Adolescence (Netflix, 2025) — A Short Review
This new Netflix series has generated a great deal of attention, as it deals with an important subject matter, namely the online radicalisation of young boys that leads to violent misogyny in some cases, some of which have been horrific. This issue has emerged recently due to several high-profile events but also due to the ongoing concerns around the roles of online influencers and how they are exploiting the fears, anxieties, and apprehensions that young men face in dealing with their identities but also roles as men, where hypermasculinity is emphasised at the expense of women, who are seemingly at fault for taking away the privileges that males have had in society in abundance in recent decades. These influencers exploit the gaps in gender roles in society by focusing on widening social divisions between men and women in ways that placate men and objectify women, which has sinister implications and often dangerous consequences.
While these issues are on the radar of some, this TV drama series focused on the first-hand (dramatised) experiences of a young man caught up in this vulnerable space and how the authorities deal with it and how a family copes with it. The emphasis of the drama is on the people who are on the periphery of the actual crime; however, there is no real attempt to explore the details of the sociological or psychological issues at the individual level in any real way. Such an omission could only have been a deliberate choice made by the writers. And from a dramatisation perspective, the single-shot approach to filming made all four episodes genuinely feel as if they were filmed in real time, intensifying the drama. The acting, both young and old, is exceptional, emphasising the emotional turmoil faced by police officers, teachers, psychologists, and family members as they face their ultimate test. Instead of just the boy’s family and victims, I wanted the series to focus on how young boys fall into these traps. The writers provided some sharp insights for viewers who will be, arguably, only aware of some of the issues, but I wanted more.
Nevertheless, as attested by the many reviews, many will enjoy this series for the gripping drama and the intense scenes acted out by a talented cast filmed in a way never technically achieved before. And for these reasons alone, it is still worth watching.
