For the television broadcasting term, please see production code number.
The
Production Code (also known as the Hays Code) was the set of industry
censorship guidelines governing the production of American motion
pictures. The Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association
(MPPDA), which later became the Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA), adopted the code in 1930, began effectively enforcing it in
1934, and abandoned it in 1967 in favor of the subsequent MPAA film
rating system. The Production Code spelled out what was morally
acceptable and morally unacceptable content for motion pictures
produced for a public audience in the U.S.A. The Production Code
enumerated three "General Principles" As Follows:
1.
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.
2. 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.
4. Specific restrictions were spelled out as "Particular Applications" of these principles:
5. Nudity and suggestive dances were prohibited.
6.The ridicule of religion was forbidden, and ministers of religion were not to be represented as comic characters or villains.
7.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."
8.Methods of crime (e.g. safe-cracking, arson, smuggling) were not to be explicitly presented.
9.
References to alleged "sex perversion" (such as homosexuality) and
venereal disease were forbidden, as were depictions of childbirth.
10. The language section banned various words and phrases that were considered to be offensive.
11.
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.
12.
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.
13. Portrayals of miscegenation were forbidden.
14.
"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."
15.
The flag of the United States was to be treated respectfully, and the
people and history of other nations were to be presented "fairly."
16.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.
Comments
new post at http://judgeright.blogspot.com
I'm not one to often wish for the "good old days" but I certainly wish for them with respect to moral standards such as this.
And to JudgeBob - couldn't agree with you more.