IMDB describes "Big Mouth" by saying "Teenage friends find their lives upended by the wonders and horrors of puberty." However, most people know of the show because of its crass humor, profane images, and a perverted monster that represents hormones.
Middle school is a nightmare.
GiphyA general consensus among most people is that middle school is a bad time. It's a time of developing hormones. It's a time where adults treat you like a mythic hybrid of child and adult. It's a time when you get grades that truly don't matter.
"Big Mouth" paints an accurate picture of middle school complexities, a topic many other shows have tackled. However, "Big Mouth" confronts the underlying emotions and relationships that make middle school such a tragic time. While middle school is a time for discovery, it's hard to do when all you can think about is food, sleep, and frankly sex.
Hormones are okay.
GiphyWhen people become teenagers, they experience changes in their wellness that are influenced by their hormones. Yeah, it's easy to blame things like raging hunger and sex drives on hormones, but they do some good things too, like protecting us from stress and helping us sleep.
However, like "Big Mouth" conveys through a variety of characters, everyone's hormones are different. Different hormones mean different drives. The show makes its viewers aware of these drives in a humorous nature, making them easier to understand and cope with. This is the first step to change, awareness. But what has kept us unaware of these things? What has kept us from talking about them? Shame.
Shame is universal and powerful, but also good.
GiphySeason 2 of "Big Mouth" introduced a character called the Shame Wizard... a wizard that made the kids feel shame. However, in a much more personal manner, the Shame Wizard told them things like "You're a pervert for feeling this way about a girl," or "You're not a real man because you're underdeveloped compared to your friends," a true voice of doubt in the minds of middle schoolers.
By the end of the season, the Shame Wizard has seeped into everyone's brains, telling them they are less than they are. However, the Shame Wizard even says that shame is important because it teaches people to better and make better decisions. This show taught its viewers that feelings of doubt and disappointment in yourself are natural, universal amongst humanity, but beneficial for your well being when considered. Oftentimes, the feeling of shame arrives from your connection with other humans, what they think of you, and how they perceive you.
Comparing yourself to others is natural.
GiphyThe developing young adult looks to those around them to make sure they're doing it right. When you've only lived about a fifth of your life, it's hard to be confident in your progress. This notion is tackled in the very first episode of "Big Mouth."
In a simple prank, Nick sees his best friend with his towel down. He spends the next few days comparing his development to his friend Andrew's. This is a theme that runs through the entire show. But since no one's appearance is who they are, comparisons struggle to hold weight.
No one is their appearance.
GiphyOur world is 2018 is overwhelmed with social media and pictures of everyone at their best. So, when we compare ourselves, especially our appearance, to those pictures we see on social media, we are comparing ourselves to someone's best moment. Everyone has rough moments, contrary to what we are exposed to.
Through a culmination of the previous points, it's obvious that people go through the same crap. Everyone has hormones and shame. No one is wholly put together. And no matter how positive people's social media appears, it's not reality.
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