When I was in Amsterdam for spring break, I met up with one of my friends who lived in London. I was complaining to her about the long flight from Colorado to Germany, and how I needed to find something good to watch during the ten hours I was in the air. She suggested I watch a show called Adolescence, which was a new limited series on Netflix.
Though I wasn’t usually a fan of watching TV (the White Lotus had been the newest thing I’d watched in years), I was won over to watch it after she said that each episode was filmed in one continuous shot. I downloaded the series on my iPad and watched it on the plane, all in one go.
To say that I was astonished by this show is an understatement.
The premise of Adolescence is about a 13-year-old boy in the U.K. who is accused of killing one of his classmates. It’s a heavy start, and it only gets more intense: rather than being a ‘who did it’ type of show, it’s more of a ‘why did he do it.’ The viewer sees the inside of a teenage boy’s mind, and it becomes increasingly more terrifying as the episodes continue. If this weren’t enough, the show also focuses on the family of the accused boy and what they’re forced to live through after the fact.
The creative aspect of this show is exceptionally done. I’ve watched a couple of videos about the behind-the-scenes of making a show that is continuously one take, and it’s amazing how while this show could have been effective without this, they still chose to tell the story through this medium. They did four takes per episode and chose the best one — two of the four episodes took the last take. A continuous take adds to the intensity of the subject throughout all the episodes; it feels as though the viewer is actively living this situation and having to deal with the consequences.
Adolescence also takes a new fresh take on the effect of incel culture within young people. An incel is defined as a member of an online community of young men who consider themselves unable to attract women sexually and are often hostile towards women. This trend has been perpetuated by social media and influencers like Andrew Tate, who is also mentioned in the show as a figure some of the boys in school look up to.
The show portrays a terrifying reality: even though you’re barely a teenager, social media is telling you that others must be attracted to you — when they’re not, everyone starts turning on each other. The accused boy in the show is portrayed in such a young nature that you never know who to believe, even when there’s pressing evidence one way. The viewer simply doesn’t believe that someone can commit this act, and when there’s significant bullying on both ends that likely led to such a tragic incident, it’s hard to blame just one thing. Do you blame the parents? Do you blame the schools? Do you blame the social media, or do you simply just blame the killer?
I haven’t thought as much about a show since… well, ever. The fact that it’s only a few episodes has me wanting more of the story since each episode only focuses on one main theme: first, the arrest, then visiting the school, going through a therapy session, and finally, seeing the family perspective. There’s no court case, revisiting of others accused, and there’s never a time where the show specifically says who ultimately did the killing. But it’s all things that the viewer ultimately begins to realize for themselves and has to make their own interpretations.
I recommend that everyone watch Adolescence. It’s uncomfortable and emotional, but it’s important to watch and see what issues are prevalent among youth today. Even as I think about it now, I still don’t know who’s at fault for a child killing another child, but we need to find a reason and a solution soon — this show is just the start.