Our Responses

Stewart Hall's Personal Response
The Hays Code was a set of rules put together to govern the content of motion pictures. This was done in an attempt to self govern motion picture production driven by the fear that the government would begin to regulate it. The code promotes law and cultural values of the 1930's. Film noir is a style of film that is based on hardboiled fiction and presented with various elements of the German expressionist movement such as dark sets, shadows, and underworld environments. The Hays Code was in place from 1934 through 1968 which coincides with the film noir period of the 1940's and 1950's. The nature of the film noir made it difficult for writers to agree with the style and simultaneously comply with the Hays Code. In researching this topic, I found that the scripts of film noirs often had to be changed in ways that may have changed the meaning of the story or left the audience questioning what was really happening. I also realized that the presence of this code implies that the books we are reading were probably very risqué.

The changes that writers may have been forced to make probably changed the way the story was perceived by the viewers of a film and may have made the movie confusing. The hays code had three primary goals for censoring films: a film cannot reduce the moral standards of viewers, a film can only present correct standards of life, and a film may not ridicule the law or law enforcement. This presents a problem for elements of German expressionism and hardboiled fiction. As an example, The Maltese Falcon was a movie that had to be changed to comply with the Hays Code. First, there could be no implicit sex between Brigid and Spade. This is a problem, because a main theme in film noir is sexual motivation of characters and the roles of femme fatales. Further, drinking, Spade's contact with Effie, and Spade's attitude towards police and lawyers had to be suppressed. A staple of the hardboiled detective is that he is completely in control. All of these things reinforce the control that Spade has over his environment. Removing these elements weakens Spade's character as a hardboiled detective.

Censorship of the film versions of hardboiled stories implies that the book versions were probably extremely risqué. During the Hays Code and film noir period, films were becoming a wide reaching form of entertainment. Due to the presence of the Hays Code, there was a gap between what was permitted in films and what was written in books. This gap probably made the books that we are reading seem very intense and risky to readers at the time. That could be one reason that the stories were so popular. The new and dangerous territories covered by these stories probably greatly interested readers at the time.

The difference between the stories backing film noirs and the Hays Code approved films not only had the present two different stories with different themes, but also caused a gap between written stories and films. This may have made books look far more risky than movies at the time and possibly caused people to question the differences between books and their movie counterparts. This may have even fueled the writing of some of the crime stories at the time and influenced the shift away from the cultural values that were accepted in the 1930's.

Samiah Iqbal's Personal Response
The genre of film noir emerged in the 1940s during the post-war era. Its roots can be traced back to hard-boiled fiction and German Expressionism. The period following the Great Depression was one of disillusionment, fear, and anxiety. These emotions were portrayed in films through acts of murder that revealed a dark underworld full of crime and corruption. The cinematography during this period was very unique. Camera angles, a dark setting, inclement weather, and shadows and smoke were used to create an ominous setting.

Due to the social, political, and economic climate of America preceding the World Wars, there were a lot of factors that led to the success of film noir. Hollywood did not have a large budget for films and these movies were minimal in cost because only a few actors had to be hired and the dark look was cheap to produce. Screenwriters were also able to address social concerns in these films. Urbanization during this time led to the expansion of cities, which were characterized by crime and corruption. Hollywood itself was located in a big city, which created more material for the directors and actors to work with. In 1947, the government enforced anti-communist and anti-Semitic policies pertaining to Hollywood. This created an atmosphere of paranoia that could be seen in many of the characters in film noir.

The Motion Picture Production Code, also known as the Hays Code, was a set of censorship guidelines that regulated the content in films produced in the United States during the period 1934 to 1968. The Hays Code was purely written in response to the fear and paranoia that many Americans were experiencing due to the fallout of World War II. The Code outlawed vulgarity, sexual conduct, drug use, explicit language, brutality, and the undermining of authority in all films released during this time. The Hays Code conflicted with the styles and themes of film noir.

Film noir came into existence during the time the Hays Code was enforced; yet it was still able to thrive. The reason this is odd is because film noir is characterized by everything that the Hays Code outlawed. The carefully planned murder scenes, the sexual tension between the hero and the femme fatale, the abundance of smoking and drinking, and the constant undermining of law enforcement were central to the theme of film noir. The hard-boiled fiction and the murder mysteries that made it to the big screen were heavily edited to exclude all of the above.

Those who watched films such as Maltese Falcon definitely had a different experience than those who simply read the book because the content varied so much. During this time, people found the storylines of hard-boiled fiction riveting and entertaining because the ideas were new and bizarre. In the films, it was difficult to portray these dramatic scenes accurately while still complying with the code. Although this created problems, I can see the reason for creating such guidelines. The government’s fear of outside threats was understandable and they felt that it was necessary to take precautions in letting people know that no one would sympathize with those who committed crimes, that immoral conduct would not be tolerated, and that law enforcement had the utmost power. Even with the influence of the Hays Code, film noir was able to draw in large crowds. Ultimately, it was great entertainment for people and movie sales were beneficial to the recovering economy.

Anne Spessard's Personal Response
The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 was the formal name but informally it was the Hays Code. I do see how much of an impact Hays Code has made on movies especially when it was first written in the 1930s. Hays Code laid out certain rules that were made mandatory in films to make sure that mass emotional powered responses did not become of any film produced. As seen over on our relevant links, there are many rules and regulations that were laid out by the Motion Picture Association covering all kinds of various scenes that could be played out.

My personal opinion on the Hays Code is that it had very little to do with morality like they like to say; I do believe however that it played a big political part. This was all during the fear of communism. Having an emotionally charged group from the films can be tied closely with methods of Marx and Hitler. One of the key points listed in this code was to not ridicule the law or law enforcement. This was to reduce that fear of Communism throughout the United States.

The other reasoning for the Hays Code was to promote cultural values. Saying that to connect to the audience left their morals at risk. The whole goal was to use the power of social influences to provide a common morality for everyone. Therefore, there were many movies that had to be altered due to this code that was laid out. This includes The Maltese Falcon, there were numerous situations between Bridgette and Spade that had to be changed as well as how Spade interacted with the detective. The film could have played out a lot differently, and could have completely changed how the film was viewed compared to the book itself. Censorship during this time was affecting how the story played out by eliminating important parts from the written version. Deeming them “too sexual” for audiences.

This to me is not what films are all about, today the system has changed for the better and instead making it mandatory to eliminate risqué and provocative scenes they leave it to the producer. The rating system is a good substitute and although producers will eliminate some parts; it is just to get a lower rating. This gives each individual in the audience the chance to make up their own mind about the movie. Just as we all interpret literature in our own way. It’s the reason we have art, to come to our own conclusions and to not be guided by a book of rules.