TV drama “Adolescence” has taken the world by storm and captivated people around the world, providing what activists say is a rare chance to tackle the primarily hidden area of online misogyny and violence.
Since its release on Netflix last month on the 13th, more than 96 million people have seen the British four-episode show that starts with armed police raiding the residence of a terrified 13-year-old lad accused of murdering a young girl and ends with a raw display of the pain of his devastated family.
The action in between, with the hour-long episodes shot in a phenomenal single take, slowly destroys the initial shock that a child so young could carry out such a violent crime.
It depicts a toxic internet culture known casually as the manosphere, in which regular teenage male insecurities regarding attractiveness and romantic failure can develop into resentment and hatred of the fairer sex.
“There are people who will watch it and go, ‘But that boy couldn’t do that.’ The point is that a boy can do it,” says Susie McDonald, CEO of charity Tender, which educates children and young people on healthy relationships
Great Opportunity to Educate Children
“Suddenly, the possibility becomes normal, and so we begin to say, what on earth can we do to stop that from happening?”
The show is number one in Netflix’s global Top 10 and tops the charts in just about every country – from Bahrain to Brazil – for which the streaming giant provides data.
“Although on the surface it feels like it’s a very British production … actually, the themes that it’s dealing with: what our children are doing online, what they’re listening to … I think that’s as important in America, as it is India or as it is Australia,” movie critic Kaleem Aftab told a leading media outlet.
Portuguese police made a guide for parents to educate people about the hidden meaning of emojis used by young teens – a plot component in the series. The Sydney Morning Herald produced work on how to talk to young people more effectively than the parents of the boy in the show.
British law enforcement urged parents to look for indicators that their child may be being radicalized on the internet, using data showing 60 percent of referrals to its terrorism prevention system came from those who are aged 17 or under, to bring to light the scale of the wider issue.
Hit Home Hard In Downing Street
“Adolescence” reached the family of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who saw it with his teenage children.
“It hit home hard,” Starmer stated in a statement, backing a mechanism to make the show available to educational institutions across the country and promoting a national conversation on the issues it raises.
“This isn’t a challenge politicians can simply legislate for. Believe me, if I could pull a lever to solve it, I would.”
Matt Pinkett, an expert on masculinity and an educationist, described how the show had left him fizzing with teaching ideas but said it needed to be used in the right way to avoid further marginalizing young teens who are already at risk of radicalization. This drift towards potential violence needs to stop right now. If it is not, then it risks exporting American-style school shootings across the planet. That would have devastating consequences for everyone all over the world.
The show has created a great window of opportunity for campaigners, police, and educators who have been hoping for a general public ready to accept the hard truth that they do not know what their children are up to online and that they should not be left to their own devices.
“This is the start of something. What we need to do as an education profession is make sure that we take advantage of that,” says Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of Britain’s Association of School and College Leaders.
McDonald revealed that Tender was partnering with Netflix to make materials teachers can try in schools, with script excerpts and clips from the show to encourage broader discussion.
“This (show) is not going to solve the problem, but it’s enabled everybody to notice that there is a problem,” she said.
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