HOLLYWOOD V. HARD CORE

Written in the bone-dry style of a dissertation, this history of Hollywood censorship -- which explores how the regulation of film content has always been dictated by money, not morality -- still manages to pack a few punches. Lewis uncovers the Motion Picture Association of America's roots in the Red scare (not to mention anti-Semitism, ethnocentrism, and elitism), showing how the post-World War II witch-hunts ultimately spawned the corporate conglomeration that defines Hollywood today. And he revels in ironic twists: While some edge into semi-crackpot theorizing (the success of porn flicks like Deep Throat didn't really launch an ''auteur renaissance'' in the 1970s), others -- including a riff on how Nixon unknowingly saved the studios -- are undeniably fun. B-