Netflix drama faces backlash for featuring scene of ‘fully erect’ penis
Netflix is under fire for its recent drama featuring ‘low-grade, pornographic rubbish’
Netflix has recently faced backlash for a scene in its recent mini-series where viewers witness a man’s fully erect penis.
A Man in Full is one of Netflix’s recent releases, having premiered earlier this month.
The six-part series is based on Tom Wolfe’s novel of the same name and stars Jeff Daniels as Charlie Croker, an Atlanta real estate tycoon dealing with unexpected financial ruin.
While the Netflix series carries a TV-MA rating with a warning for mature content like sex, language, and injury detail, the final episode doesn’t explicitly have a content warning.
In this episode, Tom Pelphrey‘s character, Raymond Peepgrass, takes Viagra and then stands fully naked in front of Croker.
The show boldly displays the effects of Viagra, sparking a debate among critics about its necessity.
Jen Chaney from Vulture remarked that it’s understandable if viewers felt “shocked, flabbergasted, disgusted, profoundly confused, or some combination of all of these emotions.”
She criticised that the episode was “a misguided and bizarre way to end a limited series that wouldn’t recognize subtlety if it walked up and waved its penis in its face.
Spectator’s Mary Killen wrote, “I don’t want to see graphic sexual images when I’m watching a drama. There is too much already and it is reducing us to no better than barnyard animals.
“Viewers shouldn’t be forced to see pornography. This trend will end in tears as it’s depressing, unmysterious and taking away some of life’s magic.”
Meanwhile, Anne Atkins, a writer for Radio 4’s Thought for the Day, questioned Netflix’s boundaries, “Where are the boundaries now, Netflix?
“A visibly erect penis is not only revolting to many normal viewers but artistically completely unnecessary: a glance down, a raised eyebrow would have done far more.”
Even politicians have weighed in on the scene, with Conservative MP Alexander Stafford stating “If Netflix is serving up this sort of low-grade, pornographic rubbish, we need to give Ofcom full oversight of the streaming giant’s output as soon as possible.”
Fellow Conservative MP Sara Britcliffe added, “Streaming services are available at any time of day, so watershed protection doesn’t apply.”
A Man in Full is currently streaming on Netflix.
