) To minimize the probability of young audiences seeing television shows intended for more mature audiences, such programs were often showed at night, when children were presumably in bed.
In the 1970s, movies and television shows became much more graphic, partially due to the sexual revolution and counterculture movement of the late 60s. R-rated movies began to depict graphic violence, coarse language, and nudity. Television shows like All in the Family used profanity and addressed many issues that were considered taboo in the more conservative fifties and sixties. What was considered to be profane seemed to change considerably and become more relaxed around this time.
Even though strong profanity in song lyrics can be traced as far back as the 1960s, it first became a major controversy in the 1980s, with the introduction of rap and heavy metal music. Many parents were concerned that these two forms of music were corrupting their children's minds with their lyrics which often had overt violent, sexual, and occult themes, and often contained strong profanity. In 1985, the Parent's Music Resource Center, a conservative organization composed of the wives of several prominent senators and representatives, had a senate hearing arranged to discuss what should be done about this music, which they considered obscene and offensive. Censorship and a ratings system were suggested as a possible solution. Present at the hearings to defend music against censorship and labeling were Avant-Garde rock musician Frank Zappa, folk musician John Denver, and Dee Snider, lead singer of the hair-metal band Twisted Sister. Unlike Zappa and Denver, Snider's music was actually among the music in question. These infamous hearings eventually resulted in the implementation of warning labels called parental advisories on tapes and CDs, stating that the album contains either explicit lyrics or explicit content.