National Legion of Decency
Encyclopedia
The National Legion of Decency was an organization dedicated to identifying and combating objectionable content, from the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, in motion pictures. For the first quarter-century or so of its existence, the legion wielded great power in the American motion picture industry.
The Legion was founded in 1933 by Archbishop of Cincinnati
John T. McNicholas
as the Catholic Legion of Decency (CLOD) in response to an address given by apostolic delegate
Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani at the Catholic Charities
Convention in New York City. Cicognani warned against the "massacre of innocence of youth" and urged a campaign for "the purification of the cinema."
Though established by Roman Catholic bishops, the Legion originally included many Protestant and even some Jewish clerics. It was renamed in April 1934, substituting National for Catholic.
heard the case Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson
, 343 US 495 (1952). This case centred on Roberto Rossellini
's neorealist
short film Il Miracolo (The Miracle), which had originally been filmed as a segment of L'Amore
(Love) in Italy
in 1948. The film depicted a villainous "Saint Joseph" taking advantage of the hallucinations of "Nanni," a young peasant woman who suffered from schizophrenia
, to have sexual intercourse
with her. The film outraged the Legion and kindred Catholic organisations when it was shown in the United States, and was initially banned by the New York State Board of Regents. Joseph Burstyn appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, eventually proving victorious, which proved a setback for religious-based film censorship in the United States
.
. Responsibilities for reviewing and rating films were transferred to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting
. During the 1990s, there were several academic studies of the history of this organisation, listed in the bibliography section below.
In 1995 the Parents Television Council
was founded using the National Legion of Decency as a model, and continues to promote programming censorship in a similar manner.
's Production Code
. Films were rated according to the following schema:
The A rating was subsequently divided:
In 1978, the B and C ratings were combined into a new O rating for "morally offensive" films.
The pledge was revised in 1934:
In 1938, the league requested that the Pledge of the Legion of Decency be administered each year on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
(December 8).
The Legion was founded in 1933 by Archbishop of Cincinnati
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati covers the southwest region of the U.S. state of Ohio, including the greater Cincinnati and Dayton metropolitan areas. The Archbishop of Cincinnati is Most Rev...
John T. McNicholas
John T. McNicholas
John Timothy McNicholas, O.P. was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. A Dominican, he served as Bishop of Duluth and Archbishop of Cincinnati .-Early life and education:...
as the Catholic Legion of Decency (CLOD) in response to an address given by apostolic delegate
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani at the Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities is a network of charities whose aim is "to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire church and other people of good will to do the same." It is one of the largest charities in the United States...
Convention in New York City. Cicognani warned against the "massacre of innocence of youth" and urged a campaign for "the purification of the cinema."
Though established by Roman Catholic bishops, the Legion originally included many Protestant and even some Jewish clerics. It was renamed in April 1934, substituting National for Catholic.
1952: Joseph Burstyn, Inc v Wilson
The Legion suffered a setback in 1952, after the U.S. Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
heard the case Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson
Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson
Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495 , was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court which largely marked the decline of motion picture censorship in the United States...
, 343 US 495 (1952). This case centred on Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Rossellini was one of the directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing films such as Roma città aperta to the movement.-Early life:Born in Rome, Roberto Rossellini lived on the Via Ludovisi, where Benito Mussolini had...
's neorealist
Neorealism (art)
In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...
short film Il Miracolo (The Miracle), which had originally been filmed as a segment of L'Amore
L'Amore (film)
L'Amore is an anthology film directed by Roberto Rossellini starring Anna Magnani and Federico Fellini. The two segments are "Il Miracolo" and "Una Voce Umana", the latter based on the play The Human Voice by Jean Cocteau...
(Love) in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1948. The film depicted a villainous "Saint Joseph" taking advantage of the hallucinations of "Nanni," a young peasant woman who suffered from schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, to have sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with her. The film outraged the Legion and kindred Catholic organisations when it was shown in the United States, and was initially banned by the New York State Board of Regents. Joseph Burstyn appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, eventually proving victorious, which proved a setback for religious-based film censorship in the United States
Censorship in the United States
In general, censorship in the United States, which involves the suppression of speech or other public communication, raises issues of freedom of speech, which is constitutionally protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution....
.
Subsequent history of the Legion of Decency and successors: 1966–2001
By the 1960s, however, the organization had become an exclusively Catholic concern. In 1966 it was renamed the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures. Eventually, the entity was subsumed into the United States Catholic Conference, which in 2001 was incorporated into the United States Conference of Catholic BishopsUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
. Responsibilities for reviewing and rating films were transferred to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting is an office of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and is best known for the USCCB film rating, a continuation of the National Legion of Decency rating system begun in 1933 by Archbishop of Cincinnati John T...
. During the 1990s, there were several academic studies of the history of this organisation, listed in the bibliography section below.
In 1995 the Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
was founded using the National Legion of Decency as a model, and continues to promote programming censorship in a similar manner.
Rating system
The Legion distributed a list of ratings for films in order to provide "a moral estimate of current entertainment feature motion pictures". The Legion was often more conservative in its views on films than the Motion Picture Association of AmericaMotion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
's Production Code
Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
. Films were rated according to the following schema:
- A: Morally unobjectionable
- B: Morally objectionable in part
- C: Condemned by the Legion of Decency
The A rating was subsequently divided:
- A-I: Suitable for all audiences
- A-II: Suitable for adults — then, with the introduction of A-III — suitable for adults and adolescents
- A-III: Suitable for adults only
- A-IV: For adults with reservations
In 1978, the B and C ratings were combined into a new O rating for "morally offensive" films.
The Pledge
In 1933, Archbishop John McNicholas composed a membership pledge for the Legion, which read in part:- I wish to join the Legion of Decency, which condemns vile and unwholesome moving pictures. I unite with all who protest against them as a grave menace to youth, to home life, to country and to religion. I condemn absolutely those salacious motion pictures which, with other degrading agencies, are corrupting public morals and promoting a sex mania in our land. … Considering these evils, I hereby promise to remain away from all motion pictures except those which do not offend decency and Christian morality.
The pledge was revised in 1934:
- I condemn all indecent and immoral motion pictures, and those which glorify crime or criminals. I promise to do all that I can to strengthen public opinion against the production of indecent and immoral films, and to unite with all who protest against them. I acknowledge my obligation to form a right conscience about pictures that are dangerous to my moral life. I pledge myself to remain away from them. I promise, further, to stay away altogether from places of amusement which show them as a matter of policy.
In 1938, the league requested that the Pledge of the Legion of Decency be administered each year on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is celebrated on 8 December, nine months before the Nativity of Mary, which is celebrated on 8 September. It is the patronal feast day of the United States and the Republic of the...
(December 8).
See also
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and BroadcastingUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and BroadcastingUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting is an office of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and is best known for the USCCB film rating, a continuation of the National Legion of Decency rating system begun in 1933 by Archbishop of Cincinnati John T...
— successor - List of films condemned by the Legion of Decency
- Hays Code — a secular American censorship code in effect during much of the same period
- Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. WilsonJoseph Burstyn, Inc v. WilsonJoseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495 , was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court which largely marked the decline of motion picture censorship in the United States...
- Censorship by religionCensorship by religionCensorship by religion is a form of censorship where freedom of expression is controlled or limited using religious authority or on the basis of the teachings of the religion. This form of censorship has a long history and is practiced in many societies and by many religions...
External links
- The National Legion of Decency Collection at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
(archived)