Early Hollywood’s Morality Code Was Silly, Self-Righteous And Obsessive. But It Provoked Some Genius Work

It is usually believed that the anti-sex, anti-violence Code was harmful to art, intellectually unsophisticated, imposed from above and un-American in its disregard for First Amendment Rights. This is far from the full picture. Often the Code encouraged greatness, was intellectually nuanced, self-regulated and conformed to American values of Judeo-Christian ethics and free enterprise. For good and bad, it was as American as apple pie. – History Today

Article source here:Arts Journal