A Brief History of Censorship in American Film
The Silent Era
In the early days of Hollywood shortly after the development of film-making as an industry, moralists objected
to the amount of nudity, sexuality, criminality and violence portrayed in films. Censorship boards were set up in
various states and controls began to be imposed, often on a voluntary basis, once moving pictures became
widespread and available to mass viewing audiences (encouraged by the popularity of nickelodeons, first called
"arcade peepshows"). However, the vast complexity of various local, state and national censorship laws added
to the problem of enforcement, i.e. in some states an ankle couldn't be displayed, or pregnancy couldn't be
mentioned.
To appease various groups worried about the powerful effects of movies on the mainstream and growing
resentment of the 'get-rich' quick Hollywood mentality, the film industry made some efforts to self-censor its
own production, worried that it might be shut down --- especially after two very publicized cases that made
Hollywood Babylon
(e.g., the infamous Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle rape/murder case in September, 1921, and Mabel Normand's three
criminal cases - one involving the murder of lover-millionaire William Desmond Taylor in 1922), and other
mysterious events (the drug overdose of morphine-addicted silent film actor Wallace Reid in January, 1923, and
the death of movie producer-director Thomas Ince onboard newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst's
yacht The Oneida in November, 1924).
Early Protest and Censorship Efforts: The Pre-Code Era
Censorship bills were introduced in many states and localities, and in 1922, the Motion Picture Producers and
Distributors of America (MPPDA) was formed by the studios. Conservative former Postmaster General William
H. Hays was appointed to head the organization, to begin efforts to clean up the motion picture industry before
the public's anger at declining morality depicted in films hurt the movie business. One of his first acts in
'cleaning-up' Hollywood, due to pressure from Hollywood's top film executives, was to banish the acquitted
actor-comedian Arbuckle from film, at least temporarily, in order to distract the public. [Arbuckle would
continue to make films as a director under the pseudonym William Goodrich between 1925 and 1932.] Hays
also approved the use of morality clauses in the standard actor's contract, to control the conduct of performers,
and he also assured state and local censorship boards that he would properly
regulate the industry.
Other restrictions were instituted to regulate the content of films and ban
potentially objectionable themes (brutality, crime, drunkenness, divorce, nudity
and sex), such as those noted in Hays' 1927 list of "Don'ts" and "Be Carefuls".
The eleven "Don'ts" included prohibition of profanity, suggestive nudity, use of
illegal drugs, sexual perversion, white slavery, miscegenation, sex hygiene and
venereal diseases, childbirth, children's sex organs, ridicule of the clergy, and
willful offense to any nation, race, or creed. The twenty-six "Be Carefuls" were
only cautionary, such as the elimination of the depiction of criminality, excessive
brutality, murder and rape, excessive (over 3 seconds) and lustful kissing, and the
depiction of men and women sleeping together in the same bed.
Most studios basically ignored the regulatory restrictions, because there was no
enforcement that was effective, and they knew that film-going audiences wanted
to see the kinds of things (sex and crime) that were being blacklisted. Also, some
of these illicit behaviors could be exhibited -- if later punished within the film. A number of notable and
successful films produced in the early 30s before the Code was strictly enforced -- so-called "bad girl" movies -showed women using their sexuality to get ahead, such as in the taboo-breaking comedy Red Headed Woman
(1932) starring Jean Harlow.
Influential Organization Formed To Self-Regulate the Industry: The MPPDA
In 1922, the Hollywood studios formed the Motion Picture Producers and
Distributors of America (MPPDA) - a trade organization to lobby politicians,
self-regulate the industry, and to counter negative publicity from a rash of
scandals The MPPDA's main purpose was to re-shape the industry's public image,
to settle issues or common problems, and to keep the industry afloat amidst
growing concern to shut it down.
Producers appointed conservative Will H. Hays, the former Postmaster General of
the US, to be the head of the MPPDA, to begin efforts to clean up the motion picture industry before the public's
anger at declining morality depicted in films hurt the movie business. Hays later set up the Hays Production
Code in March, 1930 to monitor acceptable behavior and keep films wholesome by enforcing a standards code,
to further control the conduct of actors and regulate film content.
The Production Code :The Production Code Production Code was enforced on films from 1930 until
1967 Strict guidelines film makers followed The Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors
Association (MPPDA) Now called the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), The Production
Code enumerated three "General Principles": 1. No picture shall be produced that will lower the
moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to
the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin. 2. Correct standards of life, subject only to the
requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented. 3. Law, natural or human, shall not
be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
New Expressionism and Auteurism:
Aspiring French filmmakers in the New Wave 1950s proposed the auteur theory (it was first advocated by
François Truffaut in 1954). This was the idea that film was an art form and a means of personal expression by a
film's director. Explicit foreign imports, such as Roger Vadim's flirtatious, sex-oriented And God Created
Woman (1957), the star-making hit for French/international "sex kitten" Brigitte Bardot (Vadim's wife at the
time), caused waves of protest for being indecent, but further pushed back the walls of censorship.
Andrew Sarris, the influential American film critic for the Village Voice, who later served as editor of the film
magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, was a champion for the auteur approach, first in his newspaper column with
"Notes on the Auteur Theory" (1962) and then in his book The American Cinema: Directors and Directions,
1929-1968, the unofficial Bible of auteurism. Other liberal European directors in the 1970s (such as Bernardo
Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris) brought about greater changes in cinema.
Greater Permissiveness and Tolerance:
These court decisions and attitudes reflected society's increasing tolerance of mature themes in books, plays, and
other forms of mass entertainment, and the belief that censorship was becoming obsolete. Challenges to the
system, changing cultural attitudes and liberalized, permissive morals brought about more evidences of nudity
and sexuality in Hollywood's films as a result. Also, once the theatres were forced to be sold off by the studios
(due in part to a 1948 ruling which forced the separation of the studios from their theatre chains), the owners had
more choice in the selection of films, and the burgeoning growth of television brought further competition.
Expressive 'art-house' films from Europe brought the realization that sex in films meant greater profits.
The Development of Ratings Systems:
More and more, with the loosening of standards and laissez-faire controls, graphic sexual
scenes, criminality and violence, and coarse language were integrated into mainstream erotic
films and dramas (although it has often been demonstrated that erotica in films doesn't
necessarily guarantee greater box-office returns), although they ran the risk of being
challenged. The motion picture industry officially abandoned the Hays Code in 1968. New voluntary ratings
systems were proposed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), followed by age-based
classification of films (i.e., G, M, R, X) to protect children. Originally, the X-rating wasn't trademarked or
copyrighted, so adult film producers started self-applying the X rating to their films on purpose (which led to the
invention of XX and XXX ratings for marketing purposes). In 1990, the MPAA replaced X with NC-17 in an
attempt to create a non-stigmatized version of the adult rating.
Although relatively unchanged, various permutations of ratings systems have evolved to the present day. For
example, M (or "Suggested for Mature Audiences") was replaced by the GP (soon replaced with PG) rating in
1970, and the PG-13 rating appeared in 1984. Some critics have called the ratings system a failure due to its
subjective and arbitrary nature. Many studios have circumvented the system by self-censorship - lowering the
rating of proposed films as much as possible (by slicing out explicit sex and violence to avoid the dreaded NC17 rating), in order to bring in larger audiences.
Problems with the MPAA
Historical Reading of MIDNIGHT COWBOY
Midnight Cowboy was the only X-rated film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was
released barely a year after the MPAA developed the ratings system. “X” was intended to designate
real films that were for adults only, but this was one of only a handful of major studio releases that got
the chance to utilize it.
The movie shocked audiences, garnering an X rating, because of its frank treatment of homosexual
hustling, which contradicted cultural norms of sexual exchange.
"Midnight Cowboy" has the distinction of being the only X rated movie that
ever won the best picture Oscar. When the ratings system was introduced
in 1968, the X rating was given to films where the subject matter was not
deemed suitable for any minors to screen. It wasn't associated with outright
pornography. After the controversy surrounding "Deep Throat" in 1972, it
became linked with hardcore product and the major studios refused to release
titles with that classification afterwards. In some cases the movies were re-cut to
get an R rating. A number of newspapers wouldn't accept advertising for X rated pictures
either. To avoid this linkage, many original X rated mainstream films were
later reclassified R as was this one.