'The Hays Code' and its effect on women in Hollywood.

Since the introduction of 'The Hays Code' in 1930s Hollywood, studios have struggled with creating new roles for women, ones in which do not portray them in such a degrading light. Pre-code Hollywood consisted of actresses- always young and beautiful- in leading roles, being nothing more than sex-symbols, continuously objectified by men in what appeared to be a modernised patriarchal society. The film The Story of Temple Drake is a prime example of this and shows why women in the industry use to be paid more than men; this is due to the ways in which they are portrayed and treated onscreen. However, as 'The Hays Code' was established these 'anything goes' rules were no longer exceptable; and so the studios and leading female stars in Hollywood were left not knowing where they stood, with their careers in question. Women were no longer categorized as the over-sexualised, subjective protagonists. This therefore prompted the arrival of men in leading roles, new-found genres and ultimately, for a short period, a squeeky-clean Hollywood. Furthermore this lead to women no longer being paid the highest amount on set, they were forced to take 'backseat' roles, as the damsels in distress. This was the case for a number of years, until the era of Hitchcock once again evoked a sexualized view of females with his voyeurism and portrayal of young, unmarried heterosexual couples. A new dawn loomed and with the 60s, woman were still the damsels, yet they were in leading roles; with the 70s came plucky female protagonists (although the line between protagonist and antagonist is often blurred usually in quite intimidating and fearsome roles such as Sigourney Weaver in Alien (1979) or Sissy Spacek in Carrie (1976)

Pre-Code Hollywood and certification

Pre-Code Hollywood and certification nowadays

The Story of Temple Drake (Miriam Hopkins 1933) The first real sex-symbol? violence, rape and exploitation.
 Jezebel (Bette Davis 1938) the role of women, unacceptable actions in society.

•  1930s Hollywood, how far was too far?

Films such as these were allowed to be made due to cinema being popular (or considered to be so) only by the lower classes. Theatre was for the upper classes and those would remain separate. This meant that films of the 30s adopted the phrase 'anything goes' and the audiences became accustom to such sights; however when cinema started to appeal to the upper classes and famous faces from the stage wanted 'in on the deal' these 'sights' were considered appalling, hence the activation of the Hayes Code.

Certification nowadays, why is everything branded 12A- for the money? a bigger audience?
Casino Royal (remake 2006) the torture scene- specific textual analysis. 

This scene caused uproar due to being branded suitable for those aged 12 and with an adult, however the scene clearly shows partial nudity, torture and some mild language; this therefore conveys how high concept movies and studios will bend the rules in order to bring in a higher profit and wider audience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7u57eBL_Ok

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_y7YEIphts

• Sight&Sound edition May 2014