Timeline
TV censorship
Censorship through the years
Through and through
Until 1942
Does Tweety Bird only
Offend a few
The word “pregnant” was taboo
When Lucy was knocked up
In 1952
Not until 1956
Did Sullivan have an issue
With Pressley’s pelvis thrusting tricks
2004 called for censorship
With Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe distastefulness ”
The Prophet is kept hidden in the dark
In 2006, instead of out in South Park
1942
In 1942, animator Bob Clampett drew Tweety Bird with no feathers for one scene. The Hays Office censorship bureau saw this as too inappropriate to show a bird naked with no feathers. Clampett solved the issue by drawing yellow plumage over the naked flesh of poor Tweety Bird.
1952
Lucy from "I Love Lucy" became pregnant during an entire season of her show. However, the word "pregnant" was not allowed to be said on air. The show settled for other words and phrases such as "with child" and "expecting".
1956
Elvis's first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show was not only popularly vewed on that night accross the united states, but also for generations to come. His appearance on the TV show proved to be too "over-stimulating" for the American public because of Elvis's pelvic thrusts. As Elvis began to move to the beat of "Ready Teddy", the camera man switched to a close-up of Elvis's face instead of allowing the public to watch his new moves.
2004
During superbowl XXXVIII, Janet Jackson's top slipped for a full 1.01 seconds on air costing the NFL $10 million in sponsorship refunds, over 500,000 complaints to the network, and 50 Canadian complaints. This as many know was the "wardrobe malfunction" that sparked much controversy.
2006
Comedy Centeral would not allow Cartoon Netword to use the image of the Prophet Muhammad in their episode titled "Commedy Wars". However, Trey Parker and Matt Stone slipped a little image of the Prophet in the opening credits of the popular adult TV-show.
Works Cited:
Lendler, Ian. "A Timeline of TV Censorship." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 10 Nov.
2014."The Quick 10: 10 Facts About the Golden Age of Looney Tunes." Mental Floss. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
"Your Morning Shot: Elvis Presley, 1956: The GQ Eye: GQ on Style: GQ." GQ. Web. 10 Nov.
2014.
"South Park | Photos | Comedy Central Press." Comedy Central Press. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.