This international conference (French/English) aims at re-examining the notion of “Pre-Code Hollywood” and its periodization.

Hollywood before the Code — *Gold Diggers of 1933*, directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Scholars from all over the world will examine the socio-political, ideological, and aesthetic negotiations conducted by the studios before July 1934, to go beyond the approach that consists in reducing “Pre-Code cinema” to the early days of the talkies, generally approached through the prism of scandal, provocation, and the expression of the forbidden. The aim is to take a fresh look at the impact of this rise in censorship from 1921 onwards and on the intensification of the public conversation on the need for censorship.

The conference will focus on how films were made prior to 1934, despite or because of these tough negotiations, and on how the studios and the Hays administration were able to use the power of public opinion and respond to its pressures to protect the Hollywood industry.