Netflix’s new original short series, Adolescence, follows the story of a young boy who is accused of murder and the process that he must go through before his trial. The series does a great job of expressing the permanence of a decision that was made in seconds, and it provides an incredible new perspective on social media’s effects on a family and how easily young people are influenced.
Adolescence is a cautionary tale about the importance of having difficult conversations with boys about the appropriate way to behave as an adult and express emotions.
The pilot starts off strong with the main character’s (Jamie) house getting raided by police and him getting arrested for murder and escorted to the police station. Since Jamie is only 13, he is allowed to have a parent present during searches, fingerprints, and interrogations. Of course, at first, his parents do not believe he could be capable of murder, and Jamie continually denies the claim, but once he and his father are in the interrogation room, they are shown some undeniable evidence. Police had collected multiple CCTV security footage that showed Jamie stalking a girl from his class and eventually brutally stabbing her to death.
As the story progresses, some things become very clear. Jamie has no idea how to control his anger, feels very entitled, and has a skewed perception of how to act in the real world. In several scenes, when adults try to talk to Jamie about what happened or are trying to help, he throws a tantrum and destroys things. Whenever Jamie self-deprecates or feels guilty, he expects the people around him to counter it and comfort him, even though he murdered a classmate in cold blood. The way Jamie acts implies that he hasn’t grasped the permanence of what he did at all.
Jamie’s behavior is an integral part of the message the show is trying to make, which is that if parents do not teach their sons how to handle their anger or treat women, someone else will. Jamie’s only motive for killing his classmate was her rejection of him; his reaction to being rejected by an older girl was to murder her, and due to that one rash decision, he ruined his whole life and the life of his family. While it would be wrong to blame the parents entirely for his actions, there were things they could have done to prevent it. The dangerous messages spread throughout the internet can easily influence someone without a fully developed brain. It is the parents’ job to help them navigate right and wrong ideologies and also to notice when their child is exhibiting psychopathic behaviors and thoughts.
This series has gained a lot of traction already, and schools in the UK are taking steps to allow it to be shown in classrooms in order to have more open discussions about the dangers of unlimited internet access for young children, the effects of misogyny, and male rage. It is important to shed light on these topics and encourage open communication with young teens.
