The Importance Of Censorship In Hollywood Movies

The film industry was like a toddler learning to walk. The community found it necessary to guide that walk according to its beliefs and values. Above all, a concerted effort was made to protect children. That was perhaps the good thing that arose out of the censorship of the early film theaters content. It is easy to understand the logic and the need to monitor content that would have an impact on children

The Motion Picture Production Code, commonly known as the Hays Code, was adopted in March 1930, though it was not truly enforced until four years later in 1934. This set of rules had tremendously influenced the way Hollywood movies were made for a number of years. This code was based on the ethics and norms if that time. There were three main principals of the Hays Code. The first was no picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standard of those who see it. What was meant by this was that sympathy should not be portrayed towards crimes, wrongdoings, evil or sins. The second stated that only a correct standard of living could be presented that are only subject to the requirements of drama and

To understand why the fall of the production code was so prolific to the film industry one must first understand the production code and how it worked. This was a code that regulated what filmmakers could say, what kind of content their films could contain, and introduced an early version of the rating system that we know today. This kind of censorship was as detrimental to this art form as censorship can be. With a media as widespread as film, so many people see it on average that it can largely change a perception of a population or keep

One 's surroundings ultimately impact their thought process and decisions. In order to spread ideas, people often look to the media. However, individuals ideas can only spread as long as freedom of expression is present and the element of fear is not. When individuals do not have this freedom or they have a fear of sharing their opinions, they filter or censor their work. The idea of censorship is a prominent element of today’s society and is apparent throughout history. Examples of censorship include the banning of books, movie ratings, music lyrics and governmental attempts to control the press and the media. Governments often use censorship with the goal of controlling the

From the beginning of the motion picture industry, several religious and moralistic groups such as National Council of Catholic Women sought to censor Hollywood films that contained sex, crime or vamps. In order to regulate any possible censorship conflict, “In 1922 the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America Association (MPPDA) was established by movie company presidents and Postmaster General Will Hays whom was instituted as head of the Association” (Gaynor 1). The hoped plan was for Will Hays to act as an intermediate between Hollywood and those demanding censorship. Will Hays created some regulations that revealed the public and moral standards that were

The MPAA rating system, which was created and is regulated by the Motion Picture Association of America, was set in place to help determine how old you have to be in order to view different movies (MPAA Ratings). This system is supposed to help determine whether a movie is deemed appropriate for different age levels, but most of the age groups are quite broad and how a person views the level of appropriateness can be biased. The current rating system was created in 1968, which replaced the original system called, “The Production Code” (also known as the “PCA” or the Production Code Administration) (Rocchi). Not all systems are perfect, which is why this one was revised and eventually turned into the more recent MPAA rating system.

During the early years of Hollywood, films had very few regulations on how they can be made. From 1922 till 1930, people were outraged at Hollywood that they have no rules on how they should make films. In response, religious groups were editing movies for their local communities to make them save for their standards. Eventually the government started to talk about enforcing rules that would censor Hollywood movies for the public. To stop that from happening, Hollywood enforced their own rules called the Motion Picture Production Code or the Hays Code.

“About thirty-thousand people were employed by the American film industry in 1947. Of these, the best estimate is that about three-hundred were or had been Communists” (Eyman). This statement gives an idea about how many estimated people were actually Communists. Although, there were many more who were greylisted which is why this such an important event. If there were only three-hundred people who were affected this wouldn’t be as big of a deal.

Although gangster films were a hit with the mainstream audiences, it wasn't with the Protestant and Catholic religious groups. This sparked the beginning of the new movie code, that would be introduced. In 1934 with the Movie Industry still plummeting, the Motion Picture Production code was put into action. The Code was founded in 1930 and was made to censor films and create guidelines for production studios to adhere to. The code was never carried out until 1934, when the Production Code Administration was founded. They required all films and even scripts, be pre approved before going to theaters.

The book utilizes a wide variety of primary sources of films from the 1920s onward. Leff and Simmons also use many newspaper and magazine articles that analyze censorship in films. They utilize these sources to illustrate examples of how films went from having

Samuel Yoon Dr. Miller William Webb CS100A Wilfrid Laurier University Dec. 1st 2014 Step 1. a): Visual Media History Step 1. b): Censorship in the 20th century British film Description: Following the first public appearance of film in 1896 in London, England there were numerous issues that arose; public safety and the content within films came to the forefront of public concern. This led to local authorities such as The London City Council (LCC) possessing the authority to decide all regulations and rules of film.

Before examining the Hollywood blacklist in more detail, it will necessary to provide some historical context regarding the historical censorship of the entertainment industry and the anti-communist furor of the mid-twentieth century. To begin, one must go all the way back to 1930, with the establishment of the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) censorship code, which

The 1960s were a volatile time and an important season of change in American history. The revolutions in social mores that the country experienced extended to the cinema. Previously, films sought the endorsement of production associations and religious organizations. That trend began to be challenged by bold directors and their films that earned success without the approval of these establishments. With its brash dialogue and suggestive situations, Mike Nichols’ screen adaptation of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? caused controversy by continuing the radical movements of films in the 50’s and 60’s, leading to content changes as well the advisory of who should see it. Along with other films that came before it, this led to the creation of the MPAA ratings system to classify films based on content.

This code was created under the assumption that every movie needed to be safe for all audiences (Lewis, 234). With the advent of television, the studios realized that another way to set themselves apart was to create movies for a specific viewer demographic. At first, a few films were released without code approval and when that proved successful, directors were more willing to take the risk. In combination with these code violations were a series of court cases that gave movies protection from censorship. Between 1952 and 1957 the Supreme court gave First Amendment protection and ended the ban on nudity for films (242). In 1966 the label for mature audiences was created (244). In 1967-68 about 60% of movies received the mature audience label; this led to the formation of a different code called the voluntary movie rating system, this code finally put an end the production code

In order to establish a group that censors televisions and movies, the Motion Picture Producers Association (MPAA) was created. Each rating category has a description of the appropriate age at which to view the film and whether or not a parent’s accompaniment is necessary. The Motion Picture Producers Association assesses a film and gives it a rating of G (general audiences), PG (parental guidance suggested), PG-13 (parents strongly cautioned), R (restricted), or NC-17 (no one under seventeen admitted). As the film industry has been changing over time, so have the ratings. More and more parents are having issues with the ratings that some films are issued. “The man behind the ratings, Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), says the system works just fine. ‘Parents use it and trust it, and that's why it's lasted for almost 35 years,’ Valenti says. ‘It warns parents in advance about what's in a particular movie, but ultimately, parents are responsible for the behavior and conduct of their children — not the ratings system’ (Hansen 273).”