Today, it is assumed that filmmakers have the freedom to make their films as true to life as possible. Rather than censor works outright, in the case of movies containing adult themes, they are given a restricted classification rating. However, this hasn’t always been the case.
In the 1930s, Hollywood studios found themselves under pressure from conservative activists such as the lobbying group the National Legion of Decency to censor movies in a way that fell in line with a Catholic moral worldview. The result was the Hays Code, named after Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America president William Hayes (pictured), who decided that rather than reach the point at which filmmakers were subject to outside regulation, they would essentially self-censor and instill a series of rules governing Hollywood studios. In the years that followed, filmmakers were compelled to limit depictions of sex and violence, and to venerate social institutions such as marriage.
However, even depictions of marriage were rendered sexless on screen. For many years, actors portraying married couples were often shown sleeping in twin beds rather than a double, a tradition that continued until the Hays Code was phased out in the 1960s as social change saw the emergence of audiences more attuned to liberal forms of filmmaking.
