This week, the Parents Television and Media Council (PTC) published a report titled "The Big Problem with Big Mouth," in which they voiced concerns about the adult animated series that airs on Netflix.
The series, which is rated 18+ on the streaming service, follows several middle schoolers as they go through the growing pains of puberty. It depicts 12 and 13 year old children in sexual situations and depicts them engaging in sexual dialogue.
The media watchdog's report detailed graphic screenshots of scenes in Netflix's 18+ cartoon that they alleged "grooms children for sexual abuse." The report outlined examples of "sexualizing or sexually exploitative content involving children" found in 10 episodes of the show's fourth season.
The Parents Television and Media Council revealed that in fourth season of Netflix's "Big Mouth," which spanned 4.5 hours, every minute of programming actually featured "almost 4 instances of sex, violence and profane, indecent, or obscene language."
Moreover, the show's fourth season also contained "17 instances of animated nudity, most of it featuring the genitals of minor-aged characters" and "190 sexual references or instances of sexual innuendo." The 18+ animated series was also laced with much profanity and sexually charged language that "the PTC has never seen or heard on any television program [in] its 26-year history."
The media watchdog's reports also underscored the graphic depiction of a menstrual cycle, as well as a male character exposing his genitals to another character, asking him to touch and "taste" what he called a "duck egg." The show also featured a character describing his male genitals as two duck eggs in a "hairy nest," a male minor character digitally penetrating a female minor character, and several depictions of minor boys in a communal shower with their genitals in full display.
"Such material falls squarely within most definitions of pornography and inasmuch as it features children, we believe this qualifies as child pornography," PTC President Tim Winter said, as reported by the Christian Post. He argued that the "ultimate impact" of shows such as "Big Mouth" is to desensitize children and adolescents or "present children as sexually willing, precocious, and adventuresome to adult viewers."
"Neither scenario should be considered acceptable. Neither has a place in our society," Winter argued. "Big Mouth" has an 18+ rating on Netflix, meaning only people aged 18 and above should watch the show. It was created by Andrew Goldberg, Nick Kroll, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett and was originally released in 2017.
In December 2020, The Sun reported that viewers were disgusted by "Big Mouth." The coming-of-age sitcom outraged viewers with its "no-holds-barred approach to puberty, including masturbation," with one critic tweeting, "For those of you that like Big Mouth, how does it feel being a borderline pedophile?"
Over at Common Sense Media, parents and teens were divided as teens who viewed the show gave it positive reviews. Adult reviewers such as Bogin wrote, "This show is a form of abuse in my opinion, made by idiots for BIG BUCKS. Shame on Netflix!"
Another adult reviewer by the username of MKenziS wrote, "This show is nothing more [than] child pornography. The jokes and concepts are besides the point of this being absolutely HORRIBLE. It literally shows drawn child nudity and sexual acts. The fact that it is recommended to an older crowd just makes it more disturbing. Netflix has way to much unacceptable content like this. #CANCELNETFLIX"
