This paper argues that film censorship is in direct opposition to everything James Madison stood for in his devotion to the protection of individual rights from factions. Madison defined factions as groups that were united by a cause, passion or interest that conflicted with collective rights of the community or other citizens, and he designed a government structure in the Federalist Papers that protected the rights of the citizens from these factions. In the early twentieth century, factions rose up in favor of film censorship as the medium grew in popularity because they feared the influence it was having over young Americans. The Roman Catholic Church was one such group, which in 1933 led a boycott of the film industry in order to make changes to content. This faction continued its campaign to purify the film industry until it was halted by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1952. Through examination of history, and Madison and Mill’s writings, this paper concludes that even as society has progressed into modernity, Madison’s philosophies remain indispensable to protecting the rights of citizens from factions who infringe upon freedom of expression.
About the presenterJamie Bowen
Jamie is a third year doctoral student at Arizona State University in journalism and mass communication. His research interests include that of propaganda and masculinity theory and how they are being portrayed in post 9/11 American war films. When not doing scholarly pursuits, Jamie is off seeing the world or hiking the local trail with his wife and dog.