Censorship in the United States
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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In the United States certain forms of speech, such as obscenity and defamation, are restricted in major media outlets by the government or by the industry on its own.
For much of the United States's history, the First Amendment was not held to apply to states and municipalities. Entities without any prohibition in their own charters were free to censor newspapers, magazines, books, plays, movies, comedy shows, and so on. Many did, as exemplified by the phrase "banned in Boston."
The free speech decisions of the United States Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren, which served from 1953 to 1969, extended the protections of the First Amendment to local government, and brought much stricter standards of review for what government actions were acceptable.
The state of Maryland retained its movie ratings board an unusually long time, abandoning it in the 1980s in favor of the private MPAA's voluntary ratings scheme.
See also
- American Family Association
- Catholic Legion of Decency
- Anthony Comstock
- The Production Code and the MPAA
- Censorship of obscenity in the United States
Documentary films
