Controversial Censorship

“The Climb of Controversial Film Content” by Ashley Haygood discusses the controversial issue of censorship within the film industry.  The article describes the history of censorship. It is explained that 100 years ago there was an ordinance that gave the Superintendent of Police in Chicago authority to issue permits for different motion pictures and that these permits could be refused if the film was seen as “obscene, portrays a depravity, criminality or lack of virtue of a class of citizens of any race, color, creed of religion…”(Jowett, 1990). This was the beginning of censorship in motion pictures. The amount of censorship grew within the industry.  Bowman stated his opinion on the issue saying, “What has happened since the end of the Hays Code and its replacement by the Motion Picture Association's ‘rating’ system…has been an aesthetic and moral collapse of standards, especially in the last decade or so…”(Bowman, 2003, p.70) Bowman disagreed with the ratings that were given to film by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Haygood writes, “after 1934, films were guaranteed to be viewable by everyone, as the National

Legion of Decency and the Hays Code took over content censorship, banning long kisses,adultery, double beds, the words “damn” and “hell” and even nude babies.”

After World War II images on the screen were changing from the “squeaky clean images” that were being shown before.

Haygood talks about his research and tells of his results finding that over the years profanity, violence, sexual references, and nudity have increased within films overall. Censorship has changed as American culture has developed over the decades.

In conclusion, the two sides of the debate over censorship in film are that censorship is needed and that censorship has gone too far. Hagwood discusses the idea of propaganda through film and through the censorship of film; what the MPAA is allowing the public to view.  

Bowman, J. (2003). Breaking the code [Electronic version]. American Spectator, 36, 70-72.

Haygood, Ashley. "The Climb of Controversial Film Content." N.p., May 2007. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.

Jowett, G. (1990). Moral responsibility and commercial entertainment: social control in the

United States film industry, 1907-1968 [Electronic version]. Historical Journal of Film,

Radio & Television,10, 3-32.