I beg to move:—
In the Title, line 6, to insert the word "pictorial" before the word "advertisements."
I feel that I should apologise to the Dáil for bringing on this list of amendments to the Bill at such an advanced stage of its progress. That it is an admirable Bill is evidenced by the fact that it has reached this stage without a single comment unfavourable to it being made by any member of the Dáil. I should have supported with pleasure the Second Reading had I been here, and I had intended on the Committee Stage to indicate the views, so far as they could be gathered, of the Appeal Board of Film Censorship with respect to these proposals. The Bill, as I have said, is positively, so far as it goes, excellent. But in the opinion which I take the liberty of expressing it might have gone further, and it is to draw attention to one limitation of its scope that I move this apparently verbal amendment, to introduce the word "pictorial" before "advertisements" in the Title, so as to read: "An Act to provide for the control of pictorial advertisements of cinematograph pictures." I fully recognise that to propose a censorship of reading matter would be very bold and would, doubtless, create a great amount of discussion, would produce perhaps endless controversy, and I do not believe that the country is ripe, or, it is possible, would ever be ripe, for a drastic proposition of this kind to meet with general approval. But I draw a distinction, which is a very obvious line of distinction, between censoring books and pamphlets and censoring written matter in the form of the advertising stuff that is provided sometimes to the film exhibitor by the renter.
If you will allow me I will show to the House examples of what I have before my mind, because the object lesson in education, it is notorious, is of more value than mere verbal lecturing. It is the practice to serve out, along with the film picture that is to be displayed in the cinematograph theatre, a lot of what is called, in the American language, "Teaser Paragraphs." These are to stimulate interest, to excite discussion about the picture and in that way draw a larger audience. For this "teaser" campaign of the film "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," sometimes more accurately, if facetiously described as "Tess of the Dirty Fields," you have these suggestions:
"Copy is furnished here in advance for your regular exploitation campaign. This copy is suitable for either posters, snipe bills, tack cards, throwaways or newspaper display ads." Here is one of the "teaser" paragraphs:—"Tess of the D'Urbervilles avenged her betrayed love. Do you blame her?"—subject for debating societies, Dorcas meetings, Church Society functions, and afternoon tea parties. "Tess of the D'Urbervilles told her husband the truth about her past, and lost him. Was she wise?""Tess of the D'Urbervilles trapped her betrayer and made him pay the penalty. Was she justified? Do you condemn her?""Tess of the D'Urbervilles punished one whom the law failed to convict. Was she justified?"