Shinkō eiga (Rising film), June 1930, pp. 4–6
It has been a while since discussion of the proletarian film first came to Japan.
Many films labeled “proletarian films” have recently appeared on the market. Films like The Salvation Hunters, Slums of Berlin, The Gold Rush, and so forth. Meanwhile, people theorizing about proletarian films constantly come and go. This has all has been publicized noisily with great fanfare.
In contrast with this costume parade (fukusō gyōretsu), however, true proletarian films are the rank and file in the struggle for the liberation of the working class, and they leave a plain and simple, yet indelible, single mark (itten). The first of these films was Noda Strike, shot on small-gauge 9.5mm film.
I doubt that many are familiar with Noda Strike, but Noda Strike is our film! The proletariat of our country know this very well. This fact is far more important than whether Slums of Berlin has been seen by a random crowd of millions.
So what is proletarian film? Before addressing this question, let me first consider so-called tendency films — Kasahari kenpō (An umbrella maker’s sword), Zanjin zanbaken (Man-slashing, horse-piercing sword), Tokai kōkyōgaku (Metropolitan symphony), and Nani ga kanojo o sō saseta ka (What made her do it?) — which have lately made so much money for the movie theaters of our country and are therefore sometimes raised by certain individuals as examples of proletarian films. The issue is whether these are proletarian films in the true sense of the word. Tendency films are the product of the ruling class and are made by commercial film studios that exploit their employees. Why display the will of the masses so thoroughly only to suddenly and skillfully serving up bourgeois ideology? This means that characters compromise at the last moment — or a deceiving compromise holds until the last moment of the film. This is the most dreadful opium — the tendency film. Class struggle is depicted in a variety of forms, and militancy is glorified. That is, until the last moment in the film.
If the studios or the censors, which enact the will of the state, make a mistake or cross a line, then snip go the scissors. In that sense, as long as proletarian films stick to the rules, even militants do not go to jail.
If that is the case, then what is a true proletarian film? Who makes them? How are they made? Who are they shown to and why?
Generally speaking, a proletarian film is a film that is created as a means of struggle, for the purpose of agitating workers and farmers. That is why, in complete contrast to the films made at bourgeois film studios, proletarian films are made to be useful for the struggle of the proletarian classes by people who are dedicated to this task. Clearly, there is a place for proletarian cinema in the liberation movement. It is an aspect of class struggle. Therefore, the true proletarian film bears no resemblance to the tendency film; for although the tendency film appears to be proletarian, it is ultimately a type of bourgeois film.
By the same token, wherever there is class struggle, there is also, necessarily, proletarian cinema. Germany, America, and England point to all of the possibilities… The proletarian film is flourishing.
However, the situation in Soviet Russia is a bit different from the proletarian film movement in these capitalist countries. This is the country of the proletariat XX [revolution]. It is the country where the proletariat took control of the XX [state]. Accordingly, here films are produced en masse in line with the will of the proletariat. Insofar as these films aim for the liberation of humanity, imagine a future for society, and are unified in form and content, they are truly artistic films. Potemkin, Mother, October, The Old and the New, The Ghost That Never Returns, and other proletarian films that have blossomed in the Soviet Union are now proving this truth to the world.
But Soviet cinema was not made in a day. It has gone through a period of development. This is fortunate for proletarian cinema (puroretaria eiga un’na dō) in capitalist countries today. Before long, as each of these countries turns red, they will make films as great as Soviet films.
Similar developments are now occurring in Japan. This has led to the formation of Prokino (Proletarian Film League of Japan), a member of NAPF.
Now, what kind of role does Prokino play?
Prokino is an organization that makes true proletarian films to show to workers and farmers. Therefore, the films that Prokino makes are to be used as a weapon in class struggle. Not unlike the urgent slogans of the proletariat, these are films that utterly refuse compromise.
This much is evident from the films that Prokino has made so far, including Noda Strike and May Day.
We show these films to workers and farmers. The point is not to create more publicity for the wealthy. We bring these films to the very classes that birthed our movement, to factories and to rural areas that are densely populated with poor farmers.
The movement has absolutely nothing. Even though we are able to make films, we cannot spend exorbitant amounts of money on each production. This means that Prokino has to make films within the limits of its existing power. These films are shot with small-gauge cameras on 16mm or 9.5mm film stock. But that does not mean that our films are inferior to the 35mm films shot at regular film studios. They have sufficient power to speak to workers and farmers. This is because Prokino makes films that directly reflect workers’ and farmers’ everyday needs.
Currently, Prokino consists of a filmmaking section and an exhibition section. The filmmaking section has divisions for screenwriting, production, film development, editing, and still photography. The exhibition section consists of a “Film Night” section and a mobile projection unit. The mobile projection unit attends gatherings that are directly related to the workers’ and farmers’ struggles – picnics, strikes, and so forth – to assist with agitation and propaganda. Since it is very easy to operate a projector, workers and farmers should be able to borrow films made by Prokino and project films themselves in the future. The mobile projection unit is also a mobile film unit. Ordinary events are shot, developed into films, edited, and brought back into the workplaces that are connected to these events. In the future, as these ordinary, portable (mochikomi) films become more and more popular, their importance to the movement will only increase.
Right now, Prokino is only engaged in small-gauge filmmaking, but in the future, it is likely that we will start producing standard 35mm films. We will form organization for our audiences, such as Proletarian Cinema Leagues, to fight the suppression of our increasingly energetic efforts.
In fact, we have just formed the “Friends of Prokino” association. This is a strategy to boost the energy of our efforts through financial and artistic support. Much like the “Friends of Soviet Film” societies that exist all over the world to defend Soviet film and support the production and exhibition of Soviet films both directly and indirectly, the “Friends of Prokino” association will have important responsibilities moving forward. The role that the arts have to play in this intensifying struggle is expanding, and Prokino has a dramatic role to play. The only answer to the question “what is the proletarian film?” is: the dedicated efforts of Prokino members and their generous supporters, the workers and farmers.