This month, Senior Connector Barrie Voyce, is reflecting on the Netflix’s 4 part series, Adolescence.
If you’ve been paying attention to the media over the last few weeks you cannot have avoided talk about Netflix’s 4 part series Adolescence, created by actor and writer Stephen Graham. The story tells the horrific consequences of a 13 year old boy who has been accused of murdering a teenage girl in his school. I’m not going to go into a full analysis of the show here – there are plenty of other people that have done that, but as someone who works with young people it’s probably an important thing for us to reflect on. Writer and Christian leader, Krish Kandiah summed this up in a recent article in Premier Christianity
As someone deeply invested in the wellbeing of children and young people, I found Adolescence both captivating and convicting. The show does not shy away from the fragility of youth, the toxicity of gender culture wars or the responsibilities of parenthood – three themes that are not only central to the series but also deeply relevant to the real-world struggles of teenagers today.
There’s been much talk about the need to show Adolescence in schools to young people. There’s some irony about the fact that it’s a 15 rated programme and therefore won’t be able to be shown to the youngest of pupils. However I also think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding if you think young people need to see this. The reality is young people are living this day to day. In fact one of the most startling things in the programme is the fact that the adults around them seemed to be pretty oblivious to what life for an adolescent is like. I know it can be difficult as a 50 year old to really understand young people’s culture, the only way to truly do that is to get in amongst them and find out for ourselves.
The influence of people like Andrew Tate and other self-proclaimed misogynists is quite stark in the programme. Since it aired, and following the Gareth Southgate Dimbleby lecture, there has been a call for positive male role models. Don’t get me wrong I don’t disagree with this, however people need more than just role models distant from them, they need adults prepared to come alongside them.
It’s been a privilege to be invited into the Coalition for the Well-Being of Children and Young People developed by Gloucestershire County Council. The coalition is a combination of people from social care, the health services, education, the police and other representatives from community groups like myself. At a recent meeting we were discussing the need for safe spaces for young people who are on the margins and the need to ensure that students are in school. However watching something like Adolescence can remind us that for many young people school is far from a safe space – that’s no disrespect to those that teach and work in schools, but I think we all recognise that school can be a tough place to be if you feel different, or marginalised, or isolated.
My friend and fellow youth minister Chris often talks about the importance of third spaces. The need for us as church to be creating those spaces where young people can just be: to have the space to be themselves; have the space to explore for themselves; and have open minded and open hearted adults around them who can ensure that space remains safe for everybody.
The other thing which is vital is making sure we are listening to the voices of young people. That we are hearing what they have to say. That we are prepared to non judgmentally hear them and respond to what they’re telling us in ways that help them create the culture and the environment that they need rather than imposing our own views onto them. That’s one of the many reasons we are exploring hearing the voices of young people over the coming months. We want to listen to as many people across the Diocese as possible to truly understand their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and experiences. To dig into how they may already connect into us as church and what the opportunities are for us to further develop those, but we need to remind ourselves we’re not doing that for our benefit. We’re not doing that because we want our churches to have more people in them, particularly people that are younger than us. We’re doing this because we truly believe that it’s only through our relationship with God and God’s people that they will discover life in all its fullness, can flourish, and can move out of a place of hopelessness, hatred, and despair into a place where love, respect, and forgiveness are values that all hold and all long for.
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