The Hays Code-Hollywood's most infamous censorship policy. However, it shaped the industry

 Movies from the Mid 1930's to the Late 1960's, there's something magical about the aforementioned Golden Age of Hollywood that a lot of old timers or critics like about that's better than the commercialized bastardization they're forced to rib on.

(Think Roger Ebert who preferred Golden Age era films.)

But did you know that the Golden Age of Hollywood was kind of dictated by one of the most infamous censorship systems of the time?

Yeah that's right. I'm talking about the infamous Hays Code. Those two words that will make modern generations cringe as well as bring back bad memories for old directors who are still alive.

So what the hell was the Hays Code?

It was a censorship code that mandated certain things that can or cannot be on film.

If you think the rise of woke culture has been damaging Hollywood? Take a moment to stop and think about what the Hays Office was doing to movies from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Imagine being told by the Hays Office you can't have gratuitous violence, let alone blood and gore.

Or any sexual innuendos or explicit content,

or any swearing, aside from Clark Gable's use of the word DAMN.

You also weren't allowed to voice your own opinions on politics or religion even if it was thinly veiled and if it's political, it had to be kept in American values.

Drug and alcohol abuse was also forbidden.

Criminal Activity was also forbidden in movies. Something Howard Hughes did not take kindly to.

This list goes on but you get the gist of the issues with the censorship code.

The funny thing was, the Hays Code wasn't enforced due to moral guardians or by Hollywood saying so but the reality was, it was formed due to fearing the U.S Government wanting to censor films themselves. We can blame Fatty Arbuckle for making Hollywood do the deed of Censorship so the Government doesn't do it so.

What I can say is that the Hays Code did have an effect on the industry, and one that has done it's fair share of damage. 

For example, it killed the Betty Boop cartoons by rewriting her character to be less of a sex symbol and more of a housewife, which actually diminished her appeal. 

Not that it mattered since she started to get overshadowed by Popeye by 1935.

The image above is from Popeye meets Sinbad which is from 1936 but you get the gist of it.

Gone with the Wind was hit with this multiple times. One example was having to hide a majority of childbirth but the most memorable was the fight to keep Clark Gable's famous

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give damn" line uncensored.

The thing about criminal activity being forbidden contributed to Disney rewriting Mr. Toad into being framed for hijacking a car instead of literally hijacking like he did in the original novel and later subsequent BBC adaptations of Wind in the Willows.

So before you ask, it's not a Disney thing but rather the man begrudgingly adhering to the code.

Speaking about cartoons vs censorship, I can only imagine how openly disdainful many people were about the Hays Code, to the point that they want to make fun of it.

You know the 1942 short "A tale of two Kitties" right?

Well if you do, then you all know the famous:

"If the Hays Office would only let me I'd give him the bird alright." 

You can imagine Bob Clampett and the rest of his animators at Termite Terrace did not thing kindly to the Hays Office which would explain the joke. The joke was actually based on flipping the bird on people but in context, the line was actually meant to be Catstello giving Babbitt Tweety Bird and eating him but the whole "Give me the bird" line would be misinterpreted as something vulgar. 

I have a theory that maybe the Hays Office joke was the inspiration for the writers of Animaniacs and where they got the idea for making fun of the FOX censors, by watching "A Tale of Two Kitties" just for the Hays Office Joke.

But yeah,  nobody liked the Hays Code, in fact, they outright hated it. You can tell that by the 1960's every film maker was growing very weary of the Hays Code and so they decided to subvert it the best they could.

The last nail in the coffin for the Hays Code was in 1966 when MGM released BLOW UP without the Hays Office's approval due to explicit content and due to the critical success of that film, the jig was up, the Hays Office was no more. Two years later, The MPAA rating system we now use today was created and that opened more doors for more mature content such as Easy Rider, A Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver, The Shining, etc.

And that's mostly for Live-Action films. Cartoons however were unaffected by the new change due to moral guardians, tv executives, etc. but that didn't stop Ralph Bakshi from releasing Fritz the Cat in 1972.

The executives, AKA the F***ing intellectuals, couldn't stop Ralph from making my movie in 1972. Aside from being killed off by my creator Robert Crumb.

I had more to talk about but I felt so frustrated with the current atmosphere that my brain can't concentrate what to rant about and I subsequently forget but of course I wouldn't forget all I know about the Hays Office.

Given the frustrations I get will all impede my attempts to rant and give me headaches, I think it's about time to start thinking in new topics such as analysis's about classic cartoons such as Popeye.

Speaking about Popeye, here's a sneak peak of what's to come in my Popeye Posts:

For the record, I will only focus on the original Fleischer Studios Popeye cartoons. 

The Famous Studios era is a complete misunderstanding of what makes Popeye so Iconic. And considering that the Famous era Popeyes started during WWII, it makes them a bit dated.

Sure, Fleischer's Popeyes are set during the great depression but that's what makes Fleischer's Popeyes more enjoyable than any modern take on the franchise. It's also what I got exposed to when I first started watching the Popeye Cartoons back in my childhood.

And unlike a certain former animator who I still read his blog, I get better captures thanks to my software of Choice: VLC Player so I get cleaner captures... well cleaner as in there are no cursor grabs.

The screen captures will still get a bit hampered by the various video resolutions I'm dealt with but at least I'll give you best treats there will be in my blog.

See you in the next posts... coming very soon.