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U.S. Film and Television Censorship History

An introductory guide for researchers studying film and television censorship history in the United States, including books, articles, archives, and online resources.

UC Library Search

WorldCat

WorldCat is a union catalog that searches across the collections of many libraries both in the U.S. and worldwide. There is both a subscription version of the catalog from FirstSearch, as well as a freely available web version. However, WorldCat does not list the holdings of all international collections and archives, so researchers are encouraged to also explore the individual catalogs and finding aids of relevant institutions.

Sample Search Subject Headings

The Library of Congress uses standardized subject headings that can help with a search on specific topics in UC Library Search. Some examples related to Censorship are provided below. The following can also be found in individual catalog records. 

Censorship -- United States

Arts, Censorship 

Motion pictures -- Censorship -- United States

Motion pictures -- Law and legislation -- United States

Motion pictures -- Ratings

Mass media -- Censorship

Sex in motion pictures 

Violence in motion pictures

Television -- Censorship -- United States

Obscenity (Law)

Decency Standards

U.S., Constitution, 1st Amendment