Disclaimer: The show referenced in this letter targets our young people and is so offensive that I will not link to it for fear of contaminating this site. I do not want its filth to stain our space. However, if you choose to watch it through a simple Facebook search, I am HIGHLY WARNING you to view it in a private place away from little eyes and ears. It is beyond disgusting, full of crude language and sexual references, and viewers need to watch with extreme discretion.
To Whom It May Concern:
One of your trailers came across my Facebook newsfeed today that has left me enraged. With a constant stream of news, shares, posts, and pictures, it is easy to keep scrolling, passively taking it all in. But, the content of this video is so obscene and deeply troubling to my spirit that, as a parent, I simply cannot remain passive about it.
What is it you may ask? It is the Netflix produced cartoon series entitled Big Mouth that is slated for release on September 29, 2017. Like most mothers, my first thought was, “How bad can a cartoon be?” Well, how naïve I was! Ten seconds into the two-minute trailer aimed at our sons and daughters entering puberty turned my stomach in ways I have never felt before. It was repulsive.
?
Those two minutes were filled with the most sexually perverse content I have ever seen. The stars who voice the characters on this show, which is being marketed as a “raunchy, coming-of-age comedy,” say themselves that it is “filthy.”
Whoa! Guess what Netflix? I have a coming-of-age teenager and you have just stepped on this mama bear’s toes. Now, listen to me roar!
Your creative team who sat around the drawing board while sharing their personal stories of teenage sexual dysfunction (which I read was the inspiration behind the storyline) will not cast their dysfunctional, moral corruptness onto my children’s young, impressionable minds. Your twisted and warped humor is not funny. It is dangerous.
Do you know that images are branded into our consciousness? Yep, I bet you do. In fact, you are probably banking on it. What goes in through our eyes can never be unseen.
You, dear Netflix, with 100 million subscribers, have a moral obligation to protect the eyes of the innocent. Instead, you create programs like this that are full of debauchery and hedonism with the high hopes that these images will imbed themselves into the curious minds of children, gaining you loyal customers for life. Capture them in a dark bedroom while their parents are busy. When asked what they are watching, they’ll reply, “Just a cartoon.” Pretty sneaky of you.
You have sunk to the lowest common denominator with this one. Your widely popular, suicide-glamorizing 13 Reasons Why gave me much pause and concern; this one slams on the brakes.
You have already stolen the imaginations of our children. A whopping 80% of Americans younger than 35 have a Netflix subscription. The average child between the ages of 2 and 18 streams 1.8 hours of content per day. That’s 650 hours per year! Contrast that with the four to seven MINUTES spent playing outdoors per day. Kids watch services like yours 15 times as much as they play outdoors. Stop and chew on that for a minute.
To you, Netflix, and all the other time-wasting, mind-wasting video platforms out there, you have, in one fell swoop, redefined childhood. Yes, despite being a gatekeeper in my home, I’m guilty of allowing you in. I’m guilty of thinking your weak parental controls are sufficient enough. I’m guilty of allowing my children to get sucked into binge-watching you. I’m guilty of throwing you in their faces so that mama can have some peace and quiet to complete other tasks. But, I thought you were innocent.
No more! I will make it my goal to reclaim the time that you have stolen and to encourage the imaginations that you have stifled. My children have already been without you for 40 days and I’m sorry but not sorry to say you have not been missed. Even if I were entertaining the idea of turning you back on in moderation, you have just given me ample reason not to.
