Film Censorship

 Film Censorship

Lauren Fantone, 04/26/21

An organization or government will suppress, censor, or actively try to prohibit specific ideas or information from reaching the general population if they consider it to be a threat to society or unacceptable. This censorship can occur in many different forms including media, film, books, art, social media, news stories, etc. I think it is important to emphasize that censorship has been a concern for many years and in many different countries through many different governments and regimes, as it can be useful in achieving an intended goal or furthering an 'agenda'. The flip side to this statement is that the general public or everyday individuals are not receiving all of the information as they are only presented with ideas or media forms that are preventing them from seeing the entire truth. 

We have all experienced some form of censorship throughout our lives as it is a common practice. For instance, books that were banned from school libraries or films that were banned due to their language, plot, or graphic scenes. I think an important and interesting area of censorship to discuss is film censorship in American television as there are many different reasons a film can be censored. Film censorship is the control of content and modification of the presentation of a film in order to ensure that certain audiences do not see or understand certain aspects. The way in which an organization or the government would go about censoring a film has changed throughout the years.

Hays Code Poster, A.L. Whitey Schafer
(1934)

In the beginning of the 1930s, the government established the Hays Code as a way to self-censor Hollywood films by ensuring they were careful in portraying violence and sexual images. The industry did not want to be directly responsible for influencing people to act on things they viewed on television or in film. In this act, crimes such as murder, theft, and robbery could not be presented in detail, while portrayals of sex should not be included in the motion picture. The image to the right is the official Hays Code Poster that includes all of the actions banned from the film industry; the poster states "thou shall not law defeat, inside of thigh, lace lingerie, dead man, narcotics, drinking, exposed bosom, gambling, pointing gun, tommy gun." 

It is important to understand that this eventually changed as television and film became more popular through the 1900s, eventually relaxing regulations surrounding sex and violence. An example of this is if you have ever watched a television show or film from the 1940s and 50s, as you may recall that married couples often slept in separate twin beds to avoid suggesting sexual messages in the plot. In the 1960s, the industry shifted their focus to ensure that the appropriate audiences were viewing the film. This led to the establishment of a rating system for films and movies which would alert people of the type of content they could expect from viewing the film. I think it is important to understand that this is not the complete history of film censorship in the United States, but instead it vaguely documents the changes that led the film industry to operate the way it does today. There are still films, television shows, and books being censored today for their political, social, and 'unacceptable' ideas but the way in which the government or organizations do so is more strategic. As a society we often don't know what is being censored and how much which is an issue.

A large consideration that the government needs to think about before censoring something is how to avoid infringing on the First Amendment of the Constitution, which specifically includes Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Press, etc. Many believe that the government organizations, including the FCC, are invading these rights stated in the First Amendment when they decide to censor certain media programs. However, the FCC along with the U.S. government have established exceptions like hate speech, obscenity, defamation, etc. that allow them to censor media forms and avoid the free speech debate. I believe it would be interesting to look at a film that was censored in the film industry in the past and understand the reasoning behind taking these measures. 

A Clockwork Orange, 1971

 The film A Clockwork Orange which we previously covered in class is . Following its initial release the film immediately received harsh feedback as it displayed heavy violence and graphic sexual scenes throughout. In various scenes, the main characters were seen physically violating women in ways that could disturb most viewers and many found the film offensive and disgusting. The industry banned and censored the film because of the backlash after it was released as people associated violent scenes in the movie with acts committed in real-life as they believed it was influencing individuals that watched it. The scenes that were heavily censored were very important in the development of the plot of the film, therefore, there was really no point in viewing the movie without those graphic parts because it emphasized the themes. In addition, the industry censored the film in order to ensure that people who were not old enough or should not view the movie did not have the chance, as it was disturbing for most. 

There have been countless other films and television shows banned or censored. It is important to understand how this affects the general population and the information that is presented to us. Although the government may censor these films out of good merit, there are better ways they could prevent us from viewing certain things. In the future, we need to remain aware of how this is affecting us. 

Sources:

1. https://ncac.org/news/blog/cut-censored-banned-ncacs-top-40-film-picks

2. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-massmedia/chapter/15-4-censorship-and-freedom-of-speech/

3. https://www.aclu.org/other/what-censorship

4. https://www.britannica.com/topic/censorship