BACK TO THE FUTURE: Hollywood is Out of Control. Is it Time to Reinstate Public ‘Morality Codes’?
Chris Lewis from the University of Colorado Boulder produced a short historical report on the The Production Code of 1930, known as The Hays Code. To read The Production Code published on March 31, 1930 click here.
The historical report states:
From virtually the earliest years of their existence, movies were regarded by many people as a baleful influence on public morality. In the United States, censorship was exercised pretty much on a local option basis. Many states and individual cities had their own censorship boards that often ordered the deletion of shots, scenes, and/or title cards before a film could be exhibited within its borders, sometimes banning films outright. The fact that a film was banned somewhere was very often turned into a marketing ploy to gain publicity in other, less easily offended cities. [Emphasis added]
Lewis noted:
By 1922, however, spurred by several recent high-profile scandals involving Hollywood celebrities, calls for some type of federal action were heard. In self-defense, motion picture producers passed a succession of moral rules or “codes” meant to guide the content of motion pictures, overseen by former postmaster Will Hays and often referred to as the “Hays Code.” [Emphasis added]
Karl Marx said, “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” The Production Code of 1930 was in-part a reaction to the “first sexual revolution” which, according to Wikipedia, was during the Roaring Twenties after World War I and it included writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edna Saint Vincent Millay, and Ernest Hemingway.
It appears that Hollywood is repeating itself and is seen by many as farcical.
In 2017 Americans saw Hollywood battered by an ongoing series of sex scandals first reported in an October 5th, 2017 New York Times article titled “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades.” This story, coupled with growing numbers of both actors and actresses coming forward to report sexual abuses, has led to the #MeToo movement.
Lewis wrote:
In 1930, therefore, a new code—which came to be known as the Hollywood Production Code—was written. The industry accepted it nominally, although many movies stretched it to its limits or simply ignored it, prompting more public outcry. Movies made between 1930-34 are thus often referred to as “pre-code,” even though the Production Code was theoretically in effect. Many filmmakers during this period tried to stretch the code to its limits, if not defying it outright, especially in their use of sexual innuendoes, risqué costumes, and implicitly immoral characters. [Emphasis added]
In 1968 The Production Code of 1930 was abandoned by Hollywood and replaced by a letter rating system for movies, which, slightly modified, is still used today. This change in ratings was in-part a reaction to the “second sexual revolution.” According to Wikipedia,
[T]he age of changes in perception and practices of sexuality that developed from around 1960 was to reach mainstream America, most of western Europe, and parts of Asia. Indeed, the available quantitative evidence demonstrates that measures of non-traditional sexual behavior (e.g., gonorrhea incidence, births out of wedlock, and births to teenagers) began to rise dramatically in the mid to late 1950s. It brought about profound shifts in the attitudes to women’s sexuality, homosexuality, pre-marital sexuality and the freedom of sexual expression.
Psychologists and scientists such as Wilhelm Reich and Alfred Kinsey influenced the revolution, as well as literature and films, and the social movements of the period, including the counterculture movement, the women’s movement, and the gay rights movement. The counterculture contributed to the awareness of radical cultural change that was the social matrix of the sexual revolution. [Emphasis added]
Lewis wrote this about the current system of ratings:
… [The] Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) letter ratings was first established in 1968 (and later slightly modified), freeing filmmakers to include whatever content they desired and submit it for an official rating. These ratings, however, were not based upon moral values or attitudes (as the Production Code’s guidelines had emphasized), but simply upon the content itself. Somewhat vague quotas for levels of violence, sexual activity or discussions, nudity, and profanity were used to divide films into groups, with a letter assigned to give viewers a rough idea of what it might or might not contain. [Emphasis added]
Perhaps it is time to go back to a system based upon ‘moral values or attitudes” in order to save future generations?
Hollywood has become the purveyor of immorality and politics for profit. Hollywood actively promotes the counterculture, the pro-choice women’s, and the gay rights movements. While it is true that the individual can decide not to go the a particular movie because it does not appeal to their sensibilities. The rapid growth of streaming videos on YouTube, via smart phones, computers, and tablets, make it nearly impossible to control content.
It may be time to go back to insure the future. Why? Because in 2018 movies are regarded by many people as a baleful influence on public morality.
President Trump has made defending religious liberty a hallmark of his administration. It may be time for cities, states and Congress to defend morality and re-institute “morality codes” for not only movies but online and streaming content?
What do you think?
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