Movies and Society

Movies and Society

Society was local and parochial

Society became more homogenous

Movies reflect the makers’ society

Early Days

Birth of a Nation - 1915

KKK in Wash., DC – 1925

Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio 236 U.S. 230 (1915) 

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State of Ohio passed a law forming a censorship board to review and approve all films Supreme Court declared that movies were a business, not an art, and thus not protected by the First Amendment Wrote “They may be used for evil”

Intolerance - 1916

Ben Hur

1920s Post-World War I

A period of cynicism and breaking with traditions following the great upheavals in society caused by World War I.

Movies used more and more of what put butts in the seats – sex and violence

Manslaughter – 1922 orgy scene

Battleship Potemkin – 1925

Metropolis – 1927

1930s The Great Depression

Movies created a sense of community 

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People would go to the movies on a regular basis, usually once a week Movies catered to their regulars Door prizes like a set of dishes  Sing-alongs  Community announcements 

A full evening of entertainment   

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A cartoon A newsreel A short subject, like a travelogue or a comedy short A movie, sometimes two

Palaces of Entertainment

Movies as morale builders  

Upbeat and optimistic musicals

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town – 1936

Wizard of Oz – 1939

Frankenstein – 1931

King Kong – 1933

Gone with the Wind – 1939

As a backlash against the openness of the Roaring Twenties, many people in society insisted on censorship

Look at these costumes

Tarzan and His Mate - 1932

Look at these costumes Or lack thereof

The Hays Office   

Started in 1930 Run by Will H. Hays Set standards for movies 

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Adopted from a list devised by Father Daniel Lord, a Jesuit priest

Had no effective enforcement

Hays’ 3 Principles 1.

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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.

3. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation. This was followed with specific restrictions

Restrictions 

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Nakedness 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."

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Methods of crime (e.g. safe-cracking, arson, smuggling) were not to be explicitly presented. References to alleged 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.

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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 imply 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.

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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."

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The treatment of "Vulgarity," defined as "low, disgusting, unpleasant, though not necessarily evil, subjects" must be "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.

Destry Rides Again

Look at the Tarzan costumes now after the Hays Office got involved

Harold and Kumar

1940s

War Propaganda

Joseph Goebbels

Leni Riefenstahl with Hitler

Triumph of the Will

Der Ewvige Jude

Der Ewige Jude  Wherever

rats appear they bring ruin, by destroying mankind's goods and foodstuffs.

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They are cunning, cowardly, and cruel, and are found mostly in large packs. Among the animals, they represent the rudiment of an insidious and underground destruction -

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just like the Jews among human beings.

War Cartoon

Wake Island – 1942

Destination: Tokyo – 1943

Wake Island final scene

Gung Ho – 1943

Casablanca – 1942

Mrs. Miniver – 1942

Since You Went Away – 1943

It’s A Wonderful Life – 1946

Best Years of Our Lives – 1946

1950s

The Wild One – 1953

Rebel Without a Cause – 1955

The Blackboard Jungle – 1955

12 Angry Men

Giant – 1955

Day the Earth Stood Still – 1951

Them - 1954

Joseph Burstyn, Inc. vs. Wilson, 1952 

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Supreme Court decision overturning Mutual v. Ohio that allowed the censorship of movies because they were a business, not an art form, and “they could be used for evil.” This case determined that movies, even if a business, are a form of artistic expression and thus entitled to First Amendment protection.

Jacobellis v. Ohio, 1964 

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Ohio tried to ban the film “The Lovers” for obscenity Supreme Court ruled it wasn’t obscene 

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Only hard-core pornography was obscene

Court couldn’t define obscenity

Tarzan the Ape Man

1960s

To Kill a Mockingbird - 1962

In the Heat of the Night - 1967

Dr. Strangelove: or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

The Graduate - 1967

Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice

Easy Rider - 1969

1970s

All the President’s Men – 1976

The Godfather – 1972

American Graffiti - 1973

Jaws – 1975

Star Wars - 1977

1980s

16 Candles

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Die Hard / Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Green Berets – 1968

Platoon

Full Metal Jacket

Young Sherlock Holmes – 1985

1990s

Schindler’s List / Saving Private Ryan

Apollo 13

Dances with Wolves

JFK

Braveheart / Armageddon / Jurassic Park

Titanic

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Beauty and the Beast

2000s

Lord of the Rings

Harry Potter

The Dark Knight / Spiderman

Transformers

Pirates of the Caribbean

The Matrix