JESUSLAND—Anyone who spends any appreciable amount of time around teens and pre-teens, say 11 years of age and up, has likely heard the kid at one time or other utter the magic satanic words "shit" and/or "fuck." There's a pretty good reason for that: Everyone shits, and a fair number of people aged 16 and up fuck, and even a few younger kids are aware of that. Life doesn't exist without shitting and fucking.
One would think that even the censor-happy crowd at the ultra-conservative Parents Television Council would have been tipped to those truisms, but no. Rather, they're just released a "report" titled "Teen-Targeted Broadcast TV Can Be Vulgar ... But Stranger Things Are Happening on Netflix," where apparently PTC supporters sat down and watched 255 episodes found in 23 Netflix categories rated TV-14 or TV-MA by the company—via VidAngel, of course, the company that automatically censors content for its viewers—and wouldn't'cha know it? "[E]very single program contained multiple uses of the 's-word' and almost every Netflix original program rated as appropriate for teens (TV-14) had at least one use of the 'f-word.'" [Emphasis in original.]
“Our findings clearly demonstrate that Netflix is marketing explicit content to children," charged PTC President Tim Winter. "Explicit profanity like the ‘f-word’ and ‘s-word’ are nearly ubiquitous on Netflix’s Teen programming, revealing an apparent disconnect between what Netflix deems appropriate for teen viewers and what the average parent might consider appropriate.”
"Shit" and "fuck" utterances are "explicit programming"? What world do these people live in? (Word of warning: Don't click on any website that has "hub" as part of its name.)
PTC has a problem with the fact that 25.9 percent of the "teen" titles offered on Netflix have a TV-14 rating, while 40.8 percent are rated TV-MA (as in "mature audiences"—and who says a modern-day teen can't be reasonably "mature," at least when it comes to the TV fare he or she watches?). Worse, though, are the "Netflix Originals" series, where 31.3 percent are TV-14 and a whopping 55.2 percent are TV-MA. Among the worst offenders in that category are the sci-fi/drama/horror series Stranger Things, with 257 mentions of "shit" and 11 "fuck"s (yes, apparently someone counted all those naughty words); Atypical, a coming-of-age series featuring an autistic teen looking for romance, with 58 shits and 3 fucks; low-rated sci-fi drama Rim of the World with 44 shits and five fucks; supernatural-themed drama Locke & Key, with 52 shits and two fucks; and the one season of high school-centered comedy/drama On My Block that VidAngel had available, which had 48 shits and four fucks.
"Words like 'f*ck' and '“sh*t' were once unthinkable for dialogue on programs rated as appropriate for 13- and 14-year old children; but on Netflix they are becoming ubiquitous," the PTC report claims. "Either the content is being rated inaccurately, or there has been considerable 'ratings creep' with the criteria used to determine an age-based rating. Neither option allows parents to do their job effectively."
The question is, what's "effective" or worthwhile about shielding kids from hearing the words "shit" or "fuck"? If a kid is 13 years old or older, he or she needs to know what "fuck" means lest the (presumably hetero) kid starts fooling around, a penis goes into a vagina and there's a surprise nine months later. And as for "shit," what possible harm is there for a kid to learn one of the words commonly used for what comes out of his/her ass?
If all of that is "ratings creep," it's high time for it—and although PTC makes the bulk of its money scaring parents into trying to protect their kids from everyday words and images that, short of living in a cave on a mountainside, they are bound to see as they go through life, the company must be getting pretty desperate if they're targeting "shit" and "fuck."
UPDATE: Ruh-roh #2: Not only do these religio-conservative morons have a 19th century view of "certain words," they also don't want kids exposed to the possibility that religions other than Christianity and Judaism exist in the world.
"Take Netflix’s Never Have I Ever as an example," wrote Jessilyn Lancaster, managing editor of The Movie Guide, a conservative publication closely allied with PTC. "The new streaming series is loosely based on the life of actress/writer Mindy Kaling (The Office, The Mindy Project). While much of her content is not appropriate for children, few adults would find the humor offensive or excessive. While I previously considered content rated TV-14 to be appropriate for myself and my husband, Never Have I Ever left us appalled.
"I was aware that Kaling was raised as a Hindu, and expected some references to the false religion in the pilot episode. I was not prepared for an extended prayer to the idolatrous Indian gods in the first act. I was also aware that Kaling has made some sexual jokes and innuendos in her previous work. I was taken aback to hear a teenaged girl reference male body parts, teachers discussing female body parts, and for a sophomore in high school to point-blank ask someone to have sex with her. The dialogue, too, was insulting, with at least one F-bomb (and multiple references to said word) in the 30-minute pilot." [Gratuitous capitalization omitted; emphasis added.]
