Banned in Kansas: Motion Picture Censorship, 1915?966

In 1915, Kansas became one of a handful of states to establish its own film censorship board, which controlled screen content in the state for more than fifty years. This first book-length study of state film censorship examines the unique political, social, and economic factors that led to its implementation in Kansas. Butters places the Kansas Board of Review’s attempts to control screen content in the context of nationwide censorship efforts, showing how factors such as Progressivism, concern over child rearing, and a supportive press contributed. He traces the board’s history from the problems posed by “talkies” and changing sexual mores in the 1920s to challenges to its power in the 1950s. Stills from motion pictures illustrate the type of screen content the Board attempted to censor.