The fusion of adventure with mature content has generated significant backlash:
Before the advent of mature ratings (R, TV-MA, M for Mature), adventure protagonists like Tom Sawyer (Twain) represented mischief without malice. Their adventures were rites of passage. The shift began in the late 20th century with the rise of the anti-hero, culminating in a 21st-century landscape where "Tom" is more likely to be a morally compromised drug lord, a post-apocalyptic survivor, or a sexually libertine vampire.
The book was featured in recent literary podcast episodes like Abject Suffering Classic Adaptations Often Searched