With the age of the Internet and the amount of freedom we have with our artwork, it might be hard to imagine being restricted or unable to completely express yourself. Well, from the years 1934-1968, ‘The Hay’s Code’ reigned over Hollywood. You might be wondering how the Hay’s Code was in full effect even though people had the legal freedom to make and display their artwork. The Hay’s code was “a standard that the industry used as a form of ‘self regulation’.Cinema Owners and big production companies would not fund projects or allow artists to play their work in cinemas if it didn’t follow the code.
The Hay’s Code placed restrictions on showing interracial relationships,drugs and criminal activity, nudity and obscenity,men and women in bed together,showing sympathy for criminals,etc. This made it difficult fo artists who wanted to portray specific struggles or stories through film as many believed it to be indecent and immoral to not follow the code.This kinda still exists in the industry today! Many artists of marginalised groups ,ie,queer individuals,women,poc,etc, often find it hard to create films truly expressing their struggle without some ‘big shot’ producer bashing them or making them change essential parts. Media Houses Like Disney don’t show queer couples in most films/sows because the general public sees it as indecent.
Learning about the Hay’s Code mostly has made me grateful that I have the freedom to, for the most part,create any content I may want to and definitely express myself.It actually has encouraged me to try to seek out other marginalised artists to share their experiences of them being silenced. Being a bisexual and trans mixed-race person of colour and putting my work and beliefs online and in real- life is hard even without the added stress of an industry that self regulates with bigoted undertones.Sharing my opinions of queer,racial and very disabled inequalities through my work has always been important to me and I will continue to do so.
Thank you for reading, Stay tuned for the next Blog!
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