributing or frustrating human growth. In an age where so much is possible, we must not be distracted by what Lasswell calls the "emotive symbols of ambiguous references." In an atmosphere of emotional labeling of many progressive efforts, human relations can be an explosive field of inquiry.

Men and women

who are prepared to undertake such investigations need something more

than courage.

this

crisis.

Yet platitudes are not enough to sustain us in

Each must decide for himself whether he wishes to assume

the risks involved in committing himself to human relations action. We can continue to teach aggression as the only practical method of solving problems, but a generation of people will grow up, and, like other generations, will have to resort to international aggression as an arbiter of justice.

But now,

in our age, war, says Dr. Chisholm,

is synonomous with suicide. "We are the kinds o f people, as all of our ancestors have been, who fight each other enthusiastically every fifteen or twenty years and have done so throughout all history of the human race. Until quite recently that fact was of relatively little importance. When all of the people fought each other, ordi n a r i l y only a few thousand or a few hundred thousand or occasionally a few million people were killed. Times have changed. The efficiency of killing now available to the human being has changed the very conditions of survival in the world. The new and efficient methods of killing, the atomic bomb, and far beyond that the horrible potentialities of biological warfare, have produced a world situation where it becomes quite clear that our previous methods of competitive survival have become utterly obsolete. It is quite clear no w that warfare and suicide are synonomous terms."1

1.

G. B. Chisholm, A N e w Look at Child Health. Address before the National Health Assembly, Washington, D. C., May, 1948.

137

The alternatives in terms of improving human living are obvious enough if we are prepared to face them.

Whatever

contributes to the maximum growth of all is the most constructive philosophy upon which to build a program in better human relations* We must begin to view each human being as a unique indi­ vidual*

This will mean we will try to understand an d appreciate

Individuals for what they are or what they have the capacity to become. them.

We must begin to see people with lights coming out of "Dear hearts and gentle people", says a popular song, "that

live in my home town,"

Will Rogers once said, Hl've kidded a lot

of people in my time, but 1 never met anyone I didn’t like." of us can be as charitable as Will Bogers. I haven't liked.

Few

I've met many people

So has the reader, I imagine.

But maybe it's

the way you and I have looked at people that has made It so* Howard Lane tells the story of the farmer sitting on the fence when a stranger came by and asked him what kin d of people lived in the town up ahead.

The faimer replied, "What kind of

people were they where you came from?"

"Mostly mean and u n ­

friendly", replied the stranger, "wouldn't give a m a n a break, and would steal his eye teeth if given half a chance."

"Well,"

said the farmer, "I reckon that's the kind of folks up yonder." A little while later another stranger came by and asked the fanner the same question.

"What kind of folks were there where

you came from" replied the fanner?

"Mostly decent, friendly.

138

good naturedl people, answered the second stranger, "try to help & fellow along if need be*"

The farmer nodded his head In the direction

of town and said, "Yep, that's the kind of folks we have up yonder!*

0,

Summary The major portion of thlB study is in motion picture form.

This includes the development, preparation and production of a human relations motion picture training series. This phase of the study Involved negotiating for permission to use the films, for opportunity to screen and rescreen desired films, for getting panels to view the films, and for technical arrangements about the excerpting of the films. Another aspect of the project was the viewing of the finally selected films through a Movieola Editing Machine to determine selection and sequence of desired scenes.

The preparation of titles

and endings, background shots and other technical needs also came within the writer's responsibility* The writer had limited opportunity for testing three excerpts before audiences of regular and student teachers and other professional persons.

This involved arranging for screenings and distribution of

questionnaires as well as the scoring and analysis of some five hundred different responses. The written report of this study has Included, the background of the project, a di script ion of the selection of the films and the editing process.

It has included an explanation of the areas of

concentration and other pertinent factors under procedures.

139

This study lias also Included, a manual for use w i t h the excerpts*

This manual Included a brief resume of some aspects of

human relations with special referenee to the culture and individual personality* The manual contained in addition a synopsis* analysis* and problems in human relations relating to each of the six excerpts and two short subjects in the series* It should be noted that due to careful handling and amazing good luck it will be possible to expand the present series b y the addition of two or three more excerpts.

This material will be added

when available but prior to June,1950, when the present grant of $7,000 from the General Education Board of the Rockefeller Foundation runs out. The puzpose of tie project and this study has b e e n to provide a human relations motion picture series for those engaged in educational work, to use as effective discussion stimulants*

It

is hoped the series will provoke profitable exploration into basic issues in human behavior* The study has not attempted to offer solutions to these basic problems although the writer has a definite bias regarding a methodology and a philosophy of human relations* It is hoped that the challenge of the scenes in the excerpts and the problems posed in the manual will make it possible to stimulate more creative ideas and methods for improving human growth and happiness.

TABLE V

Economic Security

Emotional Security

Bower

Inter Persor

•JHHt

Willie and Mouse Southerner

-5BBS-

Body and Soul

-SHBS-

*

Home of the Brave

*

That Hagen Girl

-**-

-*#

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-SBR1-

-K-*

City Across the River All the K i n g 's Men

#

Life at the Zoo

•K-*

•JHf-

F O U R M A J O R AREAS OF CONCENTRATION AS EMPHASIZED IN THE FILMS

LEGEND

** *

Greatest emphasis Strong emphasis Some problems occur

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WILLIE AND THE MOUSE *

*

Application of Major Criteria

* * -*■

It was the purpose of this series to develop motion picture material that -would follow certain criteria in developing a human relations training program.

It is necessary to measure the extent to which it has

fulfilled this criteria. Of the four major areas of concentration for the series, Willie and the Mouse has strongest emphasis in the areas of emotional security and interpersonal relations. The setting of the film was in a traditional and a modern elementary school.

It also contained scenes in an animal research lahortory.

The educational situations illustrated in this film were in the tradi­ tional and modern school as well as with educational experiments with white mice. There were good and bad techniques illustrated in resolving problems. The positive techniques consisted of affection and understanding shown by the modern teacher toward a frustrared child.

When the child was thwarted

in her efforts to paint a valentine the teacher gave her an opportunity to experiment with typing a valentine.

On the other hand in the traditional

school the teacher humiliated the child when she could not recite her lesson.

The child felt rejected and ran from the room

There were also good and bad social values illustrated in this film. The positive social value might be illustrated in the following way.

Patience

and understanding give security to the individual and makes for healthier g rowth.

On the negative side it might be stated that re .lection and agression

contribute to feelings of insecurity.

THE SOUTHENER

•5f «- ->{• Application of Major Criteria

%

The major areas of concentration for this film relate to economic security snd interpersonal relations there was also strong emphasis upon emotional security. The locale of this film was rural and was concerned with the life of farmers and especially tenant farmers. There was no specific school or classroom situation as such. There was a positive and negative technique illustrated in problem solving.

The sharing of one neighbor with the other.

The willingness

of one neighbor to lend water from his well, because the neighbors well was broken, illustrates sharing.

On the negative side, when one neighbor

believed the other to be a three t, he attacked him in many violent wpys, including an attempt to destroy his property and even kill him. There were good and bad social values illustrated.

On the positive

side there were scenes showing some good family relationships. of a family in a crisis.

The loyalty

The husband and wife giving each otner some

security in going ahead to face the problem.

There was also a scene showing

a doctor who was more concerned with the health of & sick child then with his fee.

He made themother take his fee and buy needed fruit and vege­

tables to help the child recover. agression.

On the negative side there was illustrated

How one neighbor attempts to damage another neighbors garden,

provoking that neighbor to go over snd attack him. attempt of one neighbor to kill the other.

Finally there is an

Seeing one's neighbor as a

threat is another negative aspect of this film.

BOsY Ki