MOVING PICTURES, Censorship of.
Since the beginning of the 20th century the development of the film-drama, or moving pic ture, has revolutionized amusements in America. With low prices, the attendance has become enormous, and the influence upon so ciety is more portentous than either that of the church or the spoken drama. For millions of people the moving-picture supplies the place of sermons, books, pictures and travel. In the early years of its development the selection of subjects for presentation was made by the pro prietors, who were not averse to presenting horrible crimes and indecent scenes.
The early film dramas were very simple and very crude from a dramatic viewpoint. They were followed by plays of some depth dealing with the questions of the day. These were followed in turn by plays showing the features and ramifications of the white-slave traffic, drug addicts, robberies, etc. Many of these failed utterly to teach the moral lesson which could be the only excuse offered for their presenta Lion; on the contrary, competent authorities pointed out the grave dangers inherent in such crude, bold presentations of depravity and crime. The evil became so great that a private society in New York looked into the matter and after consultation with the producers of films persuaded them that the approval of a board of censors would enhance the demand for a film.
In 1909, therefore, was organized the National Board of Censorship (now the National Board of Review) in New York City at the demand of many exhibitors of films. This board was a voluntary group from the Peoples' Institute. No member had any financial or other connec tion with the moving-picture business, being drawn instead from professional and business men and women, social workers and others in terested in civic and social betterment. The members serve without compensation; there is, however, a paid secretary and clerical staff. Over 100 members serve on the censoring com mittee, and on an average review 25 films, averaging 5,000 each day, and requiring, if exhibited successively on one machine, 41 hours and 40 minutes for presentation. The film is viewed by one or more members of the censoring committee of the board in the pro ducer's studio, after which the film is approved in toto or recommendations are made in regard to certain scenes, which are thereafter elinu nated altogether or revised so as to remove the objectionable features pointed out by the re viewers. At the end of every film so reviewed there is attached the legend °Passed by the National Board of Review." Its work in the
years following its organization proved so suc cessful that exhibitors the country over highly appreciated it and the board increased its scope, soon becoming national in extent, in creasing its control over the film output in all parts of the United States and co-operating with small local boards in various cities. Its work at present is so organized that it passes upon over 95 per cent of all films produced, and of this amount about 90 per cent receive the board's immediate approval. The board is unofficial and merely recommends changes or alterations deemed desirable in a film, but it possesses no legal power to enforce its recom mendations. The necessity for a board with broader powers has influenced several States to pass legislation to this end, but in every case the constitutionality of such legislation has been questioned, its opponents maintaining that cen sorship is un-American, and the aims of such legislation are secured by the ordinary police power governing public morals, etc.
The work of the national board, however, has given fairly satisfactory results, its uni form system of passing upon photo-dramas giving it a decided advantage over local boards or State commissions, the latter seldom work ing in harmony. The need for a Federal board with broad powers has been emphasized in recent years, and certain parties have car ried on an agitation with a view of securing Federal legislation for its creation. An at tempt of this kind in 1915 met with signal fail ure. Producers and exhibitors have main tained a firm front of opposition against cen sorship of any kind, on the ground, as stated above for the local bodies, that the police and municipal authorities are already possessed of adequate powers to deal with questionable or immoral plays. Among the churches, the Ro man Catholic has instituted a board which pub lishes regularly a list of approved photo-plays, condemning the baser kind by silence. In many cities ordinances are in force requiring the li cense of moving-picture houses and empower ing the police or municipal authorities to close such houses as continue to exhibit pictures which have been condemned by the board of censors. On 31 July 1912 an act of Congress was passed prohibiting the interstate transpor tation of films representing prize fights. The license plan has so far proved inadequate to protect public morals and many cities are fol lowing the example of Chicago, where the chief of police appoints a committee which passes on all films shown in that city.