Regulation and Censorship in the Film Industry

Paper Summary:

Through an examination of the history of film in America, this paper looks at the censorship and regulation of the film industry and argues that the need for regulation was forced upon the industry (and still is, in a way) for no other reason than that conservative elements of America felt that what the average American could see should be censored. The paper further argues that this regulation was not merely to prevent bawdiness, lewdness, or unsuitable physical actions that stimulated sexual feelings, but also to regulate the politicization of the movies.

From the Paper:

"Following the end of the War, while many film makers now turned to a rather "new" sophistication, there was also a very serious anti-Communist note in some movies. While the real "Red Scare" occurred in the 1950s, in 1919, for example, there was real concern that the newly Communist Russia might actually invade the U.S. "Conservative films such as The New Moon (1919) disparaged communists and communism with scenes of perfidious Bolshevik officers attacking vulnerable young women....In The Penalty...audiences saw 10,00 disgruntled foreign workers, armed with rifles and pistols, waiting to open fire on police and take over the city of San Francisco." (Ross 136). Politicians applauded these films, even though they often misrepresented actual events. This included several truly anti-Semitic films, which, under extreme political pressure, were forced to change character names and some dialogue. "Pressure from the Yiddish press and Governor Al Smith forced the producers of The Volcano to alter its blatantly anti-Semitic plot. The hero's name was changed from Garland to Nathan Levison and the hook-nosed villain was given the line: 'I am not Jew. I am a Bolshevik.!'" (Ross 141)."

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