Hustler - Censoring a Film about Censorship

[1] The People vs. Larry Flynt celebrates America for “being the strongest country in the world today only because we are the freest,” as Flynt once said. The problem is, that while the film triumphantly exhibits the (seemingly obvious) “evils of censorship,” it hypocritically censors out the most controversial parts. The film champions free speech yet is not able to visually depict the potentially harmful material that the First Amendment defends. The content in Flynt’s Hustler magazine absolutely, positively, requires the protection of the First Amendment. The film does not show you why. For how do you expose to mainstream society something that cannot legally be seen in an R-rated film? Director Milos Forman, incapable of surmounting this problem, needed to make changes. He removed the most obscene aspects of the “real” Hustler and Flynt, and fabricated the “reel” socially acceptable, laughable (and even likable) depictions. Consequently, in the process of telling this story that Forman wished to dedicate to his hero, the U.S. Justice system, he both sanitizes and canonizes Flynt and Hustler magazine.

[2] In this issue essay I will first discuss the history of pornography in America and the emergence of Hustler. I will then show how the movie makes the viewer feel proud of the country without letting the viewer choose if he or she is really pleased with what is being protected, pointing out the impossibility of portraying the obscene images in an R-rated film. After that, I will discuss the possible ramifications of pornography, including violence against women and children. I will then address the moral implications of a complete freedom of expression and the possible effects of promoting ignorance about pornography through the movie. Finally, I will comment on my views regarding pornography and censorship in our society.

The Sexual Revolution in America

[3] Since the 1950’s, a sexual revolution has spawned in America, accordingly downgrading previous anathemas in society, like pre-martial sex, masturbation, and homosexuality. For example, according to an article describing the sexual revolution, “In the 1950s, less than 25 percent of Americans thought premarital sex was acceptable; by the 1970s, more than 75 percent found it acceptable” (Stossel 74). Norman Podhoretz recounts how in the early 1950’s obtaining pornography was like trying to buy illegal drugs. But Playboy changed all of that, as it emerged as an “acceptable” form of pornography in 1953.