Cinema during the 1960’s was vastly different to how it is
now.
With the change in social and cultural values during the
60’s, media is also having to change along with this. Throughout the duration
of the 1960’s, a motion picture production code was enforced all the way
through till the end of the decade, this code wasn’t a law, but a list of “Do
not and be careful”. Rules which disallowed a variety of denotative themes such
as; rape, the use of firearms, sympathy for criminals and blasphemy.
Therefore, if a motion picture didn’t stick by the “do not
and be careful” then the film-makers wouldn’t get charged legally but they
would however, most likely be fined, and their film will almost certainly not
be shown in cinemas, therefore losing out on their work being shown to a public
audience.
This code didn’t only effect a variety
motion pictures, but the hays code even went as far as changing the animated
character “Betty Boop”. After this code was put in place, her dress had changed
to a longer skirt, tights and a higher neckline. An example however of films which were effected by
censorship is 1960’s Ocean’s eleven which premiered in US theatres, featuring
the ‘The rat pack’ Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin etc. Which is similar plot but
different outcome to the 2001 Oceans eleven featuring, Brad Pitt and George
Clooney. Both films robbing Las Vegas’ renowned casino but only one of the two
films actually ends up with the characters actually gaining something from
carrying out the crime.
There were acceptations to the Hays code, in some motion
pictures, for example in the 1968 “Planet of The Apes” a line in the movie
states ‘God damn you all to hell” this however passed, as it was treated as not
being blasphemous as they were being ‘literate’.
The 1964 a film by
carolee schneeman “Meat Joy” had caught they eye of many, based on eight nude
figures dancing around playing with various raw meat or fish and messing around
in paint. Listed as an independent film on IMDB this film was mainly created as
an expression of art, rather than a form of contextual film, and viewed live
rather than in cinemas, this meant Schneeman could avoid the “do not and be
carefuls” which filmmakers not artists should stick to.
By the mid 1960s
a new president was elected for the Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA) and wanted to move away from Hays code, to a rating system which based
films on age appropriate-ness. Film ratings constantly get updated for example
the British board of film censors (BBFC) had given Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The
Birds’ is given an “X” rating in 1960 but has now gone down to a 15 rating. For
example, instead of a consistent age certification, movies had categories such
as an “X” which indicated a horror film and limited to audiences age 17 and
over.
This nevertheless brought confusion among many thinking that
X-rated films were to be avoided totally, and that they were off limits. Since
then this has been developed which brings us to the ratings that we now have
today.
Bibliography – Hays
Code during the 1960s
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