The Hays Code

Ninety years ago today, the code of standards known as the Hays Code was put into effect, shaping the form and content off all mainstream film for decades to come. In this episode, Alaina teaches us where it came from, what purpose it served, and how it fell out of use. Is self-regulation a matter of morality or profit? Does power lie in the rules or their enforcer? Did people in the 1940s actually share beds?

Links!

• The MPAA
• The Sins of Hollywood by Ed Roberts
• Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio
• The 1927 "Dont's" and "Be Carefuls"
• The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930
• Betty Boop's pre- and post-enforcement designs
• Sex Archie bonus 15: Hedwig and the Angry Inch

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Logo by Marah

Music by Thylacinus