Ever since the 1950s, when television entered American homes and Rock "n" Roll music polluted the airwaves and the minds of young hooligans, the language in music and on television has been an issue of hot debate. Concerned parents and other conservatives felt that America's youth were being corrupted by a new trend of vulgarity in the media. This trend has been counteracted by decades of attempts to label or censor material deemed obscene or offensive in music, movies, and television. As time has progressed and people's ideas of what is profane has changed, so has its opposition.
When television was introduced into American homes in the 1950's, all shows were filmed live and it was not possible to edit them before people watched them. However, censorship was still present even then. Perhaps the most famous example is the episode of The Ed Sullivan Show on which Elvis "The Pelvis" Presley performed. The show's producers felt that Elvis's hip gestures were sexually suggestive and therefore inappropriate for television, so they told the camera men to film him from the waist up only. Another example from the 50s is on the situation comedy I Love Lucy, in which the show's married main characters had to sleep in twin beds, so as to not make any suggestions that they had a physical relationship. By today's standards, these situations seem absurd.
By the 1960s, television shows and movies were getting more suggestive, and minor profanities, mild violence, and mild sexual themes were being allowed in television and, more prominently, movies. Because of this, the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) implemented a ratings system for movies. At first, the system consisted of two ratings: "G" for general audiences, and "M" for mature audiences. By the end of the 60s, the system had expanded to consist of "G" for general audiences, "PG" for parental guidance, and "R," "X," and "NC-17" for mature audiences (the "PG-13" rating would appear in the 1986, for the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
