The Hays Code

What is the Hays code?
What was acceptable and what was unacceptable content for films produced for a public audience in the United States.

What are the principles of this code?
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.
Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation
What are the implications of each principle?
Nakedness and suggestive dances were prohibited.
The ridicule of religion was forbidden, and ministers of religion were not to be represented as comic characters or villains.
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.
Methods of crime (e.g. safe-cracking, arson, smuggling) were not to be explicitly presented.
References to alleged sex perversion (such as homosexuality) and venereal disease were forbidden, as were depictions of childbirth.
The language section banned various words and phrases that were considered to be offensive.
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.
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.
Portrayals of miscegenation (inter-racial marriage and procreation) were forbidden.
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.
The flag of the United States was to be treated respectfully, and the people and history of other nations were to be presented fairly.
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 or animals, prostitution and surgical operations were to be handled with similar sensitivity.

Why was a code created originally?
It was an attempt to censor all potential threats to public morality in the American film industry.


How to the restrictions of the code impact on the film industry?
As filmmakers, they weren’t allowed to show things that society at the time weren’t used to. By following the code they weren’t able to shock the audience or show reality. The code restricted filmmakers in not only what they could physically show on screen but also the themes the films could hold, even the messages in the films had to be censored. The code effected films in every way, from mise en scene and diegesis to the theme and meaning of a film.


Hays Code and Censorship
1. Think about the Hays Code. What types of restrictions did it place on film makers between the 1920’s and 1960’s?
As filmmakers, they weren’t allowed to show things that society at the time weren’t used to, they could only show the innocence of life, from the code they weren’t able to shock the audience as they just weren’t able to put it on film. The code restricted filmmakers in not only what they could physically show on screen but also the themes the films could hold, even the messages in the films had to be censored. To a point filmmakers couldn’t show the truth, they couldn’t express their films how they wanted to, they couldn’t show the real world as society hadn’t been exposed to it The code effected films in every way, from mise en scene and diegesis to the theme and meaning of a film.

2. In what ways might Psycho have flouted these restrictions?
They showed the lead girl taking a shower this would flout the restrictions and the murder scenes.

3. The Hays Code merged into the types of ratings we have today. How does our ratings system differ do you think
Although a film may be given a rating of 18, this is the worst that can happen, not everyone can see it but filmmakers can put whatever they want in films.

4. We often talk about desensitisation of violence. What do we mean by this?
Society now is very different to society around the Hays code. It is much less shocking to audiences now because we’re used to violence and it doesn’t affect us as much. Although violence of some extent is still very shocking, we are much less sensitive to it.

The idea of the monster
1. Give reasons why Norman Bates was so scary to audiences when this film was released. Think about why it might be scarier than the previous monsters.
Norman Bates was scary to audiences because he appeared to be a normal/regular man. No one would have suspected him of being crazy or a murderer. Norman Bates was just an ordinary guy, and when one examines what he did, its quite terrifying. The fact that he looks like an ordinary person was scary because he wasn’t identifiable.
Audiences
1. In what ways have the audiences of horror film changed?
The audiences of horror films, once, when the Hays Code was in practice, were very sheltered and innocent didn’t know alot about cruel reality. The audience of horror films have become much less sensitive, harder to scare, used to violence which would once shock and audience. Society now sees much more and is sheltered from much less than they once were.

2. Think about how might this influence how horror films are made.
Horror films need to advance; they need to be worse than the audience. And so when made the violence has to be shown, it can’t be skipped over as simply allusion.. Filmmakers now have to think up reasons for the terror, they can’t just say it’s there as that won’t be enough, every detail has to be told and has to terrify the audience.