Every now and then a TV show or film casts such a bright light on a specific ill in society that even the most blinkered politicians and others with power to wield not only take note but sign on the dotted line for real change.
Netflix drama Adolescence falls into that rare category and has lifted the lid on the violent influences on our youth, particularly boys, who have become numb to the suffering of others and feel cut loose from the norms of civil, peaceful society and relationships.
The drama, starring Stephen Graham, depicts the aftermath of the fatal stabbing of a 13-year-old girl by schoolboy Jamie Miller who is arrested for murder.
The harrowing four episodes detail the unravelling of lives after Katie Leonard’s body is discovered.
Graham, who plays Miller’s father, and writer Jack Thorne have said they aimed to create a show that ’causes discussion and makes change’ having been shocked by the level of knife crime among the young.
The pair have ticked that box and then some.
They already have Prime Minister Keir Starmer onside. He has stated that as a father of a boy 16 and a girl, 14, the themes in Adolescence have resonated in his household behind the doors of No 10.
The PM has supported the screening of the show in schools and parliament, as a warning of the crumbling of the lives of families as children become desensitised to the physical and mental pain they may cause others.
He told Prime Minister Questions: ‘At home we are watching Adolescence. I’ve got a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, and it’s a very good drama to watch.
‘This violence carried out by young men, influenced by what they see online, is a real problem.
‘It’s abhorrent, and we have to tackle it.’
Inevitably the prevalence of social media and the haters being handed a platform, among them the misogynistic Andrew Tate phenomenon, are identified as central to the problem.
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The incel culture (involuntary celibate) in which young men unable to form relationships lash out physically and mentally against women and girls has grown significantly.
There have been a number of high-profile, abhorrent cases, which have torn asunder families and communities across Britain.
In the courts, we have heard blood-curdling scenarios in which a young killer has acted without any self-doubt or moral compass.
After conviction there is sometimes no remorse even after victim impact statements have been read out in court cataloguing the immeasurable pain families have suffered as a result of their ultra-violence.
Brianna Ghey – Cheshire – February 2023
Transgender Brianna Ghey, 16, was murdered by teenagers Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe in a ‘frenzied’ attack at a beauty spot in a Cheshire village in 2023.
She was stabbed 28 times by the pair who had previously discussed a desire to take body parts as sick souvenirs, their trial heard.
They were both found given life sentences and Jenkinson’s psychologist spoke of how she calmly admitted her guilt and said she ‘lacked empathy’ and showed no remorse.
Jenkinson watched horror films and trawled the dark web for footage of real-life torture and murder which experts believed desensitised her to violence almost ‘goading’ her into copying acts of violence. But unlike Adolescence the pair weren’t linked to Incel culture.
Her searches online included details of serial killers including Harold Shipman and Jeffrey Dahmer.
Although every case is of course different the fictional story in Adolescence of Jamie Miller, 13, accused of killing classmate Katie Leonard.
A psychologist concludes he has been affected by online bullying and influenced by incel culture.
Oliver Stephens – Reading – January 2021
Adolescence has echoes in real life of the case of Oliver Stephens who was stabbed to death in Reading in 2022.
He was lured to a field by a teenage girl before being ambushed by boys, aged 13 and 14.
The boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons were convicted of murder and jailed.
The girl pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sent to a young offenders institution.
The case put in the spotlight the role of social media platforms in the build-up to the killing.
The majority of evidence was from mobile devices, however, it wasn’t linked to incel culture but did highlight the power of social media over young minds.
Oliver’s parents branded the crime a ‘callous and cold-hearted act’ and demanded more action on knife crime and scrutiny of social media companies.
Jake Davison – Plymouth – August 2021
Another case that resonates is that of Jake Davison who, obsessed with the incel culture, murdered his mother with a pump action shotgun at their Plymouth home.
In a killing spree that lasted eight minutes the 22-year-old killed five people – a girl, two women and two men before turning the gun on himself in 2021.
Davison’s family revealed he had struggled with autism and had been adored by their ‘breezy, brilliant, mum’.
What the fictional story told on Adolescence and the killings of Brianna Ghey, Oliver Stephens the five murdered by Jake Davison have as a common grim theme is the alienation of a section of society who are looking for answers to give their lives meaning in the grim crevasses of the web.
They are falling into those gaps and society is in too many cases unable to pull them back from the abyss.
Parents, schools, social workers, police and politicians are all beginning to grasp the enormity of the task.
Drama can make a huge difference to societal attitudes and expose huge failings. In Mr Bates v The Post Office millions watched lives blown apart by an uncaring and blundering bureaucracy and the scandal was etched on people’s minds.
These shows spark wider debates and set a news agenda that can fuel change as prominent figures speak out.
Gareth Southgate this week used his platform to warn that young boys with great potential are being preyed on by opportunists.
The former England football coach spoke out over ‘callous, toxic and manipulative influencers’.
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He said ‘father figures’ with the best interests of the young were being replaced by those ‘who do not have their best interests at heart.’
He added at his BBC Richard Dimbleby lecture: ‘They willingly trick young men to believe success is measured by money or dominance that strength means never showing emotion and that the world, including women, is against them.’
Adolescence has had 24.3 million viewers, and its impact in the living room of No 10 and across the land has helped focus sharp and influential minds.
Perhaps the young people with their fingernails clinging on to ‘normal civil society’ despite the pull of dark forces can be saved from the brink in some part thanks to this illuminating drama.
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