From the earliest days of public outrage over ""indecent"" nickelodeon shows, Americans have worried about the power of the movies. The eleven essays in this book examine nearly a century of struggle over cinematic representations of sex, crime, violence, religion, race, and ethnicity, revealing that the effort to regulate the screen has reflected deep social and cultural schisms. In addition to the editor, contributors include Daniel Czitrom, Marybeth Hamilton, Garth Jowett, Charles Lyons, Richard Maltby, Charles Musser, Alison M. Parker, Charlene Regester, Ruth Vasey, and Stephen Vaughn. Together, they make it clear that censoring the movies is more than just a reflex against ""indecency,"" however defined. Whether censorship protects the vulnerable or suppresses the creative, it is part of a broader culture war that breaks out recurrently as Americans try to come to terms with the market, the state, and the plural society in which they live.

About the Author
FRANCIS G. COUVARES is E. Dwight Salmon professor of history and American studies at Amherst College. He is author of The Remaking of Pittsburgh: Class and Culture in an Industrializing City, 1877-1919 and co-author, with Martha Saxton, of Interpretations of American History.


Book Information
ISBN 9781558495753
Author Francis G. Couvares
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint University of Massachusetts Press
Publisher University of Massachusetts Press
Weight(grams) 483g