Everyone sees different times for the debasement of films. To me it was 1968. Before that time almost all movies were open to all, a few like BABY DOLL, POOR WHITE TRASH, or WALK ON THE WILD SIDE were the exceptions.
Then Bobby Kennedy got shot and the US went berserk. The media placed blame everywhere. TV, comic books, movies, the Vietnam war, gun ownership.
TV immediately dumbed down. Good adult oriented shows became kiddie shows. Comic books were modified for kids for a while, the 1968 Gun control act became law, but the MOVIE INDUSTRY took a different road, they became “self censoring”. G,M,R,X. Then G, GP,M,R,X. Then G,PG,R, NC.
HOT D@*N! The decency codes were gone! Produce ant type sleaze you can!
As a result, I haven't been to a movie in several years ad I have not rented a movie in so long I can't remember when.
Now the debasement of TV is taking place. I remember seeing two R rated movies in 1969. Not long back, when shown on TV uncut they were rated down to PG.
If a person came into my house cursing around your family would you allow it? Yet people allow such movies in their homes for viewing by all.
Nor I ... nothing worthwhile to see. Ditto for television. Other than EWTN, TCM and an occasional program here or there, television has also entered the dead zone. It's as if everyone's imagination suddenly went blank.
Do you recall when Hollywood would produce a biblical epic each year around Easter? Those were the days!
When I was a kid (late 40s through enlistment), my mother checked the back page of The Michigan Catholic for the Legion of Decency ratings. “A” was OK, “B” was iffy and “C” were absolute no-nos.