Opinion
How to miss the entire point of ‘Adolescence’ on Netflix
Summary
- Some male commentators seem to see the serial as an effort to villainize testosterone and other macho markers. They conveniently sidestep its critique of misogynistic ideas peddled online.
It turns out, Margaret Atwood didn’t actually say “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them, women are afraid that men will kill them." At least, not in those many words. But the quote has been attributed to her so often that it has become canon (for the accuracy-minded, it is a paraphrasing of a passage from an essay she wrote in 1982).
I don’t know if the makers of Adolescence, the Netflix drama about a 13-year-old boy who is accused of killing a female classmate after being radicalized into a toxic performance of masculinity by adult men looking for clicks and views, had Atwood’s observation in mind when they set out to make this series. It is, however, the one that I thought of constantly while watching it. Because that’s what happens—a boy is made fun of; a girl is killed.
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