Does Your Favorite Movie Pass the Production Code?

And so, when the Great Depression killed the box offices, the “Dos and Don’ts” and “Be carefuls” went completely out the window as studies tried to “draw those big urban audiences to vivid horror films, spicy sex comedies and rough gangster dramas,” says Dr. David Lugowski, a professor at Manhattanville College and author of “Queering the (New) Deal,” among other essays. Many Americans were unhappy with Hollywood’s new attempts to increase viewership. Foremost among the disgusted were the Catholics of the Legion of Decency, “who had been lobbying against racy and violent film content for years,” according to Wittern. The Legion of Decency, aided by the majority of American audiences, convinced Holywood to adopt a set of rules dubbed the ‘Production Code.’ However, filmmakers still mostly ignored these new guidelines, much as they had the previous “Dos and Don’ts,” and once again the content of Hollywood’s movies drew the public’s ire. Finally, in 1934, Hollywood gave in “and set up the Production Code Administration (PCA)” says Lugowski. “The Code was seen as something ‘helpful’ and ‘practical,’” explains Lugowski. Not only did it please the American public at the time, it helped prevent other censors from ruining a film. “It was one thing to have a gay-coded minor character or joke get cut out in some place, but what if that scene also included vital narrative information?” Under Will Hays and the PCA, the Production Code soon gained some teeth. Out went the sex and the gore. With Betty Boop’s skirts finally going past her knees, the nation breathed a sigh of relief. The rules in the Code ranged from “no obscene language,” to “no interracial romances.” It specifically states “No picture should lower the moral standards of those who see it.” Under the Code, “You can’t show direct violence,” Fuller-Seeley says, and “good guys must always win and bad guys must always lose,” and, “that bad morals must be punished.” Of course, what counts as ‘bad morals’ is a debate that has been haunting philosophers and theologians for millenium. So the Code mostly just “enforced a rather white, Christian, heterosexual, middle class (or wealthy) vision of America,” explains Lugowski. However, “the Production Code mostly ‘suggested’ things or said that a given film ‘should try to do X’ or ‘should not suggest Y,’ but there are some areas where the Code did not equivocate,” Lugowski continues, “For instance, one line said that ‘Sexual perversion or any inference to it is forbidden,’” which “was used to try to keep homosexuality out of Hollywood movies.” Of course, Lugowski adds, “It never fully worked. There remained the effeminate ‘pansy’ or ‘sissy’ comics and sometimes ‘mannish’ women who were read by some

“State and local governments started censoring folks as being movies long before the movie industry started doing LGBTQ+ in some ways.” These it themselves” stereotypes eventually turned into queer-coded villains (villains given traits that are associated with LGBTQ+ stereotypes, often to make them appear more dangerous or evil). The Code was also especially harsh on the representation of women and female sexuality. “The Code did sort of limit the kind of roles created for female characters,” Fuller-Seeley explains. “The rules said it would be much more difficult to make a film that showed a powerful woman dealing with adversity and solving problems and being in charge of herself.” However, there was a rule in the Code that said “you can’t insult anybody of any race or any nationality or any creed,” says Fuller-Seeley. Of course, such rules did not really work, and “African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinx peoples and more were often stereotyped in mainstream entertainment,” Lugowski states.

He also adds that “some would argue that limitations and types and typecasting still very much exist in our popular culture.” Still, stereotypes are not entirely the Production Code’s fault. “It’s far more systemic

and due to a larger number of cultural factors than just the Code,” Lugowski says. “Movies did not invent stereotypes about Jews, Blacks, Latinos, gays or others; these go much further back into literature, folk cultures, older forms of theater and the domains of religion and politics.” Movies simply reached a broader audience. Besides the struggles with properly portraying various peoples, the Code also severely handicapped gritty realism in movies, a fact that helped bring about its downfall. “Critics said this made every Hollywood movie fairytales,” Fuller-Seeley explains, “So far from reality, you know it’s just sort of pap for babies, useless comedies.” It wasn’t all bad, though. She adds that “really smart screenwriters, directors, or performers could find a way to hide little jokes in their scripts and screenplays or in their performance that would say, ‘Hey, we’re being a little naughty.’” There were other ways that filmmakers got around the restrictions. “Sometimes writers would submit scripts that included tidbits that they KNEW would get cut. The content regulators would feel they had done a good day of work, but they sometimes missed some things,” Lugowski mentions. The Production Code did, of course, eventually come to an end in 1968. Though it was initially viewed positively by audiences, that view began to sour. “The Code rules became progressively defanged in the later 50s and especially in the 1960s,” says Lugowski. The Code ended due to a multitude of factors, including a swing in American culture after World War II. “The culture changed a lot,” Fuller-Seely states, and “Hollywood seemed really out of touch by that point.” By the time the Paris Peace Treaties had been signed, “People were looking for less of the Rebecca of Sunny Brook Farm-style of movie and more of the gritty type of realism that we were seeing in European films,” explains Wittern. But though the culture had changed, it would still take a “long time before that change will have a real effect on American movie screens,” she adds.

As the culture shifted, television stole Hollywood’s audience. “The vast majority of the audience had been reduced by over 80%,” Fuller-Seeley notes. “All of the audience had gone over to American television, which had just as many rules

“Hollywood seemed really out of touch by that point” The European film, The Bicycle Thieves, dealt with complex social issues The Moon Is Blue was released without the PCA’s approval, but still did very well at the box office

as the Production Code did.” This drop in profits alarmed Hollywood, and the Code was slowly repealed, as, once again, movies became more titillating in a bid to lure in audiences. Additionally, Americans were viewing European films that, without a Production Code hampering them, addressed real social issues. “As American audiences watched movies like Open City and The Bicycle Thieves, they realized that their American-made movie content was very wholesome,” Wittern explains, but “not necessarily reflective of the realities of American life.” Filmmakers began challenging censors as unconstitutional. Most challenges were against local, governmental censors, not the Code itself, since as “an industry self regulation, there is no opportunity to challenge on constitutional grounds,” Wittern explains. Of the legal challenges against movie censorship, “The most important was clearly the 1952 Miracle case” Wittern says. The Miracle case, or Burstyn v. Wilson, “was the challenge that forced the Supreme Court to say that movies deserve some sort of protection under the First Amendment.” Though in the end, the ruling was vague enough that movie censorship in America persisted long after it. Another nail in the Production Code’s coffin was The Moon is Blue. Released without the Code’s stamp of approval, it nevertheless “did very well at the box office,” Wittern says. Other filmmakers began to do the same thing, forcing the Production Code Administration to let a little bit more realism into films. A shift in culture, a drop in audiences, European films, legal challenges, the rise of television, and the box office success of films without the approval of the Production Code all helped bring the Code to an end. But that didn’t mean it and movie censorship completely disappeared. The Production Code still lingers with us in the form of modern movie ratings: G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17. The ratings system, while certainly an improvement from the Production Code, is still a heavily flawed system. The modern ratings system’s largest flaw is that it is applied unevenly. “Big movie studios are capable of--and have often--negotiated with the ratings board in order to achieve whatever rating they want,” Wittern explains. For example, if “a movie company has made a very racy or violent film that would normally receive an NC–17 rating, they might negotiate with the ratings board to take a few things out and get an R rating instead.” But a smaller company with less clout would be unable to make that sort of negotiation. And while “the MPAA insists that these ratings are only meant as guides for parents,” says Wittern, “but in reality they

carry a great deal of economic weight.” NC-17, formerly X, can be very harmful towards profits, “whereas an R rating is usually box-office gold.” Essentially, the ratings creates a system where the powerful movie companies are at a financial advantage, and the smaller companies at a disadvantage. Additionally, Wittern notes, the ratings board “is set up so that the people who make the decisions have no requirement for any expertise in movies or production or audience reception or psychology, any of the things that might “Good guys must always win and bad make them reasonable critics and judges of guys must always lose” movie content.” On a fresh note, Fuller-Seeley mentions that the standards for each rating have been changing. “We’ve seen in children’s media, more and more films go up to PG,” she says, and R films are essentially what NC-17 films were. It’s 2019. “PG-13: Parents Strongly Cautioned” and the accompanying warnings for “sci-fi violence and action, and some language” flashes across the screen. Soon enough, a red, blue, and white clad Captain America appears on the screen, ready to do battle with an army of high-res CGI monsters. As the blond paragon quips over his shoulder, an audience member shifts around in their seat, trying to get comfortable. The red velvet is just the tiniest bit itchy.

movie sets around the world

(Probably Not) DOES YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE PASS THE PRODUCTION CODE? Infinity War Parasite The entire premise of the movie- the protagonists committing fraud to get hired would not have been acceptable. Infinity War Parasite The entire premise of the movie- the protagonists committing fraud to get hired would not have been acceptable. SCOTLAND Information from text of the Production Code at usml.edu by: Isabel SosaIf a movie contained any of the criteria in the following boxes, it would fail. The bubbles show various movies released after the end of the Code that might not have passed the

Code. The centerpiece shows a modern shows the a modern rating. Shows how a crime was committed in a way that could teach the audience how to commit that crime

USA

Revenge is presented in a Revenge is presented in a good light in a ‘civilized’ setting good light in a ‘civilized’ setting

Frozen

Hans pretending to fall in love with. Anna would not have made the cut, as it might have edged too close to seduction

This location is called the Vasquez Rocks where several Star Trek episodes were filmed. This is because the rocks are very large making them fitting for a sci-fi series.Shows, mentions, or contains illegal drug trafficking illegal drug trafficking

Contains curse words Top cities to film in

1. Los angeles, ca BRAZIL2. new york city, ny 3. london, uk 4. toronto, ont

Star Wars Franchise Star Wars Franchise Darth Vader was presented too Darth Vader was presented too sympathetically at the end of sympathetically at the end of the story. the story.

All the mass-killings would not have been acceptable. All the mass-killings would Additionally, there was not have been acceptable. probably too much cursing, Additionally, there was and the villain won. probably too much cursing, and the villain won.

ABBREVIATIONDefinition of Rating; What that Rating Means WHY THE MOVIE HAS THAT RATING (EX: VIOLENCE OR CURSING)

Mocks or presents religion or religious figures in a negative light

The Iguazu Falls at the Argentina-Brazil ‘Evil’ is not punished border is considered one of the most beautiful waterfalls of the world. Several famous movies have filmed there including Indiana Jones and Black Panther.

SCOTLAND

Contains nudity or revealing clothing

Harry Potter Franchise

Too many heroes died in the end. Also, Snape’s questionable morality would most likely not have been permitted. FUN FACTS: Another nation’s people, history, or institutions are presented unfairly 1. Nearly 200 movies have shot scenes in

Washington, D.C. 2. on average there are 146 days of ‘Jesus Christ’ is used in a pre-production for a movienon-reverent tone

AUSTRALIA Most expensive movie sets:

The train to Hogwarts in the popular movie series Harry Potter was filmed on this track in the mountains of Scotland. Definition of Rating; What that Rating Means WHY THE MOVIE HAS THAT RATING (EX: VIOLENCE OR CURSING) The movie “The Great Gatsby” was filmed in Sydney at the old site of the White Bay Power Station.

Contains explicit content The Terminator There’s too much semi-nudity/nudity by silhouette and death/violence for it to have been allowed. Also, a security officer dies.

Good, innocence, or morality is mocked

Shows the mass-slaughter of humans or overly-gruesome murders Creates sympathy for breaking the law or lawbreakers The Matrix ‘Good’ does not prevail Neo and Trinity kill too many people, Additionally, a hacker protagonist would not have been acceptable. Police, security guards, or detectives are killed by criminals

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse Miles having a crush on Gwen probably edged too close to an interracial romance to be allowed

The Hunger Games (1st Movie) Seeing as our hero was murdering children and breaking the law, it probably wouldn’t have passed Contains explicit content

There’s too much semi-nudity/nudity by silhouette and death/violence for it to have been allowed. Also, a security officer dies. interracial romance to be allowed Police, security guards, or detectives are killed by criminals

1. lord of the rings: 281m 2. titanic: 200m 3. intolerance: 45m 4. ben-hur: 15mContains lgbtq+ characters Contains lgbtq+ characters

Contains interracial relationships

Top Cities - huffpost.com Set Cost - successstory.com Fun Facts - blog.ihg.com : musicgateway.com Vasquez Rocks - jim.choate59 Iquanzu Falls - Arian Zwegers Harry Potter - TimoOK Great Gatsby - Eva Rinaldi