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<DIV>I am right now working on the final draft of my forthcoming book, "The Last
Silent Picture Show: Silent Films on American Screens in the 1930s."
Presently, I'm doing the revisions for a chapter on the archival movement and
the Museum of Modern Art in the '30s.</DIV>
<DIV>Relating this to Japanese film, I point out that MOMA in the Iris Barry
years (1935-1951) limited its collection of early cinema--and the programs of
early films it featured--to the historical development of filmmaking in the
United States, Western Europe and the Soviet Union. What I'd like
to find out from knowledgeable people here is does anyone know if my
information is accurate? Has anyone here, for example, seen any
correspondence or other documents indicating that Iris Barry was planning a
program on the history of Japanese cinema (and those of India and China as well)
in say, 1939 but that the outbreak of WWII halted this project? Or am I
correct in my assumption that the standard view of the historical development of
cinema in those days, as set forth at MOMA, completely omitted the early
contributions of Latin America, the Middle East and Asia, including Japan?</DIV>
<DIV>I should point out that in the 1930s and 1940s, the Museum of Modern Art
Film Library, contrary to Peter Decherney's tendentious assertions in "Hollywood
and the Culture Elite," was not a national film archive and, in fact, many
important areas in early American film history were neglected due to Iris
Barry's international focus. Many at the time, in fact, felt it was her
preoccupation with the European art film that caused her to overlook so much of
the American cinema. Or perhaps in fairness to her, she was trying to
balance America and Europe in the collection she built up. However, what I
think was clearly left out of the film history programs established by Barry at
MOMA was the entire historical production of cinema in Asia, the Middle East and
Latin America during the first half of the 20th century. I am not aware
that Barry made any effort in the 1930s and 1940s to obtain examples of
filmmaking from those countries beyond Hollywood and Europe. If anyone
here, however, has information to the contrary, specifically, of course, with
respect to Japanese cinema, I would very much like to know. I wish my
analysis to be as accurate as possible.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>William M. Drew</DIV></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>