Adolescence and the Hereditary Curse of Toxic Masculinity

A Social Issues Drama Wrapped in Dazzling Form

Netflix, a platform almost synonymous with mediocre content, has finally delivered a major hit. Adolescence is a four-episode limited series starring, co-written, and co-produced by the seasoned British actor Stephen Graham (The Irishman, Help, Swimming with Men). It’s also executive-produced by Brad Pitt—his former collaborator from Snatch—and tackles highly topical issues of youth crime and misogynistic culture. With such a powerful combination, the show’s success seemed inevitable.

But in today’s media landscape, even good content needs clever packaging to stand out. Adolescence excels in this regard: all four episodes are shot in a continuous take style, creating a buzz on social media. Viewers have marveled at seemingly impossible camera movements—explained in behind-the-scenes features. The show’s striking cinematography brought widespread attention to the DJI Ronin 4D, a Chinese-made camera. Meanwhile, the cast’s sustained intensity and precise performances over hour-long takes are nothing short of astonishing.

Yet at its core, Adolescence follows in the tradition of Britain’s proud social realist dramas. It possesses a deep sense of urgency, turning its gaze on working-class life to expose how toxic masculinity and misogyny—amplified by social media—have devastating impacts on ordinary teenagers. Unflinchingly peeling back social wounds, the series invites viewers to confront these escalating issues and sparks much-needed dialogue for change.

In this way, the series aligns with Graham’s pandemic-era film Help (2021) and the acclaimed stage play Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer. All three pieces achieved tangible outcomes: Prima Facie prompted legal reform around sexual assault in the UK, while Adolescence spurred schools to introduce anti-misogyny education—teaching boys how to respectfully interact with girls and instilling basic etiquette and boundaries. These real-world changes give renewed faith in the progress of human civilization.

Masculinity as a Burden

Adolescence centers on the events surrounding a teen murder. Jamie, a 13-year-old boy from a typical working-class family with loving parents and an untraumatized childhood, ultimately becomes a product of the toxic masculinity subtly and overtly ingrained in society. His self-esteem crumbles when a girl rejects his romantic advance and mocks him on social media. In a fit of rage, he stabs her seven times, killing her and shattering two families in the process.

The series doesn’t use a linear narrative. Instead, it presents four perspectives: Jamie’s arrest, the police investigating at his school, a psychologist evaluating him, and his family struggling to cope after his imprisonment. These perspectives allow each viewer to form their own judgment: How did a seemingly normal environment breed such brutality? What went wrong in raising today’s youth?

Clues scattered throughout the show suggest that a society steeped in toxic masculinity is to blame. High school is a brutal world governed by popularity, and for boys, this is judged by physical appearance and machismo. Those who don’t meet these standards often become targets of bullying—and they, in turn, take out their frustration on those even lower in the social hierarchy: the girls who reject them.

In an ideal environment, Jamie’s fate might have been different. He was never interested in sports or stereotypically masculine activities. His passion was art. With a discerning mentor, his talent could have flourished. Unfortunately, real life gave him no such opportunity. Though his parents loved him, his mother had little voice in the household, and his father—absorbed in work—neglected Jamie’s emotional world. Jamie was left to navigate a hyper-masculine system alone, ultimately becoming one of its casualties. Social media’s failure to moderate hate speech, coupled with a culture of misogyny, pushed him even further down a dark path.

To the end, Jamie remains loyal to the very masculine code that destroyed him. He intimidates a female psychologist attempting to assert control in their conversation and delights in her discomfort. He requests his father as his guardian during police interrogation and defends his father fiercely during psychological evaluations. Graham’s performance as Jamie’s stoic and resilient father in the fourth episode is deeply moving. But the show also deconstructs this kind of masculinity at a deeper level: What if Jamie’s father had shown more vulnerability? What if he’d taught his son healthier emotional outlets instead of silently bearing life’s burdens? What if he had empowered his wife and daughter more within the family and embraced female friendships, rather than allowing masculine ideology to dominate Jamie’s world?

Tragically, Jamie’s grandfather never showed his father another way to live beyond traditional masculinity, and in turn, Jamie’s father failed to do so for his own son. The same fate is passed down through generations; tragedy striking any particular one is merely a matter of probability. Adolescence points to the only path out of this vicious cycle—but breaking free from entrenched thinking is no easy task. We can only hope that each new generation sees the flaws in these inherited ideas and chooses to be better.