Adolescence on Netflix is remarkable. It’s thrilling and moving, of course. But it’s also the rare piece of art that might actually do some good in the world. I’m glad it’s huge.
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Maybe, I hear it’s more like an After School Special for Parents ™️ about how you need to check if your middle schooler is watching Andrew Tate videos, and while it’s a good message it’s a bit one dimensional and preachy
I felt they skirted over the main issues and they should have been explored more deeply. Overall it was okay, but I felt they used the one shot technique as the way to impress people the most.
Really. His admission of guilt - giving up his fake denial - tore his parents apart as they could no longer pretend that he was innocent, eventhough the father saw the video.The normal way his mother and sister chatted with him on the phone shows that the family was still with him and Teddy bear.
Yes … I totally see your side but I would think they could help him with a lesser sentence as he was bullied. Probably did not have the means (like many) to mount that defense. So sad all around. It was a fabulous show.
Who said they wouldn’t? That was the whole point of the psychiatrist trying to get an understanding. And when it ended they were a long way from sentencing. A number of pre sentencing reports would be ordered.
Have you ever told your client to go “no comment” when he feels like it without explaining the consequences, then let him answer all kinds of incriminating questions?
And the right to have a lawyer and parent present only exists for 12-17 (15 up make up their own minds on that). They rarely make the right decision despite prior advice. In “”Adolescence” the advice was solid, the father should have had a conference and the evidence was overwhelming.
Anonymity on social media and the feeling of being protected at home saying outrageous things has allowed the worst human baseness to surface and spread.
At Bluesky, we don't allow far-right voices or trolls, and that's a relief. We have to find solutions together that must then be expanded.
It's an examination of the circumstances surrounding a horrific murder. The truth is there is never simply one explanation but a complex web of factors, and the series does a great deal to illustrate how that might conspire to something terrible happening, as well as the aftermath.
There's no panacea for this: not for incel subculture, not for knife crime, not for grifting MRA's and misogynists online. The series isn't saying that there is one, either, but I think it's massively successful in it's stated goal of raising discussion and awareness, as seen by the response to it.
As a special education aide I can tell you I saw so much bullying without even looking at social media. I went into classrooms and most teachers were wonderful but some were bullies themselves. It was not what I thought my children were experiencing when I sent them off to school. #adolescence
As a kid who was bullied, I felt many of the teachers were no refuge. I think all too often they are negligent, complicit, or as bad as the bullies with the way they treat students. Too many want to be liked and seen as funny and often their rules are weaponized against outcasts instead of helping.
Absolutely. I experienced bullying in the workplace too. I'm autistic and we tend to be a lightening rod for bully behavior unfortunately. It’s why a lot of us isolate and have to work for ourselves.
Thank you @climatedefender.bsky.social. It was really hard, but Chapter 10 Hope and Healing documents how I was able to fix myself. It was horrible while I went through it. 🌸💮🌺
I am on the spectrum!!! But unfortunately, was diagnosed later in life. So pleased to meet you, @sarahca.bsky.social!! The first half of my book details my story. The second half of my book is the change in laws that need to be made to protect workers. Hope you like it! It is a good read!!
I was also diagnosed later in life so I had no idea why a lot of normal life things had to be such a struggle. Such a relief to know we aren't alone in these experiences.
As a parent of a child with mental illness, it was tough to watch the later episodes about the impact on the defendant’s family. It was profound, but we had to turn it off.
too bad i no longer have a netflix subscription. it keeps raising prices for seemingly no reason, and i can longer justify paying $$ for a subpar streaming service, and i’m certainly not paying $ to watch ads. sorry!
You could a buy a giftcard, I’m in Australia and a $25 giftcard gives me around a month to watch what I want.
I find doing that a few times a year better than an ongoing subscription.
I binged it, amazed at its creative vision and technical design, then I read about “White Lotus” (I try to avoid trendy things so was really surprised when I learned what WL was) and wondered “Is this the beginning of the ripples that will untwist the twisted power of broligarchs?
Loved Adolescence (but sad and disturbing :( ) and think it’s important to note that the Dad, Stephen Graham - who created/co-wrote the series, also plays the Dad in Matilda the Musical. The range! 🤯
The sheer brilliance of his performance , specifically the closing shot of the second episode where he’s dropped off the flowers. You can see the conflicting emotions and thoughts play across his face , without it being over done. A criminally underrated actor.
The acting. The continuous shots. The sound work. I did have to mention to my partner things that the psychologist was probably feeling even during the ” break “.
Last year there were ~3200 incidents of child knife crime in the UK, so that's ~0.02% of kids. Of those, 99.7% were for possession, 0.1% for threatening behaviour, & 0.2% for actual violence - so the % of kids that actually stabbed anyone (let alone another kid) was 0.00004% - approx. 1 in 2,000,000
Stop tempting me to watch this. I've decided on not cancelling Netflix and just watch European and Asian things. When Musk started talking against Adolescense, I've felt the temptation to watch, but resisted. You are close to tipping me over.....
I'd hardly call being stabbed to death 'adversity' 😂😂
They're both shows that explore issues that affect us all, and they both do a great job of doing so while keeping us entertained - not an easy thing to do. Trying to boil that down to a one liner isn't doing either any justice
So raw. It was great, but just to warn Americans, lots of dialogue gets lost due to very heavy accents to the point that even my English hubby couldn’t decipher some of it. Even though, it’s still excellent and highly recommended!
I don't know what you were smoking when you watched that show to make you think it was in any way good. It was boring. It was blank. The entire story could have been told in one episode.
The part where the therapist is talking about how we focus on Jamie and not the girl he murdered. Then, the next episode is about how it impacts his family. We never see her family 😭 (I don’t remember her name & was going to look it up but that sort of is the point, right?) Ooh, that hits a chord.
It made me think about how I talk to others. I’ve been known to call an internet troll an incel. But that kid was being bullied by a girl who had been bullied. It’s just a vicious cycle. We have got to be kind to each other and remember everyone is going through something of which we are not aware.
I’m a liberal American. I feel like I have righteous anger towards those who voted for Trump, but being right isn’t as important as being effective and impactful. If I approach a die-hard MAGA person with nothing but contempt, I’m never going to build a bridge to help bring that person to truth.
That’s very nice of you but don’t forget: they might not want a bridge. Don’t bend over backwards to people who are not as open minded as you. You’d be wasting your time talking to a wall that might punch you for fun.
Nope! I just realized I’m a 43 year old woman and I could be talking to a kid who needs help. I can speak truth to someone without sinking beneath my own moral code.
I don’t quite see how you arrive to that conclusion. She was bullied for sending a nude and having it distributed to the school. She tried to regain some confidence by dissing a twerpy kid. He f*ing stabbed her to death. It’s fairly obvious that’s not equivalency. Also, she was not responsible for
his actions. But maybe if everyone treated others with more kindness, we could save some people. I’m guess I’m saying, it’s not her fault for what he did, but I sure hope I wasn’t the grown adult who made fun of that kid for being an incel online in the days leading up to it.
Tbh I didn’t see calling out incels the issue. I see their response to our no longer making ourselves small, the issue.
Tho if I know or suspect someone is under 21 I’m gentle and the worst i’ll do is block. The young are redeemable
My preference tends to be on calling out behavior without mercy, not name calling and trolling. And tbh I mute and block freely bc I’m not on this planet to listen to old white guys whine at me.❤️
Agree. Tho having spent my life with men expecting me to be the adult in the room, I’m kind of over the ‘go high’ philosophy.
If I know they’re a full adult and esp if it’s an old white guy, I’ll read them for filth. Usually just laughing and calling out mansplaining, not heavy on name calling.
Really!, it’s a drama loosely based on a collection of stories and or experiences. I am sure local terrestrial tv stations cover these topics weekly or daily through TV soaps and popular social dramas they certainly do here in the UK but largely go unnoticed by the news media or ‘talking heads’.
Wow, it seemed really trite to me and I can’t imagine it provoking positive change. Message seemed to be social media is to blame and generational trauma may be impossible to overcome even by a parent who is determined not to repeat his father’s mistakes. What do you envision re good in the world?
Imo, it seems to be more about how boys turn into incels and what small clues parents can be on the look out for. I mean come on the kid was so withdrawn.
I agree with that. The big clues were that the dad looks away when his son fails the ‘masculine’ task he has decreed.
I believe the things you mention, and the social media stuff to be symptomatic. Essential to spot but indicative that there is no acceptance of the boy’s individuality.
I was surprised my daughter and my friend watched it. Teens are relating to it. Led to a great discussion. I am lucky that my kids are incredible good hearted humans.
do some good? It's already been hijacked to suit various agendas. It's far too polarising to be of didactic value and in a month or two it'll be forgotten.
Now watch the documentary, "Can't Look Away" to see what some real life people, incredible parents who've faced unimaginable loss, and lawyers who have integrity, are doing to help prevent social media harm to children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=letis542hfQ
Yes, that was the most amazing thing about it. Truly amazing. The one scene where the cop is chasing the young boy, through a window, along with the cameraman 😂 fantastic filming
Dunno, dog. This one seemed like it was kind of an apologetic on homicidal Incel radicals. I guess everyone needs advocates. I couldn’t go there on this one.
Yes, I felt that too. But besides the other icky stuff I already mentioned, it depicted the young people as if they were all antisocial hellions bent solely on abuse & destruction. Okay, some are. But this was Lord of the Flies on meth AND steroids. I know better than that, thankfully.
I agree! It was extremely well directed & acted, for most part. It would be interesting to see what the script looks like. I had the impression it called for a lot of long scene improvisations. Scenes lingered so long they were actually painful to watch. What real trauma feels like. Never ending.
It was goid, but missed a trick I reckon in the final episode. The parents should have gone to see the victim's family. Catharsis or conflict? Empathy or explosion? Great dramatic potential. And at least we would have met them, heard and seen the victim's side.
All the usual suspects lining up to lambast it tells you all you need to know about how important that piece of social commentary is
It reminds me of the zeitgeist around Kathy Come home back in the day
The young man who played the teenager was astonishing. Although the language was rough at times, our young people are facing things we adults have no idea of. Should be viewed with parents & their kids. We think our kids are alright but they are not.
It must have been tempting to produce more episodes for all sorts of reasons but I feel they got the length perfectly right. Often, what you leave to the imagination is more powerful.
I watched it and must've gotten the message of this series ALL WRONG. My take was that they were blaming the female victim for being a bully? Understanding that the killer is just a child doesn't absolve him of this heinous crime. If I'm missing something here, little help?
The whole "bullying" thing was the police & teachers trying to understand what went on. They were missing so much context and so were trying to slot it all into categories like "bullying" that they already knew, but which actually were a bad fit for what happened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant
I don’t know Kumail. That totally sane person (that definitely has real friends) Ian Miles Cheong said it was anti-white propaganda. Then Elon Musk offered a brilliant take on the matter by commenting “Wow”.
All of the comments, all the things, were simply amazing.
Additional pieces I LOVED - the appropriately placed moments of deafening silence and the subtle shading of the "natural" light at THE right moment. Just superb.
my mother said it the kid truly terrified her and I watched a bit and was like 'pfft... I encounter that kind of early incel behavior DAILY from just reading comments and playing video games as a girl'
good show though. hopefully parents can stop their insane children early.
While I'm only half way through it's honestly so informative on how the current generation of kids are growing up and how older adults just don't see it.
One of my most heavily online influenced 7th grade boy students has told me it’s his favorite show. I think I need to watch it as a middle school teacher.
It is a master class in one-shot scenes for directing and cinematography as well as exceptional acting by Stephan Graham, Oliver Cooper and Christine Tremarco. Should be major contenders for a variety of Golden Globes. Bravo!
The fact that the episodes are all shot in one take makes my head spin. I can't imagine how much coordination and practice it took to get everybody to nail their performances without flubbing a line or spiking the camera.
Are you aware the the 24 election swung most hard in the direction of trump with the demographic for young men of every race? Boys are being taught by grown men to blame girls and women for their struggles, to become aggressive and hard to prove their worth. It’s a growing problem parents should see
It’ll take way more than a mini series for parents to realize letting their kids stare at their devices 24/7 behind a closed bedroom door isn’t the best of ideas. Idk y that’s rocket science to think that way.
Don’t let the title mislead you.
Maybe more appropriate for adults than teens.
It is excellent.
So much to think about.
Written by the actor that plays the father, Stephen Graham.
Lessons you will never forget—a gut punch of realism for parents.
Love your movies/acting prowess. Would absolutely love to see you play Marvel's Nightcrawler. Humble opinion: you are perfect for such a role. Have a blessed day and be well my friend. 🇵🇰
I cried so hard. First the idea of being told my child had done that (I can't imagine), then his outbursts and the family dynamics and the choice at the end like that. Whew. Not an easy watch but I couldn't step away either.
Comments
At Bluesky, we don't allow far-right voices or trolls, and that's a relief. We have to find solutions together that must then be expanded.
https://bsky.app/profile/oguzean.bsky.social/post/3lllclcaffk2v
I thought it would shine a light on the hatred of women that's instilled at that age.
The hatred/ownership of women is as much a part of this society as racism
The kid creeps me TF OUT!
I mean, kinda the point.
But the single shot cinematography is brilliant.
The jail interview was probably the only part I enjoyed
https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/mobbed-psychological-and-physical-torture-at-a-u-s-company-edna-s-miller#review
But I think I get your point, more of a direct line to an immediate social good. I’ll have to check it out.
I find doing that a few times a year better than an ongoing subscription.
It had me in absolute pieces and my eyes wouldn't stop leaking!
to me.
They're both shows that explore issues that affect us all, and they both do a great job of doing so while keeping us entertained - not an easy thing to do. Trying to boil that down to a one liner isn't doing either any justice
What would you call being stabbed a piece of cake?
The best way to change someone's mind is to understand it, ask them why they think that way
Tho if I know or suspect someone is under 21 I’m gentle and the worst i’ll do is block. The young are redeemable
But I also realize I can speak truth without calling someone a name.
If I know they’re a full adult and esp if it’s an old white guy, I’ll read them for filth. Usually just laughing and calling out mansplaining, not heavy on name calling.
The positive is that hopefully dads will watch it and it will encourage unconditional love.
My dad got the INTERNET BAD message. As did my sister, and apparently the government 😔
I believe the things you mention, and the social media stuff to be symptomatic. Essential to spot but indicative that there is no acceptance of the boy’s individuality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=letis542hfQ
The usual voices are screeching against this.
It reminds me of the zeitgeist around Kathy Come home back in the day
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/mar/13/adolescence-review-the-closest-thing-to-tv-perfection-in-decades
Additional pieces I LOVED - the appropriately placed moments of deafening silence and the subtle shading of the "natural" light at THE right moment. Just superb.
But that kid was an Amazing Actor!
Kudos to him! 👍
good show though. hopefully parents can stop their insane children early.
- The one shot per episode *chef's kiss*
- The fact it's addressing an important issue and creating conversations *triple chef's kiss*
Did we do that?
Maybe more appropriate for adults than teens.
It is excellent.
So much to think about.
Written by the actor that plays the father, Stephen Graham.
Lessons you will never forget—a gut punch of realism for parents.
Fantastic work.