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''Succès de scandale'' (
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
for "success from scandal") is a term for any artistic work whose success is attributed, in whole or in part, to public
controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
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".


''Belle Époque''

The ''
Belle Époque The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (; French for "Beautiful Epoch") is a period of French and European history, usually considered to begin around 1871–1880 and to end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era ...
'' ('beautiful era') in Paris, roughly from 1871–1914, 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 Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
found out shortly after his relatively "successful" Parisian scandal ('' Salomé'' in 1894, portraying the main character as a necrophile). * '' Le déjeuner sur l'herbe'' ("Luncheon on the Grass") by
Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bor ...
, presented at the
Salon des refusés The Salon des Refusés, French for "exhibition of rejects" (), is generally known as an exhibition of works rejected by the jury of the official Paris Salon, but the term is most famously used to refer to the Salon des Refusés of 1863. Today, b ...
, 1863: Even the
Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...
was scandalised, but Manet had a nice start to his career. *
Alfred Jarry Alfred Jarry (; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896). He also coined the term and philosophical concept of 'pataphysics. Jarry was born in Laval, Mayenne, France, ...
shocked Paris in 1896 with the first of his absurdistic Ubu plays: ''
Ubu Roi ''Ubu Roi'' (; "Ubu the King" or "King Ubu") is a play by French writer Alfred Jarry, then 23 years old. It was first performed in Paris in 1896, by Aurélien Lugné-Poe's Théâtre de l'Œuvre at the Nouveau-Théâtre (today, the Théâtre de ...
''. The performance of this play was forbidden after the first night, though Jarry got around the prohibition by moving the production to a puppet theatre. *A new group of artists, labeled disrespectfully ''" Les Fauves"'' ("The Wild Beasts") by an art critic, had their successful debut in 1905 Paris (and kept the name). *
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
had little success with his first two operas, which today are no longer performed. He then tried something different: he set music to Oscar Wilde's ''
Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, a ...
'' in 1905. It created a scandal, including in the New York Met, where the production had to be closed after one night. But Strauss wanted more, and his next opera ('' Elektra'', 1909) was so "noisy" that cartoons appeared with Strauss directing an orchestra of animals. However, the opera's
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...
, written by
Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist. Early life Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, the son of an upper-cl ...
, was quite tame. *The 1912 ballet '' Afternoon of a Faun'', choreographed and headed by Vaslav Nijinsky, provoked strong reactions. The newspaper ''
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...
'' wrote in a front-page review that the "movements are filthy and bestial in their eroticism".''Le Figaro'', 30 May 1912, "Un Faux Pas" Gaston Calmette editorial, cited in Buckle, Nijinsky, p.242. Buckle suggests Calmette was seeking to imply Nijinsky was showing bulging genitalia when seen in profile. Despite, or because of, this criticism, the ballet was sold-out in Paris. *''
The Rite of Spring , image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg , image_size = 350px , caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of ' , composer = Igor Stravinsky , based_on ...
'' (1913) *The original 1917 production of the ballet ''
Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...
''. * George Antheil's 1923 performance of
futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...
piano music at the Champs-Élysées theater. *
Paul Chabas Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
had won a most prestigious prize with his '' September Morn'' in Paris in 1912. Nudity as portrayed in this painting was, however, far from shocking to Parisians half a century after ''Déjeuner''. The market value of the painting remained low. Then, Chabas put it on display in a
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
shop window in 1913. There, for the first time in history, it appears a ''succès de scandale'' scheme was set up by a publicity agent (
Harry Reichenbach Harry Reichenbach (1882 – 1931) was a US press agent and publicist who staged sensational publicity stunts to promote films. He was one of the founding members of the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers. Biography Born in Frostburg, Maryla ...
), who "accidentally" tipped off a morality crusader to the picture. The scandal that evolved brought financial success and secured Chabas's place in art history books. Although later deemed
kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation wi ...
, the painting ended up in one of the most prestigious museums of New York.


Other examples

This was not the last time that
Comstockery Anthony Comstock (March 7, 1844 – September 21, 1915) was an anti-vice activist, United States Postal Inspector, and secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV), who was dedicated to upholding Christian morality. He ...
fanned the success it wanted to prohibit: "I expect it will be the making of me" said
Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...
to the press in 1927, under arrest after the
Society for the Suppression of Vice The Society for the Suppression of Vice, formerly the Proclamation Society Against Vice and Immorality, or simply Proclamation Society, was a 19th-century English society dedicated to promoting public morality. It was established in 1802, based o ...
had maneuvered to get her play titled ''" Sex"'' re-censored by the
Police Department The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest ...
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. Films qualified as ''succès de scandale'' include
Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down," Malle's filmogr ...
's 1958 ''
The Lovers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'',
Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...
's 1972 '' Last Tango in Paris''. and more recently Abdellatif Kechiche's 2013 Blue is The Warmest Colour. Scandal also boosted the success of writers of modest talent. Even famous writers like Flaubert and Joyce have been described as deploying ''succès de scandale'' recipes to their advantage.Valérie Bénéjam
"The Elliptical Adultery of ''Ulysses'': A Flaubertian Recipe for Succès de Scandale", pp. 76–93
in ''James Joyce and the Nineteenth-Century French Novel'' edited by Finn Fordham and Rita Sakr. Rodopi, 2011.


See also

*
Advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
*
Cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...
* Épater la bourgeoisie *
Herostratus Herostratus ( grc, Ἡρόστρατος) was a 4th-century BC Greek, accused of seeking notoriety as an arsonist by destroying the second Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (on the outskirts of present-day Selçuk). The conclusion prompted the creat ...
*
Publicity In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or Brand awareness, awareness for any Product (business), product, Service (economics), service, person or organization (company, Charitable organization, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the mov ...
*
Publicity stunt In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utilize ...
* Streisand effect


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Succes de scandale French words and phrases Public relations techniques Belle Époque