Succès de scandale

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".

The Belle Époque ("Beautiful era") in Paris was notable for many succès de scandale; this was also where and when the term originated. In all the examples below, regarding famous artists starting their career with some sort of scandal, there are at least some connections with turn of the 20th century Paris. In other cities, provoking a scandal appeared more risky, as Oscar Wilde found out shortly after his relatively "successful" Parisian scandal (Salomé — 1894, portraying the main character as a necrophile):

This was not the last time that fanned the success it wanted to fence: "I expect it will be the making of me" said Mae West to the press in 1927, 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, over forty, her sex-symbol status paid off: her 1935 film contract made her the highest paid woman till that day.

Films qualified as succès de scandale include Louis Malle's 1958 The Lovers, and Bertolucci's 1972 Last Tango in Paris. Scandal also boosted the success of writings with modest literary qualities. Even famous writers like Flaubert and Joyce have been described as deploying succès de scandale recipes to their advantage.

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