#AMonthWithoutTheCode65 is Here!

AUGUST IS

Today is the first day of August, so it is the beginning of #AMonthWithoutTheCode65! Last month, #CleanMovieMonth85, was dedicated to Breen Era entertainment as we pledged to watch and review nothing but Code films throughout July. Now, this month is the complete opposite. August is dedicated to all things un-Code, so we are pledging to abstain from Code movies. That means no films from the American Breen Era (1934-1954), the period on which we usually focus. We use this month to create a deeper understanding and appreciation for Code movies because of their absence.

This year is one of important anniversaries for both the enforcement of the Code and the lack thereof. This August is #AMonthWithoutTheCode65 because the sixty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Shurlock Era takes places in 2019. Joseph I. Breen officially retired from being the head of the Production Code Administration on October 14 of 1954. Thus, October 15, 1954, was the first day of Mr. Shurlock’s Code administration. 2019 is also the fiftieth anniversary of the first whole year that the Code was not “officially” in place. The Code was technically adopted in 1930, and it guided Hollywood, even if in name only for the last few years, until it was replaced by the Classification and Rating Administration in 1968. Thus, we have plenty to celebrate, or mourn, this month in relation to un-Code anniversaries.

Visit the original announcement of #AMonthWithoutTheCode65 to find out how you can join this celebration yourself. You can join anytime during August. It’s never too late to study and compare un-Code films! Any articles by other writers published as part of #AMonthWithoutTheCode65 will be republished here, and links to the original posts will be included on a roster on this page.

BREENED

I suspended Breening Thursday articles during July, but I am going to publish five note-worthy Breening articles during August. Since there are five main eras of un-Code entertainment, I am going to publish one from each time period throughout the five Thursdays in August.

The only exception to the strictly un-Code rule which I will be making relates to 52 Code Films. I can’t suspend this series during August, since that would throw off its schedule for the whole year. Thus, I will break my standard just enough to watch and review one new Code film each week.