Mae West's Censorship In Hollywood

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Mae West and 1930’s censorship Nowadays, we probably take for granted that the majority of films created in Hollywood have no moral or content boundaries whatsoeverAlthough today the boundaries might seem a little blurred, it was not always like this. The censorship process in Hollywood films (as well as in many other media) is a process that has grown and fluctuated along with American society. Behind many of these films there have been struggles, debates, and confrontations of ideas to have power over what could be shown. Films have always been a main target for censorship, primarily because movies are a major audiovisual form of entertainment and mass communication with a tremendous power over the public. Mae West is a name that comes up when discussing U.S. censorship and film, mainly because she was a Hollywood star who danced the line between what was allowable and what was not. A great deal of her career as a Hollywood actress revolves around pushing the limits of the moral landscape. She became one of the biggest * * female icons of the 20th century thanks to her voluptuous figure, sexy innuendos, and uncontainable wit. This essay
Critics agreed that West’s acting had brought down all the efforts to veil Lou (her character in the play). What was seen as “realism” was, in fact, West’s acting style, “the oozing walk, the hard-boiled speech that lent an unexpected saltiness to seemingly innocent lines.” (Hamilton, 193). Even what was a gentle love lyric on paper, “A Guy What Takes His Time,” became a graphic illustration of languid sex when performed by Mae West (an interpretation that cost a lot of panic in the MPPDA office and a lot of money to cut short). While in theaters the audience had the choice of focusing or not on Mae West, on film, the camera forced them to keep her erotic figure and delivery as their main