Religion and Its Influence In Past

Films
By Hayden Hull
How Has Religion Affected The Film Industry?
In the past there has been many attempts of churches trying to censor films. One
religion that had the greatest influence was the Catholic church. The way the Catholic
church did this is through a organization. This organization was The legion of
Decency.
The legion of Decency
The legion of Decency was created as a partner to The Hays Code aka The Motion
Picture Production Code. The Legion of Decency was founded in the 1933. What the
Organization did was identifying and combating objectionable content in motion
pictures. The Legion of Decency got a stamp of approval from the Production Code.
After this all films were then submitted to The Legion of Decency.
Condemnation!
If a film was condemned it would mean the success of the film would greatly decrease.
If the film was condemned this meant that all catholics were forbidden from seeing it.
The church made people believe that was a mortal sin. This was very bad for a film
because during that time there were around twenty million catholics. There is a big list
of movies that were condemned.
Some examples of the condemned movies.
Legion Rating System
The Legion of Decency had a very strict rating system and guidelines. If you wanted
your film to be seen in by the public with good intentions you had to follow the
guidelines. The system was set up like this:
A -I: Suitable for all audiences

A -II: Suitable for adults and Adolescents

A-III: Suitable for adults only

A-IV: For adults with reservations

A: Morally unobjectionable

B: Morally objectionable in part

C: Condemned by the Legion of Decency

The end of The Legion of Decency.
From what Ive researched The legion of Decency eventually eroded away. There is
films on the condemned list that end in the 1980s. We really dont see any other
activity from that put on. Religion Dispatches says, The growing popularity of explicit
foreign films that werent governed by the code, and cultural changes, including
Catholics increasing integration into the larger culture and independence from the
bishops on moral matters, eventually eroded the influence of the Hays Code and the
Legion.
References
http://religiondispatches.org/how-the-catholic-church-changed-the-movies/

http://rickmk.com/rmk/Cath/legion.html

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/592022/

http://www.pajiba.com/think_pieces/how-the-catholic-church-controlled-hollywood.php

Gregory D. Black Hollywood Censored

Religion and its Influence in
Filmmaking Today
By Taylor Ostler
Evolution of Film Censorship
1930-Hays Code created, led by William H. Hays a Presbyterian Elder. Only the
Catholic Church agreed to help review films and set forth guidelines to help
monitor the content included in motion pictures.
Hays code stated no picture shall be produced that will lower the morality of
those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to
the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin
Although the code was started with the purpose of guiding filmmakers on a set of
moral rules and guidelines, the Production Code Office (PCA) was constantly
being pressured by producers to relax its grip on Hollywood.
To ensure the morality of the nation was secure, the Catholic Legion of Decency
was formed in 1933.
Evolution of Film Censorship Continued
1945 MPAA was formed
n 1952, film distributor Joseph
Burstyn, brought forth a case that
was a major victory for the film
industry
In 1968 G M R X rating established
Films that changed Hollywoods Depiction of Religion
Religions influence on filmmaking today
The notion that a film should not lower the moral standards of those who see it,
is no longer relevant today.
Today religion has little to no effect on filmmakers, and filmmakers are free to
create what they want.
Movies that challenge religion today.
Films today that positively portray religion today
References
http://www.vox.com/culture/2016/12/14/13899722/religion-tv-movies-2016-sausage-part
y-silence-innocents-americans-rectify

http://listverse.com/2008/08/13/top-10-most-controversial-religious-movies/

http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1089&context=
honors-theses