State of America and Women in Pre-Code Hollywood of the 1930s
(Link to video project)
This is a story of how women were depicted in Hollywood movies between 1930-1934. They were depicted as the oppressed, underdog protagonists the lower class audience could root for. Moviegoers in the 20s and 30s consisted of mostly lower-to-middle class citizens as films were seen by the upper-class as too simplistic and below their status. When the Great Depression hit America in 1929, movies were the cheapest form of entertainment for people affected by the economic epidemic. Social issue films were huge box office draws during this period and Hollywood saw that sex and risque films were also bringing people to the theaters. So the industry gave the people the films they wanted. The protagonists were often struggling women using their power over men to gain social and economic status. The audience members lived vicariously through the star's success in these films and identified with their struggles to survive during this period of mass poverty.
This all lasted until the Production Code of 1934 censored films like these from being produced. The Catholic Church and the US government threatened Hollywood with boycotts and regulations if it did not clean up its image. So Hollywood was forced to change the way these types of women were portrayed in its films. They were no longer allowed to be free from the status quo of matriarchy, and any character that did never got a happy Hollywood-ending. It was not until the 1960s that the production code was dropped in exchange for the Rating System we have today.
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