Description:

 *Please note that registration is required to attend this event, and lunch will be served on a first come, first served basis. Upon arrival, please take the elevator to the 7th floor and follow the signs to room 704.

Northwestern University School of Professional Studies (SPS) welcomes film historian Gerald Butters for a special in-person lunchtime lecture on the history of film censorship in Chicago.

As a faculty member in the Interdisciplinary Studies program, Butters will explore how Chicago established the nation's first governmental film censorship board in 1907, initially run by the Chicago Police Department. Between the years of 1907 and 1940, government control of motion pictures was embedded in the city's social and political landscape.

This lecture will delve into this complex history through the lives of prominent Chicago civic leaders, Black filmmakers, and law enforcement figures, including Alonzo J. Bowling, Oscar Micheaux, Lieutenant Harry Costello, Major M.L.C. Funkhouser, and Louise de Koven Bowen.

This lecture will also discuss how film censorship in Chicago involved many aspects and representations of city life, including police control of morality, racial realism on screen, respect for diverse ethnicities and religious groups in film, and the protection of children.
 
This event is part of the Northwestern University SPS Thought Leadership Series, a program of events featuring a wide range of compelling topics and thoughtfully led conversations throughout the 2024–25 academic year.

Presented by:
Gerald Butters
Film Historian
Faculty member, Interdisciplinary Studies

If you have questions about this event, please contact Melanie Galvan at melanie.galvan@northwestern.edu.