It's got a lot of interesting information and has actually caught my attention, which is a rarity. I don't like forced reading, and this doesn't seem forced. So win win.
Black, Gregory D. "Restricting Entertainment: The Movies Censored." Hollywood Censored: Morality Codes, Catholics, and the Movies. Cambridge [England: Cambridge UP, 1996. 3-20. Print.
In the first chapter of Gregory Black’s book, the unease of the people as movies were introduced into society is discussed. He opened the chapter with the following quote from Rev. Wilbur Crafts: “‘Movies are schools of vice and crime... offering trips to hell for [a] nickle’” (3). Black discusses the ways that movies were forced to stay away from dealing frankly and honestly with life due to rigid state, local, and even studio censors. Making movies was a business, not an art, and if the people wanted censors, studios would have to adapt (5). After much struggling with Ohio’s censorship laws, the Mutual Film Corporation went to the Supreme Court trying to gain first amendment rights for films (15). However, the Supreme Court decided that movies were not protected under the first amendment, as they were a business - not an organ of public opinion - and could be used for evil (16). This decision would shape the way movies were made for the next four decades (20).
I feel a lot better about where my paper is going. I haven't read the comments on my last draft yet, because I can pretty much figure out what they're going to say. I wish I had more time to research before my next draft is due, but I guess I'll see what I can pull together.
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