Hollywood’s Shocking Production Code of 1930

Is concern about morality in entertainment just a conservative or religious talking point? You might be surprised to discover that in 1930, Hollywood itself established a code of ethics to protect the public from immoral content.

This eye-opening clip from the documentary Captivated: Finding Freedom in a Media Captive Culture explores the origins of the Motion Picture Production Code—a set of standards written by a Catholic priest and adopted by Hollywood in response to national outrage over risqué films and off-screen scandals. Learn how the industry’s original code declared that films should not lower the moral standards of viewers—and how that conviction gradually eroded over the decades.