ADOLESCENCE, the Netflix drama about the fallout when a teenage boy, Jamie, murders his ‘bullying bitch’ classmate, Katie, is to be shown in schools, supported by the Prime Minister. It’s unclear whether his goal is to decrease the rare incidence of adolescent male-on-female stabbings (it’s overwhelmingly a male-on-male problem). But there’s no doubt it is well-intentioned and will let teenagers discuss misogyny and bullying. What could go wrong?
Answer, plenty.
Say we have two types of teenagers. One has empathy, maturity and wisdom. Show Adolescence to them. He or she may reflect wisely on this show.
The other type of teenager is one who wants to fit in, tries to be cool, is easily influenced and spends more time concerned with other teens than reflecting on what adults think. This group will pay attention but not in the way intended. They will see and hear Adolescence quite differently.
For anyone who hasn’t watched it, the drama is a long exercise in ‘Why, Jamie, why?’ with the family and the professionals searching Jamie’s mind for meaning. ‘That got their attention’ is what some teenagers will hear.
Dead girl Katie laughed at Jamie and called him an incel. ‘Who’s laughing now Katie?’ is what teenagers will hear.
Of course, the plot shows that Jamie was being manipulated by his dad’s toxic masculinity and some Andrew Tate stats about women. But say what you like about Jamie, he wasn’t a bully. He was fighting back. That’s what our easily influenced teenagers will hear.
The take-away? Bullies have it coming, is what teenagers will hear.
The exclusion of the actual victim, Katie, as a character in the show (referred to throughout as a ‘bullying bitch’) was quite the choice. The problem with her murder, we hear is that Katie had lost the chance to grow or change (from what one assumes is her bullying ways). Bullies are just terrible people, and cause all sorts of problems for themselves, their poor victims and even their poor victim’s dad, is what some teenagers will learn.
Teenagers might want to hear about a real dad’s reaction to a ‘bully’. Last month, Swansea Crown Court found a 46-year-old man guilty of causing actual bodily harm to a 15-year-old child. The culprit, Dean Devonald, had assaulted what he thought was his child’s bully. He had sought her out, got in his car, tracked her down to a beach, ran up behind her and punched her in front of her friends, bloodying her nose and knocking her to the ground.
Devonald then threatened to kill her if she ‘touched his daughter again’. He initially denied the charge, despite his moral justification, and may have harboured some fears before going to court. He needn’t have worried. Justice was served with a suspended sentence and a fine.
The Judge understood that hearing his child was being bullied led to him being ‘overwhelmed with rage’ and noted the attack wasn’t prolonged. Taking the law into your own hands is kind of okay, is what teenagers might hear from the real world.
Adolescence teaches that bullying is the problem. And that bullying can be funny looks, not wanting to play with someone, being ‘unkind’, making someone ‘feel’ bad.
Actual violence towards women from their own actual bullies leads to twice-weekly deaths. Courts, TV dramas, and now schools are showing teenagers that being ‘bullied’ is an excuse for violence. What teenagers should hear is that girls can call boys names, but laugh back at them, that girls can refuse to go out with a boy even if the poor boy made an effort – but boys, like girls, should both move on.
Stabbing girls in dramas, punching them on beaches, or killing women in their own homes is the responsibility of one individual thug. Maybe schools should share that quaint idea with teenagers.
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Photo of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hosting a roundtable with the creators of Netflix show Adolescence (right, co-writer Jack Thorne) in 10 Downing Street, by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street.
