Manchester University Press
6 Local alliances in a permissive decade
Abstract
This chapter explores one of the most discussed historical decades in British popular culture, the ‘swinging sixties’. Key filmic movements and developments in these years include films which address youth culture, more sexually permissive material and films of the New Wave. Despite their popularity and critical acclaim, the relative absence of New Wave films in records of local censorship is telling, suggesting that the careful vetting of these films by the BBFC ensured that by the time they reached local audiences, rough edges had been smoothed away and concerns about language, sexual content and violence had all been resolved in discussions with writers, producers and distributors. What emerges locally are concerns about more adult content, the loosening of cultural standards around depictions of morality, and anxieties about language. This chapter maps responses to Ulysses and how this art film fared across the UK.
Abstract
This chapter explores one of the most discussed historical decades in British popular culture, the ‘swinging sixties’. Key filmic movements and developments in these years include films which address youth culture, more sexually permissive material and films of the New Wave. Despite their popularity and critical acclaim, the relative absence of New Wave films in records of local censorship is telling, suggesting that the careful vetting of these films by the BBFC ensured that by the time they reached local audiences, rough edges had been smoothed away and concerns about language, sexual content and violence had all been resolved in discussions with writers, producers and distributors. What emerges locally are concerns about more adult content, the loosening of cultural standards around depictions of morality, and anxieties about language. This chapter maps responses to Ulysses and how this art film fared across the UK.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- List of acronyms vii
- Acknowledgements viii
- Introduction 1
- 1 A new form of leisure 15
- 2 New regions and new anxieties 43
- 3 Councils, committees and the perils of the cinema 64
- 4 Wartime concerns and local anxieties 103
- 5 The changing landscape of the post-war world 137
- 6 Local alliances in a permissive decade 164
- 7 New categories, new permissions 191
- 8 New boundaries and new regions 228
- Conclusions 250
- Films cited 255
- Bibliography 259
- Index 269
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- List of acronyms vii
- Acknowledgements viii
- Introduction 1
- 1 A new form of leisure 15
- 2 New regions and new anxieties 43
- 3 Councils, committees and the perils of the cinema 64
- 4 Wartime concerns and local anxieties 103
- 5 The changing landscape of the post-war world 137
- 6 Local alliances in a permissive decade 164
- 7 New categories, new permissions 191
- 8 New boundaries and new regions 228
- Conclusions 250
- Films cited 255
- Bibliography 259
- Index 269
