It all begins with a morning raid on the Miller family’s house, and the arrest of 13-year-old Jamie Miller for the murder of his classmate, Katie. Spanning 13 months, the series follows the police and the Miller family as they grapple with the heinous act. This is a murder mystery — but the mystery isn’t who, it’s why. Why did a boy coming from a relatively normal family, who was doing well in school, who had friends, murder his classmate?
Each hour-long episode is one continuous shot. Not only is this impressive from a technical point of view, but it also forces viewers to live with the characters. This format had me completely trapped within the story; I forgot that the pause button existed. While some may say the longer banter and conversations shared between characters is unnecessary time filler, I argue that these moments add to the intimacy and immediacy of the show.
While every performance lends itself to how raw and intense this show is, the highlight for me was the lead character, Jamie, and the acting debut of Owen Cooper. Episode three consists entirely of an interview between him and a court-appointed psychologist (Erin Doherty), with Cooper expertly riding the line between vulnerability and anger. The episode takes an unflinching look at a boy accused and doesn’t shy away from how complex and uncomfortable the situation is.
The show deals with how misogyny has found extremist roots online, and festers in spaces like the “manosphere” — a wide variety of men’s groups that often assert the idea that men are naturally dominant and that feminism is the cause of men’s personal and societal problems. Adolescence shines a light on how easy it is for these ideologies to impact impressionable youth, and how this can lead to violent acts like the one we see Jamie commit.
There are no easy answers given in Adolescence. We can’t just blame parents, schools, or social media for the indoctrination of young boys into violent worldviews. In an interview with Today, co-creator and actor Stephen Graham talked about the important role society plays in raising a child.
“You’ve heard that beautiful saying, it takes a village to raise a child, well I think what we’ve done with this is looked at it and said, everyone is accountable.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took time in the House of Commons to express his concern about online spaces that promote misogyny due in part to the Netflix miniseries on Mar. 19.
“This violence carried out by young men, influenced by what they see online, is abhorrent and we have to tackle it.”
This is part of a larger movement surrounding the show which has led to Netflix making the series available to screen for free in UK secondary schools, its creators meeting with Starmer, and various children’s charities advocating for safer online spaces.
To say Graham and his team achieved what they set out to do is an understatement. I have two teenage brothers, and they were all I could see as I watched Jamie. All I could think about was what are they seeing, what are their friends talking about? If presented with dehumanizing views online or from peers, how do they process it? And what can I do? I cannot control what my brothers see online, what their friends show them, or what’s discussed in school, but I can ask them about it. Adolescence doesn’t give us a solution, but it provides the first step; it starts the conversation.
