We imposed a chronological cutoff in an effort to look back at where we have been and the way we received to here. I was already conversant in American films of this period, having collaborated on The Classical Hollywood Cinema (1985, Columbia University Press) with David and with Janet Staiger.
1914 The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), which in 1906 condemned the influence of films on the well being, well-being and morals of impressionable youth, begins to lobby aggressively for presidency regulation of movies. The WCTU claims that movies are “addictive,” that they glorify struggle and violence, and that they cause crime, delinquency and immoral conduct. 1909 The National Board of Censorship, representing mainstream Protestantism, is created after complaints about “indecent” movies causes movie theaters in New York City to close.
Its popular weekly present Saturday Night at the Movies, was instantly duplicated by the other networks, and by 1968, … Read More