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Apologia Literaria

From time to time one hears voices from the hills complaining that the reviews of plays and films in "Salient" are pointless on the grounds

(1) that generally by the time the paper comes out the film or play concerned has finished its run in Wellington:

(2) that no-one in the University is qualified to guide the opinions of others in affairs of the arts, and

(3) that nobody reads the reviews—or at any rate that only a relatively small proportion of students take a sufficiently great interest in films and plays to care to see anybody else's opinion on them!

In considering these arguments it is first of all necessary to consider what the purpose might be in including reviews in each issue of "Salient". It is expected that the reader will look to our review in order to decide whether a current film would be worth seeing? Or is he perhaps to glance at it afterwards in order to decide what the film was like?

It seems to us that the value of our reviews cannot be stated as simply as that; we do not intend simply to give to those who have read the puffs in the daily papers a second opinion on what they should go to next Saturday. And we certainly would not wish merely to make opinions easily available to those who are unable to form opinions of their own.

Ideally, we feel, a review should both guide opinion and reflect it. This means that the reviewer of a play or film must keep several things in mind as he works; he must remember that there will be Some who will be influenced by his opinion indeciding what to sec. Thus he must show the Nature of the work he is reviewing. We don't want the studious secret [unclear: Eating-lover] to sneak off to a 'delightful light farce' at the Paramount to find himself at a silent film with sub-titles in Spanish.

But, more important than this, the reviewer must try to give some reflection of student opinion. This means, not that he should lurk in corridor and cafe with an ear cocked for some chance remark concerning the work he wishes to review, but rather than in writing the review he should bear in mind the manner in which students generally could be expected to react to the play or film. And this does not mean he should at all cost avoid a review that most students would disagree with. It means rather that he should endeavour to produce something against which other students will be able to compare their own opinions to some purpose.

We have no statistics to show us how many students go so far as to read the regular reviews. It seems to us however, that the place is not such a wasteland as some would have us believe. Film Society. Drama Club. Literary Society and other cultural organisations are flourishing more than ever. Reviews of films and plays are of undoubted interest to these, and are surely not completely ignored by those of more normal inclinations.