Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, Entertainment, Social Media
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, Entertainment, Social Media
A Netflix series has stirred up heated debate online after leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.
A Netflix mini-series has faced backlash among some viewers for one particular scene showing a fully erect penis.
The series, A Man in Full - rated TV-MA (for over 17s) - does feature a warning for 'sex, language, sex reference, sexual images, injury detail,' however, it doesn't technically state any warning in relation to its sixth and final episode.
Advert
In the episode, actor Tom Pelphrey's character of Raymond Peepgrass has just taken some Viagra and then drops his bedsheet in front of Charlie Croker (Jeff Daniels) to reveal, well, let's just say a sight which is difficult to ignore.
Despite many viewers flooding to social media in praise of the mini-series, it's not taken long for others to share their concern with the sixth episode in particular.
Mary Killen - columnist at the Spectator - voiced: "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."
Jen Chaney from Vulture wrote: "Right now you are probably feeling shocked, flabbergasted, disgusted, profoundly confused, or some combination of all of these emotions. That is okay."
Politician Alexander Stafford added: "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."
However, there's actually no hard and fast rule for displaying erect penises on screen, although UK communications regulator Ofcom has certain guidance.
Ofcom states 'material unsuitable for children should not, in general, be shown before 2100 or after 0530'.
"Broadcasters must ensure that material broadcast after the watershed, or made available on BBC ODPS, which contains images and/or language of a strong or explicit sexual nature, but is not ‘adult sex material’ as defined in Rule 1.18 above, is justified by the context," it adds.
Netflix isn't quite the same as broadcast TV, given it's a streaming service.
Politician Sara Britcliffe argues: "Streaming services are available at any time of day, so watershed protection doesn't apply."
Taking a slightly different angle, one Reddit user noted the difference in presentation of male nudity versus female.
They questioned: "That explicit male nudity scene in A Man in Full was not a first. Why explicit male nudity is OK to show in TV-MA series but female not?"
A spokesperson for Netflix noted '100 percent of [the streaming service's] UK catalogue is certified by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)'.