Adolescence (Netflix) TV Show • Page 2

Did not realize Brad Pitt’s production company had anything to do with this

 

Finished this during the week and thought episodes 3 and 4 were wonderful, almost perfect television and fairly unique.

However I didn't think the series was anywhere near as revelatory or impactful as the reaction had me expecting.

Yes the subject is a huge and concerning issue but I didn't think the show addressed it particularly well. Reference to the toxic masculinity epidemic in young males was light touch and felt shoe-horned in (the policeman's son explaining emoji subtexts to him, final episode referring to the boy spending late nights on his computer) with barely any detail or exploration of these (ie what is the content he is consuming) or how they might be dealt with. We saw how the kids were acting in the school in episode 2, but no background to it or why bullying is on the rise. Episode 3 did manage this well though.

The single-shot 'real time' and limited number of episodes might have actually hampered the ability to address the topic.

 

It’s a work of art and entertainment, not an afterschool special. It doesn’t need to explicitly address these things because it’s telling a story and creating something emotionally resonant and, more importantly, realistic. The one-take shots are to impress upon the viewer that you can’t look away, no matter how much you may want to. It’s up to the viewer to take those next steps in educating themselves.

 

Mentioning Andrew Tate by name is actually further than I expected the show to go as far as specifics.

 

I agree with both points somehow. I can see how the one shot style hampered the story a little but I can also appreciate just taking the project as is and the story it told, even if it meant some things felt incomplete.

 

The one shot makes it so claustrophobic. I never really recognize how much release a cut can give until I watch something like this or something with longer takes and feel tightly wound

 

Surprised Owen Cooper isn’t under lead actor

 

Super late but I think part of the dissonance with this idea for me is that it is literally an after school special now whether it was made to be one or not. It's like The Thing they're going to show kids to say Don't Be A Misogynist Online in the UK. It's great art and I think the most interesting aspect for me is that it felt very heavy-handed (no value judgment), the message essentially unmissable to indeed an almost after-school special level, but somehow not to it's detriment. Still, I'm skeptical of using it as some kind of bulwark against the Andrew Tates of the world

 

If they actually do a second season, I’d have to think they’d at least consider centering it on trans kids

 

I see that. I’m not opposed to moral heavyhandedness in the art I enjoy. It’s still written and performed with sensitivity and nuance, and I think this in particular does a great job of conveying the themes while telling an honest narrative. It felt hyper realistic IMO.