Hays Code Photography Grace Lavery

 

Thou Shalt Not

"Thou Shalt Not" photographed by A.L Whitney Schafer poses a satirical take on the Hays Code, a major movement in cinematic history that censored the images shown on screen between 1930-60s. This was a very difficult time for filmmakers because they were forced to keep up with the codes as a way to keep their films public. During this time period motion pictures were more suggestive rather than literal. Shaffer shows how these rules are extreme and breaks some of the most important ones in one single image as a way to challenge these rules. This photograph itself was censored and outraged the public. The photographer was threatened fines for even trying to distribute it. Now a days these images aren't too uncommon to see in film as the Hays Code eventually diminished thankfully. 

I personally find this image striking because the more you look the more you see. The powerful stance of a woman who typically would be seen as delicate or frail during this time holds a gun and is smoking a cigarette over a dead body, it is very powerful.