Owen Cooper’s performance as Jamie is deeply unsettling
Four-part crime drama Adolescence portrays the toxic masculinity and violent misogyny that continues to influence young boys in Britain.
It follows the Miller family after their 13 year‑old son Jamie, played by Owen Cooper, is arrested for stabbing his female classmate Katie.
The series is written by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham and directed by Philip Barantini. Each episode is brilliantly shot in a single take.
It was inspired by the real-life epidemic of knife crime and the rise of the online manosphere. Adolescence explores how online misogyny and violence leaves young working class people vulnerable to reactionary ideas.
Adolescence is extremely relevant today. Last year Axel Rudakubana stabbed three young girls at a dance class in Southport. Kyle Clifford watched Andrew Tate videos before killing three women with a crossbow.
Adolescence looks at the conditions that allow this kind of violence to grow—a crumbling welfare system, cyberbullying, and a growing online platform for sexist ideology to thrive.
The series grips you from the start. Two cops smash into the Millers’ home, arresting Jamie and questioning him in the police station.
The second episode is set in Jamie’s school, an underfunded and over-stretched institution, where teachers simply cannot provide the support their students desperately need.
Jamie’s crime isn’t reduced to his individual intelligence or personal failings. Instead, the series highlights how young, alienated boys are easy prey for the misogynistic ideology that spreads online. These online spaces are growing in popularity among lonely, angry young men like Jamie, who feel abandoned by a society that offers them nothing.
When one of the police officers, Luke Bascombe, brushes these ideas off as “that Andrew Tate shit,” it exposes the ignorance of the police, who fail to take the radicalisation of young men seriously.
As his colleague DS Frank says “Everyone will remember Jamie—no one will remember her.” Society ignores the victims of violence.
Episode three is set in a detention centre. In tense scenes with the child psychologist, Jamie’s rage and confusion reveal how boys are taught to suppress emotion, view women as enemies, and to believe that violence is power.
The final episode is the most devastating as Jamie’s loving parents try to understand what has happened. The series makes it clear that this is not about failing families—it is about a society that abandons young men to be indoctrinated in their own bedrooms.
Deeply unsettling, emotionally raw, and politically urgent, Adolescence shows us that in a sexist, capitalist society, these problems will not solve themselves.
It will take collective action to dismantle the structures that allow misogyny and violence to thrive.
- Adolescence is available on Netflix
Oscar-winning film subverts the Cinderella myth
I used to be a fan of the Cinderella trope—marrying a rich man who will save you from a life of poverty.
The film Anora, which won five awards at the Oscars including best actress, best picture and best director, does a good job at subverting the fairy tale fantasy.
It reveals the harsh reality of class division and the commodification of relationships under capitalism.
The film centres on Ani, a stripper, who marries Vanya, a wealthy but quite aimless Russian oligarch, to escape her economic struggles.
The plot mirrors the Cinderella story but Anora deconstructs this fantasy.
Vanya offers nothing but money—no ambition or emotional depth. His wealth is inherited, not earned. On the other hand, Ani is shown to be resourceful and hardworking, yet her options are limited by her socioeconomic status.
The film asks what Vanya really offers to Ani apart from financial stability. The answer—nothing.
Economic factors often shape marriage decisions, particularly for women seeking to improve their social and financial standing. This exposes the emptiness of the Cinderella narrative, where wealth is often the only currency.
There is an obvious power imbalance between Ani and Vanya. While Vanya can run from his problems and escape back to his wealthy family, Ani is left to fend for herself.
This reflects real‑world dynamics where men often have more social and financial leeway than women.
Vanya’s family often put Ani down for being a “stripper,” an “escort,” or a “night butterfly,” reducing her to her class and profession. Women who marry for money often labelled as “gold diggers,” while men who exploit their wealth for relationships face little scrutiny. Women are shamed for seeking financial stability when they often have few alternatives.
As an adult, I know that Cinderella is just a fairy story.
- Anora is available on Prime Video
Danae Rowbotham
