I appreciate the series, created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, might not be for women. I hope, even, that the nerdy technicalities of the one-shot concept draw in the sorts of men who might otherwise turn their nose up at an “incel drama”. If this prods those guys into finally understanding how misogyny has been turbocharged by the internet, and that they have the power powers to de-influence young boys, then great. I just wonder how much better Adolescence could have been if its women were padded out a bit.
Faye Marsay as Detective Sargeant Frank and Ashely Walters as Detective Inspector Bascombe (Photo: Netflix)
In the second hour, we’re led round a school by a doddery female teacher, who, we’re to believe, has no idea of incel ideology, of the manosphere, of the fact that boys’ time spent online correlates with their foulness. Is it beyond all conception that a woman with two degrees might read a newspaper once in a while? That she might notice the difference in kids’ behaviour over the decades?
square NETFLIX Adolescence will send chills down any parent's spine
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Later in the episode, Frank points out that “the perpetrator always gets the frontline” and that “everyone will remember Jamie, no-one will remember her”. It means its not really useful for us to find out why Jamie killed his schoolmate and allows Luke to remind her of her duties: “We’re here for Katie, we’re here for her parents”. He then goes on his chase of Ryan – against Misha’s wishes, who mutters a “fuck sake” under her breath – and, ultimately, he gets a hold of a truth she couldn’t be bothered trying to find. Branscombe is the hero, not Frank.
Erin Doherty as Briony Ariston (Photo: Netflix)
The third episode nears perfection, with Erin Doherty’s child psychologist Briony Ariston necessarily parking her own selfhood as she assesses Jamie ahead his trial. It makes sense that her psyche is not explored, and overall its a great representation of a woman trying to do her job under pressure.
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What Adolescence gets wrong about incel culture
Read MoreRather, my issue with Katie’s bullying is in the continuity of it all. Why would a girl whose nudes had been leaked online continue to engage in online bullying? It might make sense, in some roundabout way, but without more insight into her humanity, it just doesn’t add up.
I get it. Adolescence is laser focused on male anger. But what’s the point in caring about the consequences of that anger – the dead girl at the centre of the story, the women existing in misogynist spaces – when so many of the crucial female characters are just not worth caring about?
Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller and Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller (Photo: Netflix)We’ve got the ultra-hench copper who’s fallen for the myth that the gym, rather than attentive fatherhood, is his route to masculine perfection. There’s the scruffy temp teacher who can’t recognise that he is actually well regarded in his young class of lairy boys and should step up accordingly. Then there’s the insecure security officer, looming over a much smaller woman to offer up – in the kindest way, he thinks – how unfair it is that she gets to do a professional, well-paid job, while he’s impotent to effect change despite his CCTV, his many all-seeing eyes. Finally, in Stephen Graham’s performance we get to see the borderline abusive dad whose anger so poorly masks his searing sorrow.
square MEDIA Adolescence is the new Mr Bates vs The Post Office - and it could change laws
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All of these male characters’ villainy, no matter how tiny, is pointed out. Because this story is about not just boys’ extremism, but also men’s lack of ability to tackle it. Jamie isn’t just sucked in to the blue light and red pills of his computer, he’s pushed towards its dark torments by the gaps other men have left where role models should be.
‘Adolescence’ is streaming on Netflix
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