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Betty Boop and the Hays Code: Why Censorship is Less Effective than Film…

- - - - She received her name in 1932 and on January 4th, 1932, Betty's design changed and she became a sexy human flapper
        
        She was discontinued in 1939
  - - - It was originally a shorthand for sex from Kane's hit song "That's My Weakness Now"
        
        Betty Boop VS Helen Kane: Boop-Boop-A-Doop Goes to Court
        
        In 1934 (the beginning of Betty Boop's popularity), Helen Kane experienced economic hardship after a layoff
        
        Kane took Fleischer Studios to court, asking for $250K for "financial damages" and no more showings of Betty Boop episodes
        
        She claimed that phrases such as "boop-boop-a-doop, boop-boopa-doop, boop-boopa-do, boop-a-doop" and other similar phrases including just the word "boop" by itself were hers and hers alone (part of what Kane called her "baby-vamp" act)
        
        The lawsuit went all the way to the New York Supreme Court
        
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- - - - In 1959, the man in charge of enforcing the code concede that if a "moral conflict" provided "the proper frame of reference," a Code approved film could deal with any topic except homosexuality
        
        That same year, a film titled Some Like It Hot was released. The movie dealt with two men in drag fending off male suitors (with some gambling, nudity, and sex scenes on the side)
        
        At that point, whether Hollywood admitted it or not, the Code was dead and there was no going back
        
        Almost a decade later, in 1968, the Code was officially replaced by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) film-rating system we know today came into effect, however its standards have changed with the times
  - - - Named after the first chairman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), Will H. Hays (Hays adopted the code and enforced it so many just referred to it as 'the Hays Code')
  - - - They were concerned that making certain films "adults only" would be ineffective and difficult to enforce
  - - - -Arson must be subject to the same safeguards
        -The use of firearms should be restricted to the essentials. Methods of smuggling should not be presented
        -Illegal drug traffic must never be presented
        -The use of liquor in American life, when not required by the plot or for characterization, will not be shown
        -Pictures shall not infer that low forms of sex relationship are the accepted or common thing
        -Adultery, sometimes necessary for plot material, must not be explicitly treated, or justified, or presented attractively
        -In general, passion should be treated so that these scenes do not stimulate the lower and baser element. Seduction or rape should never be more than suggested, and only when essential to the plot, and even then never shown by explicit method
        
        -Sex perversion or any inference to is forbidden
        -White slavery shall not be treated
        -Sex relationships between the black and white races is forbidden
        -Sex hygiene and venereal diseases are not subjects for motion pictures
        -Scenes of actual childbirth, in fact or in silhouette, are never to be presented
        -Children's sex organs are never to be exposed
        -Obscenity in word, gesture, reference, song, joke, or by suggestion (even when likely to be understood only by part of the audience) is forbidden
        -Pointed profanity (this includes the words God, Lord, Jesus, Christ -- unless used reverently -- Hell, S.O.B., damn, Gawd) or every other profane or vulgar expression, however used, is forbidden
        
        -Complete nudity is never permitted. This includes nudity in fact or in silhouette, or any lecherous or licentious notice thereof by other characters in the picture
        -Undressing scenes should be avoided, and never used save where essential to the plot
        -Indecent or undue exposure is forbidden. Dancing or costumes intended to permit undue exposure or indecent movements in the dance is also forbidden
- - - - One thing fans, animators, and historians alike have never been able to agree on is whether or not Betty's garter was removed from her design entirely or if the longer dress was just covering it
      - Betty Boop before and after the Hays Code
- - - - Amendment #1 (1970): Because of confusion over the meaning of "mature audiences," the M rating was changed to PG (general exhibition, but parental guidance is suggested)
        
        Amendment #2 (1984): MPAA recieves many public complaints regarding the severity of horror elements in PG-rated films such as Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In response, the PG-13 rating was created as a middle-tier between PG and R-rated titles
        
        Amendment #3 (1990/most recent ammendment): The X rating is replaced by NC-17 (no children under 17 admitted) due to the MPAA's inability to trademark the X label. The NC-17 rating is still in use today but you rarely ever see it in theatres.
        
        As you can see, the ratings changed as the times changed, but in the case of the Hays Code, no amendments or changes were made until 1959. Changing with the times is important to helping deem what is appropriate and innapropriate even if it was considered okay or not okay in the past (e.g. homosexuality, racism, etc.)
  - - - The film-rating system has very little fixed guidlines/codes and each rating is decided and reviewed on a case by case basis. It was not written by a religious leader or person.
  - - - With no rock solid guidelines governing it, the film-rating system allows for all movies to be seen
    - - The push-back from film companies weakened the code and proved it to be ineffective