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拍品專文
In the early twentieth century, a significant percentage of America's population was suffering from venereal disease. Although effective medical treatment for syphilis became available from 1909, open discussion of the subject was taboo. As a result there was little or no information available to the public, a state of affairs that was sometimes defended on the grounds that an awareness that there were effective treatments for syphilis would lead to greater promiscuity.
The first play brave enough to address the problem openly was Eugene Brieux's Damaged Goods, which premièred in 1913. Surprisingly, it was a hit with audiences, critics and censors alike. Its success was due to the fact that the play remained very 'clean' and was seen to reinforce, rather than undermine, the prevailing morals of the day. Brieux took the 'Progressive' view that the spread of syphilis could be laid fairly and squarely at the door of the lower and immigrant classes. As they 'infiltrated' into established American society they introduced this dreadful disease into the hitherto unsullied and innocent ranks of the middle and upper classes.
Damaged Goods was made into a film in 1914, and the next four years saw a huge rise in similar films about the same subject. Meanwhile, public awareness of the scourge of venereal disease was also increasing. Towards the end of the First World War, a series of documentary films dealing with syphilis, originally made for the U.S. army, were released to the general public. These created a massive backlash and caused a sea change in the opinion of critics and censors. The problem was not so much that the films were overtly graphic, but that they stressed that everyone, irrespective of nationality, class or creed, was at risk of contracting the disease. The implication that the ruling classes were as likely as the lower orders to put themselves at risk by engaging in illicit sexual activity was considered outrageous and the censors reacted by indiscriminately banning all films related to venereal disease. Before long a small group of men saw the business potential of screening such films without official sanction. Thus, the exploitation industry was born and the next 20 years saw a flood of films.
By the 1930s, public attitudes towards the problem had changed and a national campaign, supported by both rich and poor, was launched to stamp out the disease. The savvy exploitation roadshow men took advantage of this changed atmosphere to release a remake of Brieux's Damaged Goods.
The first play brave enough to address the problem openly was Eugene Brieux's Damaged Goods, which premièred in 1913. Surprisingly, it was a hit with audiences, critics and censors alike. Its success was due to the fact that the play remained very 'clean' and was seen to reinforce, rather than undermine, the prevailing morals of the day. Brieux took the 'Progressive' view that the spread of syphilis could be laid fairly and squarely at the door of the lower and immigrant classes. As they 'infiltrated' into established American society they introduced this dreadful disease into the hitherto unsullied and innocent ranks of the middle and upper classes.
Damaged Goods was made into a film in 1914, and the next four years saw a huge rise in similar films about the same subject. Meanwhile, public awareness of the scourge of venereal disease was also increasing. Towards the end of the First World War, a series of documentary films dealing with syphilis, originally made for the U.S. army, were released to the general public. These created a massive backlash and caused a sea change in the opinion of critics and censors. The problem was not so much that the films were overtly graphic, but that they stressed that everyone, irrespective of nationality, class or creed, was at risk of contracting the disease. The implication that the ruling classes were as likely as the lower orders to put themselves at risk by engaging in illicit sexual activity was considered outrageous and the censors reacted by indiscriminately banning all films related to venereal disease. Before long a small group of men saw the business potential of screening such films without official sanction. Thus, the exploitation industry was born and the next 20 years saw a flood of films.
By the 1930s, public attitudes towards the problem had changed and a national campaign, supported by both rich and poor, was launched to stamp out the disease. The savvy exploitation roadshow men took advantage of this changed atmosphere to release a remake of Brieux's Damaged Goods.