Succès de scandale ( French for "success from scandal") is a term for any artistic work whose success is attributed, in whole or in part, to public controversy surrounding the work. In some cases the controversy causes audiences to seek out the work for its titillating content, while in others it simply heightens public curiosity. This concept is echoed by the phrase "there is no such thing as bad publicity". [1]
The Belle Époque ('beautiful era') in Paris, roughly from 1871 to 1914, was notable for many succès de scandale. This was also where and when the term originated. In the examples below, artists started their careers with some sort of scandal, with some connection to turn-of-the-century Paris. In other cities, provoking a scandal appeared more risky, as Oscar Wilde found out shortly after his relatively "successful" Parisian scandal ( Salomé in 1894, portraying the main character as a necrophile).
This[ clarification needed] was not the last time that Comstockery fanned the success it wanted to prohibit: "I expect it will be the making of me" said Mae West to the press in 1927,[ citation needed] under arrest after the Society for the Suppression of Vice had maneuvered to get her play titled Sex re-censored by the Police Department Play Jury. A few years later, when she was over 40 years old, her sex-symbol status paid off when her 1935 film contract made her the highest-paid woman to date.[ citation needed]
Films qualified as succès de scandale include Louis Malle's 1958 The Lovers, [6] Bernardo Bertolucci's 1972 Last Tango in Paris. [7] and more recently Abdellatif Kechiche's 2013 Blue Is the Warmest Colour. Scandal also boosted the success of writers of modest talent. [8] Even famous writers like Flaubert and Joyce have been described as deploying succès de scandale recipes to their advantage. [9]
Succès de scandale ( French for "success from scandal") is a term for any artistic work whose success is attributed, in whole or in part, to public controversy surrounding the work. In some cases the controversy causes audiences to seek out the work for its titillating content, while in others it simply heightens public curiosity. This concept is echoed by the phrase "there is no such thing as bad publicity". [1]
The Belle Époque ('beautiful era') in Paris, roughly from 1871 to 1914, was notable for many succès de scandale. This was also where and when the term originated. In the examples below, artists started their careers with some sort of scandal, with some connection to turn-of-the-century Paris. In other cities, provoking a scandal appeared more risky, as Oscar Wilde found out shortly after his relatively "successful" Parisian scandal ( Salomé in 1894, portraying the main character as a necrophile).
This[ clarification needed] was not the last time that Comstockery fanned the success it wanted to prohibit: "I expect it will be the making of me" said Mae West to the press in 1927,[ citation needed] under arrest after the Society for the Suppression of Vice had maneuvered to get her play titled Sex re-censored by the Police Department Play Jury. A few years later, when she was over 40 years old, her sex-symbol status paid off when her 1935 film contract made her the highest-paid woman to date.[ citation needed]
Films qualified as succès de scandale include Louis Malle's 1958 The Lovers, [6] Bernardo Bertolucci's 1972 Last Tango in Paris. [7] and more recently Abdellatif Kechiche's 2013 Blue Is the Warmest Colour. Scandal also boosted the success of writers of modest talent. [8] Even famous writers like Flaubert and Joyce have been described as deploying succès de scandale recipes to their advantage. [9]