Screen Cleaning: Some Tools and Trades in American Cinema Censorship

• In Event: 378 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session II
  In Refereed Roundtable: B. Table 03. Cultural Sociology II

Abstract

Since their inception, the flickers of light we call movies have been morally problematic. It is commonly accepted that movies affect us, but how this happens has long been debated. Wrapped up in this is an implication for the process or matching audiences to movies. How have movies been matched with audiences, and how have audiences been created in the process of content regulation? Focusing on the American context, I consider three approaches to regulating content and audience exposure. I argue such moral decisions have been by state censors - and also by movie reviewers and critics. Examining the tools of these trades and how they’ve been employed reveals surprising similarities between seemingly disparate professions.

Author

• E. Elif Alp, Columbia University