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254 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. vii (1947)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0254 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD THIs is the second time that a volume of THE ANNALS has been devoted to a study of the motion picture industry. In 1926 the November issue dealt with The Motion Picture in Its Economic and Social Aspects, a theme almost identi- cal with that of the current issue. The principal emphasis of the earlier volume was upon the function of the motion picture as an instrument of education and the expansion of trade, although much space was allocated to the perennial problem of censorship and self-regulation. The general treatment of the subject matter contained considerable speculation about the potentialities of the motion picture for the above and similar purposes. Although some of the contributors had their moments of uncertainty with regard to the future direction of the industry's de- velopment, the general tone of their conclusions was one of confidence and opti- mism. The subsequent growth and expansion of the industry have substantiated their predictions. Much water has run over the dam since 1926. The motion picture industry was then in its infancy, but both in World War I and in the period of postwar re- construction, its inevitably important place in the economy of this and many other nations was apparent. Much pioneering and experimentation remained to be done before its sponsors could feel any sense of security and permanence. The inter- vening period of two decades has seen the industry advance rapidly into a position of world-wide importance as new techniques and new processes have invaded the fields of production and projection. The making of motion pictures is today -a major economic enterprise. This is apparent when one surveys the facts and figures presented in the current volume, whether one thinks in terms of magnitude of production operations, costs, quantity of consumption, quality of product, or universality of films as a medium of en- tertainment. The pay rolls of the industry reach imposing figures, the compensa- tion of executives and stars attains almost fabulous totals, and a veritable army of men and women in the crafts and ancillary arts find in it a source of very com- fortable livelihood. Perhaps no other industry touches so intimately and significantly the lives of so large a proportion of the world's population. Indeed, the motion picture is relatively less important as an economic institution than as a social institution, functioning, with varying degrees of effectiveness and desirability, in the trans- mission of artistic ideas, the portrayal of human character and human emotions, the description of culture patterns of divers societal groups, the dissemination of information concerning current affairs, and the interpretation of individual and social experiences. No other industry has so firm and so universal hold upon the popular imagination or so complete command of the popular interest. In modern civilized societies the provision of entertainment has become a large- scale business. In that business the motion picture industry plays a principal role, since, although its severest critics too frequently disregard the fact, its primary function is to furnish entertainment. This is a role full of incalculable risks and precarious trial and error, because it is an extremely difficult task to anticipate successfully the varied and uncertain likes and dislikes of the movie-going public at home and abroad. An even more hazardous task, perhaps, is the accurate an- ticipation of the tastes of literary and moral critics. The motion picture industry has the dubious distinction of being the most severely criticized of all industries. vii

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