Censorship In Hollywood Essay

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Ever since its emergence, California has stood at the forefront of incorporating myths, legends and symbols into its history. With the emergence of Hollywood, those elements began to take on a new identity, and served as one of the longest running impacts of any form of cultural expression in the state. As the power of Hollywood grew, an extension of the American dream ledged itself more on the idea of a California dream. This made Hollywood seem more invigorating and lead up to one of the ultimate causes of its success. Throughout the 1920s, Hollywood showcased a life of true glamour and grandiose possibility, and the influence offered optimism to many. Though, as film became the main outlet of entertainment in America, the decency in the images also began to take a turn towards immoral behavior. With the increase of crude content on the big screen, censorship in Hollywood made an appearance in attempts to control the madness. This censorship ultimately lead to the demise of the dream, as Hollywood did everything they could to control the onset of a moral crusade.
Since the California dream was aided so much by the impact of what Hollywood was doing, it only seems necessary, for the images of Hollywood to determine the mental state of America. In the heart of the dream in Hollywood, the films that were being produced by studios, exhibited a less than satisfactory representation of moral ideals. In this, while the California dream offered a sense of hope to Americans, the way in which it operated was far from the ideal scenario. At this time a shift was occurring from the once idolized images of the flapper, jazz, and gangsters, as more and more people began to question the validity behind the images. In 1921, scandals includi...

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...creased monitoring of censorship throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Hollywood experienced a major shift in the way pictures were made. Going from depictions of a carefree lifestyle, characteristic of the California dream, to a more monitored approach to filmmaking, Hollywood make the necessary transition in order to abide by the mass request of censorship to the filmmaking process. In this, the California dream was lost, as Americans were brought back to reality, but the action offered a stepping stone to enter a new age where films were praised for decades to come. Today, censorship is still a major issue in Hollywood, and has moved not only to include movies, but all forms of mass media. This shows that the ideals of morality in media will continue to encompass a majority of issues in society, and is one that should continually be addressed in order to find harmony.

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