#CleanMovieMonth2021 is Here!

July has arrived, so it is now time for #CleanMovieMonth. I wanted to announce this in mid-June, but I just didn’t get around to it because of problems designing the poster. Anyway, it is now July 1st, so I had better announce it! In case you aren’t familiar with this custom here at PEPS, #CleanMovieMonth is the special name we give to every July. Different organizations dedicate specific months to the study and celebration of different things, so we chose July as the month for studying and celebrating American Breen Era (1934-1954), also known as Code, films. We have been celebrating #CleanMovieMonth since 2018, so we look forward to your joining us for our fourth year!

How can you join #CleanMovieMonth2021? The first way is to avoid watching any “un-Code” films throughout the month. This means no pre-Code movies (released before July 1934), foreign films (1934-1954 films made in countries besides the USA), Shurlock Era movies (1955-1968), or Rating System Era films (1968-present). What is left? Movies made in the good old United States of America between July of 1934 and 1954. Why are these movies special? During these twenty years, Joseph I. Breen was the head of the Production Code Administration (PCA), a branch of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), commonly called the Hays Office. In this job, Mr. Breen’s chief duty was to enforce the Motion Picture Production Code of 1930, inaccurately called the Hays Code. The goal was that all films released in the United States of America would receive a PCA Seal of Approval, which signified that the said films complied with the Code’s standards of moral acceptability for all ages. Studying films released during this time period reveals that an impressive majority of American-made films met this goal!

Besides watching only (or mostly) Code films, you can join #CleanMovieMonth2021 by writing a guest article. Any time during July, publish an article about something relating to Code films. You can review one or more movies, talk about a general theme, review the Code films you’ve watched so far during July, or explain what you love about the Breen Era. The possible topics are limitless, and so are the amount of articles you can publish! Just include the poster at the top of this article and link to this post, claiming it as part of this celebration. Also, please use the hashtag #CleanMovieMonth2021 on all social media to spread the word about this month of pure entertainment. We will proudly republish any guest articles.

In past years, I have made overly optimistic goals about publishing daily articles during July. It never was easy, and, quite frankly, it never really happened! This year, I’m forcing myself to be realistic. I am just going to try to catch up with past 100+ New Code Films reviews which I have missed recently. Instead, I am putting the focus on my wonderful readers and fellow bloggers. I can’t wait to see what you have to say! Even if you don’t have a blog, don’t let that discourage you! We are happy to publish articles for any interested participants who don’t have their own blogs.

Stay tuned for our upcoming announcement of our July blogathon, which we will host at the end of the month. In the meantime, refer to past #CleanMovieMonth celebrations for inspiration!