CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The most viewed TV programme on Netflix appears to have struck a cord with young families right around the world.
The English TV production ‘Adolescence’ is a new mini-series of four one hour episodes, all shot in one continual take each, which interrogates the impact of incel culture and non-stop social media usage on young men.
With countless five-star reviews and award-winning performances from both high-profile and unknown British actors, the series tells the story of a 13-year-old boy (played by Owen Cooper) arrested for the murder of a classmate, and the fallout that ensues for all of those around him.
While Adolescence finally shines a light on many important themes regarding young men, it also leaves audiences with many questions.
After decades of sensationalised media panic around the sub-cultures that target teenage boys, it finally seems as though the decline of monocultural media has seen iPhones turn them into mindless killers?
This leave us pondering whether the outrageous trends of years gone by were actually far better for them than the fragmented corners of the internet that docile young men find themselves in nowadays?
Sure the video game Grand Theft Auto was horrifying when it first came out, but it was kind of funny.
WWE wrestling and MTV’s Jackass crew resulted in A LOT of backyard injuries, but it didn’t make young men hate anyone.
What happens in a world where young men are disconnected from a ubiquitous society and instead left to be overstimulated by an emotional rollercoaster of synthetic endorphin hits delivered to them by algorithmic social media platforms.
How do young men spend spend their time if they aren’t watching half-naked adult men perform extremely dangerous stunts for no reason other than the sheer entertainment of seeing them hurt themselves.
Aside from the swearing and mind-numbingly anti-intellectual lyricism, was Limp Bizkit really that bad of a cultural touchpoint for teenagers in years gone by?
Was Death Metal even that bad? We sure spent a lot of time freaking out about it.
In hindsight, what was wrong with a whole generation of young blokes filming themselves riding shopping trolleys down hills? At least they weren’t in a dark room listening to dangerous men tell them that they are victims of female empowerment?
