|
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral guidelines that was applied to most United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly, albeit inaccurately, known as the Hays Code, after Will H. Hays, who was the president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) from 1922 to 1945. Under Hays' leadership, the MPPDA, later known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), adopted the Production Code in 1930 and began strictly enforcing it in 1934. The Production Code spelled out what was acceptable and what was unacceptable content for motion pictures produced for a public audience in the United States. From 1934 to 1954, the code was closely identified with Joseph Breen, the administrator appointed by Hays to enforce the code in Hollywood. The film industry followed the guidelines set by the code well into the late 1950s, but during this time the code began to weaken due to the combined impact of television, influence from foreign films, bold directors (such as Otto Preminger) pushing the envelope, and intervention from the courts, including the Supreme Court.〔McGilligan (2004), p. 376.〕〔Sperling et al (1998), p. 325.〕 In 1968, after several years of minimal enforcement, the outdated Production Code was replaced by the MPAA film rating system. ==Background== In 1922, after several risqué films and a series of off-screen scandals involving Hollywood stars, the studios enlisted Presbyterian elder Will H. Hays to rehabilitate Hollywood's image. Hollywood in the 1920s was badgered by a number of widespread scandals, such as the murder of William Desmond Taylor and alleged rape of Virginia Rappe by popular movie star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, which brought widespread condemnation from religious, civic, and political organizations. Many felt the movie industry had always been morally questionable.〔''Encyc. of World Biog.: Suppl.'' (2001), "Will Hays"〕 Political pressure was increasing, with legislators in 37 states introducing almost one hundred movie censorship bills in 1921. Hays was paid the then-lavish sum of $100,000 a year.〔〔Gardner (2005), (p. 92 ).〕〔Leff & Simmons (2001), p. 3.〕 Hays, Postmaster General under Warren G. Harding and former head of the Republican National Committee,〔Siegel & Siegel (2004), p. 190.〕 served for 25 years as president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), where he "defended the industry from attacks, recited soothing ''nostrums'', and negotiated treaties to cease hostilities".〔Doherty (1999), p. 6.〕 The move mimicked the decision Major League Baseball had made in hiring judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis as League Commissioner the previous year to quell questions about the integrity of baseball in the wake of the 1919 World Series gambling scandal; ''The New York Times'' even called Hays the "screen Landis".〔Yagoda (1980), ("Hollywood Cleans Up ..." )〕 In 1924, Hays introduced a set of recommendations dubbed "The Formula", which the studios were advised to heed, and asked filmmakers to describe to his office the plots of pictures they were planning on making.〔Prince (2003), p. 20.〕 The Supreme Court had already decided unanimously in 1915 in ''Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio'' that free speech did not extend to motion pictures,〔Jowett (1989), p. 16.〕 and while there had been token attempts to clean up the movies before—such as when the studios formed the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry (NAMPI) in 1916—little had come of the efforts.〔Butters Jr. (2007), p. 149.〕 New York became the first state to take advantage of the Supreme Court's decision by instituting a censorship board in 1921. Virginia followed suit the following year,〔Butters Jr. (2007), p. 148.〕 with eight individual states having a board by the advent of sound film,〔LaSalle (2000), p. 62.〕〔Vieira (1999), pp. 7–8.〕 but many of these were ineffectual. By the 1920s, the New York stage—a frequent source of subsequent screen material—had topless shows, performances filled with curse words, mature subject matters, and sexually suggestive dialogue.〔Butters Jr. (2007), p. 187.〕 Early in the sound system conversion process, it became apparent that what might be acceptable in New York would not be so in Kansas.〔 In 1927, Hays suggested to studio executives that they form a committee to discuss film censorship. Irving G. Thalberg of Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Sol Wurtzel of Fox, and E. H. Allen of Paramount responded by collaborating on a list they called the "Don'ts and Be Carefuls", which was based on items that were challenged by local censor boards. This list consisted of eleven subjects best avoided and twenty-six to be handled very carefully. The list was approved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Hays created the Studio Relations Committee (SRC) to oversee its implementation;〔Vieira (1999), p. 8.〕〔Prince (2003), p. 31.〕 however, there was still no way to enforce tenets.〔 The controversy surrounding film standards came to a head in 1929.〔LaSalle (2002), p. 1.〕〔Butters Jr. (2007), p. 189.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Motion Picture Production Code」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|