Many people have said the decision to show Adolescence in schools is ‘pointless’.
This week it was announced the four-part drama, which stars Stephen Graham as a father who faces the shocking news his teenage son has been accused of murdering a female classmate, would be made available for free in all British schools.
Since being released last month the Netflix series has already been called ‘the best TV show of the year’ and has become the biggest streaming show in the UK in a single week, with 6.45 million people watching the first episode within a week.
The series deals with incel culture, social media addiction, the difficulty of parenting in the 2020s, and bullying among school pupils, as well as school funding and police resourcing, across four hour-long episodes.
However, while many have praised the series, they don’t think it needs to be played in the classroom.
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‘The message is important, but I think it’s more important for parents to see this. The message will be lost on a teenager,’ user myawesomeafro posted on Reddit.
‘I always thought the intended target for the message was for non tech savvy parents, not for children,’ Richie217 shared.
‘Yeah I don’t really see what kids are going to get out of this. This is a wakeup call to those guiding kids into adulthood,’ belizeanheat added.
‘It’s a great show but is it really something the kids need to see? Seems like the show’s message is intended for parents who can ignore the signs of their kids becoming radicalised. Don’t really see the point of showing this to kids, tbh,’ someone else explained.
However, others said they believed it could be a valuable teaching tool.
‘Watching challenging films in high school and discussing them afterwards were very memorable, and definitely informed my perspective on the world,’ tannhauser0 posted.
‘Often parents aren’t willing to have serious talks with their kids, and neither are teachers. You’d be surprised how important it is for kids to have exposure to some of the harsh realities of life and discussing them after the fact. Leaving them alone to wander the depths of the void (the internet) can be incredibly corrosive.’
Another shared: ‘Movies and shows like Adolescence aren’t a substitute for teaching but rather foster discussion and analysis.’
The announcement was made as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met with the show’s creators at Downing Street during a meeting about the issues tackled by the series.
Saying that the programme hit him, his wife, and his son ‘hard’, the Labour leader added that he wished to work out ‘what can we do as a society to stop and prevent young boys being dragged into this whirlpool of hatred and misogyny’.
He added: ‘It’s pernicious and persistent. But what Adolescence shows is that it’s now taken on a different form, or different characteristics [that can be] pumped directly into the minds of our children.’
The Prime Minister concluded: ‘I do think there is a sense of isolation going on here, and therefore we can’t deal with these challenges just with the old tools that we have. I don’t think there’s a simple solution.’
Anne Mensah, the vice president of Netflix’s UK content, said: ‘Adolescence has captured the national mood, sparking important conversations and helping articulate the pressures young people and parents face in today’s society.
‘We’re incredibly proud of the impact the show has made, and are delighted to be able to offer it to all schools across the UK through Into Film+.’
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Into Film is a charity supported by the British Film Institute that ‘aims to put film at the heart of children and young people’s educational, cultural, and personal development’.
Dozens of films are available for free through the Into Films library, with the catalogue covering a range of subjects including World War Two and the Holocaust, identity and belonging, Shakespeare adaptations, and films suitable for those studying GCSE English.
Adolescence currently has a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 9.3 out of 10, making it one of the best-reviewed TV shows in the history of the aggregator site.
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Adolescence is streaming on Netflix.
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