How the Catholic Church censored Hollywood's Golden Age

For decades Hollywood studios needed to follow a strict set of moral guidelines if they wanted their movies to get made.
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From 1934 to 1954 every Hollywood movie needed to follow a strict set of guidelines laid out by the Catholic church. They included such things as barring excessive drinking, on screen nudity, and even sexual relationships between races. Enforcement was overseen by the Production Code administration, which was led by Joseph Breen. In order to ensure that the production code was followed the Catholic Church founded the Legion of Decency, a group with millions of members that threatened to boycott any movie that didn’t adhere to the guidelines. For decades every line of dialogue needed to be approved by Breen and his administration, making him one of the most powerful people in the history of cinema.
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[@Vox]

The Hays Code left its mark on cinema, but the invention of technicolor revolutionized it. The Wizard of Oz was a prime example. Watch our video here: bit.ly/2GPLmK2

[@repivonex]

And the Golden Compass (sequel)

[@bonniea8189]

The timeline presented of how the code came to be doesn't work: Herbert Hoover was POTUS until 1932, when FDR took office. The stock market crash that precipitated the start of The Great Depression was in August 1929. The New Deal programs started in 1933, which is the same year the League of Decency formed. This video says the studios voluntarily adopted The Production Code out of fear of regulation by FDR's administration "but then in 1930 The Great Depression hit". So the expert's claim that fear of interference from the FDR administration drove the studios doesn't make sense because it didn't exist yet.

[@marcusvachon845]

Vox Why didn't you speak of the Hayes Code until your comment? It is my understanding that this censorship occurred because of a man named of Hayes.

[@FailMatt]

actually the Hays Code was just a suggestion that Will Hays sent to producers, no one followed it though (I'm pretty upset they didn't mention it in this video though too)

[@marcusvachon845]

Matt Tobin Okay, thank you for the clarification.

[@ashleys1145]

No wonder the movies of the 70's after the code days had so much sex and violence.

[@acdragonrider]

How far we have fallen.

[@popefrancis8153]

Yes humans have issues sometimes

[@josephpeters7627]

@Cardboard Cape To little violence in film?

[@lucascesar029]

And no wonder how people today are so sexually degenerated leading to fewer families.

[@joshpritt2146]

I love the 70s and 80s movies

[@LudicrousPlatypus]

White slavery was basically the term used back then for human trafficking or sexual slavery. I understand it is a racialised term, but I think focusing on the race aspect discredits the fact that portraying sexual slavery on screen would still be seen as morally wrong today.

[@tompeled6193]

Only glorifying it.

[@quikskoprbro968]

Do you have a source for that?

[@davidjones8043]

@@quikskoprbro968 yea your mom

[@sunilkumaryadav2183]

@@quikskoprbro968 actually when i searched in google . it show exact result. just search white slavery meaning

[@Bioniking]

The good thing about the code was that it forced screenwriters to figure out creative ways to skirt around the code. People like Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges would write witty dialogue filled with innuendo that was actually funny and intelligent. Now we have fart jokes

[@fruitygarlic3601]

You're just choosing to watch bad movies.

[@docsouth7823]

@@fruitygarlic3601 thats because there are no standards anymore and now writers have to try to make crude acts funny. Except, they aren't funny. Just look at Kevin Hart or Will Ferrell.

[@vondas1480]

@@docsouth7823but @@docsouth7823. Your statement doesn’t even make sense, if there’s no standards than they don’t “have to make crude jokes” they’re simply allowed to. Maybe you think that’s a cheaper form of comedy but that’s irrelevant.

[@nohbuddy1]

Weird how a country with vast anti catholic sentiment would take their guidelines

[@TheBespectacledN00b]

AmericanNohbuddy ™ A lot of rural Protestants were upset about the content of films as well.

[@poofbomb-minecraftmore1883]

Well humans are incompetent at following simple instructions like *sticking together* so.... that wasn't going to happen....

[@BiscuitHead22]

Nice copypasta, bro. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWm0dmdjd6qsaqc

[@Prouser2024]

because catholics and protestants share a lot in common in a moral standpoint

[@jon-unicorn-doxxer]

Money Maker Christians stick together I guess...

[@JustinY.]

*Comment about Religion*

[@deeughfolte5770]

Justin Y. *irate, barely intelligible and unsolicited random reply* 😡

[@juancena1117]

Justin Y *_Reply that Expresses Belief that Jesus Is coming_*

[@agentice7718]

Juan Cena *makes a claim that God doesn't exist*

[@jeffreyvauxhall3260]

*Comment about asking for likes*

[@gokiburi-chan4255]

REEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@themasstermwahahahah]

So basically the Catholic Church created a rating system for movies

[@Miatpi]

omegadan thank you!

[@blueblazerable]

Catholic church has always been the norm. Even in the field of architecture. Furthermore, Most of the monarchial government today is patterned after the Catholic hierarchy.

[@hinglemccringleberry8193]

omegadan yup, the horror!!!

[@MasonMagruder69]

The Catholic Church, the Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen of film ratings

[@NikoxD93]

Not even the Church, just Catholics, not officially supported by the Church.

[@giren0079]

How did fears of Roosevelt making a censorship board scare movie makers into censoring three years before he became president?

[@TradRaider]

Vox Lies

[@giren0079]

@@TradRaider Yes you understood the subtext of the question from four years ago. Also Judging by your profile pic and background you need to watch some checkmate Lincolnites.

[@maninredhelm]

Seems like there must be more to the story, because the Catholic Church was never that influential in America. European immigration was overwhelmingly from Protestant nations up until the Irish famine, whereupon it still continued to hold the majority to a lesser degree. At this point African-Americans have won more U.S. Presidential elections than Catholics. Were the major Hollywood studios heavily Catholic back in those days?

[@bruhsoundeffect2882]

wdym more African Americans have won the oval office than Catholics? Obama is first Black President (Even though he was mixed) And JFK was first and only Irish, and Catholic President. The same amount of both ave held the presidency sir.

[@orrinprintemps3317]

@@bruhsoundeffect2882 Obama won two elections while Kennedy won only one. Now that Biden has won, it’s even.

[@dianheffernan2435]

The flying nun..

[@rocketman4123]

Hollywood studios were and still are heavily jewish

[@Soprie]

One interesting thing to note is that because of the strict rules on sexual display, a lot of movies featuring women were forced to treat them as human characters and not sexual objects at the mercy of the slow-pan male gaze. Women were smart, competent people in movies. When the sexual revolution happened and sexuality was allowed to be seen on screen, women became bimbo objects again. "Once we entered the bedroom, we couldn't leave."

[@100secks2]

The hell you talkin bout? Women are smart and competent in a lot of newer movies.

[@theuglydumplings3324]

This is the most intelligent comment I’ve read all day.

[@natemup]

@@100secks2 That's kind of a recent phenomenon, though...

[@BakrAli10]

Bookmark comment later

[@GameyRaccoon]

I am genuinely curious about this. If a Catholic says objectification of women is bad, (which it is) it's censorship But if a Feminist group says objectification of women is bad, (which it is) it's a womens' rights issue? Please someone explain this to me.

[@TradRaider]

Well you see, according to Vox, being Catholic is bad, but being a woman is good

[@elemperadordemexico]

@@TradRaider indeed

[@BakrAli10]

Bookmark comment later

[@jlouis4407]

So it was the Golden Age when censored by Catholics? Got it.

[@dgarr2224]

Yes, quite based

[@philosopher24680]

@@dgarr2224 The Code nearly banned Citizen Kane and would have banned both Godfather films, it was a disaster. The Golden Age was due to advancements in sound and picture making it inevitable, but the 70's is usually considered to have the best quality of film, since you had a combo of little censorship, director discretion, hyper-realism and new ideas as opposed to regurgitating the same Westerns over and over again which is what started to plague the Hay's Code. Most damning of all, it would take minimal effort for modern Marvel/Star Wars garbage to be in-line with the Hay's Code, but nearly every actually decent modern movie (Three Billboards, Banshees of Inisherin, Licorice Pizza, Tar, etc.) would be banned.

[@dgarr2224]

@@philosopher24680 Good points. I won't say the rating system was perfect, but there's no way it didn't raise the bar for films of the 50s. Great films aren't great because of the evil it portrays, that stuff can be cut and the quality of the movie doesn't have to change at all. Overall having restrictions improves quality as more directors and writers spend time on writing something of substance, instead of succumbing to over-sensuality and/or mindless entertainment. Also, I think the 50s edge out the 70s.

[@AndrewVaughanOfficial]

Don't be so quick to discount the Legion of Decency as being black-and-white villains of the industry. It's important to realize that there were no rating systems for movies at this time, and they were trying to establish a system so that kids wouldn't be seeing really disturbing content at the time. While it failed, it still resulted in the MPAA ratings later on that we use today. Ultimately it's much more nuanced than stated in this video and you can't apply the morals of today to the 1930's.

[@stormbringer2189]

"Show as much blood and gore as you want as long as you don't show a nipple" -MPAA

[@Madbrad2000]

"protect the children" isn't a good argument for censorship. That's what parents are for who, you know, could just not take kids to see movies

[@AndrewVaughanOfficial]

Bradley well the parents themselves had no idea what would be shown either, so they were in the dark as well

[@Madbrad2000]

Andrew Vaughan it's kinda your fault if you're taking kids to a movie without knowing the contents of the movie - there's many ways to figure that out (like watching it alone!).

[@jjshaw8360]

People in the 30s didn't have a lot of money to waste like that. Your average parent back then wouldn't have had the spare change to go to the theatre and watch it by themselves to see if they can watch it with their kids. It wasn't like now were you could buy a DVD and watch it at home. Also, movies back then were mainly seen as a social medium, even today it's still seen as a little bit weird to go to the theatre by yourself.

[@lucas5893]

This was not censorship, this was a voluntary decision.

[@hemidas]

That makes it better?

[@creativeusername6453]

It was voluntary in an attempt to avoid true censorship

[@hemidas]

That's like saying suicide is better than murder. Self-censorship is *still* censorship.

[@lucas5893]

No. Censorship is when you're prohibited to make certain types of movies. In this scenario, the Catholic Church set rules for content to not be boycotted. It's different, although you can still be pissed off. Real censorship is still a huge thing in a lot of governments and it gets people murdered and exiled.

[@limitlessapocalypse2702]

Jovan Mitrić no its not if they chose to do it lol

[@TheGetout04]

The church stopped the over production of movies about sex violence and alcohol caused by the Great depression how horrifying!

[@francesco8000]

Now i finally understand why old americans are so mad with modern society. Society when they were young was the equivalent of the life of a sheltered Lady during the XI century.

[@natemup]

You may be overestimating the 11th century...

[@Man-jc8xl]

Because they don’t support degeneracy

[@bonniea8189]

The timeline presented of how the code came to be doesn't work: Herbert Hoover was POTUS until 1932, when FDR took office. The stock market crash that precipitated the start of The Great Depression was in August 1929. The New Deal programs started in 1933, which is the same year the League of Decency formed. This video says the studios voluntarily adopted The Production Code out of fear of regulation by FDR's administration "but then in 1930 The Great Depression hit". So the expert's claim that fear of interference from the FDR administration drove the studios doesn't make sense because it didn't exist yet.

[@soopamariogalaxeee]

How exactly did the Catholic Church enforce their rules? They weren't working for the government, they didn't have government agents working for them, and they held no political or legal authority to censor any film. I get that film studios wanted to censor themselves so the government didn't have to, but how were they allowed to censor every film? Wouldn't some studios object to certain films being censored? If a studio released an uncensored film, wouldn't that be a strike against the censorship program for not doing their job right instead of against the studio? Does any of this make sense?

[@stormbringer2189]

What saddens me is how the Chruch just abuses power like that. Its like if my High School English teacher told me not to go see the Avengers because they didn't like it. The Church was abusing the trust and the authority of their position and should be ashamed.

[@shadowthehedgehog3113]

+DAVID MELLA Just like modern SJWs.

[@creepystares9853]

Jewish folks owned the production companies in many cases. Catholics don't like Jews. If they didn't agree, their movies would get killed. If there is one thing life should have taught you by now when making money, the path of least resistance is the best one.

[@rebeccaanderson5626]

@@shadowthehedgehog3113 They did not enforce anything . this simply prohibited the faithful from seeing these movies under the Bane of mortal sin

[@rebeccaanderson5626]

The church actually did not enforce anything on the general public . Movies that were condemned by the legion of decency were considered as immoral and hence Catholic did not saw them , many catholics and protestants also boycotted the theatres which showed these movies. Because of this Bollywood often heard the advice of the legion. It was like saying if you don't listen to our restrictions your movies going to be a flop .

[@JohnSmith-lf4be]

Wish they would do it again.

[@azazel166]

Why?

[@DireBeagle]

Uhm, Vox, your chronology is wrong. The Great Depression happened before FDR was elected. Movies studios can't have adopted guidelines in reaction to New Deal policies before FDR was elected and created the New Deal.

[@Brix2000]

Religion and the Church did not forced censorship, they proposed it, and the other end accepted their proposal.

[@SleinJinn]

Surprised you didn't mention the influence the Catholic church maintains today, particularly exemplified by killing the Golden Compass franchise. I kept waiting for you to go in that direction.

[@daphniestarr]

SleinJinn ????

[@coyote6020]

They try the same with the Da Vince Code. Here in Brazil ever single Priest of every single church formally spoke in masses that people should not read the books.

[@SleinJinn]

Daphnie Starr ???? What? This was widely-reported news at the time. New Line Cinema was originally slated to make film adaptations of the entire _His Dark Materials_ trilogy, but they caved to (very public) pressure from the Catholic church and cancelled the project after the first film despite huge box office success (it earned something like double its budget in cinemas), which lead to cast members boycotting the studio. The trilogy was written to be a secular answer to C.S. Lewis's overtly Christian allegorical _Chronicles of Narnia_.

[@floofyowls8989]

SleinJinn the Golden Compass was my childhood, ; - ;

[@zerogeass21]

That movie sucked.

[@Stormkrow280]

Ah the Hays code, the original “Cancel Culture”

[@azazel166]

Th original is even older, goes way back to the time of Socrates.

[@rmazzella5303]

That “cancel culture”-which should be restored-was based on morality-the kind we have now is based on political whims.

[@dwayneasher6765]

​@@rmazzella5303it was not about morality they just wanted people to obey the government

[@user-vh3kj9ri8h]

We need to go back to this!

[@ignaciocamargo]

So the Catholic Church invented the golden age of Hollywood

[@jlouis4407]

Yes

[@ruthmaryrose]

Thank you, Catholic Church for the best movies ever produced by Hollywood.

[@jackwyatt3854]

No old movies are almost impossible to watch

[@jitheshdsouza6354]

@@jackwyatt3854 use your head

[@wlfgang]

ben hur, king of kings, the ten commandments, spartacus and some others are the best movies ever made

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

@@wlfgang Produced in spite of, not thanks to, the code

[@gevansbham]

Before the Catholics got hold of things, there was this: "In 1922, after some risqué films and a series of off-screen scandals involving Hollywood stars, the studios enlisted Presbyterian elder William H. 'Will' Hays, a figure of unblemished rectitude, to rehabilitate Hollywood's image. Hays, later nicknamed the motion picture 'Czar,' was paid the then-lavish sum of $100,000 a year (equivalent to more than $1.4 million in 2015 dollars)." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Code_Hollywood

[@xskramx8078]

Look to the saints if you want to see the spirit of Catholicism ..when a catholic man does wrong , the whole religion is blamed ..the basis of Catholicism is that we men are sinners "original sin"..i guess people don't understand that , its such a beautiful ancient religion i ask that you look beyond the surface

[@GAMERitsBETTER]

Are you saying that the New Deal came before the Great Depression?

[@lulube11e111]

U guys totally missed the point. Point is that without it we would only have trash movies from that time and with it we have some of the finest movies ever

[@symphonymph3562]

Roko Krstičević Finally. Preach!

[@ryanbarr2178]

They said that at the beginning and end

[@PHlophe]

@ Rokoko uncensored version are always original and show the true intent of the director.

[@Madbrad2000]

Ryan Barr he doesn't say that at the end. He says that regardless of the censorship we still have great works of art, but who's to say we wouldn't have better movies without the censorship?

[@soundthealarm5472]

I hope Catholics get rid of Hollywood!

[@archer1949]

Those early pre-code talkies are some of my favorite movies.

[@sadus5415]

i feel like there is more information than what is in this video. Is there a possibility of an extended version of this topic? Great video im re watching it

[@coehfelipe]

Read the book “An empire of their own”

[@elsiemon]

Yeah, and the MPAA today is outdated, unnecessary, and counterproductive AF too, also simply run by interest groups with their own agendas. We should replace them and simplify the rating system, so filmmakers and producers don’t have to alter their intended visions to please studios, lobbies, and executives, and force attempts to “maximize profits” or “reach a larger audience “.

[@TheGrenadier97]

Magnificent work, thanks Church.

[@fabrizio483]

The Catholic Church should revive this practice. Perhaps even in unity with other Christian sects, so we can have a cleaner movie industry.

[@laurenconrad1799]

If anyone has seen the ending of the film Rebecca, the Production code seriously botched it. The logic that was in the original novel got really messed up.

[@adas666]

Glad that’s not the case anymore lol

[@joselynm5634]

perukito. Yeah now we have good ol regular media instead showing us what what they want us to see

[@utkarsh4386]

yeah, now we have liberal propaganda.

[@divinehazrd]

perukito. Now we have shitty hollywood.

[@fayguled900]

Utkarsh Dave Sahni much better than censorship.

[@utkarsh4386]

agreed

[@larrytrasciattiqueenspa]

We're in much better shape when those standards are enforced.

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

Not at all. 80s and 90s was a golden age for America and we didn't have those codes.

[@nathanielus5296]

​@@ManiacMayhem7256 The degeneracy had already started in the 60's

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

@@nathanielus5296 Resulting in amazing movies like Taxi Driver and numerous others? You just proved my point

[@vulcanfeline]

that explains why nobody ever got a 2nd chance in movies. they were bad, they realized it and repented, and were immediately killed by whatever

[@Bauks]

Really going to disable comments and ratings? Not willing to stand by your own work? Classy Vox, classy.

[@swishgod6623]

Sounds similar to what China is currently doing

[@vee3541]

Swishgod what is it doing?

[@g4footballers466]

Ok cmon, what China is doing is so much worse, this is honestly not even that bad... they created a code for movies that is now a very good organization

[@AbiGodinha]

I hate theocracy and I’m decidedly not catholic. BUT I’m sick of “PG” movies being enough to make anyone with a sense of decency squirm. Truly many of them are making humans increasingly immoral and heartless.

[@keiltree2710]

Am I the only catholic over here?

[@erikalegaspi2041]

Vox be out here throwing shade at people and their house slippers smh

[@collegeman1988]

In other words, the Catholic Church banned anything that appeared in a Monty Python movie, although Monty Python didn’t make any movies until the 1970s.

[@greygalah]

"Legion of Decency." Hypocrites. And the last argument doesn't hold water. Just because there were good films made during this period doesn't mean that the films suppressed or not made were bad.

[@williamhornstra8313]

Except now the ratings system is still broken...

[@jakepimentel]

Very based Catholics. Bring the Legion back

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

Based on soccer mom morality

[@dwayneasher6765]

No

[@tkzsfen]

here is the thing - we constantly try to become better people by using the wrong tools. not showing violence doesn't stop violence, right, Roman Catholic Church?

[@demh7823]

Religion ruins everything.

[@rohithkumarsp]

In India they still Censor a marvel movie. Looks like we're still in stone ages.

[@xskramx8078]

"Even when they explore the darkest depths of the soul or the most unsettling aspects of evil, artists give voice in a way to the universal desire for redemption"~~Pope John Paul II

[@JoseFernandez-dq8il]

The movies 'Casablanca' and 'Citizen Kane' were classified as: A-II-Morally Unobjectionable for Adults and Adolescents by the National Legion of Decency. The movie 'The Wizard of Oz' was classified as: A-I-Morally Unobjectionable for General Patronage by the National Legion of Decency. I don't know why he says that they were censored by the Catholic Church.

[@sarcasuccus]

And in 2015 the movie Spotlight gets the Oscar.

[@HollerScholar]

Well thank God that doesn’t go on today but with the studios themselves not hiring wonderful actors simply based on their views. And God forbid if another movie like Blazing Saddles was made today; pretty sure it wouldn’t even make it past the concept board.

[@mayurbande7733]

The internet is dominating nowadays.... It is the future.

[@nicoleheart16]

Mr Insouciant ok what else is new

[@johndoherty487]

Fros-T13 the internet is more like a full grown 30-40 year old adult than an old man right now.

[@omarhuda4997]

John Doherty I think that's referencing a character from the hit TV show "Malcolm in the middle"

[@TheRedRaccoonDog]

The internet is dominating and it's the place where religion goes to die.

[@oadaoada]

What?

[@victorwilliams4403]

Thanks for sharing this! Very informative. Real treat for my brain.

[@redshuttleredacted6422]

The censor is based and redpilled.

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

Some of the best works ever made came post Hayes. The movies made during the code were creative and good in spite of the code, not because of it. I can give you a massive list of great movies that would never be made under the code. Chances are you enjoy media that wouldn't have been made under said code

[@nathanielus5296]

​@@ManiacMayhem7256 Cope harder, lolbertarian

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

@@nathanielus5296 Telling truth ain't cope, it's common sense. You can thank me for fixing your mistake

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

@@nathanielus5296 Dragon Ball Z pfp btw. That definitely wouldn't have made it under the code rofl

[@mxferro]

Remember..your supposed to be in a "FREE" country ...yeeeaaahhh. sure.

[@Hocusbogus28]

The legion of decency. Lol 😂😂

[@gabrielborjas7923]

Parvati Nair "We shall save the world from morally wrong perceptions and ideas" lol

[@rebeccaanderson5626]

The church has absolute right to guide it's flock . The legion of decency was a million times correct

[@azazel166]

@@rebeccaanderson5626 A pity their guidelines were very wrong and downright malicious.

[@rebeccaanderson5626]

@@azazel166 They come from a religious community and are to be strict . Also speaking they were not created by the church they were created by members of the church . There is a difference between them

[@gladyskihara4736]

Were they really wrong? Majority of the Hollywood actors specifically the actresses were subjected to horrid abuse. It isn't an accident that drug and alcohol abuse was rampant.

[@jasoncromwell4206]

Today we have the MPAA. Anything over PG-13 traditionally doesn’t make as much money. So not much difference.

[@niccobaratti4230]

"Down with this sort of thing." - Father Ted

[@markallen3293]

Censorship of any kind limits creativity.

[@humanoidphenomnon6754]

2018 Hollywood and the catholic church party together, apparently anything goes..

I think it's pretty punk rock to give an interview in slippers. You know, like, I ain't wearing shoes for none

[@RandomPerson-go5sn]

What the title should be is “how two Catholics censored Hollywood”

[@SebastianTinajero]

Don’t force your religion into the Arts , art should be about full expression and this is like limiting and setting a threshold which destroys art

[@sparky4405]

Sebastian Tinajero I understand that, it’s just that I don’t think art includes Sex and perversion.

[@SebastianTinajero]

Sparky Shirts your allowed to like what you want but that’s exactly my point don’t try to limit and put a cap on art regardless wether you don’t agree with the expression which is being presented , art is about life and humans interpretation of it and way of expressing themselves so if your putting a limit on how much someone can pour from themselves onto their art then the sincerity and specialness is lost

[@sparky4405]

Sebastian Tinajero What’s the art with Perversion?

[@mynameisuju]

sex and perversion have historically been used to produce quite incredible art. the most depraved parts of humans are usually he most emotional, and creative art is rooted in emotion. so you cannot pick and choose what inspire artists. if you dont want it, then dont support it. but its not your place to dictate what should or shouldn't be art.

[@RyanLynch1]

Sebastian Tinajero well, the studios wanted to follow the rules to please people. that's like saying you should be able to make art nobody likes and people should pay for it (like studios) because art is about expression and such. if people don't like it, they won't buy it. that's what happened here. it wasn't the big evil Vatican and Co. coming in and attacking artists for thinking of showing some skin, it was American Catholics (and those who agreed with them) organizing a somewhat grassroots effort to tell films what they wanted and tell each other what films they thought wasn't good for them. it's like if an organization like GLAAD or the NAACP made a rating system based on how movies portray the group they protect, be it African-Americans or those with nontraditional sexual tendencies, and then the studios voluntarily decided to start following the rules they made to please them and get more of their audience. it's just capitalism

[@ashknoecklein]

Was not expecting an apology for censorship at the end there lol.

[@KendrixTermina]

So like video games, movies were classed as "toys" rather than "art" in their early days and dumbed down accordingly. Not like violence & sex immediately make things more sophisticated but they are facets of life, and "You need to punish the bad guy/ the good guy has to win" really limit the amount of moral complexity you can do in your story. Many rly good stories leavbe you wondering who the bad guys even really are

[@keriezy]

5:34 the exact opposite arguement can be made for the 100s of movies that weren't made because of the code.

[@Soneilly0930]

Like yeah slippers

[@Classical.Conservative]

The Catholic church didn't censor Hollywood's golden age. It created the golden age through a common sense moral code.

[@kristianclemons-freeman9739]

You're telling me 2:30 didn't sell enough tickets to bring us out of the Depression??? My sense of humor must be very dark...

[@FRISHR]

I'm obsessed with cats, does that makes me a Catholic?

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

Hollywood decency was to the Comics code of authority for movies.

[@tonyraffetto931]

Whats the movie with the girl jumping through the window and why am I not watching it right now?

[@samanthabranham9910]

“CasaBLANKa” omg noo

[@hinglemccringleberry8193]

Samantha Branham this video is void of any validity because of that

[@yejiii9204]

@Tim Evans Casablanca is Portuguese and means white house it's the name of the Moroccan city Casablanca

[@Dan-gd6zz]

@@yejiii9204 Actually it's Spanish

[@TheCoolerDanny]

As a Latino i laughed out loud when i heard you say Casablanca, no disrespect tho

[@Moribus_Artibus]

Censorship like this still exists except now its more covert.

[@nvr1997]

love how he didnt acknowledge that it stifled great art :/

[@Cronoro]

It’s so sad to see them not censoring movies anymore 😔

[@isaiah3872]

Except for the miscegenation between different races, that shouldn't have been there in the first place

[@votdfak]

Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And *no* *religion* , too Imagine all the people living life in peace

[@kimjongfun5427]

Religion - the root of most human miseries. The more religious you are, the more immoral you will be. FACT

[@CATboss001]

Well that's not very fun...

[@deeughfolte5770]

Pretty much. Religious people are always the first to judge, pull out their pitchforks and send people to hell. They do most of the stuff they berate others over.

[@adventofnull]

There are religous people who turned for the better because of religion, though. Mother Theresa of Calcutta is one example. The thing is, I believe that people are far too easy to push beliefs onto others (like in this censorship), combine that with their sense of 'self-righteousness', spurred on by their 'moral high ground'. It sucks. I also think that this belief of 'don't let your child be an atheist' and parents choosing the beliefs of their children is a contribution to this problem. I believe it's hypocritical to stereotype religion or religious people. I'm believe I'm a fairly open-minded person. It's just that a religion like Christianity (or Catholic) encompasses such a large amount of people that it's brought different interpretations of the teachings. Even my comments here would probably be noted as 'heresy' or some other some-such comments like those (edit: by people of my own faith). Do reply and give your thoughts, yeah? (also, who is quick to judge, again?)

[@DefecTec]

Kim Jong Fun I disagree. The more christian you are, the more moral you will be. this is coming from an atheist, btw

[@ch1ll1add.25]

Wesley Chew religious people believe in religion because it makes them feel better. They belive in heaven so they can die without having to stress out. But yea sometimes religion can be a bad thing We should only get religious values and forget about the magical people. Such as god, jesus, Noah and etc.

[@jpurple]

I think is ok some kind of moral code for the mass media, and some kind of movies directed to masses. But not censorship at all. There are themes and situations that appeal more to an adult públic...

[@aaronh2260]

The way he pronounced Casablanca killed me😂

[@uItimatewarrior]

THEN DONT POST THE VIDEO IF YOU CANT FACE THE TRUTH. DONT DISABLE YOUR COMMENTS AND LIKES VOX. YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS!!!

[@bbhjuan3451]

This dude really said "Casa-blaine-cuh"

[@pitbull635]

yea i’ve heard a lot of people say it like that

[@rhysecampion3823]

Maybe instead of hating on the Catholics and other religions, we can respect their values. Even if they are different from our own values.

[@ayushsharma9270]

Rhyse Karina not if they don't respect ours...

[@TheArchersSeriously]

Perhaps moreso we can safely criticize something without it being an attack. This is criticism - moreso just displaying historical fact. We have "respected your values" by being crushed under the boot of an overreaching and corrupt church for more than a thousand years. Respect ours by acknowledging that it is okay for opinions that are anti-catholic to exist without them being branded as hatred. Especially considering the catholic church's long history of genocide and bigotry - you know, actual hate sharpened to its most brutal point.

[@daphniestarr]

Thanks you!!! We live in a time of relativism I have to respect everyone’s opinions but no one can respect my catholic view. Like what??

[@TheArchersSeriously]

You don't have to respect any opinion. I do not respect anti-semitism or trickle-down economics. But you must respect other people. Not by any mandate, but by the word of the bible. People disagree with catholicism because it is unjust towards people, and it should be a point of pride that you have respect for the opinions of others, not a point of resentment.

[@rhysecampion3823]

Just want to let you all know that I am not religious, but still respect those who are.

[@KittySYT]

It is similar to what we have today in Bollywood Industry. The Censorship Board of India. 🙄

[@hglundahl]

You actually mean a Catholic Breen gave a pass for pictures in which a divorce is followed by a remarriage?

[@enriquepenanieto4398]

This is was a good thing

[@TConX]

So who you rather have as the most powerful man in Hollywood? Joseph Breen, or... Harvey Weinstein?

[@Andyhoffman98]

Uhhhm both are bad.

[@Jx-kj9fs]

Lord Hoffman no they weren't

[@Kage-jk4pj]

@@Jx-kj9fs yes they were

[@wlfgang]

weinstein, because he made jobs and poor women's careers happen. isn't that what we want?

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

Neither

[@somexp12]

I think those Catholic specific letter ratings still exist. I remember people referencing an evolved version of that (A1-A# & O) when I was growing up.

[@Thehackerguy2000]

Wait vox's sister site is polygon? Disgusting.

[@cardboardbox9977]

They should've been focusing on the real child molestation occuring and not the fake movies

[@Marr0wgar]

I'm not even religious but y'all are really scraping the bottom of the barrel here vox.

[@ahmedessa1364]

it was interesting

[@theocean1973]

Yet another secular person defending the church...ugh, why?

[@mrbitey123]

Rotcrawler how are they scraping the bottom of the barrel ?

[@epanecka]

huh?

[@limitlessapocalypse2702]

Rotcrawler still waiting for them to make A Video about how the UK censors critics of islam

[@asdfqwertA]

Another fantastic video

[@piotrgasiorowski8722]

Censorship was good Like that Btw those films was good sooooo what?

[@PHlophe]

@ Peter i'd love to see the film PL, those are consistently censored and your presidents always inject his opinions on everything

[@josephwodarczyk977]

Censorship is never good. Don't be an idiot.

[@DavidRodriguez-ux5ye]

Wait so they feared that Roosevelt censored them and THEN the great depression hit WTF