Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange—How a Generation of Pop Rebels Broke All the Taboos

Owing to a convergence of politics, pop music, drugs, and the antiwar movement, there was an eruption, or pop culture "sexplosion," in the United States in the years between 1968 and 1973. This book examines the forces and personalities that titillated and outraged the public during that period, in ways both profound and trivial. Hofler, a former entertainment editor at Penthouse, covers the porn scene (Deep Throat), artist Andy Warhol's Factory of "superstars," the new frankness in fiction (Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint; John Updike's Couples), Doors lead singer Jim Morrison's obscenity charges, the Stonewall riots and gay themes on stage and in films (The Boys in the Band; Sunday, Bloody Sunday), and even early reality TV (An American Family, the PBS series profiling the Louds, which featured a son's coming out). As the author notes, the revolution declined when "repetition and exploitation diluted the creative pool." However, the era's aftershocks are still felt to this day.