For almost forty years the Motion Picture Production Code censored mainstream American films and limited their artistic vision. It's dissolution in the late 1960s due to changing economic and cultural pressures followed by the the institution of the voluntary Motion Picture Association of America Ratings System created a unique environment within which mainstream films were produced by artists that not only pushed boundaries but completely obliterated them. Unfortunately this proved to be a short lived phenomenon lasting only a brief seven to ten years before another economic and cultural sea change caused movies to move in an entirely different direction. This short seven year period has since become known as the Hollywood Renaissance.

In this episode we trace the history of this process and go over some of the unique artists and films of the time period, laying the groundwork for future episodes that will delve into specific genres and films.