S2:E29 Fatty Arbuckle and the MPAA
Did Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle murder Virginia Rappe? That questions defined the film industry for thirty years. Upset with Hollywood’s moral failures, Christians demanded changes. We took over, fighting until the studios decided to censor themselves.
This special episode of Truce ties into our last episode with Abby Johnson of the Unplanned movie.
This episode explores:
- Who was Fatty Arbuckle?
- Who was Virginia Rappe?
- Did Fatty Arbuckle murder Virginia Rappe?
- What is the MPAA?
- What started the Motional Picture Association of America?
- Did Christians really censor the golden age of films?
Select sources:
- Smithsonian article about the alleged murder of Virginia Rappe
- The Fatty Arbuckle Case – “pop” book about the incident, though it doesn’t seem 100% accurate.
- An extensive archive of papers from the MPPDA – search “Will Hays” or “Roscoe Arbuckle” for some background
- An excellent article and video about the Hays Code by the Hoosier State Chronicles. The video is well worth watching.
- Photograph of Virginia Rappe at the morgue
- Video from Vox about this form of censorship
TRANSCRIPT
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