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Drama tops global Netflix ( NFLX ) charts, shocking audiences

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Depicts events around killing of girl by teenage boy

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Themes of misogyny, online radicalisation resonate

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Campaigners welcome important conversation

By William James, Catarina Demony and Sarah Mills

LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - TV drama "Adolescence" has

shocked and captivated audiences around the world, providing

what campaigners say is a rare opportunity to tackle the largely

hidden world of online misogyny and violence.

Since its release on Netflix ( NFLX ) on March 13, more than 96

million people have watched the British four-episode series that

begins with armed police raiding the home of a terrified

13-year-old boy accused of murdering a young girl, and ends with

a raw illustration of the pain of his broken family.

The action in between, with each hour-long episode shot in a

dizzying single take, slowly destroys the initial disbelief that

a child so young could commit such a violent crime.

It depicts a toxic online culture known loosely as the

manosphere in which common teenage male insecurities about

attractiveness and romantic failure can warp into resentment and

hatred of the opposite sex.

"There are people who will watch it and go 'but that boy

couldn't do that'. The point is that boy can do it," said Susie

McDonald, CEO of charity Tender that educates children and

adults on healthy relationships

"Suddenly the possibility becomes normal, and so we begin to

say, what on earth can we do to stop that from happening?"

The show is number one in the Netflix ( NFLX ) global Top 10 and

heads the charts in almost every country - from Brazil to

Bahrain - for which the streaming platform provides data.

"Although on the surface it feels like it's a very British

production ... actually, the themes that it's dealing with: what

our children are doing online, what they're listening to ... I

think that's as important in America, as it is India, as it is

Australia," film critic Kaleem Aftab told Reuters.

Portuguese police produced a guide for parents to explain

the hidden meaning of emojis used by young people - a plot

component in the show. The Sydney Morning Herald produced a

guide on how to talk to children more effectively than the

parents in the programme.

British police urged parents to look for signs their child

may be being radicalised online, using data showing 60% of

referrals to its terrorism prevention system came from children

aged 17 or under to highlight the scale of the wider problem.

HIT HOME HARD IN DOWNING STREET

"Adolescence" reached the home of British Prime Minister

Keir Starmer, who watched it with his teenage son and daughter.

"It hit home hard," Starmer said in a statement, backing a

scheme to make the show available to schools across the country

and encouraging a national conversation on the isues it raises.

"This isn't a challenge politicians can simply legislate

for. Believe me, if I could pull a lever to solve it, I would."

Matt Pinkett, an author on masculinity and a teacher,

described how the show had left him fizzing with lesson ideas,

but said it needed to be used carefully to avoid further

marginalising boys already at risk of radicalisation.

The show has created a moment that campaigners, police and

educators have been waiting for: a general public prepared to

accept the uncomfortable truth that they do not know what their

children are doing online, and that they all need help.

"This is the start of something. What we need to do as an

education profession is make sure that we take advantage of

that," said Pepe Di'Iasio, General Secretary of Britain's

Association of School and College Leaders.

McDonald said Tender was working with Netflix ( NFLX ) to produce

materials teachers can use in schools, using script excerpts and

clips of scenes to spark wider discussion.

"This (show) is not going to solve the problem, but it's

enabled everybody to actually notice that there is a problem,"

she said.

(Writing by William James; editing by Kate Holton and Barbara

Lewis)