Document Type
Essay
Publication Date
Spring 5-14-2015
Abstract
"By analyzing the complicated production of the sexually-provocative The Moon is Blue in the early 1950s, this essay seeks to isolate the perspectives of censorship groups, artistic authorities, governmental legislatures, and the Production Code Administration (PCA) in their respective appraisals of the Hollywood industry’s movie-going public. Referencing communications between studio personnel and the PCA, as well as court documents and scholarly research, this paper highlights how the various organizations’ differing conceptions are relevant with regards to their Cold War context. This period inspired containment ideology in narratives celebrating 'universal ideals and patriotic or sacred causes' through the awareness of a 'classless society and harmonious capitalist order.' Though the coarser content of The Moon is Blue might appear contradictory (in theme) to the strident regulation of sexuality in containment philosophy, this paper demonstrates how the film’s passage is an indication of industrial conformance to notions of a 'harmonious' citizenry in 1950s American Cold War culture."
Recommended Citation
Gary, H.E. (2015). Moviegoers and the moon in 1953. Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/undergraduateresearchprize/9
Included in
Gender and Sexuality Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Political History Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons, United States History Commons
Comments
Hannah Gary won First Place in the 2014-2015 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize for her essay about researching the industrial and cultural implications of the film The Moon is Blue during the heavily censored Cold War period. This essay is the original scholarship that emerged from that research.