Ethics Beyond the Code

Abstract

Maras introduces the collection by arguing that historically speaking, issues of ethics and screenwriting have been handled primarily through a discussion of the morality of film under the Hays Office production code in the USA during the 1930s and 1940s. This approach limits discussion of ethics to a coded form of morality. Through careful analysis of the production code and its ethical discourse, Maras makes a case for the need for new perspectives exploring ethics in screenwriting. The chapter argues for a greater focus on screenwriting as a practice that engages with ethics on a number of different levels. It also recommends a more considered understanding of ethics as multifaceted and multidimensional.