If you went to see a movie in 1965, you would have a very different experience than if you walked into a movie theater and watched a movie today. Obviously the video quality would be better and more modern filming techniques will be present, however chances are you will also see a much higher level of violence and see women presented as equals. While movies in 1965 especially in cowboy westerns which were very popular in that day, might have some shootouts and people getting shot, they would rarely show much blood or characters in pain. Violence was usually very bloodless and cartoonish. When someone got shot, the gun would go off and a character would just fall over. Now it is very common for even comedy movies to show scenes of characters being riddled with bullets while blood spurts and they scream in pain It is also much more of a regular occurrence now to see women in lead roles or as strong, independent characters rather than the damsel in distress characters women used to mainly shown as.  Movies that might have shocked audiences back in 1965 with their levels of violence and women breaking out of their gender roles are now commonplace in today’s movie industry. 

Movies used to be much more controlled. In the earlier days of cinema, there were much stricter censorship guidelines on what could and could not be shown in movies. These guidelines were set by the Hays Code which were written by the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA). They were afraid of upsetting audiences and even though the guidelines were not mandatory, they controlled much of what was released. As the artform of movies kept expanding, inevitably movies pushed the very restrictive boundaries of the Hays Code. Two notable ones of the early days were Scarface (1932) and Bonnie and Clyde (1967). The latter pushed to boundaries to the point where a year later the censorship guidelines were reexamined and reorganized into the looser rating system we know today. Although the movie ratings, P, PG, PG-13, and R, are still used today, they do not mean the same as they used to. Bonnie and Clyde, the movie that really changed things, was rated R for one scene in particular. In the final scene of the movie, Bonnie and Clyde are violently killed in a storm of bullets. This scene was a serious, shockingly violent moment for audiences when the movie came out in 1967, however a scene such as that one could be played for laughs in a  PG-13 comedy movie nowadays without even causing any headlines. 

As the movie industry grew and grew, producers realized that blood and violence sells. You can easily track how movies steadily got more and more violent. Action scenes got longer, explosions bigger and blood gorier. As audiences got more used to seeing blood on screen they also started expecting to see more. They also expected it to be more realistic. As new technology and practical techniques improved so did action scenes in movies. It also became cheaper, giving smaller, more artistic directors a chance to make high quality action with fewer resources. The Terminator is a perfect example of this. With a very small budget of 6.4 million dollars, it grossed over 78 million dollars and became an action classic. It is still regarded as one of the best action movies of all time. It is also a testament to how quick the industry evolved. A movie with such violent and real looking shootout scenes would have been impossible to film and deemed unacceptable for audiences had it been released 20 years prior. Now, that original Terminator movie is probably the tamest of the whole franchise. 

Although it is more common than not, violence and blood in movies has not just evolved into a tool for spectacle and shock for the audience. Action has also evolved into a visual paintbrush for directors, letting them tell stories through action rather than dialogue. Many great directors have used violence as style and art rather than just entertainment. The Terminator used action as a way to show how brutally violent a robotic future could be. The critically acclaimed Chinese wuxia film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon showed its memorable fight scenes like dance scenes with certain nuances of the clashing characters being shown in their actions during the fight. A lesser film would have all the character moments take place before or after the fight. 

You cannot talk about violence in movies without mentioning Quentin Tarantino and his movies. His use of violence is the perfect example of using violence as an artform. Tarantino movies are notably violent, however when violence is used it is stylized and always used in a context that adds to the scene. Scenes that are meant to be taken seriously portray violence in a gruesome, gut wrenching way, accentuating just how serious Tarantino meant the scene to be. Other times he uses violence in a comedic way while also using the moment to build his characters. In Pulp Fiction, his most famous movie, there is a scene in which two mobsters are kidnapping a man and accidentally shoot him in the head, covering the whole car in blood. Tarantino uses the scene as a cartoonish comedic moment with the mobsters reacting nonchalantly and arguing about it while also conveying how cold blooded the two mobsters are. Even with that kind of nuance a scene such as that one would have probably gotten the movie banned, had it been released in 1965. 

Since the 60s, women have also gained more equality and better representation in movies. Bonnie and Clyde was not just a pioneer in violence, it was also one of the earlier movies to have a woman in a strong leading role. Rather than spending the movie as a damsel in distress always needing help from men, Bonnie was a driving force in the movie and did not need to be rescued from anyone. Although it is still an ongoing battle, this trend kept going through the years. The sequel to The Terminator reintroduced the main female character from the original, Sarah Conner as one of the most badass female characters ever put to screen and the more recent Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon revolved around a woman and her struggle to break out of her culture’s gender roles. 

Much has changed and will continue to change in the film industry. From looking at what has changed in movies since 1965, I can confidently say it has changed for the better. Although there are still many issues to be dealt with and improved, overall movies have only gotten better with time and will only get better as long as they are still regarded as art.