Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
The perils that threaten Adolescence
It’s not easy being a teenager in today’s digital era of social media, and the much-talked-about Netflix series, Adolescence, breaks the silence about that elephant in the room.
To me, this four-part limited series was personal. I’m the mother of a young teen boy, a woman and a movie reviewer, and this show, directed by Philip Barantini, appealed to all of me. The series opens with the police storming into an average English suburban house, early in the morning. Thirteen-year-old Jamie is arrested as the prime suspect in the brutal murder of fellow schoolmate Katie. By the end of the first episode, we know whether Jamie is innocent or guilty. In the remaining three episodes, we understand the “why” of the crime, instead of the who and the how.
When we misconstrue a child’s world
Jamie’s parents are good people who did everything they knew to be right. Unfortunately, like many of us, they fail to understand that kids today have a life beyond what meets the eye – the world of social media. The police and his parents look at Jamie’s Instagram, see Katie’s messages on it, and deduce that they must be friends. Jamie tells them, repeatedly, that they hardly knew each other. But the police and parents insist that if she was messaging him, they must be friends. It takes another teenager to spell it out for them that Katie wasn’t Jamie’s friend at all; she was only teasing him. Bullying him. The parents and the police alike completely misunderstood the dynamic between the two teens. They didn’t catch that every single emoji can take on a completely different and sinister meaning for the kids – it’s a whole different language. As a mother, this was a terrifying thought. How am I going to shield my child from something that I don’t understand myself?
The impact of “incel”
Through this tragic event, the show highlights the impact of the “incel” ideology. The idea of incels, or involuntary celibates, is perpetuated by some influencers online, wherein women are portrayed as sexually hyperselective, leaving many men undesirable and hence involuntarily celibate, or incel.
Jamie was labeled an incel at the age of 13. At a time when his primary worries should have been about his grades, his friends, his assignments, and his co-curricular activities, Jamie is worried about his virginity. How can a boy develop a healthy, respectful attitude towards women when this drivel is being fed to them in their formative years? Such is his downward spiral that Jamie’s future is destroyed before it even begins.
Girls, too, are not immune to internet ideologies. Katie brands Jamie as an incel, and the others pile on. Katie does what many 14-year-olds world over do – she bullies someone she perceives as a soft target. What troubled me was why Katie chose this particular issue to pick on Jamie. It’s likely Katie was merely aping others without realizing the harm she was causing. But in doing so, Katie ends up facing one of women’s worst fears – a rejection that turns fatal. Her punishment far outweighs her crime.
Young lives lost
Some criticism of the show has been that it tends to blame the victim and silence her voice, especially since Katie’s family is conspicuously absent. I didn’t feel that the show was trying to say that Katie had it coming. Both parties were victims of a parasite that consumed their minds and overpowered the teachings of their families. The narrative of inceldom violently claimed Katie and Jamie’s lives, leaving a desolate landscape of complex emotions and heartbreak in their wake.
Katie or her family didn’t have to be present in the show for the impact to be felt. The injustice done to her was loud and clear.
A living, breathing camera
Each episode of this series is filmed in one shot. The camera becomes a character, following people around and showing us the events in real time. Be it at the police station or the school, the camera becomes the audience, tracking the many moving pieces on the screen.
Things are switched up in the third episode, as most of it takes place in a closed room. Unlike what we’d typically expect in a scene like this – a static camera showing a neutral view of the proceedings with occasional closeups – the camera a living, breathing entity, following the characters around, peeling back layers to expose a psyche that’s completely shattered and is now a barren, poisoned land where nothing will grow again.
The cast is flawless. As Eddie Miller, Jamie’s father, Stephen Graham (who also co-created and co-wrote the series with Jack Thorne) is heart-wrenching in his performance. Eddie is an average man caught in an impossible situation and one who doesn’t know what to do to make the pain go away.
Erin Doherty as the psychologist is precise. She maintains a controlled and unresponsive countenance, yet one can see that her interactions with Jamie bother her deeply.
The star of the show, however, is Owen Cooper as Jamie. At times, it’s hard to separate Cooper from his character. He inhabits Jamie.
Adolescence is one of those rare shows that will stay with you long after the end credits have rolled. If you haven’t already, it’s a must-watch.
Want a teenager’s perspective on the series, Adolescence? Check out Aarav Mohite’s review.
