[Points: What it is—origin—its popularity—the reasons of its popularity—educative value—evil effects—conclusion.]
Cinematography or briefly cinema is a technical term for motion pictures. When a series of photographs of a moving object are thrown very rapidly by the magic lantern on a screen they merge into each. other and produce a moving picture. Hence it is also called 'motion picture' or a 'movie'
The cinema was invented by the famous American scientist Thomas Alva Edison. At first there were only 'silent pictures', that is, pic tures in which the persons did not talk. With advance in scientific knowledge have come the present 'talkies', that is, pictures in which the characters talk.
The cinema is a very popular form of entertainment. The show is cheap and of short duration. However busy a man, he can find three hours' time occasionally to enjoy a show. But the most important reason is the show itself. It presents the characters and images before our eyes in such an attractive way that we lose ourselves in them, forgetting our worries and troubles for the time being.
The cinema has an educative value, too.. We know through it the lives of different peoples. Places and things we can never visit are brought before off eyes. Even men who cannot read and write get lasting lessons on historical and geographical facts and works of great men.
The cinema, however, has its evil effects too, particularly upon young minds. It often takes them to a dreamland of romance. A longing for similar experiences in their own lives gets possession of them. Stories of young boys and girls going astray in the lure of cinema life appear almost daily in our newspapers. There are scenes in many films and their advertisements that lower our sense of moral values. Besides, the cinema habit soon develops into a craze like racing and drinking. There are men who cannot help seeing every picture, good, bad, or indifferent, whatever their pecuniary conditions may be. Boys sometimes sell their books or even steal to pay for tickets. Cinema magazines are flooding the market to the detriment of serious and useful literature.
In fact, the cinema seems to have produced more evil than good. It is time for our leaders to give their serious thoughts to the problem.
