2025-04-06

Every single day that passes, I become more convinced that the way to understand others is to understand the self. The inverse is also true and is possible. In which way, we would want to know other people and be known, will come down to preference and upbringing. In both cases, it is only important to acknowledge that in understanding the world, we all need each other as entrances and exits and as portals to have a deeper understanding of all the relationships that we can think of in this universe.

Even solipsism is a denial of the consciousness of an Other, where, in this framework, the concept of an Other still exists to provide that definition. Everything is relational and those relationships shape how we view the world in our own little brains.

Fatima and I just watched Adolescence yesterday, which is a 4-part mini-series in Netflix about a 13 year-old boy who was accused of murdering his girl schoolmate. Now, without talking too much about the story, it is character-driven and dialogue heavy as all four episodes were shot in a single take. Needless to say, the immersion was there, immediately pulling you into the case of this young man and the reactions of people around him. His family, his friends, and the police are all deeply connected through dialogue because of the single take. The screenplay itself was able to convey a lot of information in such short exchanges. The mood shifts in certain responses. Body language are free but emphasized.

But I see a lot of reactions online that do not align with what the show is trying to achieve. It is obviously discussing the effects of online culture of toxic masculinity, particularly the online "manosphere" ideology. I am astounded how much viewers of the show missed the entire point. Some expected a courtroom drama and an extended POV of the victim, which shows a type of understanding that 4 episodes are not enough. Some felt that the show had no plot, that it was boring, and somehow promotes further hate on men. These things are all ridiculous with how much the show is pointing towards the other way. It made me think what people expect from such shows that primarily delve on social commentary. And i just can't take it. I refuse to think that people are just this stupid.

Some find justifications as to why the girl was killed and it was because she herself was a bitch, which therefore warranted her death. It is all so stupid and it makes me more upset than what the show is trying to tell. If anything, the show has put an exact picture of the current reality of the social landscape in the age of social media and people are refusing to recognize it by deliberately missing the point. They decide to miss the point because they refuse to confront the type of reality where they see themselves in and deny that they are affected by it in the same way that the show is depicting. Psychologically speaking, this is a type of self-denial that is very difficult to confront on your own. This realization hurts the brain, which always find ways to deflect. In the same way that the accused boy exercised his mental gymnastics as he was being questioned by his psychologist. The show deeply delves in what is being said and what is not being said to both paint a picture of the early stages of a manipulative personality. It also shows the sad case of justifying one's own criminal actions.

The show did everything correctly but the mass reception of it fell short to the message it tried to convey. It is just sad.