Origins of the Code

2019 ◽  
pp. 9-23
Author(s):  
John Billheimer
Keyword(s):  
Motion Picture ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Motion Picture Industry ◽  
Public Concern ◽  
Film Censorship ◽  
Production Code ◽  
The Us ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Seal Of Approval

This chapter traces the origins of film censorship in the US from 1910 onward. It documents the rise of public concern over movie sex and violence and traces the manner in which pressures from religious and social groups led to the formation of individual censorship entities in various states and municipalities. The motion picture industry tried to counter these pressures by forming the Motion Picture Production and Distribution Association under Will Hays and promising to police itself, an effort that proved ineffectual until 1934, when government pressure, the Legion of Decency, and Catholic boycotts led to the requirement that any motion picture produced in the US had to earn the Seal of Approval of the Production Code Administration under Joe Breen.

Signaling for access to high-demand markets: evidence from the US motion picture industry

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda S. King ◽  
John T. King ◽  
Michael Reksulak
Keyword(s):  
Motion Picture ◽  
Motion Picture Industry ◽  
High Demand ◽  
The Us

The Big Caper

2020 ◽  
pp. 182-217
Author(s):  
Robert Miklitsch
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Motion Picture ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Motion Picture Industry ◽  
Available P ◽  
Niche Markets ◽  
Stanley Kubrick ◽  
Production Code

The Brooklyn armored car robbery, which occurred on August 21, 1934, not only represented the “nation’s biggest cash heist at the time” but also provided the source material for Richard Fleischer’s Armored Car Robbery (1950), a B picture that was released the very same day as the acknowledged prototypical heist film, The Asphalt Jungle. Although the heist picture could not, and did not, crystallize as a genre until 1950 because the Production Code expressly forbid filmmakers from showing the preparation and commission of heists, the competition represented by television and the 1948 “divorcement” decree forced the motion picture industry to find new ways to attract audiences. One strategy was to continue to produce B movies. If Armored Car Robbery demonstrates the vitality of B movies before the majors decided to cease production of them in 1951 and The Killing (1956) represents the appeal of “low” crime genres such as the “caper” movie for aspiring auteurs like Stanley Kubrick, Plunder Road (1957) testifies to the rise of independent production and the sort of niche markets favored by young adults hungry for more daring cinematic fare than previously had been available.

The business model of Chinese movies

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-261
Author(s):  
Man Chen ◽  
Xiaomin Han ◽  
Xinguo Zhang ◽  
Feng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Motion Picture ◽  
New Product ◽  
Motion Picture Industry ◽  
Bass Model ◽  
Product Diffusion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Box Office ◽  
New Product Diffusion ◽  
The Us

Purpose The motion picture industry is a cultural and creative industry. Unlike its US counterpart, the Chinese motion picture industry is still developing. Therefore, learning from the US market, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the business model of Chinese movies from the perspective of new product diffusion. Design/methodology/approach Based on 66 movies released in the US and 21 movies released in China, this paper first compares the diffusion curves of Chinese and US movies through the movie life cycle and box office trends. Next, it analyzes the moviegoing behaviors of Chinese and US audiences based on the innovation and imitation coefficients in the Bass model. Finally, it compares the attention to information of Chinese and US audiences from the perspective of interpersonal word-of-mouth (WOM). Findings In the USA, a movie’s highest weekly box office is usually in its opening week, followed by a weekly decline in revenue; in China, there is no difference in box office performance between the first two weeks, but a weekly decline in revenue similarly follows. US audiences pay more attention to advertisements for movies than WOM recommendations, while Chinese people pay more attention to WOM recommendations. Neither the Chinese nor the US market differs in the volume of WOM between the first week before release and the opening week, and these two weeks are the most active period of WOM in both markets. Practical implications During the production phase for Chinese movies, we should satisfy opinion leaders’ needs. During the distribution phase, we should not only focus on market spending before the movie’s release, but also increase market spending in the opening week. During the theater release phase, we should stimulate WOM communication between moviegoers and thereby attract many more opinion seekers. Originality/value Few studies have investigated the Chinese motion picture industry from the perspective of new products. This paper compares and analyzes the diffusion of Chinese and US movies using the Bass model of new product diffusion, providing systematic theoretical guidelines for the commercial operation of the Chinese motion picture industry.

Hitchcock and the Censors

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Billheimer
Keyword(s):  
Motion Picture ◽  
Stage Fright ◽  
No Production ◽  
Rear Window ◽  
Production Code ◽  
The Us

The Motion Picture Production Code controlled the content and final cut on all films made and distributed in the US from 1934 to 1968. Code officials protected sensitive ears from the standard four-letter words as well as a few five-letter words like tramp and six-letter words like cripes. They also scrubbed ‘excessively lustful’ kissing from the screen, and ensured that no criminal went unpunished. Censors demanded an average of twenty changes, ranging from trivial to mind-boggling, on each of Alfred Hitchcock’s films during his most productive years. No production escaped these changes, which rarely improved the finished film. Code reviewers dictated the ending of’ Rebecca, shortened the shower scene in’ Psycho, absolved Cary Grant of guilt in’ Suspicion, edited Cole Porter’s lyrics in’ Stage Fright, and decided which shades should be drawn in’ Rear Window. Nevertheless, Hitchcock still managed to push the boundaries of sex and violence permitted in films by charming (and occasionally tricking) the censors and by swapping off bits of dialogue, plot points, and individual shots (some of which had been deliberately inserted as trading chips) to protect cherished scenes and images. The director’s priorities in dealing with the censors highlight both his theories of suspense and the single-mindedness of Code officials. Hitchcock and the Censors’ traces the forces that led to the Production Code and describes Hitchcock’s interactions with Code officials on a film-by-film basis as he fought to protect his creations, bargaining with Code reviewers and sidestepping censorship to produce a lifetime of memorable films.

scholarly journals Egyptian film censorship

2012 ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Dina Mansour
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Motion Picture ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Motion Picture Industry ◽  
Local Markets ◽  
Film Censorship ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The Relationship

Films are a representation and manifestation of culture; yet, since the early days of filmmaking public debates have questioned whether “the motion picture industry was morally fit to control the content of its own products” (Robichaux). Today, the Arab world is plagued by the same dilemma. In a region where government censorship is the norm, heavy restrictions are imposed on locally produced films as a means of “safeguarding” public norms, religion and culture. Also problematic in today’s globalised world is the influx of foreign films into local markets, which not only defy public norms, but also represent cultural values and traditions that are quite alien to societies that have been inherently religious and conservative. Against this background, this article aims to analyse the role of censorship in Egypt with regard to the relationship between cinema and culture—a relationship often overlooked and perhaps intentionally ignored. In doing so, it will examine how censorship has traditionally been used as a tool to control the representation of existing social and cultural realities and to define cultural and religious norms, thus also affecting the normative context.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Cohan
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Motion Picture ◽  
Motion Picture Industry ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Silent Era

The introduction provides the theoretical argument of the book. It explains why the backstudio picture is not a cycle but a genre in its own right, and how the genre depicts Hollywood as a geographic place in Los Angeles, as an industry, and as a symbol. It goes on to show how the backstudio picture has historically served to brand the motion picture industry as “Hollywood,” working in much the same way as consumer brands do today. Additionally, the introduction provides a historical overview of the genre, focusing on its four major cycles of production, from the silent era to the present day. Finally, it briefly describes the content of the seven chapters.

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