“A 1915 Supreme Court ruling opened the way for censorship of film along many fronts, incl
“A 1915 Supreme Court ruling opened the way for censorship of film along many fronts, including sexuality. The Court ruled that movies were a for-profit business and therefore not protected by the right to freedom of speech spelled out in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Within a few years of this ruling, several states began to pass censorship laws that addressed obscenity and ‘inappropriate’ topics for film. But it was not until 1931 that the film industry began policing and censoring itself through the Production Code and the Hays Censorship Office. Reference to homosexuality, gay and lesbian characters and themes, and even words like "pansy” were out. Thirty years later, in 1961, the Production Code changed once again and homosexuality was permitted official visibility provided it was portrayed with 'care, discretion, and restraint.’ Despite these cautions, words such as 'fag, faggot, fruit, dyke, pansy’ were freely admitted on the big screen. By 1968, the Production Code was eliminated completely and homosexuality was, for the first time, fair game for filmmakers.“-Excerpt from Media Messages What Film, Television, and Popular Music Teach Us about Race, Class, Gender, and Sexual Orientation by Linda Holtzman -- source link
#homosexuality#production code#hays censorship#queer film#queer history#old hollywood#classic hollywood#supreme court#audrey hepburn#shirley maclaine