Final Paper

For my final paper, I will be revising my scarface paper by talking about children and violence. I will write about how violence can affect a child, which can cause them to show aggression later on in years. Another topic I will be talking about is the enviroment in which children are raised with. Not everybody that watches violent movies will act on what they see. I will explain how the enviroment that children are raised in has a big impact on their life as well.

09-Denby in Culture Shock

Denby feels that complexity is spread out all over the world and should be shown in movies so that the audience can see what goes on daily. Another view that Denby has is that in movies is that the literature should be accurate when being produced such as the good should be rewarded, weak should be punished, and the evil should be punished.  

I agree with Denby because movies that show life experiences can have an impact on the audiences outlook. I think that if movies are going to show violence thoughout the movie, then the movie should show what happens to those who do wrong.

Group 4 Report-Ashlee C, Dee, Michelle P, Neil, and Teresa

Reasons Underlying Particular Applications

 Sin and Evil: Teresa S

In the section of Reasons Underlying Particular Applications of the Working Draft of the Lord Quigley Code Proposal, Quigley writes “Sins enter into the story of human beings, which is known as dramatic material. However, sins which repel need to be distinguished from sins that attract.” For example, sins which repel include murder, most theft, lying, hypocrisy, and cruelty. Sins which attract include sex, sins of apparent heroism, daring thefts, and organized crime. “Avoid the hardening of the audience;” Black is saying do not let the audience get used to sins such as murder and brutality. Sins that attract need “real care in handling.” They need more care in handling because people/children that are attracted to the sin might be tempted to mimic their behavior.

There were a couple of agreements in our group on the subject of this section of the Lord-Quigley code, but there were no disagreements. I agree with the girl in my group that said the Lord’s Code makes it seem like the audience does not know how to separate real life from the movies. Just because the audience watches a gangster movie does not mean that everybody in the audience is going to become a gangster. Furthermore, the group agreed with my statement that we have a completely different mindset of the people in the 1920’s, and this is what makes it difficult to understand such censorship decisions as this code.

 General versus Limited Audiences:   Dee N

Under the third numeral of this section Quigley discusses the general versus limited audiences. I feel strongly that when the filmmakers of the 1930s started making distinctions between general distribution and limited audience films, it was that distinction that was the starting point for the idea of a rating system. Our present rating system could have been the end result of this early classification system. During the draft of this code, it was normal for the practice of “the showing of a certain film to “Adults Only” (Black 306). Although many felt it was “only partially effective”, it was definitely a step in the right direction. The fact that Scarface had numerous endings could be viewed as an act to please numerous audiences and to comply with this code.

Crimes against the Law Part I:  Michelle P

Within the Application section of the code we also learn about Crimes against the Law stating that the treatment of crimes must not: teach methods of crime, inspire potential criminals with a desire for imitation, or make criminals seem heroic and justified. This section isn’t saying that sin can’t be part of a film because we know that it is a part of life and in a film termed dramatic material. However, Quigley is quick to note what cannot arise from this material. For example, banks get robbed every year-people get desperate for money and it happens. This section is merely saying don’t teach the audience how to rob a bank and don’t make it seem appealing. Furthermore, don’t make the character that’s robbing the bank seem heroic or justified no matter how dire the situation is. I agree with Quigley that sins occur, and that they shouldn’t exactly seem appealing. I think most people would agree that if someone’s going to rob a bank, their doing it for a pretty desperate reason and that person probably knows the consequences of their actions before hand. However, while these crimes shouldn’t seem appealing, tons of characters rob banks in countless movies and not everyone that watched that film went out and robbed their local bank. A filmmaker shouldn’t encourage crimes unless it’s a reflection of a true story, but at the same time filmmakers, censors, the Catholic Church and everyone in between should respect the intelligence of the audience, with the exception of children, to know that these crimes are wrong and shouldn’t be imitated in reality.

Crimes against the Law Part 2:  Ashlee C

To continue this idea of Crimes against the Law, Black explains that drug trafficking and liquor should not be brought to the attention of the audience. Black feels that any type of drug use should not be presented in any form. He also feels that Liquor should “never be excessively presented even in picturing countries where its use is illegal”, only in moderation. I do not agree with this because if movies didn’t show what liquor and drugs could do to people, then the viewers could be more tempted to try new things. I am not saying that all people will try drugs and alcohol, but if we didn’t have movies on real life events, then the society might not have a good idea of what goes on in the world.

In Scarface, Camonte sells alcohol to people as a job. The movie shows what happens during trafficking and how it is an extremely dangerous thing to be involved in. Scarface promotes alcohol in the movie, as well as drug trafficking. I feel that it was a good example in a way because if proved that if a person did not pay the right amount of money, or snitched somebody out then their life would be in jeopardy. I feel that if you want to be involved with something as dangerous as that, then go ahead and do it. I do not feel like movies that show real life choices will have a bad affect on the audience.

Relationship to Scarface:  Neil B

With this being said, the 1932 production of the motion picture Scarface had numerous instances where the Lord-Quigley code proposal seemed to overlap in concept. In Part I of Crimes Against the Law specifically, there can be seen a close connection with the production history of Scarface and the Lord-Quigley Code. This part of the code explains how teaching the methods of crime should not occur in a motion picture ever, yet the entire plot of Scarface is a depiction of Tony Camonte’s life in organized crime, which vary from depicting how he went about shaking down club owners to Camonte murdering people such as his own boss before he takes over control of the gang.

When the film was produced, there were a large number of issues that producer Howard Hughes ran into when trying to release the film, mainly that the censors demanded that the film be edited to depict the life of a gangster in a more negative light. They felt that it was necessary to remove the heroic spin from the life a gangster like Camonte in order to decrease the desire for others to imitate such a negative lifestyle.

A specific instance where the censors forced change in the film’s production is the different potential endings that the film almost had. The ending that most people saw at times in theaters is actually the second one that they filmed, and it depicts Tony Camonte as being much more afraid and less enthusiastic in his final gun battle with the police before he is apprehended, sentenced and hung by a proper court. This is very different from what has become known as the alternate ending, which is in fact the originally filmed ending. In this ending, Camonte psychotically shoots at the police with Cesca enthusiastically helping him load guns before he goes out in a blaze of bullets.

The differences in these two endings demonstrate many of the areas that the Lord-Quigley Code discusses, namely Cesca not being enthusiastic and Tony not being so proud and crazy, the removal of Tony’s nearly heroic exit in a blaze of glory and lastly the court system promoting proper justice through a trial. These differences demonstrate how censors then had already begun to implement the ideas that are put forth in the Lord-Quigley Code Proposal.

Personal Response to Lord-Quigley Code Proposal

The Lord-Quigley Code can be hard to understand because it was written in the 1920’s and our views on censorship today are very different from back then. When I first read this code, I agreed with a lot that was being said in the beginning of the proposal. “Entertainment can be of a character either HELPFUL or HARMFUL to the human race” is something that is very much involved with making movies. I agree with that quote because even though characters are only acting, it can be very detrimental to people in the audience. This code uses a lot of judgement, and even though I agree with some of it, it is based off of opinion, and everybody has their own opinion. Because of the way that this code was written, Blacks visions on entertainment and censorship can seem wierd to people today and make us wonder why they thought like this.  

Personal Response- Group

Our group read the section on “Sin and Evil”, Crimes, and Drug and Liquor Trafficing. These sections are a very big issue in today’s society, and are also used to make stories for movies. In this part of the code, it explains that these categories should not be used to promote, but should look natural.

Black expresses that the audience shouldnt be able to get use to crimes, drugs and sin. I think that in the 1920’s and 1930’s he felt that if people saw violence a lot in movies then it will make it okay for people to do in real life. I don’t agree with Black because a lot of people watch movies with violence and dont feel the need to go out and do cruel things to people. I do feel that Black’s point of view on violence is true in todays world. Not only do a lot of the movies have violence in them, but we have a lot of violence in today’s world. Maybe if we cut down on promoting violence, then maybe we would’nt have as many violent crimes.

If a viewers mind is already set on doing something illegal or harmful, then not producing a movie is going to help save that person. Yes a movie can show violence and have an impact on somebodies perspective on life, but if a person has lived his or her entire life doing wrongful things, then a movie is not going to have any control over it.

Personal Section

Black explains that drug traffficing and liquor should not be brought to the attention of the audience. Black feels that the any type of drug use should not be presented in any form. Black also feels that Liquor should “never be excessively presented even in picturing countries where its use is illegal”, only in moderation. I do not agree with this because if movies didn’t show what liquor and drugs could do to people, then the viewers could be more tempted to try new things. I am not saying that all people will try drugs and alcohol, but if we didnt have movies on real life events, then the society might not have a good idea on what goes on in the world.

 In scarface, Camonte sells alcohol to people as a job. The movie shows what happens during trafficing and how it is an extremely dangerous thing to be involved in. Scarface promotes alcohol in the movie, as well as drug trafficing. I feel that it was a good example in a way because if proved that if a person did not pay the right amount of money, or snitched somebody out then their life would be in jeopardy. I feel that if you want to be involved with something as dangerous as that, then go ahead and do it. I do not feel like movies that show real life choices will have a bad affect on the audience.

1st Amendment & VA Declaration

After reading Black, I feel that citizens groups were upset by Scarface because according to them it glorified violence. Scarface was one of the first real gangster movies that showed violence even though it wasnt graphic. In the book Black, it states that the movie Scarface was “the most vicious and demoralizing gangster picture” ever produced. I could see how back then people thought it was horrifying because even though violence was on the news and other sources, critics did not approve of Scarface because they believed it promoted violence.  

 The Bill of Rights  and the 1st Amendment was listed so that citizens and the goverment could follow by rules and regulations, but I dont feel like the government did their job with censorship to the full extent. In the Bill of Rights it says that the Congress will not interefere with people speech, but yet the Hays Office went through multiple changes before the first airing. This censorship was unjust and I believe to have violated these laws. Maybe if the censorship allowed the movie to air with out all the changes then people could realize what these gangster are doing to innocent people.

Scarface 3 Endings

Scarface has three endings that describes different outcomes on Camonte’s life. In the original script, Tony walks down the stairs and makes an attempt to shoot down the police officers. He fails because he realizes that his gun is out of bullets and gets shot. I would have liked to see this ending on video because it seems like there was more action involved.

During the first film ending,  Cesca acts as if she is excited about loading the guns for Tony. She gets shot by a stray bullet which then brings out the coward side in Tony. Camonte gets scared and attempts to leave the apartment. He is stopped by the police and acts as if he is willing to work with them. As he walks down the steps, he makes a run for it and gets gunned down in the road. I don’t prefer this ending of the movie because not only did Tony die, but so did the ending die very quickly.

In the second film ending, Cesca is protrayed differently. Her feelings and facial expressions are not shown like in ending 1. Cesca looks less animated about helping Camonte load the guns. After Cesca gets shot, Tony goes down the stairs to the police. He is willing to work with the cops. He is sent to court and is sentenced the death penalty, which is to be hung. I did not like this ending very much because I don’t like to see people be hung. Even though we did not get the graphics, in your mind you are still well aware of what is going on.

 I feel that the original script glorifies Camonte because even though he was unsuccessful with his attempt on shooting the police, he still made an effort to win the battle just like any other real gangster would do. In endings 1 and 2, Tony is not glorified because in ending 1 he tries to run but fails. In ending 2 he gives up and does what every criminal should do… and that is go to court to get the right punishment for what you deserve.

Scarface – Comonte

As much as I have heard about Scarface being an awesome movie, this was the first time I have ever seen it. Even though we only saw a small portion of the video, I was still interested in what was going to happen next. Personally, when I hear the word “gangster” I think of somebody who wears baggy clothes and lives life selling drugs and other substances, as well as live life ready to kill a person if he or she steps on any toes. Yes Tony is caught up in a bad crowd with doing dirty deeds for people, but the way that he is dressed through out the movie catches me off guard. Gangsters today do not dress slick, and professional like Tony does during this movie. 

One thing that I do like about this movie is the camera shots that are being used. I love black and white movies because specific things in the background have to stand out more then others in order for the film to look realistic. One thing that I didn’t think looked realistic was the fighting. I could see how back then people thought the film was a lot to handle and violent because they didn’t have a lot to work with like producers do today… But now a day’s with the technology that is used in film making, the fighting looks realistic and some times a little TOO violent and graphic for people to watch. 

I like Tony Comante’s character because he doesn’t snitch on people and when he is being confronted by police and acts very nonchalant as if he has no idea about what happened. I also like how he handles himself by disrespecting certain people in a clever way. 

No I would not say that this movie glorifies violence. I would say that it glorifies gangsters.

Introduction

Hi my name is Ashlee and I am a Junior here at Mason. I just graduated from NOVA with an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. My goal here at Mason is to graduate with a Bachelors Degree in Communications, and then figure out what I would like to do with my life because as of now, I am not sure with what I want to do.