SOAPBOX TNT // Does Size Really Matter?

TONY: Well, that was wholly unexpected…

(Tati is poking at a socket with a screwdriver.)

TATI: Yes, fuck a duck with a Christmas tree!

TONY: Erm, no. I’d rather not, thanks. I’m still recovering from the naughty video you sent me.

TATI: What naughty video? Stop babbling, Tony! It’s a children’s television series! It’s aimed at four to eight year olds!

TONY: John the penis man? I don’t recall television ever being like that when I was growing up!

TATI: Oh, of course. Your sweet childhood when the trees were tall and green, and men were supposed to fix things in the house! How on Earth did you manage to break this, Tony?

TONY: I dunno. I just plugged my PS4 in and the socket kind of died… a bit.

TATI: PS4? I thought you had ordered a PS5… Oh. Was that the real reason, huh?

TONY: Tati, this is not Teti-à-Tête. This is a different feature. So let’s stop playing dickheads and just have a good, adult discussion here, eh?

TATI: Oh, really? Well… okay, let’s. Have you already posted the link to the video you’re so outraged by? Are our dearest readers aware of what we’re talking about?

TONY: You’re right. Just a moment…

TONY: There you go. All they have to do is click on that image. Oh, and if I’m honest, I’m not outraged by this at all. If anything, I’m just a bit speechless. What can you say about a children’s show that features a man with a prehensile penis?

TATI: It’s we, the perverted adults, that highlight certain parts of our bodies over others for shaming. Don’t you feel so?

TONY: That’s true. You don’t see a very young child reaching for a fig leaf out of a sense of modesty, do you? It’s usually only adults that get shocked over this kind of thing.

TATI: Firstly, shall we give some background for our readers, Tony?

TONY: Well, again I would encourage them to click the image above if they haven’t already done so. And as for what it is, it’s the first season of a Danish stop motion animated series aimed at young children. It features an adult male who wears what appears to be a striped bathing costume, and has a long, posable penis. (God. How many times am I going to say the word ‘penis’ in this conversation?)

TATI: You forgot to mention that it was developed together with a child psychologist—and other professionals—who reviewed the scripts to ensure that children wouldn’t misinterpret what they saw.

TONY: That’s the part that troubles me slightly. There will always be at least one child who interprets what they’re seeing in this show in a way that the experts won’t want them to. But then… what would an incorrect interpretation even look like?

TATI: Okay, while I’m thinking about a smart reply, just give me your professional opinion. I believe you previously studied animation at university, yes? Do you think this show is technically well made? Or is it trash?

TONY: I think it works well enough for the stories that the creators want to tell. It’s stop motion animation with what appears to be a mixture of cut outs and some claymation figures—I can’t quite tell. But the overall art style works because it seems to be designed to look like a toy set that a very young child might play with. Everything moves in a slightly clunky and limited way, but again this might be to enhance the whole visual aesthetic they’re aiming for. I believe this show very much appeals to quite a large younger demographic, so they must be doing something right.

TATI: So, do you feel it was really made for children? Or, rather, is it a cynical move where they’ve realised that it will be discussed by a wide adult audience? Is it a way to generate some ‘hype’?

TONY: For publicity you mean? Sure, that’s certainly a possibility. Having the main character be an adult with a… well, ‘versatile’ penis… and it’s a children’s show? That’s bound to generate a lot of discussion at the very least. Outrage even. I can imagine that many parents wouldn’t want their children to view such content, but the more attention they draw to it then the more success it is likely to enjoy.

TATI: Would you allow your children to view the show?

TONY: In a way, I’m kinda glad I don’t have children. Can you imagine having to decide whether or not it’s okay for them to watch something like this? On the one hand, I don’t want them to grow up being ashamed of their bodies, so I can see how watching this show could help them to laugh at the beautiful absurdity of the human anatomy. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to inadvertently expose them to something that could be considered wildly inappropriate. It’s a tough call to make. Would you allow your children to view ‘John Dillermand’?

TATI: Well, like you I can only theorise this. I believe our dearest readers who have children and grandchildren will give us much more reasonable pros and cons. As for me… hell, yes. I would allow them to view it. Though I am surprised that they don’t have something like a warning or disclaimer at the beginning of each episode. Even the most silly videos where people do something completely idiotic include ‘performed by professionals’ and ‘don’t try this at home’. But why don’t they explain to children that poking a penis into a lion’s cage can be rather dangerous? Or touching a bare wire? Everything looks like mere fun here.

TONY: Yes, I take your point. Mere fun with no consequences. And, actually, when you think about it, it’s a wonder that you and I didn’t immediately perish from our own stupid mistakes when we were growing up. We were children in an era that had no warning labels for anything, so we had to learn stuff the hard way!

TATI: Do you mean that it makes no sense to warn children about danger? They will do it anyway?

TONY: I expect children will do what they do anyway. I mean, we did, right? Of course, this doesn’t mean that parents shouldn’t fulfill their role as caretakers, but perhaps some of the most indelible life lessons that children learn can only be done through personal adversity.

TATI: Anyway, I think there are no right or wrong answers here. Let’s try to sum this up and then our readers can add anything if they want. Do you personally say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to such TV shows?

TONY: There’s no point me saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a show that already exists without my say so. All I really can do is raise my hypothetical children as best as I possibly can, which would include gently guiding them in their viewing choices. And, on second thought, I think I’m probably leaning more towards your earlier response. I would allow them to watch at least one episode of this, and hopefully their reaction would clue me in on whether or not they should watch any more. There you go. That’s my long-winded answer to your ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question!

TATI: Okey-dokey, Tony. I think the socket is fixed now. How about we watch one more episode?

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2021

31 thoughts on “SOAPBOX TNT // Does Size Really Matter?”

  1. OMG 😲 I thought he was hilarious!! Yes, yes, yes… I would be that Mom strongly encouraging my Children to watch John the Dongman…under the pretense of improving their German!! I love German Humor…

    Liked by 3 people

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  4. What a valid and valuable discussion piece here. Parents can largely influence and guide their child through controversial topics. Spending time to watch something like this and discuss is very helpful to children’s development…I think it helps our children to be independent thinkers.

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    • I have to agree with you there, and it’s something that I worry is sorely lacking within the education system. I don’t know if it has improved these days but way back when I was a child and a student, we were never encouraged to question anything, or even to be curious about the world around us. If anything, when I look back on it now, it feels like all we were ‘taught’ to do is close our minds, follow the dotted line presented to us, and to fear anything and everything that lay beyond that.

      Liked by 2 people

  5. I have one easy question for you. It’s not about whether the show is appropriate or not but what were the creators thinking when putting this together. In what world an adult thinks: “Ah, yes, we already had Gadget with his extendo arm, let’s now use a penis for the same.” Why? The same could have been achieved with something growing out of his knee.

    Yes, we, adults make things worse than they are. Kids don’t really notice anything wrong with some cartoons, but that doesn’t mean that adults get a free pass on creating garbage.

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    • That’s a fair point you make there, Sam. Why couldn’t it have been something growing out of his knee? When you consider that their stated aim was to make something that teaches children not to be ashamed of their bodies, surely the approach you suggest could have worked at least as well, if not better. You’ve given me food for thought there.

      Liked by 2 people

  6. Okay, now that I can’t un-see a prehensile penis, a few points. First, Team Tony. This is so wrong. I don’t care if it’s because I’m socialized to see peripatetic peni as weird. I have serious questions about the team of psychologists. Finally, if we weren’t distracted by the pinstripe penis, we’d rightly complain about the quality. I’ve definitely seen better.

    Penis.

    😂😂😂😂

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    • Em, I can completely understand your response here. I’m not so sure if I would have been among those who were happy to greenlight this project. I would have erred on the side of ‘maybe let’s not make this’. But now that it exists, I am also finding it difficult to scrub what I’ve seen from my brain. 😂

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  7. Imo its so absurd that it can only be funny lol it’s not even that creepy cuz its just so ridiculous! idk i’ll have my kids take a look haha they see much worse on youtube/tv. I dont mind sexual content but i try to censor all violence-a difficult task for sure

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    • Now you’re a breath of fresh air in the world of adults, if I may say. Usually, the balance is the other way around in that most parents I know seem to shield their children from anything vaguely sexual but will let them be exposed to ultra violent content (and without a hint of irony about this, I might add). This is not to say that I think we should treat our kiddies to porno sites or something (we absolutely SHOULDN’T) but that a more nuanced approach to raising children and what they get to see is called for.

      But then I’m not a parent so I can only imagine the nightmare minefield it must be to try and raise children without leaving them emotionally traumatised for life. I sometimes do seriously wonder if I dodged a bullet there. Maybe so. Maybe not. I’ll never know. 😛

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    • Thank you Tony! I am only following the way my mother taught me haha. But yeah sex is natural and is something that kids already know/are curious about. I definitely agree that porn sites should be kept off limits lol but I do want them to know some basics of healthy sex before they go off into the world to try on their own.
      As for whats out there today – it is extrememly difficult to control their tv consumption. They just want to watch Youtube which has some pretty messed up stuff on there. Some days I just turn it all off altogether.

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    • I’ve been getting addicted to YouTube myself and I absolutely have to agree with you on that. There really is some messed up stuff on there! Time to wean myself off of it, I’m thinking… you know, before it rots my brain. 😛

      Liked by 2 people

    • Haha we will probs be fine it’s the little ones that will probs be affected. But as for John here with his “thing” I can imagine children being asked what the penis is for and some of this stuff being their answers lol like yep its for holding balloons!! haha

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  8. I hadn’t heard of this series before, and I opted to try YouTube instead of the Danish website from clicking on the photo in your post — I couldn’t understand the message that popped up, and decided to be careful in case it was more than just accepting cookies. Anyway, this cartoon. Um. What the heck?

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    • Tati was the one to introduce this to me, and let me tell you… well, it was certainly something I would never have expected let alone thought of! Once I got over the initial shock of it, I think my reaction was much the same as yours. 😛

      Liked by 2 people

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