CINEMATIC CENSORSHIP: AN ANALYSIS OF POWER DYNAMICS OF FILM REGULATION AND ITS EFFECT ON ON-SCREEN SEXUALITY WITHIN HOLLYWOOD

Abstract

The history of film regulation has undergone many changes, with the original form of regulation being that of the Hays Code, which directly prohibited specific topics, and our modern-day ratings system, which provides alphabet ratings to guide individuals on content warnings. Sexual content has often been at the forefront of these two forms of regulation, with suppression and censorship occurring in each regulatory form. The thesis explores the power dynamics at play with these two forms of regulation, examining these different forms of regulation through the lens of the three faces of power, introduced by theorists such as Dahl and Lukes, along with Foucault's understanding of power. This analysis highlights the ways in which power has, directly and indirectly, manifested in the suppression of sexuality through film regulation and explores why understanding these power dynamics is essential to establishing ways in which sexuality and representation are no longer suppressed in the modern age.