The Story and Content
Big Mouth was created by Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg (a writer on Family Guy), Mark Levin (not the radio host), and Jennifer Flackett. The show is primarily about the experience of puberty. The show follows the junior high lives and hormone monsters of characters Andrew, Nick, Jessi, Jay, and Missy. The characters in the series are twelve years old. This season also includes a new character who is the shame wizard to help children think through the difference between shame and guilt.
The content includes developing breasts, drug experimentation, having sex with friends, normalizing homosexuality, seemingly endless references to masturbation and ejaculation, and more. (Here is a list of shocking season 2 episode titles.) Content writers glorify being disrespectful to parents, stealing, and sexual perversion, among many other sins. As well, the show’s producers make absolute mockery of trying to discuss sexuality with one’s parents.
Not surprisingly, yet disturbingly, season two has one whole episode just to promote the organization Planned Parenthood (episode 5).
The series is available on the ‘all maturity levels’ profile on Netflix; it is not available in the kids-only content. However, profiles are not password protected on Netflix and can be changed by any user. Therefore, just because it is an adult comedy does not mean that teens, tweens, and children cannot get to it on Netflix, especially in light of what critics are saying about it.
What are series’ creators and critics saying about it?
Although it is labeled an adult comedy, the audience is clearly not just adults. Show creator Nick Kroll said, “One of the goals of the show was making kids feel like they weren’t alone. What’s hard about puberty is you feel so alone going through it. To have a show that talks very frankly about this stuff takes that feeling of solitude off of people.” He further states, “The show is giving kids and parents a vocabulary to talk about these things. It was really gratifying to me.”
Check out these highlights of what critics are saying about the show.
One reviewer entitled his piece, “‘Big Mouth’ Season 2 Review: This Unflinching Advocate for Adolescents Is One of the Best Kids’ Shows on TV.” In it he writes: “Despite the language, nudity, sexual situations, drug use, and cartoonish violence… “Big Mouth” is not an adult animated series. It’s about kids, for kids (of a certain age), and the older viewers are there to learn, remember, or both. Even more than before, Season 2 is weird and proud of it; a living embodiment of putting it all out there, despite what people might think. In a very real way, these episodes are a form of activism, and in a season focused on teaching kids how to separate shame from guilt, it’s downright powerful. A Peabody Award would not be out of order.”
Another wrote, “[Big Mouth] urges us to be honest about our feelings and take pride in our journey as sexual beings. Teenagers are lucky to have a show like Big Mouth right now.”
Another: “The series doesn’t just act as the most entertaining sex ed class teens will ever get (see season two’s episode about planned parenthood and STIs). It’s second season is effective because the ying-yang of hormones and shame carry well into adult life.”
For a fairly full sample of reviews check out this overview from rottentomatoes.com.
Parents, please pay attention…
This show is clearly created with your children in mind. Although it may address issues of puberty, it clearly does so from an anti-god viewpoint. In fact, one sperm says in episode one that God does not even exist.
As a parent of teenagers and younger ones, I realize that monitoring everything that our children have access to online is virtually impossible. Let me provide you with two suggestions (past forbidding internet use or Netflix).
First, have frequent conversations with your children. Do not allow sex to be an issue that you will not discuss or do not discuss. This is vitally important. There are two resources that I strongly suggest related to talking with our children in general, both written by a friend of mine John Younts: Everyday Talk and Everyday Talk about Sex and Marriage. (And both are on sale on Kindle right now as low as $1.99!)
Second, limit where and when your children have access to the internet. Strongly encourage your children to watch and explore the internet in public living areas. Of course there are more things you can do to be proactive. Tim Challies helps parents consider this topic.
This should not surprise us, but we cannot stay ignorant of it.
A show like this designed as adult humor but peddled to children should not surprise us. If these were real characters instead of animated characters, this show would be banned from children. But since it is animated, it is free to expose them to all kinds of ungodly values and filth. May God help all of us as we seek to help your children.
