Adolescence

Owen Cooper as Jamie.

Earlier this week, I read numerous tributes to the new Netflix limited series called Adolescence to say how special it was, both in the power of its message and the quality of its drama. The implied invitation was irresistible. I followed its four episodes over two evenings, entirely hooked but also impacted by the power of its presentation. It was overall, harrowing. I particularly admired as always, the acting capacity of lead, Stephen Graham, but was astonished by the amazing performance of the 14-year-old lead, Owen Cooper,who I discover, had never acted before. Unbelievable! His performance was so nuanced, so comprehensively true and empathetic that I seriously wondered if talented actors are born rather than trained or developed.

Stephen Graham as Jamie's father, Eddie.

 More astonishing information was to come. Each episode was filmed in entirely one shot, so no cuts or discussions or mini rehearsals between shots or location changes were possible. Actors had to perfect their lines and think through their entire emotional performances during rehearsals, in preparation for a one hour take per episode. I imagine that even for seasoned actors like Stephen Graham this is challenging but for a first-time young actor, hugely demanding.

Adolescence was co-created by Stephen Graham with Jack Thorne  and The Guardian described it as ‘the closest thing to TV perfection’ while Forbes Magazine called it "a technical masterpiece", in fact, the drama is earning widespread rave reviews for its technical achievements. In addition, the talented cast seems to have been chosen to perfection with performances by those playing Jamie’s mother, sister and the inspectors investigating the case,  plus the 

role of the child psychologist tasked with writing an independent assessment of Jamie’s character, all receiving wide acclaim. The drama closes with an emotional rendition of Aurora's 'Through The Eyes of A Child' sung by Emilia, which describes the loss of a 'childlike soul.' The haunting track is the only time that viewers hear the voice of Katie, the murdered schoolgirl.

However, gripping performances aside, the drama explores the incel subculture and what is called ‘the manosphere’ that dominates some online discussions, and which is a concept completely unknown to many older viewers. In this online subculture, incels are a community of men, mostly heterosexual, who define themselves as unattractive, who are therefore unable to find a romantic or sexual partner and who go on to blame women and girls as a result. Incredibly, this culture began to be delineated around ten 

Ashley Walters as D.C. Luke Bascombe

years ago after a misogynistic hate crime in the U.S. when a 22-year-old killed six people and injured 14 others after uploading a video on YouTube announcing his intention to punish women for their lack of interest in him. After this, the term 'involuntary celibate' came to prominence. This horrific incident inspired another mass killing in Toronto in 2018 in which 11 people were killed and 15 injured. This second perpetrator described himself as an incel to the police and this may have been the first public use of the term linked to mass murder. In 2017, Reddit banned a 41,000- strong incel group for violating its rules regarding violent content. Among the written comments during this exercise, one sad thought appeared: “A reminder that no female has ever looked at you and thought you were attractive.”  Another rather frightening addition said, “Women are horrible human beings in every aspect of life.” 

Eddie, the bewildered father, trying to get to the truth
and trying to understand
the unreal situation in which he finds himself.

Influencer Andrew Tate after his
release from  house arrest
 in Romania.

Through this incredibly poignant and honest drama the public is given a searing look at the manosphere encompassing the collection of online forums, websites and influencers who promote misogyny, toxic masculinity and the incel culture. An eye-opener for this viewer at least! I had heard the names of Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, but knew little beyond their publicly alleged misogyny, but I had not realised the huge impact of their opinions and culture on boys and young men who chiefly view this malevolent stream of hate alone in their bedrooms. Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer and a self-described misogynist, has amassed over 10 million followers on X and is celebrated widely in the manosphere. He was banned from Facebook, Instagram and TikTok in 2022 for his extreme misogynistic views. Earlier he had also been banned from Twitter for several adverse comments about women, including that they "bear some responsibility" for being assaulted. However, no surprise to learn that

Tristan Tate looking 
regrettably gorgeous with no need to
be an incel.

the new owner of Twitter, now renamed X, Elon Musk, has reinstated Tate. The Tates, who have dual US/British citizenship, were arrested in late 2022 in Romania and formally indicted last year on charges that they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to Romania where they were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape and both he and his brother have denied all charges. Mysteriously, the two were released from detention in Romania and flown by private jet to America after the Romanian authorities last month [Feb 2025] unexpectedly lifted their travel restrictions. There have been whispers that the U.S. President was sympathetic to the brothers’ plight.

Eddie Miller acknowledging the awful truth.

Stephen Graham is already a highly acclaimed actor specialising in roles depicting gritty, working-class men. With Adolescence he delivers a magnetic performance as Eddie Miller, the father of 13-year-old Jamie, accused of murdering a fellow pupil. He manages to capture the complexity of a bewildered family man completely out of his depth but who firmly believes in his son’s innocence and stands by Jamie as he is questioned repeatedly by the police. Graham’s face as he eventually hears his son confess his guilt after long denial, is eloquent and touching. As a first time TV script writer, Graham says that his deeper interest was sparked when he heard the shocking news that Brianna Ghey, a 16 year old transgender woman, had been lured to a Warrington park on February 11, 2023, by two friends who had planned their lethal assault on her; she was repeatedly stabbed to death. There were other random stabbing incidents involving teenagers which shocked Graham into asking himself what was happening to young men in society. He and co-writer Jack Thorne could see the immense harm in the development of the incel culture through peers, the Internet and social media, on today's young men and this hard-hitting series is the result. Hard to watch: impossible to forget.

  

Post Script                               

 Adolescence also introduces adults to the covert, sometimes sinister, meanings attributed by young people to emojis of which most parents are oblivious. It is a world of unexpected meanings explained to D.C. Luke Bascombe by his young son in the drama and reveals how to decode symbols, colours, shapes which are crucial in this new tech language. For example, different coloured hearts can have very different meanings. Red symbolises love; purple means horny; yellow means, 'I am interested; are you?';

pink means 'I am interested but not in sex'. The red pill self-identifies an incel who believes he cannot form normal romantic or social relationships with women.

Red pill

Much needed advice.

  means 'I'm interested, but not in sex' and orange means 'you're going to be fine'.