Adolescence

This is probably the most culturally relevant thing I’ve seen as of recently, and it hit very close to home. Having grown up post-internet a lot of the sweet little boys that I called my friends when I was younger have fallen so far down the alt-right, red pill pipeline that it’s hard to believe that just yesterday we were playing on the school yard together collectively knowing nothing about life, but living it to the fullest anyhow.  This mini series highlights everything I’ve experienced sharing spaces with people of this sort. From the language used to belittle women in casual conversation, and to the subconscious desire to dominate and even intimidate women when speaking with them. But most of all what really topped it off was Jamie’s inability to recognise any wrongdoing whatsoever… that was truly terrifying, and extremely telling of what today’s youth are being exposed to on social media as well as just amongst each other. We all need to have a conversation about this growing issue of misogyny that leads to brutal cases such as the one displayed in the series. We are all accountable in one way or another; for maintaining outdated gender stereotypes in households, for normalising vile attitudes toward women and young girls so casually, for our acceptance and our inability to do anything about false idols moulding young boy’s world views. This series tells us what we already know, and what we need to do, but it offers alternate angles of the same story we’ve been desensitised to in recent news, a truly unique way of encapsulating the true extent of this problem.