Divorce in the Movies: From the Hays Code to Kramer vs. Kramer

62 Pages Posted: 7 Feb 2020

See all articles by Michael Asimow

Michael Asimow

SANTA CLARA LAW SCHOOL ; Santa Clara University - School of Law

Abstract

Movies often provide a window through which we can observe human behavior and legal institutions as they existed when the film was made. However, this is not true of the subjects of marital disintegration and divorce. Hollywood's rigid system of self-censorship, embodied in the Hays Code and the Production Code Administration, nearly blotted divorce themes right off the screen. What little was said of the subject during the middle third of the twentieth century was wildly wrong. The Code was written by and administered by staunch Catholics, largely to stave off boycott threats by the Catholic Legion of Decency. As a result, it reflected Catholic moral teachings, particularly the prohibition of divorce.

This article surveys films about divorce from the pre-Code era (1930-34), the Code era (1934-68), and the immediate post-Code era (1968-1980s). It discovers that divorce themes were candidly portrayed during the pre-Code era but were thoroughly suppressed during the Code era. In the post-Code era, the subject crept back to the screen in a series of memorable films about divorce in the late 1970's and early 1980's. The article then analyzes Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) in detail, finding it to be one of the few classic treatments in film of divorce and family law.

Suggested Citation

Asimow, Michael R., Divorce in the Movies: From the Hays Code to Kramer vs. Kramer. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=214869 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.214869

Michael R. Asimow (Contact Author)

SANTA CLARA LAW SCHOOL ( email )

23850 Via Esplendor V62 Trinity Drive
Cupertino, CA California 95014
United States
650-575-4858 (Phone)

Santa Clara University - School of Law ( email )

500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
United States

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