Which Film Suits Your Daughter?

Perhaps the most important social problem mothers face in raising their daughters and teaching them the pure truths is the choice of motion pictures, and of what suits their age... How many a mother has forbidden her young daughter to see such-and-such a film because it is full of amorous adventures that inflame the passions and drag a person down from the highest degrees of human perfection to the depths of animal impulses — and despite this, the girl disobeys her mother's word and follows her own fancy.

And how many a mother has paid no attention to her daughter and to the assorted films the latter chooses, so that our girl strays from the path of right guidance through watching every kind of film — those that build up and strengthen her personality, or those that demolish it utterly... Yes, these problems are many in our Lebanese society, and they deserve to be fought vigorously, to save the morals of the rising generation.

Dear mother, before you dictate your will to your daughter and ask her to follow the pattern of your own upbringing when you were her age, let me remind you of the saying of the great Imam, the Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab, addressing his people:

"Raise your children otherwise than you were raised, for they were created for a time other than yours."

Take your time, Madam, look long into the matter, and remember that your daughter's age, and her home and school environment — that is, present-day social life — are not the social life you knew when you were a girl.

And we know that society is the first factor in the growth of the individual's personality and adjustment...

Come, then, Madam, let us treat our malady with deliberation and precision, study films fully and thoroughly, and ask ourselves: does this film, for all the simplicity of its subject and its distance from everything licentious, suit my daughter's personality?

And here another problem arises: the study of the girl's psychology.

The shy girl should see the bold films in which attitudes of unconcern abound; in this way our girl's personality is strengthened little by little, in an indirect way... The bold girl, distinguished by a moral daring that sometimes exceeds the average, should see moderate films, so that she neither sinks into shyness to the point of limpness nor soars in her boldness to the point of conceit. Then there is the conceited girl — and how I hate conceit and despise it, and how common it is in the souls of our girls! — this type of female should see films that bring humble souls to life and raise them to their heights of perfection. Here the mother must handle her daughter's psychology with precision, telling her of the most famous thinkers and the greatest world figures and of their humility, and how learning does not go together with conceit, and that the conceited person does not possess an atom of sense... And there is the sensitive girl, who overflows with feeling and sensibility; such a girl ought to see films of heroism, which strengthen the will and nourish the individual personality... And finally the pessimist, who lives in isolation from mankind: she should see gay, sweet films that picture life and its splendid aspects, especially the happy life of youth with its dreams and hopes...

From this brief study of the different natures of girls, it follows that the mother must follow her daughter's steps without letting her know of it.

But do not think, Madam, for all that, that the malady will disappear quickly. You must be wise, patient, and persevering, for perseverance is the secret of success in all your undertakings. Moreover, a girl faces many psychological complications between the age of fourteen and that of eighteen and nineteen, and it is hard for the mother to guide her daughter as her own intelligence and culture suggest. Know, Madam, that the road is thorny; you must therefore begin as an optimist, and trust in yourself and in your daughter.