Monitoring the Movies: The Fight over Film Cens. Fronc<|

Monitoring the MoviesThe Fight Over Film Censorship in Early Twentieth-Century Urban America\nAuthor(s): Jennifer Fronc\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: University of Texas Press, United States\nImprint: University of Texas Press\nISBN-13: 9781477313794, 978-1477313794\nSynopsis\nAs movies took the country by storm in the early twentieth century, Americans argued fiercely about whether municipal or state authorities should step in to control what people could watch when they went to movie theaters, which seemed to be springing up on every corner. Many who opposed the governmental regulation of film conceded that some entity-boards populated by trusted civic leaders, for example-needed to safeguard the public good. The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures (NB), a civic group founded in New York City in 1909, emerged as a national cultural chaperon well suited to protect this emerging form of expression from state incursions.\n\nUsing the National Boards extensive files, Monitoring.