Virginia State Board of Censors

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The Virginia State Board of Censors was a government agency formed on August 1, 1922 for the purpose of reviewing and licensing films for approval to be screened in the state of Virginia. During the agency's existence its members examined over 52,000 films, [1] over 2,000 of which required edits before approval was given; [2] and another 157 films were rejected entirely, of which only 38 won subsequent approval. [1] The board disbanded in 1968 following a series of U.S. Supreme Court rulings which overturned censorship statutes across the country.

Film sequence of images that give the impression of movement

A film, also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, or photoplay, is a series of still images that, when shown on a screen, create the illusion of moving images. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed in rapid succession. The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion-picture camera, by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques, by means of CGI and computer animation, or by a combination of some or all of these techniques, and other visual effects.

Virginia State of the United States of America

Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States located between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" due to its status as the first English colonial possession established in mainland North America and "Mother of Presidents" because eight U.S. presidents were born there, more than any other state. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealth's estimated population as of 2018 is over 8.5 million.

Supreme Court of the United States Highest court in the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. Established pursuant to Article III of the U.S. Constitution in 1789, it has original jurisdiction over a narrow range of cases, including suits between two or more states and those involving ambassadors. It also has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all federal court and state court cases that involve a point of federal constitutional or statutory law. The Court has the power of judicial review, the ability to invalidate a statute for violating a provision of the Constitution or an executive act for being unlawful. However, it may act only within the context of a case in an area of law over which it has jurisdiction. The court may decide cases having political overtones, but it has ruled that it does not have power to decide nonjusticiable political questions. Each year it agrees to hear about one hundred to one hundred fifty of the more than seven thousand cases that it is asked to review.

Contents

Background and formation

The first ordinance for censorship of motion pictures in the United States was enacted by the city of Chicago in 1907. [3] As many as 100 other metropolitan areas adopted censorship statutes; state governments began to follow suit and in 1922 Virginia became the last of seven states to create its own censorship board, [4] becoming one of the leaders in film censorship in the country. [3] The Virginia General Assembly approved an act on March 15, 1922 "to regulate motion picture films and reels; providing a system of examination, approval and regulation thereof, and of the banners, poster and other like advertising matter used in connection therewith; creating the board of censors; and providing penalties for the violation of this act." [5] Through issuing licenses to filmmakers and distributors, the board sought to limit films the members felt threatened "morality" or films that may cause the "incitement of a crime;" these films often involved depictions of sexual situations and/or race relations. [1] Virginia's statutes were copied verbatim from those of New York's censorship board, but Virginia followed a slightly different mandate not written in the legislation, focusing on racial sensibilities in Virginia. [6]

Chicago City in Illinois, United States

Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in Illinois, as well as the third most populous city in the United States. With an estimated population of 2,716,450 (2017), it is the most populous city in the Midwest. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as Chicagoland, and the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. The metropolitan area, at nearly 10 million people, is the third-largest in the United States, and the fourth largest in North America and the third largest metropolitan area in the world by land area.

Film censorship in the United States

Film censorship in the United States was a frequent feature of the industry since almost the beginning of the motion picture industry until the end of strong self-regulation in 1966. Court rulings in the 1950s and 1960s severely constrained government censorship, though statewide regulation lasted until at least the 1980s.

Virginia General Assembly legislative body of Virginia, United States

The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house, the Senate of Virginia, with 40 members. Combined together, the General Assembly consists of 140 elected representatives from an equal number of constituent districts across the commonwealth. The House of Delegates is presided over by the Speaker of the House, while the Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. The House and Senate each elect a clerk and sergeant-at-arms. The Senate of Virginia's clerk is known as the "Clerk of the Senate".

Board Members

The Act's second provision detailed the guidelines under which the board's members were selected. The board would be composed of three residents of Virginia "well qualified by education and experience to act as censors under this act," whom would be appointed by the governor. [5] Governor Elbert Lee Trinkle appointed the first members of the Board of Censors: Evan Chesterman, a writer and former secretary of the Board of Education; R.C.L. Moncure, a tax collector and former businessman; and Emma Speed Sampson, a Richmond native artist and writer. [7]

Elbert Lee Trinkle American politician

Elbert Lee Trinkle was an American politician who served as the 49th Governor of Virginia from 1922 to 1926.

Emma Speed Sampson, was an American author of juvenile fiction and a movie censor.

In an interview with The Monocle in 1929, Sampson stated: "We only eliminate vulgarities in comic pictures. In fact, we do not cut much from pictures because now the people are broader-minded and every day pictures getting better." [8] This original board would later be abolished then reinstated under the department of law, supervised by the attorney general, but censors remained governor appointed. [9] Positions in censorship boards anywhere in the country became valuable patronage plums awarded by the state's respective governor, and board members often were people with little or no experience in the film industry. [10] Censorship board positions were often held by politically connected women, and no censor appointed in Virginia ever retired from the position, [9] although board members would occasionally step down and be replaced over time. When reviewing films that were particularly controversial, the board sometimes brought in other members of the community to help pass judgment, such public health officials or lawyers. [11]

Censorship criteria

The Board of Censors reviewed three types of films specified in the fifth provision as: Used films (films screened in Virginia prior to the board's formation), "Current event" films (any new narrative film depicting current events), and scientific and educational films. [12] The legislation also required any film to be licensed by the board before being publicly screened, and board certification had to be displayed on screen sometime during its exhibition. [13] The state's legislators believed that sexuality portrayed in films was a potentially dangerous force that threatened racial traditions, economic stability, and the marital bond. [14] As a result, the board focused on the issues of 'morality' and the 'incitement of crime' as criteria for rejecting films and devoted considerable attention to censoring what they considered immoral films; films that typically portrayed sexuality. [1] Films that portrayed interracial socializing, be it sexual or not, and any film that showed interracial tensions of any kind also received considerable criticism from the Board of Censors. [15] The passage of the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 gave the board their justification in censoring depictions of racial mixing. [16] Members of the Board of Censors followed a mandate which, as stated in an annual report, "scrutinized with particular care all films which touch upon the relations existing between whites and blacks. Every scene or subtitle calculated to produce friction between the races is eliminated." [16] Although the board did not explicitly define what material might "produce friction between the races," any film that did not depict segregation to the satisfaction of the board would be subject to major cuts, or rejection "in toto." [17]

Racial Integrity Act of 1924

On 20 March 1924, the Virginia General Assembly successfully passed two laws that had arisen out of concerns about eugenics and race: SB 219 entitled "The Racial Integrity Act." To put it better in context, there were no other laws in the State of Virginia or in other states that formally tackled this issue, and thus its importance in United States history. With respect to its relation with eugenics, the passing of this Act was also influenced by the Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924 for which, according to the PBS American Experience documentary "The Eugenics Crusade," this was due to the number of cases reported that doctors evaluated where they found other genetic traits that are also found in what they perceived at the time as other races - African Americans or Native Americans in particular.

Controversies

In most cases of disapproval, the Board of Censors would request certain sections of film prints be cut before license was granted, but these edits often created critical errors in the films in question, such as causing gaps in the story line, miss-matched shots, and problems with synchronization of sound and image in the early days of talkies. [18] Other times the board outright banned entire films from screening regardless of any edits that could be made. [18] In the face of the Racial Integrity Act and a film censorship board, Virginia became a leader in the South for its enhanced progressive image. [19] Virginia and its leading citizens perpetuated a reputation of having friendlier relations than most states in the South, but the state's relations relied upon rigid racial and social control set forth by the dominant white middle and upper classes. [20] The board's efforts were aimed at protecting the lower class from immoral material, but the freedom of speech for all Virginians was at risk because with a film censorship board the state now had the power to regulate the cultural consumption of middle and upper class standards. [21] By policing the boundaries of gender and sexuality, the board, in effect, also policed the boundaries of class. [22]

Sound film motion picture with synchronized sound

The primary steps in the commercialization of sound cinema were taken in the mid- to late 1920s. At first, the sound films which included synchronized dialogue, known as "talking pictures", or "talkies", were exclusively shorts. The earliest feature-length movies with recorded sound included only music and effects. The first feature film originally presented as a talkie was The Jazz Singer, released in October 1927. A major hit, it was made with Vitaphone, which was at the time the leading brand of sound-on-disc technology. Sound-on-film, however, would soon become the standard for talking pictures.

Southern United States Cultural region of the United States

The southern United States, also known as the American South, Dixie, Dixieland, or simply the South, is a region of the United States of America. It is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the western United States, with the midwestern United States and northeastern United States to its north and the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico to its south.

Oscar Micheaux

One filmmaker who constantly pushed the limits of Virginia's Board of Censers was Oscar Micheaux. [23] Micheaux was one of several black filmmakers between the 1910s and 1950s who sought to provide black audiences with films made from a black perspective, [24] and he is considered the foremost African American filmmaker of the era. [25]

Oscar Micheaux Oscar Micheaux.jpg
Oscar Micheaux

The Virginia Board of Censors would specifically make sure only stereotypical African American images, such as maids, butlers, and criminals would be portrayed in movies. [6] However, Micheaux's intention with his films was to accurately depict the conditions in which black men lived in the United States. [11] Throughout Micheaux's career the board consistently voiced their distaste for his films. [26] Evan Chesterman wrote in a 1925 report that Micheaux's production company was, "a negro corporation, whose output is designed solely for colored houses, and whose actors, almost without exception, are colored people, has been severely disciplined on account of its infelicitous, not to say dangerous, treatment of the race question." [26] The board's response to Micheaux's films provides a glimpse of their larger administrative agenda of managing race relations under a code of white paternalism and a strict racial etiquette. [17] Micheaux and the Virginia Board of Censors first came at odds over his 1924 film, Birthright. The film first screened in Virginia even though Micheaux never gained approval from the board. [27] Chesterman investigated how this could happen and it turns out Birthright had been screening with a Virginia Board of Censors seal of approval, and he concluded Micheaux must have committed a "deliberate violation of the censorship act" by editing in the seal from a previously approved film. [27] Micheaux never responded to letters from the board, and in response the board fined Micheaux and never reviewed Birthright nor allowed its screening in the state. [28] In July 1924, Micheaux did submit his film, A Son of Satan , to the Virginia Board of Censors for review, which was subsequently rejected. When the filmmaker requested an appeal, the board denied his request citing the way Micheaux failed to respond to the objections of Birthright earlier in the year. [29] The board's specific objections to A Son of Satan stemmed from images of miscegenation and race riots, as well as scenes which caused "blurring of racial lines in public spaces such as dance halls." [30] After paying a fine, making some cuts, and a great deal of confrontation with the members of the board, namely Chesterman, Micheaux's film was eventually licensed to be shown in Virginia. [30] In March 1927, Micheaux's newest film, The House Behind the Cedars , generated controversy among the Board of Censors just as the filmmaker's previous two efforts had, however their ruling on this film sparked debate on the white allegiance to the Racial Integrity Act. [11] The board's report concluded films were not the proper medium for handling sensitive topics involving race, and that The House Behind the Cedars had the potential to incite crime through race riots. [31] Micheaux objected saying the film had been adapted from a book, which had been in circulation for thirty years, and the film had screened across the country without incident. [31] Micheaux once again agreed to make cuts to his film, and the board licensed The House behind the Cedars, but Micheaux only screened the film in Virginia's black theaters. [32]

The Birth of a Baby

In addition to censoring sexual situations in drama films, the Board of Censors also censored documentary films. [1] Educational films such The Miracle of Life and Girls of the Underworld depicted stories of contraception and the consequences of venereal disease, respectively, and they were both rejected "in toto" by the board for their dramatic portrayals of what were considered sexual taboos. [1] In 1937 Virginia, along with several other states, banned The Birth of a Baby, an educational film sponsored by the American Medical Association and the U.S. Public Health Service, among many other organizations, and looked to educate parents about safe child birth. [33] Virginia's rejection of this film led to the first challenge against a censorship ordinance in the state, which was decided in the Virginia Supreme Court case Lynchburg v. Dominion Theatres of 1940, [34] leading to a rare occurrence of a censorship ordinance being overturned during the time the Board of Censors existed. [35] This would be the last successful overruling of a censorship ordinance until 1965, however the debate over censorship versus the legality of prior restraint began to gain momentum. [36]

Board disbands

In 1952 the U.S. Supreme Court placed movies under First Amendment protection in the ruling of Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson , reversing a decision that stood since 1915 and thus overturning any film censorship case to come after. [37] However, some states raised the debate whether censorship was a question of prior restraint, or free speech, and some boards carried on censoring while working through the appeals process. [37] By 1956, Virginia was one of only four states still with censorship boards. After a lengthy legal battle, New York's ban of the film Lady Chatterley's Lover was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1957, a decision that greatly impacted New York's censorship laws as well those remaining in the other three states, Virginia included. [38] The U.S. Supreme Court case Freedman v. Maryland in 1965 officially overturned the censorship statutes of the remaining censorship boards in the country, [39] and Virginia's State Board of Censors became inactive effective June 30, 1966. [40]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Holloway, Pippa (2006). Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945. University of North Carolina Press. p. 68.
  2. ↑ Moon, Heather (6 February 2014). "Virginia movie censorship board 1958". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 Holloway, Pippa (2006). Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945. University of North Carolina Press. p. 47.
  4. ↑ Wittern-Keller, Laura (January 2008). Freedom of the Screen : Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981. University Press of Kentucky. p. 31.
  5. 1 2 Code of Virginia: With the Declaration of Independence, the Con-stitution of the United States, the Constitution of Virginia ... Annotated ... Google Books: D. Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing. 1 January 1922. p. 1057.
  6. 1 2 Wittern-Keller, Laura (January 2008). Freedom of the Screen : Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981. University Press of Kentucky. p. 29.
  7. ↑ Holloway, Pippa (2006). Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 67–68.
  8. ↑ Sergeant, Katherine (15 November 1929). "Mrs. Emma Speed Tells of Experiences as Writer". The Monocle. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  9. 1 2 Wittern-Keller, Laura (January 2008). Freedom of the Screen : Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981. University Press of Kentucky. p. 35.
  10. ↑ Wittern-Keller, Laura (January 2008). Freedom of the Screen : Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981. University Press of Kentucky. p. 34.
  11. 1 2 3 Smith, J. Douglas (2002). Managing White Supremacy: Race, Politics, and Citizenship in Jim Crow Virginia. University of North Carolina Press. p. 101.
  12. ↑ Code of Virginia: With the Declaration of Independence, the Con-stitution of the United States, the Constitution of Virginia ... Annotated ... Google Books: D. Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing. 1 January 1922. p. 1058.
  13. ↑ "Censorship of Motion Pictures". The Big Stone Gap Post. 22 August 1922.
  14. ↑ Holloway, Pippa (2006). Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945. University of North Carolina Press. p. 48.
  15. ↑ Holloway, Pippa (2006). Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945. University of North Carolina Press. p. 70.
  16. 1 2 Smith, J. Douglas (2002). Managing White Supremacy: Race, Politics, and Citizenship in Jim Crow Virginia. University of North Carolina Press. p. 100.
  17. 1 2 Brundage, W. Fitzhugh (May 2011). Beyond Blackface : African Americans and the Creation of American Popular Culture, 1890-1930. University of North Carolina Press. p. 229.
  18. 1 2 Jacobs, Lea (1991). The Wages of Sin: Censorship and the Fallen Woman Film, 1928-1942. University of California Press. p. 32.
  19. ↑ Holloway, Pippa (2006). Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945. University of North Carolina Press. p. 51.
  20. ↑ Smith, J. Douglas (2001). "Patrolling the Boundaries of Race: motion picture censorship and Jim Crow in Virginia, 1922–1932". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 21 (3): 274.
  21. ↑ Holloway, Pippa (2006). Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945. University of North Carolina Press. p. 49.
  22. ↑ Holloway, Pippa (2006). Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945. University of North Carolina Press. p. 73.
  23. ↑ Smith, J. Douglas (2001). "Patrolling the Boundaries of Race: motion picture censorship and Jim Crow in Virginia, 1922–1932". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 21 (3): 278.
  24. ↑ Brundage, W. Fitzhugh (May 2011). Beyond Blackface : African Americans and the Creation of American Popular Culture, 1890-1930. University of North Carolina Press. p. 213.
  25. ↑ Brundage, W. Fitzhugh (May 2011). Beyond Blackface : African Americans and the Creation of American Popular Culture, 1890-1930. University of North Carolina Press. p. 215.
  26. 1 2 Brundage, W. Fitzhugh (May 2011). Beyond Blackface : African Americans and the Creation of American Popular Culture, 1890-1930. University of North Carolina Press. p. 230.
  27. 1 2 Smith, J. Douglas (2001). "Patrolling the Boundaries of Race: motion picture censorship and Jim Crow in Virginia, 1922–1932". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 21 (3): 279.
  28. ↑ Smith, J. Douglas (2001). "Patrolling the Boundaries of Race: motion picture censorship and Jim Crow in Virginia, 1922–1932". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 21 (3): 280.
  29. ↑ Smith, J. Douglas (2001). "Patrolling the Boundaries of Race: motion picture censorship and Jim Crow in Virginia, 1922–1932". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 21 (3): 281.
  30. 1 2 Smith, J. Douglas (2001). "Patrolling the Boundaries of Race: motion picture censorship and Jim Crow in Virginia, 1922–1932". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 21 (3): 282.
  31. 1 2 Smith, J. Douglas (2002). Managing White Supremacy: Race, Politics, and Citizenship in Jim Crow Virginia. University of North Carolina Press. p. 102.
  32. ↑ Smith, J. Douglas (2002). Managing White Supremacy: Race, Politics, and Citizenship in Jim Crow Virginia. University of North Carolina Press. p. 103.
  33. ↑ Wittern-Keller, Laura (January 2008). Freedom of the Screen : Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981. University Press of Kentucky. p. 82.
  34. ↑ Wittern-Keller, Laura (January 2008). Freedom of the Screen : Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981. University Press of Kentucky. p. 83.
  35. ↑ Roberts, Tom. "Challenging Local Criminal Ordinances In Virginia" . Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  36. ↑ Wittern-Keller, Laura (January 2008). Freedom of the Screen : Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981. University Press of Kentucky. p. 87.
  37. 1 2 Wittern-Keller, Laura (January 2008). Freedom of the Screen : Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981. University Press of Kentucky. p. 188.
  38. ↑ Wittern-Keller, Laura (January 2008). Freedom of the Screen : Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981. University Press of Kentucky. p. 214.
  39. ↑ Wittern-Keller, Laura (January 2008). Freedom of the Screen : Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981. University Press of Kentucky. p. 271.
  40. ↑ "A Guide to the records of the division of motion picture censorship, 1926-1968". Virginia Heritage. State Records Collection. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
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