Banned films are those whose distribution to audiences has been partially or completely blocked by censorship boards directed by the authorities—sometimes because they violate moral values, and sometimes because they do not align with the authorities’ objectives. The banning of a film significantly alters many aspects, ranging from the film’s popularity and how it is received by different audience groups to its revenue-expense balance and how its intended message is understood by the audience.

There can be various reasons for banning works of art. A work of art may be banned because it violates human rights, animal rights, ethics, or social values. For works of art to resonate with people, they must establish a connection with them. This connection can generally be described as the person’s display of empathy, sympathy, attachment, or even fanaticism toward the artwork. For a work of art to establish this connection, it must touch upon the emotional sensitivities of the art lover. If these points run counter to the prevailing authority of the era or region, mechanisms of censorship and prohibition come into play. Some works do not always seek to connect with the art lover through empathy or sympathy; sometimes they attempt to do so effectively through exploitation and provocation—and are often successful. If these aggressive methods work against the authorities, the film is likely to face bans and censorship.

The history of bans and censorship in cinema is as old as the history of cinema itself. In the United States, bans began with the widespread adoption of films in 1896. Among the first films to be banned was Thomas Edison’s *Kiss* (1896). The film, which consisted of an innocent kissing scene, was deemed obscene for its time. By 1907, the first censorship law was passed in Chicago. In 1909, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures (NAACP) was established. The NAACP and other organizations protested D.W. Griffith’s film *Birth of a Nation* (1915)—which dealt with the Civil War and Reconstruction—on the grounds that it incited riots in Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. *Birth of a Nation* quickly became the most banned film in the United States. Thanks to the efforts of women’s rights groups, human rights organizations, and Christian and Protestant institutions, numerous decisions were made to ban films produced in the United States. With the enactment of the Motion Picture Production Code (Hays Code) in 1930, numerous restrictions came into effect that would lay the foundations for modern cinema. Several key prohibitions outlined in the Hays Code are listed below.

In the early days of cinema, the way authorities banned films was designed to prevent the production of films containing potentially banned content; later, a method of cutting scenes or shots from films was developed. In later periods, the ban evolved into restricting the distribution channels of films that had already been shot. Rather than banning films entirely, censorship bodies adopted a rating system based on predetermined and published criteria, thereby creating the necessary space (though insufficient for some) for films to continue to exist.

Similar censorship laws and boards gradually emerged in all countries where film production was on the rise and cinema was becoming widespread. As cinema globalized in terms of exhibition, box office, festivals, audience demographics, narrative techniques, and so on, censorship methods also became standardized and globalized. Films containing elements of sexuality, eroticism, pornography, violence, and abuse were generally classified as banned in all countries. The status of films containing ethnic, political, military, or sociological content, however, was determined by censorship boards based on the motivations of political authorities. For example, as is often the case in authoritarian regimes, some films containing racism—which should have been banned—were not banned because they served the authorities’ propaganda, while films expressing dissenting views were banned even if they did not pose a moral problem. This situation cast doubt on the legitimacy of many censorship boards, which were supposed to be tasked with safeguarding moral values, the sociological structure, and cultural values. In the 1960s and beyond, critical changes took place, such as increased economic prosperity compared to the past, the spread of liberal views, and technological advancements. These changes, coupled with a decrease in the costs of film production, distribution, and exhibition, led to an increase in the number of films subject to bans. Film producers turned to alternative channels through which they could generate revenue from their films, even if they were banned from the mainstream. VHS, home theater systems, midnight movies, grindhouse theaters, drive-ins, and private screenings were just some of these channels.

All these developments led to the emergence and growth of certain exploitation genres—nearly all of which were classified as banned—as well as an increase in the production and widespread distribution of B movies and a trend toward more daring content in films categorized as art films. As production numbers rose, so did the number and variety of films classified as banned. After the 1970s, censorship boards began to adopt a more flexible approach in their evaluations, in line with the times. Following the first 100 years of cinema, aside from subjective decisions prompted by authorities, a common understanding regarding the scope of censorship emerged among censorship boards, filmmakers, and audiences.

The "banned films" category is quite broad, much like the "cult films" category. Banned films transcend era, region, movement, genre, content, and style. For this reason, it is possible to find a political film shot in the Middle East alongside a film shot in the Far East that contains gore scenes within the category of banned films. The most significant factor that brings banned films together under the same umbrella is the censorship boards operating under the authority of the banning authorities. These boards act in accordance with the authorities’ desires and concerns, attempting to shape art, the industry, and the audience through artificial interventions. The banning of a film results in the film first being evaluated within the framework of the authorities, the censorship board, and the bans themselves. The status of being banned can overshadow what the film intends to convey, render it invisible, or unduly emphasize its intended message.