WARNING: Spoilers for “Adolescence” below…
“Adolescence” may be critically well-received and on its way to being a Netflix hit, but its creators want this limited series to go one step further. They want their show about incel culture, toxic masculinity and the horrors of young adult violence to be shown to the highest legislative body in the U.K.
“I want it to be shown in schools, I want it to be shown in Parliament. It’s crucial because this is only going to get worse,” Jack Thorne, who co-wrote the miniseries alongside star Stephen Graham, told the BBC on Tuesday. “It’s something that people need to be talking about, hopefully that’s what drama can do.”
“Adolescence” centers around Jamie (Owen Cooper), a 13-year-old boy who is accused of murdering his classmate. As the series progresses, it becomes clear that Jamie is guilty of the crime. But why he did it remains intentionally shrouded in mystery. Over its four episodes, the series pieces together that Jamie spent a great deal of time in toxic communities online that perpetuate violence against women. That’s as clear of a motive as the series ever presents, but even that explanation feels confusing and lacking to his parents and friends, an experience that mirrors the loved ones of people who have been sucked into similar communities in real life.
Thorne noted that the show is about a child who “does the wrong thing and causes great harm.” In order to understand the character, it was vital that the series also understood the pressure this young man faced.
“Jamie has been polluted by ideas that he’s heard online, that make sense to him, that have a logic that’s attractive to him, that answer the questions as to his loneliness and isolation and lead him to make some very bad choices,” he said. “We have to understand the things he’s been consuming and that means especially looking at the Internet, the manosphere and incel culture.”
All four episodes of “Adolescence” are available to stream on Netflix.
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