Hollywood v. Hard Core: How the Struggle Over Censorship Created the Modern Film Industry

Between 1968 and 1973 Hollywood films were faltering at the box office, and the major studios were in deep trouble. Hollywood’s principal competition came from a body of independently produced and distributed films like Last Tango in Paris and hard-core pornography like Behind the Green Door . These films were at once disreputable and chic. In response, Hollywood imposed the industry-wide MPAA film rating system that pushed sexually explicit films outside the mainstream, and a series of Supreme Court decisions all but outlawed the theatrical exhibition of hard core pornographic films. Together, these events allowed Hollywood to extend its iron grip over what films got made and where they were shown, thus saving it from financial ruin.