Charlotte Smith
Adolescence unveils raw and unnerving themes of male rage as it tells the story of a young boy accused of murdering a teenage girl.
The series puts a strong focus on the concerning rise of ‘incel’ culture and its effects on young people in the modern-day ‘manosphere’.
It has received massive amounts of attention online and has become a talking point within the UK over the past weeks.
UK Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, has spoken about the issues raised in parliament and recently backed Netflix’s plan to show the series to children in schools.
What is the message to society conveyed in Adolescence?
Adolescence focuses on Jamie, played by Owen Cooper, a 13-year-old schoolboy from Bradford. He is accused of murdering Katie, a teenage girl.
As we follow the storyline and conviction in real time, we learn that Jamie isn’t innocent of the crime as the story explores his motives and surroundings leading up to his decisions.
We learn that online manosphere content targeted at teenage boys is the influence behind his criminal actions. This logical abuse by online male creators had radicalised Jamie’s views on women, with the show touching on toxic masculinity and male rage.
The series repeatedly recalled terms coined by the manosphere, such as ‘Red Pill’ content and the ‘80:20 rule’, which influencers like Andrew Tate spread online.
If a man takes the ‘Red Pill’, it means he will wake up and learn the truth about female nature that ‘feminism is oppressing men’.
But similar to the Matrix, if he takes the ‘Blue Pill’, he will live the rest of his life in ignorance.
Similarly, the ‘80:20 rule’ promotes the theory that only 20 per cent of men attract 80 per cent of women — forcing men to compete, or risk being labelled an ‘incel’, a term for men who struggle to form relationships with women and instead develop extreme hatred towards them.
These concepts influence and brainwash Jamie, shaping his behaviour towards women and motivating the murder of a young girl who rejected him.
Jack Thorne, who wrote the script alongside actor Stephen Graham, spoke on how the series was an opening conversation for a society inspired by real-life events of the rise of gender-related child deaths, knife crime and the influence of incel culture.
Underlying Themes of Misogyny and Male Rage
Jamie undermines his female psychologist, through mimicry, backhanded compliments and demeaning name-calling, attempting to assert control and dominance over her.
Throughout the four episodes, not only does Jamie’s attitude reflect misogyny, but the actions of other men subtly reveal it as well.
In the school setting, students typically treat female teachers with more disrespect than male teachers, and when detectives speak at the school, they rarely introduce DS Misha Frank compared to DI Luke Bascombe.
Jamie’s behaviour and rage also reflect the emotionally repressive environment created by his family.
His father, Eddie Miller played by Stephen Graham offers another perspective on Jamie’s behaviour through his representation of repressed anger and rage.
This has made viewers question whether boys who grow into toxic masculinity and male rage are people who stereotypically become more capable of violence.
One-shot Episodes
Adolescence stands out for its unique filming style — each episode unfolds in a single continuous shot.
The cameras follow the character in real time as each event unfolds, allowing the viewer to feel as if they are truly following the impacts of the case.
Phil Barantini, the director, carefully crafted this shot style to be all in one continuous movement. Even the two cameramen passed the camera up during a shot of Manda Miller walking upstairs.
A mass amount of skill and practice was put into each episode, requiring everybody, including the actors, to work as a collective.
Notably, in episode 3, where Jamie and his psychiatrist have an intense exchange, the subtle parts of improvisation between the actors are exceptional throughout the one-shot. Cooper amazingly flipped the mood of the scene, which kept viewers on edge until the end.
Moreover, the vast impact of Adolescence on society has indeed exceeded many expectations. It ultimately shows the power of the media and how it can get society talking, whilst also harming young people.
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Featured image courtesy of Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image licence can be found here.
