Massive overreaction to a TV show

I disagree. It was entirely for entertainment. It is a crime thriller. I suspect that is why its makers are surprised by how it has been received. I think its success is largely due to its standout performances. The actors took it seriously and elevated it to another level.

I’ve never watched Game of Thrones because it’s just not relevant to my own life and tbh I’m pretty furious with the makers for not considering my specific circumstances 😡

Agree. But then the vagueness meant we could watch with teens and discuss. I’m glad it wasn’t graphic, it was upsetting enough.

I think the show is okay, but I agree about the aggressive marketing and the hype and that's spoiled it a bit for me. I've read so much about it, good and bad. I would have liked to watch it without all the hype.

I do also think it's a shame they didn't seek better advice on the programme from police and solicitors as some of it is unrealistic.

This.
Even if you don't have boys, or any DC, if this is allowed to continue it will affect all women eventually.
Do we want a whole generation of men in a few years who have been subjected to this?

I think it’s very relevant to everyone tbh. I’ve no children but i work with children and young people.

Parents need to know and understand what their children are doing online. Loads do not!! even small children…, i’ve been told ‘ i’ve no idea what they watch on you tube i don’t understand it’ It’s ridiculous.

Parents of boys need to educated them on this toxic masculinity bullshit and the parents of girls equally also need to educate them too!

It was a 4 episode mini series. Of course it didn't explore everything in huge detail. It started a conversation.

Even if they use devices downstairs you can’t be sure what they are on. And you certainly can’t know what they are watching on their friends’ devices.

You're not being particularly articulate OP. Can you elaborate?

We are living in a world with people like Andrew Tate, influencing and warping the minds of children and young people.

We have incels and the 'manosphere', social media bullying, and increasing misogyny amongst young people. These aren't things that the show has made up, these are real - made even more apparent by the fact that it does resonate with so many.

Why are you 'astonished that anyone finds it remotely relevant' just because you don't? Have you looked at society lately? Are you saying this out of concern that you don't understand, or do you feel everyone is overreacting?

It's great that you and your children are not affected by this, but you must be living under a rock if you think it's not relevant to society at all.

Its relevant because we live in a society where children kill children. Where male on female violence has reached 'epidemic' proportions, and where there had been a sharp increase in this in in under 19s. Its relevant because there are malign influences online that are vieled behind innocent content in a deliberate attempt to expose boys and men to misogynist ideologies. It's relevant because children are bullied at school, boys for falling short of masculine ideals, girls for their sexuality. Its relevant because in homes up and down the country, well meaning and loving parents are inadvertently role modelling damaging sex based dynamics. If you and your children live in this society, you may come across the outcomes of one or more of these things. You may not. You may not have yet. But until you all reach the end of your lives, you don't know that you never will. And then it will feel relevant.

I agree with OP. The issues it raises are important but it didn’t explode any of them in detail.

I can’t believe that any teacher doesn’t know about Andrew Tate or how social media /the internet is destroying our children right in front of our eyes. I’ve taught for a very long time. Children have changed in a way I never could have imagined. Toxic algorithms coupled with screen addiction is, imo, a public health crisis.

Why did you not put the name in the title? Is it because this in the 35378th thread about this show?

You’ve missed the entire point

If this post is real, then as a teacher you have a responsibility to educate yourself and find out. Regardless of the tv show the issues raised are very important.

there was a huge reaction to the post office scandal,
still talked about today

I saw the film being more about misogyny and the potential of the Internet to lead young people down a dark path. I didn’t really see it as being a film about knife crime. I guess it’s all about interpretation. Like all entertainment media.

I actually didn’t love it. I felt it lacked depth and parts did not ring true; I was underwhelmed as a whole. It’s just a TV show after all I guess. But I still understood what it was trying to do. And some of the individual acting was phenomenal.

Not knowing who Andrew Tate is, shows a disappointing ignorance of current affairs and general knowledge. There are wider political implications to his actions, and he is leading a movement which could adversely affect the children you teach. You might wish to google him.

It is ok not to have watched Baby Reindeer of course; your comment about it being a tedious programme from Christmas is just a bit try-hard though.

Good for you 👌🏻🤦‍♀️

Thanks for creating this thread, op. I was dying to talk about this serial as I was a bit underwhelmed by it too.

I found the way it dealt with its issues glib and lacking in insight making it sensational but ultimately somewhat thin. It would have helped if it was longer (say, 8 episodes) and less tricksy - its reliance on the one shot technique for every episode was impressive but it meant that the story took second place to the effect. The acting was immaculate. Ashley Walters has matured into a great performer whose work seems to be informed by his lived experience. Likewise Stephen Graham who is a powerhouse. As for the young boy … the most gifted young performer I have ever seen. What a discovery!

The issues of toxic masculinity resulting in femicide were tacked on. The explanation of Jamie being the victim of bullying (by girls) because he isn’t man enough doesn’t wash with me because it shifts the blame to women who are seen, to some extent, as the creators of a world that excludes incels in favour of Brads. This to me is an inadequate analysis of the continuing rise of male violence against women. A boy murdering a young girl needs to be analysed within the context of a world that is increasingly (and insidiously) misogynistic. This is not the fault of women. Everyone says that boys need more role models. The role models already exist. What is needed is a dismantling of patriarchy.

Caitlyn Moran was interviewed about issues anrising from the show and said that young girls are being praised and given role models while boys are just being told about their toxicity and that we need to start praising boys. What more praise do they need than a world that is skewed in their favour?

Isn’t the rising misogyny part of a backlash against women’s progress? It is akin to the idea that blacks in America are making progress and along comes Trump to put a stop to it, reversing decades of progress.

The despairing sentimentalism of Adolescence didn’t quite do it for me. A tougher intellect than Thorne’s could have delivered a more incisive drama, one that doesn’t place the blame on female success.

This is not to detract from its massive achievement as a drama serial - the one track technique is amazing. Thorne is a great storyteller and they have opened up a big conversation. I hope the conversation is not all handwringing and no action. I hope we don’t give in to a moral panic that demonises youth rather than protecting them (from the world e adults have created).

I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.

IMHO overtight monitoring of teens can be counterproductive and some of what you describe is quite oppressive, e.g. access to passwords. Teens need privacy too. Once they’re 18, they’re totally private individuals, you can’t monitor, so better to gradually get them ready for that. So many kids starting uni are poorly equipped, as parents have been overprotective.

But, as with most things, when it’s your eldest it can seem more worrying. The transition from child to adult can be hard for parents, as it means gradually letting go, accepting you won’t know everything that goes on in their life unless you have a v open relationship, and supporting them to be responsible for themselves.

I gave up watching, mainly because of that teacher woman leading them around and 25 minutes of the police walking up and down stairs.The beginning was excellent though.

You think what I described was over-strict? You might was to re-read my post because I said nothing about mollycoddling or not being allowed to ‘play out’.

We are talking about 13 year olds here. They need rules. They need curfews. They need supervision online. I’m amazed anyone disagrees with this tbh.

As for schools - I didn’t say anything about middle class schools, but the school in adolescence is horrendous, you can’t tell me that a child attending that school won’t have worse outcomes, both academically and socially, than if they attended a more ‘civilised’ one. Some schools will be a better fit for a child than others. It’s up to parents to work this out, take an interest and ensure they do what they can to get into said school. Some of it will be down to luck of course, and what sort of year group you get. I made schools my last point reluctantly because I know that many don’t have the privilege of choice. But I’ve come across parents who just stick their children into whatever school is nearest without giving it a second thought, which I think is pretty lazy.

It really couldn’t. While worryingly high, teenage knife murders are still extremely rare and if you look at the cases in question, tend to happen in city areas with high levels of poverty and deprivation, and vast inequality, such as London.

@ProfessionalPirate over-strict parenting of the Just Say No variety doesn’t necessarily equip kids to navigate the world independently. Kids who’ve been mollycoddled, not allowed to play out and driven to organised activities are sometimes less able to navigate risks independently.

And some of the most damaging behaviour (bullying, sex, drugs, self-harm) is in the ‘desirable’, middle class schools, certainly where I live.