CENSORSHIP OF FILMS

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 68, 13 December 1933, Page 9

CENSORSHIP OF FILMS

High School Board Views Dominion Special Service. Palmerston North, December 12. The question of a more strict censorship of films, which was considered at the last meeting of the Board of Governors of the Palmerston North High Schools; was considered again at yesterday’s meeting of .the board. The matter was raised at the last meeting, when it was reported to theboard that. 16 Auckland secondaryschools had met to consider the problem/of film censorship and had offered the following three recommendations to the Minister concerned:—

(1) That in order to make the censorship of films more satisfactory, the Board of Appeal should be reconstituted as an independent judicial body, to be presided over by an S.M., assisted by two associates, one of whom should be an educationist of experience, and the other: a nominee of the Chief Justice.

(2) That in as much as parents sometimes find it difficult to judge the nature of a film from the advertisements and posters; the censor be instructed to see that all posters are truly indicative of the character of the film to which they relate, and that the cinema proprietors be similarly; responsible to the censor in the matter of advertisements.

(3) That the censorship should be exercised in the direction of serving the best interest of the community rather than in pandering to the lower taste of a section of the community. Mr. J. W. Rutherford said that the first and third resolutions savoured of narrowness and “Mother Grundyism” carried to excess; • The’ movers had forgotten that the trade made films for a livelihood and so was entitled to representation on the Board of Appeal. The meeting decided to'support only the second resolution.