Film Censorship
Regulating America's Screen
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Book Presentation:
Film Censorship is a concise overview of Hollywood censorship and efforts to regulate American films. It provides a lean introductory survey of U.S. cinema censorship from the pre-Code years and classic studio system Golden Age—in which film censorship thrived—to contemporary Hollywood. From the earliest days of cinema, movies faced controversy over screen images and threats of censorship. This volume draws extensively on primary research from motion picture archives to unveil the fascinating behind-the-scenes history of cinema censorship and explore how Hollywood responded to censorial constraints on screen content in a changing American cultural and industrial landscape.
This primer on American film censorship considers the historical evolution of motion-picture censorship in the United States spanning the Jazz Age Prohibition era, lobbying by religious groups against Hollywood, industry self-censorship for the Hays Office, federal propaganda efforts during wartime, easing of regulation in the 1950s and 1960s, the MPAA ratings system, and the legacy of censorship in later years. Case studies include The Outlaw, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Scarface, Double Indemnity, Psycho, Bonnie and Clyde, Midnight Cowboy, and The Exorcist, among many others.
About the Author:
Sheri Chinen Biesen is a Professor of Film History at Rowan University. She is the author of Music in the Shadows: Noir Musical Films (2014) and Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir (2005).
Press Reviews:
Although most introductory textbooks touch upon the broader subject, with a short gloss of the Production Code Administration (PCA), there’s never been a handy guide or a more thorough treatment until now, with Sheri Chinen Biesen’s expertly researched, amply illustrated, and wonderfully concise primer Film Censorship: Regulating America’s Screen. . . . Film Censorship fills an important gap and is sure to provide a vital resource for students and readers eager to immerse themselves in this fascinating and equally fraught subject. Noah Isenberg, Film Quarterly
[A] thoroughly researched introduction to American film censorship. Katherine Waters, Times Literary Supplement
Through original and rich case studies, this volume explores the authorship, power and organization of censorship in compelling ways. Enormously valuable. Ellen Scott, University of California, Los Angeles
This impressive, concise, readable book should become a standard in university classrooms that teach American film culture. . . . Essential. Choice
Students of film censorship should learn about this crucial legal component of the regulation of American screens. Journal of American History
> From the same author:
Through a Noir Lens (2024)
Adapting Film Noir Visual Style
Blackout (2005)
World War II and the Origins of Film Noir
> On a related topic:
Censoring Hollywood (2011)
Sex and Violence in Film and on the Cutting Room Floor
Hollywood's Censor (2007)
Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration
Classical Film Violence (2003)
Designing and Regulating Brutality in Hollywood Cinema, 1930-1968
Subject: Countries > United States
Controlling Hollywood (1999)
Censorship and Regulation in the Studio Era
Dir. Matthew H. Bernstein
Subject: Countries > United States
Dirty Real (2024)
Exile on Hollywood and Vine with the Gin Mill Cowboys
Subject: Countries > United States
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