Law, Politics, and Film
Introduction
The Corleones: Michael, Don Vito, Sonny, and Fredo – an American family business.
Artemus Ward
Dept. of Political Science
Northern Illinois University
Hollywoodland’s Portrayal of the Law
• Real World v. Reel World—There is a tension between actual legal
practices in the “real world” and their portrayal in pictures. Cinematic
practices and imperatives give rise to a “reel world” view of the law.
• In this course introduction, we will discuss some basic cinematic
practices. During the course we will discuss how these practices
affect our impressions of law and politics.
Cinematic Practices & Imperatives
• It is a visual medium and therefore
image is privileged over all other
forms.
• Film-making is a business. The
goal is to make money and
therefore films will tend toward the
largest common denominator.
• As a result, formulas and practices
have developed over the years,
such as the infamous “happy
ending” and the use of music and
special effects to induce audience
reactions.
Charlie Chaplin as “The Tramp.” In
1919 he founded United Artists with
Actors Mary Pickford and Douglas
Fairbanks and filmmaker D.W. Griffith.
Censorship
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In Mutual Film Corp. v. Ohio Industrial Commission
(1915), the U.S. Supreme Court held 9-0 that films
were not protected under the 1st Amendment’s
freedom of speech and press clauses: “The
exhibition of moving pictures is a business, pure
and simple, originated and conducted for profit ... Johnny Weissmuller with a nude showgirl in
not to be regarded, nor intended to be regarded…
Glorifying the American Girl (1929).
we think, as part of the press of the country, or as
organs of public opinion.”
As a result, state and local governments could
practice prior restraint against films before their
release.
Under government and interest group pressure,
the motion picture industry adopted the Hays Code
(1930) to police itself. By 1935 or so, the industry’s
Production Code Administration (PCA) began
supervising every facet of a film and only issued
it’s seal of approval if a picture was free of
objectionable material.
The Code proved economically beneficial to the
Will H. Hays, Jr. was the chairman of the
industry as films were no longer censored, the
Republican National Committee and campaign
code provided positive publicity, and “safe” films manager for Warren Harding’s successful 1920
such as the popular Shirley Temple pictures
Presidential run. Harding named him Postmaster
General. Hays later served as the first president
cleaned up at the box office.
of the Motion Picture industry (1922-1941).
The Hays Code
The Production Code enumerated three "General Principles":
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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.
Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
Specific restrictions were spelled out as "Particular Applications" of these principles:
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Nudity and suggestive dances were prohibited.
The ridicule of religion was forbidden, and ministers of religion were not to be represented as comic
characters or villains.
The depiction of illegal drug use was forbidden, as well as the use of liquor, "when not required by the plot or
for proper characterization."
Methods of crime (e.g. safe-cracking, arson, smuggling) were not to be explicitly presented.
References to "sex perversion" (such as homosexuality) and venereal disease were forbidden, as were
depictions of childbirth.
The language section banned various words and phrases that were considered to be offensive.
Murder scenes had to be filmed in a way that would discourage imitations in real life, and brutal killings could
not be shown in detail. "Revenge in modern times" was not to be justified.
The sanctity of marriage and the home had to be upheld. "Pictures shall not infer that low forms of sex
relationship are the accepted or common thing." Adultery and illicit sex, although recognized as sometimes
necessary to the plot, could not be explicit or justified and were not supposed to be presented as an attractive
option.
Portrayals of miscegenation were forbidden.
"Scenes of Passion" were not to be introduced when not essential to the plot. "Excessive and lustful kissing"
was to be avoided, along with any other treatment that might "stimulate the lower and baser element."
The flag of the United States was to be treated respectfully, and the people and history of other nations were
to be presented "fairly."
"Vulgarity," defined as "low, disgusting, unpleasant, though not necessarily evil, subjects" must be treated
within the "subject to the dictates of good taste." Capital punishment, "third-degree methods," cruelty to
children and animals, prostitution and surgical operations were to be handled with similar sensitivity.
Ratings
Jack Valenti was
an aide in the
LBJ White House.
He ran the MPAA
from 1966-2004.
• However, Hollywood soon faced increasing pressure from both
television and foreign films.
• The Court overturned the Mutual Films precedent in Burstyn v.
Wilson (1952), thereby prohibiting state and local governments
from banning films due to their content.
• The Code was revamped and ultimately scrapped in favor of a
rating system promoted by new industry head Jack Valenti. The
system began in 1968 and has remained in effect, with slight
modification, ever since.
Film Structure
• The story has to move forward. The structural formula is:
-- The Set-up establishes the main character and dramatic
situation.
-- The Act I Plot Point features the main character’s primary
story decision, in opposition to the antagonist.
-- The Mid-Point is the moment when the main character is
forced into the antagonist’s world, thereby redefining the
story premise, this time by the antagonist.
-- The Act II Plot Point is the lowest point in the story where
the main character has been defeated by the antagonist and
lost his motivation.
-- The Ending is where the main character realizes a deeper
understanding of his struggle, and summons up the courage
to defeat the antagonist.
Sequencing
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The Structure is further fleshed out through sequencing:
1. The main character faces a strong moral dilemma in achieving a goal.
2. The antagonist poses opposition, both morally and to the goal.
3. The main character confronts the major complication, but proceeds into the story.
4. The story moves into a new world, and the main character makes an achievement.
5. The antagonist takes control of the story, sets the counter-plot in motion.
6. The main character moves forward, believing himself to be victorious, but finds the antagonist to be
equal and opposing.
7. The main character restates the goal, with renewed conviction, but experiences his first setback.
8. The antagonist spins the counter-plot forward, and achieves momentum against the main character.
9. The protagonist experiences defeat at the hand of the antagonist, and loses his moral strength.
10. The protagonist loses the will to achieve his goal, but resuscitates his motivation and moral
strength.
11. The protagonist restates his goal and summons up his moral courage. The antagonist restates his
mission to destroy the protagonist, as well as his motivation and courage.
12. The protagonist and antagonist prepare for confrontation, but the protagonist experiences an
epiphany of moral courage that gives him what it takes to defeat the antagonist. The story resolves
with the protagonist understanding his life with renewed meaning and understanding.
Montage
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French for “putting together.”
An editing style where the audience’s attention is drawn to
the camera, editing, and filmmaker. This is in sharp
contrast to the classical Hollywood continuity system
where the camera, editors, and filmmaker never draw
attention to themselves.
Developed by 1920s Soviet filmmakers, particularly Sergei
Eisenstein, to create symbolic meaning. For example:
– Tonal montage: a shot/scene ends with a sleeping baby to induce
an emotional response from the audience—in this case calmness
and relaxation.
– Intellectual montage: a shot/scene ends and the next one begins
to get the audience to think—for example the transition from
Mount Rushmore to a sleeping car of the train to the train
entering a tunnel in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959)
– spoiler alert! Do not watch the clip (right) if you have not yet
watched this movie!
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However, we often think of montage as a series of short
shots edited into a sequence to condense narrative. It is
usually used to advance the story as a whole (often to
suggest the passage of time), rather than to create
symbolic meaning as it does in Soviet montage theory. The
“Push it to the Limit” montage in Scarface (1983) is a
classic example as is the sports training montage South
Park parody in the “Asspen” episode.
Mise-en-scène
• French for “setting the scene.”
• In contrast to montage, mise-en-scène is a filmmaking style
of conveying the mood and information of a scene primarily
through a single shot with lighting, décor, lenses, depth,
camera framing and movement, etc.
• Rope (1948) is an extreme example (see above clip). After
the first cut in the opening sequence, the rest of the film is one
continuous shot!
Auterism
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Auterism—or “author theory” is the idea that films should
reflect the author’s (filmmaker’s) vision. There is often a
tension between the filmmaker’s intent and the
audience’s interpretation. For example, Francis Ford
Coppola intended The Godfather to be a critical
indictment of law and lawlessness in America with the
mafia as his vehicle. Instead, critics and audiences
totally missed this point and saw it as valorizing the
mythic family and the self-made man. Indeed the mafia
loved the film and it helped revive old mafia customs
such as kissing the ring. A new generation of gangsters
have adopted the film as a kind of blueprint or how-to
guide in amassing power and empire-building in
America.
This is not unlike the modern KKK’s reaction to D.W.
Griffiths’ critical The Birth of a Nation (1915) – a
landmark film based on Thomas Dixon’s 1905 book “The
Clansmen: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan.”
The film played a major role in helping revive the Klan
and provided a kind-of valorizing template for their 20th
century anti-civil rights activities. For example, the first
post-civil war Klan never burned crosses, but the book
and film’s portrayal of the practice resulted in the
practice’s adoption by the modern Klan. Justice Sandra
Day O’Connor explained this in her majority opinion in
the landmark cross-burning case Virginia v. Black
(2003), where the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a
state law criminalizing cross-burning on free
speech/expression grounds.
Snoop Dogg’s The Doggfather (1996).
D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915).
Course Themes
• Justice—We will ask
how Hollywood portrays
justice. Is justice a
product for the formal
legal system or can
justice be served outside
of formal rules and
Salvatore Corsitto and Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972).
structures?
• Fairness—Are all
persons “equal under the
law?” Are there class,
race, sex, and other
biases that make
fairness impossible?
Course Themes
• Law Enforcement—In
terms of resolving legal
problems, how effective
are public authorities and
formal structures
compared to private
heroes?
• Context/Setting—Location,
location, location. Are legal
problems resolved
differently depending on
the setting? Is urban law
and justice different from
rural law and justice? Is
Los Angeles different from
Chicago and New York?
Course Themes
Walter Matthau and Tatum O’Neil in The Bad News Bears (1976).
• Divorce—We will look at the civil procedure and
emotional/social issues portrayed in divorce films. While we will
comment substantively about what these films teach us about
how divorce affects both adults and children (as demonstrated
by the above clip from The Bad News Bears), we will also be
concerned with the role played by formal legal and institutional
structures compared with more informal/non-legal entities.
Course Themes
• Women in the Law—We will
also ask the proverbial
question: “Are women the
weaker sex?”
• How are they portrayed in
relation to the legal world?
• When they are depicted as
legal actors, how are they
portrayed in relation to male
legal actors?
• Has their depiction changed
over time?
Tom Cruise and Demi Moore in A Few Good Men (1992).
Conclusion
Alfred Hitchcock on the set of Psycho (1960).
• Movies reflect powerful
narratives/myths (whether author or
audience driven) that influence our
reactions to issues we meet in real
life, including legal issues.
• Perhaps the “rule of law” is best
viewed as one more narrative/myth
competing for audience
acceptance.
• Indeed, what “law” is or what is
“legal” has become an increasingly
porous concept. Is law the province
of specialists or is It a
consciousness that permeates all of
American culture.
• We can think of motion pictures as
legal “texts” in the same way that
we think of constitutions or case-law
books. Each can teach us
something about a culture.