I wasn't sure where to put this idea, since it could possibly stretch back to before the 20th century, but here goes.
When it comes to literature, plays, movies, and more, it was largely in the 20th century when racy content like profanity, violence, and sex gradually became more common in mainstream works. To put things very simply, the progression started gradually enough toward the early parts of the century; James Joyce's "Ulysses" caused a stir with some of its less-than-family-friendly content, movie audiences gasped when Clark Gable told Vivien Leigh that he, quite frankly, did not give a damn, and right in the middle of the century, "Catcher in the Rye" sparked controversy due to its profanity and depictions of the realities of teenagerhood. But this continued to change, and by about the 1970's, some of the most celebrated works in film, literature, music, and more featured racy material that wouln't have been acceptable years before.
Is there any way for this phenomenon to happen earlier/faster? What would it take for spicy language, violence, sexuality, and other racy material to be more or less acceptable in mainstream culture at an earlier time than OTL?
When it comes to literature, plays, movies, and more, it was largely in the 20th century when racy content like profanity, violence, and sex gradually became more common in mainstream works. To put things very simply, the progression started gradually enough toward the early parts of the century; James Joyce's "Ulysses" caused a stir with some of its less-than-family-friendly content, movie audiences gasped when Clark Gable told Vivien Leigh that he, quite frankly, did not give a damn, and right in the middle of the century, "Catcher in the Rye" sparked controversy due to its profanity and depictions of the realities of teenagerhood. But this continued to change, and by about the 1970's, some of the most celebrated works in film, literature, music, and more featured racy material that wouln't have been acceptable years before.
Is there any way for this phenomenon to happen earlier/faster? What would it take for spicy language, violence, sexuality, and other racy material to be more or less acceptable in mainstream culture at an earlier time than OTL?