While watching Adolescence, a four-part OTT series at Netflix, it could easily be related what nearly everyone in this world has gone through. Adolescence the pre-young age, which every man or woman, had passed through or has to go through. The series is a must watch, for every student, boy or girl, parents and teachers alike. It starts with two police officers, Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters) and DS Misha Frank (Faye Marsay), make a raid, at the outbreak of dawn, on the house of Eddie Miller (Stephan Graham) and arrested his 13 year old son Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), on suspicion of murder of a fellow school mate of the same age Katie Leonard ( Emilia Holliday) . Jamie mother Manda (Christine Tremarco), his sister Lisa ( (Amelie Pease), understandably, were all taken aback, go until police station, where Jamie denies his involvement and his father believed him. The family is set to be devastated. Adolescence is written by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham and directed by Philip Barantini.
Jamie, like millions and millions today in the world, was hooked to social media, and most arguably it is sex, as the dominant force, which runs the youth. It has been the same since ages, with the only difference, that today it is available in all its abundance, right there on the next scroll of the smart phone. Adolescence is the phase of a ripe age, when both girls and boys experience change in their bodies, attraction for the opposite sex, pubic hair, breasts formation, menstruation and masturbation (particularly boys) et all , perhaps, it is this phase which is most fragile, during which parents supervision or counseling becomes utmost important, but parents too, are engaged in their own chores, therefore, what happens, is that the child has to straddle on his or her own. But, surely, the bedrock of morality or the conscience of sin, if instilled, in a child, may come up for the rescue.
In Adolescence the same happened. The parents were left ‘crying in the end’, if they had done enough for their child? Which of course, is the biggest question, as Jamie, after 13 months in prison, had confessed to his crime? Why did he do that? He had been exposed to the world of social-media, and obviously he too, out of his sexual liking, had started to make explicit comments on female models, had a whole lot of brash and unruly classmates or schoolmates, where faculties struggled to smoothen out things, and it later on comes out that Ryan, friend of Jamie, had him provided with the knife, which was used to kill Katie. Ryan was arrested on the charge of conspiracy of murder. Police while during the investigation is exposed to a logic, at ‘Bruntwood Academy Come inside, and see the future’ that 80% girls like 20% boys, which means, that 80% girls do not like 80% boys, and the same happened in context to Jamie, who was sent certain emojis by Katie, which had triggered a cyberbullying campaign against Jamie. Jamie considered him ugly. A notion suscitated by Katie.
After seven months in captivity, psychologist Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty) comes to Jamie, and it is here the audiences get exposed to a set of very difficult questions, which ultimately almost make Jamie succumb to the motive of killing Katie. It comes out that someone had spread Katie topless pictures, which made Jamie go for Katie as she was to be weak but Katie rebuffed him. This part of the series in the most stunning as Briony could bring out all what might be in the background which made Jamie take the extreme step. During the session she asked Jamie if he would touch and kiss his girl friend’s chest, her back side, her vulva, her vagina! Surely high wages of how porn industry has made such questions mainstream!
No matter how much anyone would deny, such issues have now entered every household. How can it be stopped? Perhaps, only through self-restraint. This deservedly needs to be inculcated during the formative years of a child, which work as a benchmark throughout the life. Adolescence is being debated for the act of murder, but why would Katie become topless in the first place? Why would anyone release it? How a girl/woman has to undergo the trauma and put her family in turmoil, after such explicit contents or videos are made public deserve much most attention.
There are now countless number of even self-filmed videos, all porn stuff, uploaded on internet. It is time to believe internet no more as virtual but in fact more than a real world. In yesteryears, any act of sex, even if caught/overseen, was subject to one or two witness, but now, if captured on camera, hidden or otherwise, and made public, can be seen by millions around the world. This is what makes the world of today most vulnerable ever, and women, of course, are the worst in it. Whether at times of love or in war.
Haider Abbas is a former UP State Information Commissioner and a film reviewer.
