Editing Hays Code (section)

==Contents==
The code was divided into two parts. The first was a set of "general principles" which prohibited a picture from "lowering the moral standards of those who see it", so as not to wrongly influence a specific audience of viewers including, women, children, lower-class, and those of "susceptible" minds, called for depictions of the "correct standards of life", and lastly forbade a picture to show any sort of ridicule towards a law or "creating sympathy for its violation".<ref name="LeffSimmons90" /> The second part was a set of "particular applications", which was an exacting list of items that could not be depicted. Some restrictions, such as the ban on homosexuality or on the use of specific curse words, were never directly mentioned, but were assumed to be understood without clear demarcation. The Code also contained an addendum commonly referred to as the Advertising Code, which regulated advertising copy and imagery.<ref>Doherty (1999), p. 107.</ref>

Homosexuals were ''de facto'' included under the proscription of sex perversion,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Noriega|first=Chon|date=1990|title="Something's Missing Here!": Homosexuality and Film Reviews during the Production Code Era, 1934–1962|journal=Cinema Journal|volume=30|issue=1|pages=20–41|doi=10.2307/1224848|issn=0009-7101|jstor=1224848|s2cid=146910873 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/707328|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and the depiction of [[miscegenation]] (by 1934, defined only as sexual relationships between black and white races) was forbidden.<ref>The Production Code of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America stated by 1934 that "miscegenation (sex relationship between the white and black races) is forbidden" (Part II, Item 6).</ref> It also stated that the notion of an "adults-only policy" would be a dubious, ineffective strategy that would be difficult to enforce;<ref name="DH7">Doherty (1999), p. 7.</ref> however, it did allow that "maturer minds may easily understand and accept without harm subject matter in plots which does younger people positive harm".<ref name="DH11">Doherty (1999), p. 11.</ref> If children were supervised and the events implied elliptically, the code allowed "the possibility of a cinematically inspired thought crime".<ref name="DH11" />

The code sought not only to determine what could be portrayed on screen, but also to promote traditional values.<ref>Butters Jr. (2007), p. 188.</ref> Sexual relations outside marriage, which were forbidden to be portrayed as attractive or beautiful, were to be presented in a way that would not arouse passion or make them seem permissible.<ref>LaSalle (2000), p. 65.</ref> Any sexual act considered perverted, including any suggestion of same-sex relationships, sex or romance, was ruled out.<ref name=":0" />

All criminal action had to be punished, and neither the crime nor the criminal could elicit sympathy from the audience,<ref name="ah" /> or the audience must at least be aware that such behavior is wrong, usually through "compensating moral value".<ref name="LeffSimmons90" /><ref>Black (1996), pp. 41–42.</ref> Authority figures had to be treated with respect, and the clergy could not be portrayed as comic characters or villains. Under some circumstances, politicians, police officers, and judges could be villains, as long as it was clear that those individuals portrayed as villains were the exceptions to the rule.<ref>LaSalle (2000), p. 64.</ref>

The entire document was written with Catholic undertones, and stated that art must be handled carefully because it could be "morally evil in its effects", and its "deep moral significance" was unquestionable.<ref name="DH7" /> It was initially decided to keep the Catholic influence on the Code secret.<ref name="Bl43">Black (1996), p. 43.</ref> A recurring theme was "that throughout, the audience feels sure that evil is wrong, and good is right".<ref name="ah" />