- Elon Musk spread misinformation about the show on X
- Jack Thorne has said the show’s focus isn’t race but masculinity
- Adolescence is a fictional story that wasn’t based on any one particular case
Netflix’s recent four-part drama Adolescence has ignited huge conversation about masculinity, incel culture and what teenagers are exposed to online.
The four-part drama, directed by Philip Barantini and starring Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty, focuses on the brutal murder of a young girl by a 13-year-old schoolboy (Owen Cooper).
Read more: Adolescence Netflix: Stephen Graham series plot
However, misinformation about the show has quickly spread. X owner Elon Musk contributed to it by sharing a false claim about it on his social media platform.
A post on the platform claimed Adolescence was based on a “real-life case such as the Southport murderer”, who was black. The post said it amounted to “anti-white propaganda” by having a white protagonist. Musk reposted it with the caption “Wow.”
“There is no part of this that’s based on a true story”
Writer Jack Thorne has said that “nothing could be further from the truth” regarding the accusation. He also mentioned that having “told a lot of real-life stories in my time,” he knew it could be harmful to take “elements of a real-life style and putting it on screen.”
“There is no part of this that’s based on a true story, not one single part,” he clarified on The News Agents podcast.
He continued: “It’s absurd to say that [knife crime] is only committed by Black boys. It’s absurd. It’s not true. And history shows a lot of cases of kids from all races committing these crimes. We’re not making a point about race with this. We are making a point about masculinity. We’re trying to get inside a problem. We’re not saying this is one thing or another, we’re saying that this is about boys.”
What was the inspiration for Adolescence?
Though Adolescence is a fictional story, some real-world incidents did help to inspire it.
“There was an incident where a young boy [allegedly] stabbed a girl,” Graham told Netflix site Tudum in the lead up to the show’s release.
“It shocked me. I was thinking, ‘What’s going on? What’s happening in society where a boy stabs a girl to death? What’s the inciting incident here?’ And then it happened again, and it happened again, and it happened again.”
He added, “I really just wanted to shine a light on it, and ask, ‘Why is this happening today? What’s going on? How have we come to this?’”
What happens in Adolescence?
The show begins with Jamie’s house being raided by local police, with Jamie taking in for questioning after being accused of the murder. Initially, Jamie is insistent that he is innocent and has done nothing wrong although as each episode progress and new evidence comes to light, viewers get the full picture of this harrowing story.
Pulled into this narrative is Jamie’s father Eddie (Stephen Graham). A plumber by trade, this ordinary guy is forced to come ask himself some troubling questions about how much he knows about his own son.
Soon, he learns some sobering facts that point less towards a who-done-it crime mystery and more towards a startling realisation about someone he felt he knew.
