Knowledge that Transforms

This book is chronologically perhaps the last one of the author's long list of publications, and as such it throws a new and strong light on his theory of values, in particular aesthetic valuesThe two chapters of the Introduction deal with the outer and inner development of the moving picture plays In the first chapter the author shows the historical development of the mechanical devices used in kinematographic machinery, while the second chapter briefly points out the changes in complexity of the picture exhibited, from such a simple view as that of a galloping horse to dramatic performances lasting sometimes several hours.This constantly increasing complexity has, according to our author, been responsible for the birth of a new art, and consequently he tries to prove that the modern photoplay is no longer a cheap substitute for the real drama or a photographic reproduction of theatrical performances He says: " The art of the photoplay has developed so many new features of its own, features which have not even any similarity to the technique of the stage that the question arises: is it not really a new art which long since left behind the mere film reproduction of the theater and which ought to be acknowledged in its own esthetic independence?"In order to answer this question the author discusses m the first mam part of the book,-entitled the Psychology of the Photoplay and comprising chapters three to six,-the mental means by which the moving pictures impress us and appeal to us, while in the second part,-entitled the Esthetics of the Photoplay and including the remaining five chapters,-he examines first the general aim or purpose which underlies all artistic creation and the general conditions or means of the various arts, and then applies these general principles to a discussion of the means, demands, and functions of the photoplay.Among the mental means he treats first the induction of illusory perceptions of depth and movement which are due entirely to a peculiar synthetising activity of the spectator's mind and conflict with his true perceptions of the artificial character of the observed scenes Another mental means largely employed in the photoplay is attention, whose fluctuating, narrowing, and vivifying character is cleverly utilised, redirected, and enhanced by quick shifts of scenery, by emphasis of the pictorial foreground or a sharpening of outlines, and by the " closeup," thereby inducing at will all degrees of mental emphasis.Memory and imagination are likewise utilized, in as much as the order of the pictures is changeable, for they may be reversed, or later events may be anticipated, or interruptions may be introduced by " cut-backs " and the like The use of the emotions is also very varied The expressions of the emotions may be modified at will by actors as well as by the camera, in order to produce desired responses m the spectator, and the whole surroundings can be controlled and modified so as to heighten the emotional effect.Here, our author thinks, the photoplay artists, writers of scenarios, actors, and stage-directors, have not yet begun to realize the many psychological possibilities and advantages which their art has over all other a«-ts.

a preface in which he describes this book as "of prime importance to workers with mental tests and to practical penologists who S3ek to individualize punishment in such a manner as to meet the needs of the offender as well as the needs of the offence." No student of clinical psj'chology, moreover, can afford to miss it. An introduction by Dr. Katherine Bement Davis outlines the history of the Laboratory of Social Hygiene in the New York State Reformatory for Women at Bedford Hills, N. Y., where most of Dr. Weidensall's work was done. "The problem," explains Dr. Weidensall, "grew out of her (Dr. Davis's) conviction that women proved guilty of critne might be more wisely sentenced than was possible under existing conditions. Altogether it seemed that the devise of some method for making an early and reasonably certain estimate of the criminal woman's reformability was as vital an issue as was presenting itself to those who were dealing with her. . . . The determination of such a body of tests was, of course," she continues, "an uncertain undertaking. . . . No one seemed altogether sure of what constituted reformation. . . . We set for ourselves the following arbitrary standard: if an individual has the