hero, who proceeds to explore mutuality and hope for the future with the one delinquent who is portrayed as having a chance in life.
Whether the film lived up to Hunter's claims for the story may be a moot point. As retrospective Kael's review of the film archly observes: "Once again, a 'daring' Hollywood movie exposes social tensions--touches a nerve--and then pours on the sweet nothings." There was no doubt, however, about its impact on mass culture--and not just because the film was a hit. Clare Boothe Luce, in 1955 wife of Time magazine publisher Henry Luce, former Congressional representative, and Eisenhower's US ambassador to Italy, strongarmed the Venice Film Festival in order to prevent Blackboard Jungle from being screened there that year (Kael). Thus whether or not the violence in the film was portrayed factually, it was portrayed effectively enough for a representative of the US government to engage in a project of censorship, a project specifically and programmatically antithetical to the First Amendment. Some might say that the US Constitu
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