Limitation To Movies -The Hayes Code

Last weekend ,we were required to read and write the summary about THE HAYES CODE.
Therefore ,i did a little bit research about that via the Internet . I was FREAKED OUT as there are so many RULES and RESTRICTIONS .
The Hayes code was created by Will H .Hays and governed the production of the majority of USMP releases.

Basically there are three general concepts about the rules(information from wikipedia )

1. No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence, the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.
2. Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
3. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.

No doubt , all the rules he set are positive .They aim to stop transmitting wrong message to the society.
 However ,it does limit CREATIVITY .Now, I want to move on and look at some of the details of the rules in order to get more specific ideas.I take some as examples .




This poster was banned under the code in 1932 .



Scenes of passion were not to be introduced when not essential to the plot. Excessive and lustful kissing was to be avoided, along with any other treatment that might stimulate the lower and baser element.

To my opinion ,its hard to be avoided them in romance . I almost find that is a must when watching chick flick.They are not completed without those scenes since they re like the climax .Those scenes are sensational and affectionate .Luckily , the movies nowadays have been divided into different standards like PG etc for audience with different age. It's better for audience to choose what they want to watch .

Murder scenes had to be filmed in a way that would discourage imitations in real life, and brutal killings could not be shown in detail. Revenge in modern times was not to be justified.

But ,actually ,i agree with this rules .It is because movies nowadays can spread bad message at times .Sometimes, even adults ,they try to imitate the characters inside the movie blindly ,let alone teenagers ,who are maybe less mentally or emotionally mature .Tragedies caused by imitations DID happened before , not once ,not twice .They are numerous .I think one thing it may help is like , usually ,the bad person inside the movie get serious consequence at the end .It would be more educational and help people analyse right from wrong .It can be an inspiration sometimes though.

In conclusion , i think The Hayes Code did give a lot of limitation to movie -making .It has both advantages and disadvantages.Nevertheless, from my perspective , some of them really made sense .It may not be a bad ideas for some of them to exist nowadays .


(pic from :http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Motion_Picture_Production_Code.gif/200px-Motion_Picture_Production_Code.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/81/Joan_blondell_2.jpg/200px-Joan_blondell_2.jpg )